The Changing Role of the Marketing Leader

Ally Bancroft: In the Women Leading in B2B session. So for those of you I haven't met, I'm Ally Bancroft, SVP at TMP, and I'll be facilitating today's conversation. And for those of you who come new to this webinar series, it's a series that celebrates the voices.

Ivickza Sanchez: Wait.

Ivickza Sanchez: Can you guys hear me?

Ivickza Sanchez: I can now hear you.

Ally Bancroft: You see you can't—

Genevieve Weber: [inaudible]

Claire: won't want to go back to the to the start again if that's a—

Ivickza Sanchez: I'm why he's doing this.

Ally Bancroft: What can't you hear, Vixa?

Ally Bancroft: Effects, can you hear us?

Sylvia Nash: Maybe try logging out and— okay. Okay, perfect.

Ivickza Sanchez: I can't hear you! Sorry about that. Just couldn't hear anything.

Genevieve Weber: Okay, okay.

Ally Bancroft: Okay, so are we good? So you can hear us. Okay, so Claire, I am going to start. Okay.

Claire: Sounds good. We can chop that bit out.

Ally Bancroft: Okay, all of this is editable. Okay, I'm going to start. So, good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to another Women Leading in B2B session. For those I haven't met, I'm Ally Bancroft, SVP at TMP, and I'll be facilitating today's conversation. For those of you who are coming new to this webinar series, it's a series that celebrates the voices and experiences of women.

Are redefining leadership in B2B marketing. And each session shines a light on how leaders navigate real-world challenges. And gosh, we have a load of those today. And we balance vision with execution and chart new paths forward for their teams, organizations, and the industry. And today's topic is the changing role of the marketing leader.

I think we all agree that marketing leaders today are being asked to go beyond their traditional remit and do more than ever before. They're expected to drive growth, prove business impact, embrace AI and other associated technologies, navigate changing buyer behaviour, and align increasingly complex organizations, even making their way through M&As, but still creating the conditions.

For their teams to thrive. So the role just hasn't simply evolved. In many ways, it's being redefined in real time. So today we'll explore what that looks like in practice. So I'm joined today by an esteemed panel of marketing leaders in various locations. Some of them are on the go in airports, traveling to conferences and commitments as we speak. So

I really appreciate all your time. So let's start by introducing yourselves and your individual journeys. So if it's okay with you, Sylvia, let's — if you can tell us a little bit about your path into leadership and looking back, what experience most shaped the leader you've become today? Over to you.

Sylvia Nash: Yeah, thank you, Ally. Thank you, Ally. So my name is Sylvia Nash. I sit in Seattle, but right now I'm in the airport. As Ally was kind of alluding to, we're kind of always on the go and flexing in our roles as needed. I started my career in marketing on the advertising agency side in paid media. Worked there for many years, actually on B2C accounts, then I transitioned and worked

on the publisher side, so I sold advertising in the paid media space. And then I went, as they traditionally say, to the client side, so where we get serviced by the advertising agencies like TMP. And really my journey to leadership has been a bit organic. I've been really fortunate to work with really great mentors and female leadership who have helped to kind of shepherd

my career and grow in the areas that I've always been very interested in. I currently sit as the paid media strategy lead at Elastic, working on global paid media programs across all of our regions, all of our segments, all of our campaigns. And I really strive to kind of emulate some of the leadership and mentorship I've had in the past that I've really appreciated, to help

others grow their careers and just be an empathic leader, you know, that's helping people achieve their goals in their careers, as well as helping push the business forward. Because as we know, our roles are not just dedicated to one thing anymore. As Ally alluded to, business impact, organizational changes, and pipeline growth are all paramount to our positions these days.

So that's kind of how I got to where I'm at. Really excited to be here chatting with you guys today.

Ally Bancroft: Thanks, Sylvia, that's great. Genevieve, over to you.

Genevieve Weber: Wonderful. Thanks so much, Ally. I'm Genevieve Weber. I'm currently at a company called Workado, where I joined to help build the AI business. Several months ago I took on responsibility for Demand Gen, digital, partner marketing, and inbound SDRs. So very happy to be introduced to TMP through my new work in marketing.

My career started in sales operations. So I ran sales ops for Asia for a company called Avaya, which is contact center software. And that led to roles in strategy. I spent 10 years at Salesforce where I had three different careers — in strategy, product strategy, growing the Salesforce Japan business. And then finally as the CO of the Salesforce platform, where I had responsibility for product as well as strategy. I would say, from a

leadership-shaping standpoint, I can think of several career-defining moments, but the theme is really being asked to take on responsibilities outside of my day-to-day. And also that stretched me, whether it was working on integrating a competitive acquisition or, for example, taking on marketing responsibility, which really just means, in my role, pipeline. How do we get more pipeline? That is really my focus now.

But what's interesting is, you know, I joined this company to build an AI business unit. I have experience building businesses. In between Salesforce and Workado, I actually spent several years in private equity at TPG, where I was responsible for doing some software investing. So I got to see what are functional boards, dysfunctional boards, great CEOs, not-so-great CEOs — I got to see that. And that was also really leadership-defining because it helped me figure out what do I want to be in the future.

Ivickza Sanchez: [inaudible]

Genevieve Weber: Thanks for having me.

Ally Bancroft: Brilliant. So interesting, Genevieve. And Vixa, welcome.

Ivickza Sanchez: Hi, I'm Ivickza Sanchez. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here. I'm located in Austin, Texas. My current role is Global Marketing Operations Director within healthcare. My career started in marketing with startups, where I quickly learned to wear many hats, how to provide our results with very limited resources. Later I moved to the United States,

completed my MBA, I entered corporate America with Dell, in Dell Consumer marketing. I loved it — fast-paced, highly measurable, and increasingly energizing. I love having to create new offers and new promotions, new marketing materials every week — new offers, pressures to hit their numbers, and things like that. After several years, I just moved into the B2B side, at Dell EMC.

And that shift was what shaped the professional that I am today. I learned that marketing is more than just an art, it's a science. It's all about understanding the value of data. So I moved from demand generation to ABM intent data, how to target the right buying groups, how to work with first-party data, how to work with customer journeys and how to develop market-driven decisions.

So the constant evolution that I've been through in my career is what made me the leader that I am today. So I'm curious and adaptable and look for data that I can understand. And I feel comfortable leading through change because that has been my career.

Ally Bancroft: That's brilliant. Thank you, all three of you. So I want to explore how marketing leaders are transitioning into business leaders. It was quite traditional in the past where marketing were put very much into a certain category — marketing do that, and they don't look beyond that in terms of impact on the business. And we're seeing evidence that that is

changing now. I think more and more marketers are helping shape company strategy, revenue conversations, you know, often reporting to a CRO, customer experience impact, and organizational priorities. I think I referenced earlier, and there's been quite a lot of mergers and acquisitions, and marketing are really required to step up to that. So regardless of

title, most of us are being asked to operate differently than we were just a few years ago. So it would be good to explore with the three of you what's changed most about the role of the marketing leader and what are leaders being asked to do today that they weren't before. So Genevieve, can I pose that first question to you?

Genevieve Weber: Sure, sure. Yeah, great. As someone who didn't grow up in a traditional marketing role, I think — look, I reflect back to the time that I spent at Salesforce and growing up with the marketers there. And in the past, I feel like marketers were considered great when they were super creative. They came up with some really interesting campaigns, they had great events and cool venues with, you know, great draws, famous people, et cetera. And

when I think about now, a great marketer is someone who is data-driven, who is AI-forward, and who is really thinking about ways to drive pipe in a very noisy environment. And I say that coming from the AI perspective. You know, I'm getting invited to a million AI events, my title being operations — it lends itself, you know, to people thinking I own engineering ops, two facilities, et cetera.

And so when I — but when I think about a marketer today, and part of the reason that I was asked to take on something like Demand Gen, it's because we need marketers to start thinking in a way that is beyond, you know, cuts through the noise. And we do that by leaning into things that have worked for the companies in the past and things that haven't worked. And I think that's just a very different perspective than

the previous marketing era, which was all about who could have, you know, the greatest draw and that you would want to engage with the company because they had a cool event.

Ally Bancroft: Effect— Sylvia, any observations on that, similar to Genevieve, differently?

Sylvia Nash: Yeah, I would say I have a little bit different of an experience just because I have grown up in marketing, and one of the biggest changes I've seen as my career has evolved is we used to have these very clear delineations between what leadership was doing and what the rest of the team was doing. And maybe they grew up through one of those roles on their team, but then really relied on the rest of the team to kind of tell them about what they're doing. And — excuse me — one of the biggest shifts I've seen is this kind of move to this

player-coach or coach-player role, where as a leader, you have to be thinking about all those things that we've talked about: business impact, growth, pipeline, as well as mentoring your team. And you also have to be functionally able to execute on marketing programs, whether it's, you know, to make sure that you have that expertise and can share that knowledge across your stakeholders, or so it's just in case, you know, your team

has downsizing or if somebody leaves — there's really, really been more emphasis, in my experience lately, and even when I get reached out to by recruiters, on this ability to have the hands on the keyboard and lead and make those big decisions and impact the business. So I've seen a lot of change in that way as the leadership role has evolved. And the other thing I would say is I've seen

a lot of the other business units become more interested in a lot of what marketing is doing. So I feel like we've always had a bit of an educational role because people want to know, but they're not always getting into the details. Now it's a lot more getting into the details, which is kind of where AI comes into play, and is really great when you can create an agent and they can ask questions there and the data's accurate. But if you don't have that right, you have to have the answers — as all these different, you know, sales,

product marketing, product in general want to know: what is marketing doing to impact our bottom line? What is that data that is backing up your decisions? How are you guys actually making an impact on the business?

Ally Bancroft: Yeah, that's interesting because it's put more pressures on you. So what you're saying is that you need to have more of a strategic bird's-eye view, but you need to roll up your sleeves because you're expected to understand the detail. So yeah, that is the challenge, is on you. Yeah, Vixa, I'm keen to understand your thoughts on this and your perspective.

Ivickza Sanchez: Sure thing. I believe that we're being asked to do more with less resources. We need to prove value faster and we need to connect our work directly to business outcomes. So budgets are shifting. We're not talking only about dollars — now tokens are another currency that we're managing in our budgets. Channels are changing and the conversation is moving beyond products and solutions into journeys and experiences.

So I think that today, a marketing leader needs to be a strategist, but it also needs to be a hands-on operator. It needs to be a technologist for sure, because everything is driven by how fast the technology is changing. And it also needs to be a change leader, because we need to bring everyone along with the transformation and all the changes that are happening.

Ally Bancroft: So yeah, listening to the three of you then, it seems that the role of marketing is far more of a multitasker, and we'll go on to talk a little bit about that later. But do you think — so you've also talked about people leaning in in the business to be interested in marketing, as well as you need one eye on more of the

strategic view but also making sure that you've got an eye on the detail. Do you think that the changes today have added more credence and value to the marketing function? And I'll just put that out to one of you or any of you if you want to mention.

Genevieve Weber: Hundred percent. Hundred percent. Like if we think — if we think about marketing being talked about in the boardroom, as someone who used to be sitting in the boardroom, it is now front and center. It used to be just like, yeah, we have a product, we have a brand, yeah, we need to market it. And now it is like there is genuine interest in how are we marketing it, how are we being smarter with our dollars to fix this point. I think there's a savviness

that is now required for marketers for sure. It's not just "we will market," it is "here's how we're going to do it." And that's a very different approach than just even a few years ago.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah. No, I think it's — I think it's exciting, how we're changing the stereotype there. I want to move us on to discuss your respective roles in what I'm describing to be, at the moment, quite an extremely volatile and transformative environment, both the geopolitical and the business environment, because they both feed each other.

And I think for most of us the pace of change feels faster than ever. So, based on that backdrop and where we are today, we're operating in, I think, a perfect storm. So we've got technology and where we need to be upskilling, we've got a change in buyer behavior because of the complexity, but also now the way that they're going and asking an AI agent, for example, to do their initial

buyer sort of vendor research to the market conditions that are constantly changing. So how, in your role, do you lead confidently, particularly in front of your teams, when there isn't a rule book, there isn't a playbook to say "this is how we behave now in this time"? So how are you adapting? So Sylvia, can I pose that question to you?

Sylvia Nash: Yeah, absolutely. I try to lead by example. So when we're being asked to start using new technologies, I try to really jump on it and be an early adopter — with right now, it's obviously AI tools — to be able to share with my team, like, this is how I'm using it, this is how it could be helpful potentially for your role,

but I really do try to just set the example of, you know, you have to kind of jump in and get your hands dirty to start to understand how things are changing. You know, I don't think there ever has been a playbook of exactly how to do things, but I do think in the past, like Genevieve alluded to, there were things that marketers did and then what everybody else did. And now, you know,

we're really being asked to do so much more, to be able to provide so much more information in less time with less resources. And so I'm just trying to jump on anything early enough to be able to provide those examples, to make it easier for my team so that they can also take advantage of the tools that we have at our disposal. That's really the way I try to get people more involved.

Ally Bancroft: Brilliant. Genevieve, do you see any similarities there, or how are you managing this perfect storm?

Genevieve Weber: I think a lot of it comes down to respect, particularly as someone who's stepped in to lead a team, not as a traditional marketer. If you are a respected leader in the organization, people tend to lean into that, versus "you were a former CMO at a very fancy company." I do think that great leaders make their own playbooks, though. And as we've discussed, those playbooks are being edited in this era for sure.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah.

Genevieve Weber: But I think having the experience to be able to write your own playbook and say, "look, I've seen this show before — I've been in a situation where I don't have enough coverage, or I need more campaigns, or my product marketers have great messaging, but sales isn't enabled on it" — or there are some of the traditional issues we still face, but I think a leader is now able to shepherd those functions that are critical to marketing

in a way that we hadn't before. And that's just due to the time that we're in.

Ally Bancroft: Okay. And Vixa, have you a similar experience? So how are you weathering the storm?

Ivickza Sanchez: So in times of uncertainty and constant change, I try to provide clarity, be very clear on how things are needed and where the goals of what we're trying to achieve are. I try to create an environment in which the team feels comfortable failing, because failure is just part of learning, making sure that they have access to the right tools, to the right trainings, and perhaps certifications to keep up with all the things that are changing at the same time.

I think that confidence doesn't mean knowing every answer, but it means being transparent, staying focused on what we're trying to achieve, and also making sure that the team feels empowered and keeps the focus. So that's how I manage uncertainty.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah, I think that's a really good response given that teams are worried at the moment. They are looking to us to lessen that uncertainty. And I felt — even in my role — how do you empower but reassure in the same vein? So I don't know whether any of you have noticed any

further need during this time to reassure, and whether mentoring and coaching has increased, or is it simply good people management. So I don't know whether anybody's got a point of view on that.

Sylvia Nash: Yeah, I would say I think the teams are a little bit overwhelmed. I think uncertainty and change at the same time really makes people a little bit nervous in their roles. And so I do think it's important to take the time and spend the time with your people when they need it, to reassure them. I think the other thing that Genevieve made me think of when she was talking about respect is also, like, authenticity. I think

the more that you can be authentic with them — and that's kind of why I try to lead by example — to say, like, we don't always know everything. We have to jump in and try. And so we can kind of show you the way and be the first ones to fail fast sometimes, to reassure the teams that that's okay to do, that we understand that that's going to happen in our roles. And as marketers, you know,

testing and failing is a huge part of the job. Otherwise you don't know what's working. But I do think that change and uncertainty create a very, very tough environment for the teams — that can get very nervous about what's going on — and it's important to communicate with them so that they feel a little bit more stable in these times.

Genevieve Weber: Yeah. I think it's also about helping them focus. These crazy uncertain times — that's what we're here for. That's how I've positioned myself to my team: I'm here to remove the roadblocks. You know, I may not have the best idea for a campaign, or tell you to do the ads differently, but I'm here to remove the roadblocks and help us focus. In uncertain times you tend to be all over the place, and that's really how I see my role here in the marketing world today.

Ally Bancroft: Fantastic. I think no discussion about leadership today would be complete without talking about AI. Genevieve, obviously in your role particularly as well — and I'm sure you've read the latest news releases from Anthropic today around the guardrails needed to avoid the risk to humanity, which can be a little bit unsettling.

Genevieve Weber: Yeah.

Ally Bancroft: But equally, the challenge, I think, is not just about adopting the new technology, it's helping your teams understand where AI can create value whilst maintaining trust. So there is a tendency, and I see that as well, about people defaulting to AI but not really thinking about the considerations, or how are they going to train it,

how are they going to inform it, and how are you going to use it. So I'm keen to understand: do you believe the impact, or how AI is actually changing the role, or your role as a marketing leader? And if so, how? And maybe a little bit about what your responsibility is, given some of these sort of negativities that are in the press

today. So Genevieve, do you want to take that one?

Genevieve Weber: Yeah, sure. The bar has been raised — that's how I feel. When I reflect on working with marketers in the past, it was, you know, my job as someone in sales strategy was to help figure out, you know, predict where the forecast was going to land, how much pipe do we need, getting nitty-gritty into the coverage ratios. And we would do that by looking at massive amounts of data,

from a human perspective, analyzing and looking at historical trends — here's how much you need. And that is no longer the case; we have AI to do all of that for us. So now that we have all of this information, I think in this new era, it's "what do we do with it?" And I look — I mean, I think you mentioned Anthropic and some of these LLM models — I mean, there's definitely hallucination, right? Especially as someone new coming into this role,

I'm digging into the data, I'm asking Claude. And Claude doesn't always get it right on the first try, right? You need someone to help you interpret and say, "you know what, it actually isn't connected on the back end to this, and this is a major data source for us." And so we're just missing a perspective. So a hundred percent, I think the bar has been raised from a data perspective. It's no longer, you know, predicting where we're going to finish the quarter — it's leveraging these new amazing insights and data

in a way that we never have before. You know, it starts with, like, an abandoned cart for something on your website. It starts with a demo request that's coming in. You can use automated outbound now to reach out to them — you don't actually need a human initially. So it's really just changing the way we market and how we do business. And I think the bar has been raised.

Ally Bancroft: Sylvia, do you want to comment on that?

Sylvia Nash: Yeah, I totally agree. And I think, for me, in a paid media and really traditional marketing strategy role, it's changed twofold, right? It's changed how we do our jobs, it's changed how we have to go to market, right? You have to have materials for humans and for agents now. You have to make sure that you're crawlable via every LLM and that you're still showing up in traditional search products. You still need to be emailing people, but you need

to be more sophisticated about it. And then, you know, you still need some of that splashy brand stuff because people still need to have that recall to know who you are. So, you know, I think

it's hard not to get nervous when you see these news headlines and when the researchers are saying these things, and you hate to parrot the line of "it's a necessary evil," but it is driving business impact every day and it is absolutely not something we can ignore at all. So I definitely think it's changing how we're doing business and how we're consuming, and it's going to continue, right? The train's not coming off the tracks anytime soon.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah. And Vixa, how is that impacting you in terms of AI and changing your role as a marketing leader?

Ivickza Sanchez: AI is accelerating our outputs. It's accelerating the need to go to market faster, expanding how we use the tool and what teams are capable of. So it also raised the bar, as Genevieve was saying, for judgment, for governance, and for quality. It's very easy to ask AI one question and put in a prompt

and get an answer, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the answer is correct. It also depends on how good your prompt was and the information that we have in the platforms. So I think it's on leaders to be able to understand where AI can provide value and where human expertise is still essential. I think they [need to] learn how to use AI in a responsible way. And at the same time,

AI is helping us provide a lot of quick insights, but we need to understand when we need to keep the human in the loop. When do we need to be informed? And when do we need to be still reviewing and approving every step of the outputs provided by AI? So I think that this is something that will continue to evolve, but that's why we're ready. The only constant is change, so we just need to keep up with that.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah, no, that's a really good point. And I think it might have been Genevieve who talked about authenticity through this as well, and how we make sure — because I think you can spot copy or various things a mile off now, once it's been through Claude or ChatGPT or something — so it's making sure that we are catching certain things and out-

inputs, so we're making sure that we are authentic, not devaluing the brand or the marketing input. I don't know whether any of you have the same fear around that.

Genevieve Weber: Not fear — I think challenge, right? It's how do we use AI in a way that's going to accelerate the brand, that's going to accelerate our position in the market. And we're thinking about that differently now because of AI.

Ally Bancroft: Agreed, agreed. One of the big challenges I wouldn't mind sort of probing, getting your point of view around, as well, is the balance between showing to the executives short-term gains, revenue, KPIs because of pressure in the market, with more longer-term, you know, building

brand reputation. So knowing that only about five percent of your target market is in the market to buy at one time, so you're under pressure to capture that five percent, but you still need to maintain that 95% in the market who will be coming into the market to buy. So I think marketing leaders are under more pressure than ever to

demonstrate business impact in the short term and the long term. So do you think that is still a true reflection of the expectation? And has it changed your role or your priorities or the way you communicate with leadership because you're balancing that short term and long term? So Vixa, could you comment on this one to start with?

Ivickza Sanchez: Sure. So I believe the expectations have made the role much more outcome-focused. It's no longer enough to talk about the activities, the campaigns we launched, the event we attended. Now we have to connect marketing work with business priorities, customer engagement, pipeline influence, adoption, and growth. Everything has to be connected to an outcome that is business-related. It has changed the way we prioritize.

I spend more time asking questions: what is the problem that we're solving? What is the decision that we need to support? And how will we know whether it worked or not? What are the KPIs? How are we getting close to the reality and the outcome that we have to provide? It also changed the way that we communicate with leadership. I think that leadership is in the same boat that we are, when we're talking about all the different factors that are moving at high speed. Because of that, I think that communication with leadership

has to become simpler, more business-oriented, more outcome-based, grounded in clear insights. What is the risk? What are the trade-offs? And what are the recommendations that we are providing?

Ally Bancroft: And Sylvia, do you share that sentiment, or do you think there is an expectation that's changed your role and priorities, how you report value to the business?

Sylvia Nash: In my roles, traditionally, we've always had kind of the short-term and long-term balance. It's always, like, what are you doing this quarter, and then what are you planning for the future. And I think that balance is always kind of an interesting one, because even if everybody knows things take time, we still want things to happen much more quickly. But I think, to Vixa's point, it's like — now that we have the data to support every decision,

it's been much more difficult to recommend things that cannot track back to those key data points where you will have a measurable outcome, which to me has been more challenging, especially in this new world of AI, where some brand promotion doesn't always have a through-line to pipeline. How do you kind of say, "this is for the long-term impact of the business, we absolutely need to be making these

investments even if we're not going to see pipeline dollars tomorrow"? So I think that balance has always had to be struck, but I do think that the pressure continues to build, the more data we have access to and the faster we can get access to data.

Ally Bancroft: Okay. And Genevieve, on that point then — is too much data causing a bit of a headache for you when talking about telling a business story to the execs about what you're achieving?

Genevieve Weber: Yeah. I don't know if it's too much data — I think it's the accessibility of the data. Right, in the past, as a marketing leader, you control the narrative, right? You would lean on marketing ops, get the story, understand where the state of the business is, create the narrative, and then bring that to leadership, right? So, in many respects, managing up is very, very different now, because those leaders now have access to

these tools that give them data in real time, and they don't need to wait for you to come with your presentation and your narrative. And that definitely lends itself to way more questions. And in some ways, getting perspectives from other leaders who are not marketers can be helpful, right — they're coming at it from a different lens. But I think now there's a lot more sources of data that are meaningful for marketing that weren't in the past, whether that's usage data or just

trends in the timing of deals closing, and how do you shift your marketing in the short term to get them closed faster, but then also be set up for success in the following year for the long term. So I think it's now a matter of accessibility, and given the data is so accessible, it's a little bit trickier to control the narrative in that way.

Ally Bancroft: Okay. I'm just wondering as well — so with the wealth of data, they can really delve down into the short-term tactics. Do you think also, because of the accessibility, it can help you with any business case or ROI on investing more in future opportunities, and not just the short term? I'm aware I've thrown that out there, so if one of you has got a point of view on that.

Genevieve Weber: For sure. I mean, I think we leverage the AI tools in the short term to figure out patterns, but it is definitely top of mind for me to figure out how — you know, Q4 is done in many respects — so let's figure out how we can use some of the patterns to set ourselves up for success next year, in the long term. And the AI tools that we have definitely play a role in that.

Ally Bancroft: Perfect. Looking to the future — marketing generation — and having children myself who are just starting off in the world of work, I'm just thinking about how are you discussing with

interns or new starters, or giving advice to family and friends about the skills needed in marketing, because they are changing so quickly. They're having to learn new technologies far quicker, they're having to look at buyer behavior which is transitioning so quickly. So, as you think about the next generation of marketing leaders, what

capabilities do you believe will matter most over the next five years? So Sylvia, are you okay to take that one?

Sylvia Nash: Yeah, of course. I think something that hasn't changed but that will continue to be important is being a self-starter and interested in new technologies and new things. I think it's hard to be successful in marketing if you're not looking for the next tactic or a way to evolve your programs, because they're always going to be evolving and there's always something new to be doing. It doesn't mean you should try everything new that's coming out, but

being aware of new platforms — social media has taken off, you know, like gangbusters since the early 2000s, right — we've gone from MySpace to TikTok, and it's been a journey through all the iterations. But I think, even if you're not using the platform, taking an interest in new technologies is always going to be really important to help stay abreast of what's happening in the industry. And then, I think, also

being interested in the company — I think being too siloed never serves us super well, and having a good breadth of understanding of how companies work can be really helpful. I didn't mention it, but I went from a big tech company to a startup, and the things I learned being at a startup — right, having a CEO that was 25 years old but still, like, the accessibility and understanding how the business is being built,

what the role of marketing is versus product marketing versus product versus web — I think having that basic understanding, even if you're a marketer, can go a really, really long way, and is really helpful to future generations, especially as AI is coming into play — you need to know more than the AI. And that's not an easy thing to do.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah, that's very insightful. Genevieve, what's the advice that you would give?

Genevieve Weber: Yeah, I think self-awareness for sure is key — your knowledge of your own skills and how to leverage them, particularly when you think about all the various functions of marketing. But on that, I think in today's world, we just have a very different way of working, especially if we're focusing on the younger generation who are just entering the workforce. As I mentioned, in my career I would have to log into a data source and

get downloaded data and we'd run the report and it would take forever, and then you would have to analyze it. The way we work is very, very different today. And I think the more that new employees, workers, are aware of that, the more successful they will be in their career. So, for example, at Workado, we use Claude, we use ChatGPT, but it is plugged into many of our data sources. And so it makes it very, very easy to figure out what's

happening in Salesforce, and this in Snowflake, and all these other outreach and Demandbase and all of the tools that we use — that's a very different way of working than five years ago, ten years ago. And so the more that you are aware of, "okay, this is how I work, the data will give me power and help me get informed opinions," whether it's I'm doing the messaging or I'm doing the campaigns, etc.

I think that's critical to success in the new generation.

Ally Bancroft: And Vixa, do you think that need for self-learning and curiosity is something that you would advocate with a younger marketing team as somebody coming into the industry?

Ivickza Sanchez: Sure thing. I think that as everything is changing so quickly, keep up learning about what are the latest trends in the market, becoming a little bit of a customer- and data-driven expert, trying to understand what's happening, what are the behaviors that are changing the way that customers are acting, and translate that into insights and actions. That is going to be key. It's also understanding technology — I'm not saying to become

a completely technical expert, but it's also being able to understand how the tools are working. Right now we have tools for automation, we have tools for content creation, we have tools for activation — understanding how those tools work and how they are shaping the way that marketing is actually working. So yeah, I think that keeping up with the latest

things that are happening in the market, and not being afraid of learning new tools, is a critical skill.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah, there's a common theme there, isn't it — around self-learning, keeping up to date, inquisitiveness, curiosity — good advice for new people entering the marketing profession as well. I'm in front of, obviously, three leading marketers in the tech industry. So as women leaders,

what advice would you give someone who's aspiring to take on a broader leadership responsibility? So they might be, you know, five years, ten years in, they might be sort of mid-level, but they just may not feel ready yet. And can I give that one to you, Vixa?

Ivickza Sanchez: Sure. So my advice: be just jumping in with both feet. Try to figure out how things are done, but also leverage the people around you. It's about understanding and being prepared. Jump into those stretch assignments, ask for support, but always communicate that you are learning. People are more flexible when they understand where you are in your journey. I think that

being a leader is not about having all the right answers, but it's about being willing to take responsibility to learn deeply, and also to support their teams and support others to grow. It's about sharing the light, I would say.

Ally Bancroft: And Sylvia, what would your advice be?

Sylvia Nash: My advice would be — if you're not ready to completely put yourself out there — is to start within your team, or maybe your broader team if you're part of a larger organization, and really to volunteer. Like Vixa said, tell — make sure it's vocal that people know that you're looking to grow and move into leadership. You have to be your own voice; nobody's going to do that for you.

And then look for those projects that come up, when somebody is asking for somebody to lead a project — raise your hand for those kinds of things, so that you can start to get your feet wet in an environment you're comfortable with. And then, when you are ready, people will know that you're there, and you can kind of dive into larger projects that have more visibility. But really, you have to advocate for yourself. Nobody's going to come in and

tell you and give you a roadmap on becoming a leader. So it's really important to think about — to Genevieve's earlier point — be very self-aware, and then create a plan, but really go after it for yourself.

Ally Bancroft: Like that go-getting attitude. Genevieve, what's your advice?

Genevieve Weber: Sure. I think if you're ready, it's too late — it's beyond your scope. When I think about leadership roles that I've stepped into, I definitely did not feel ready, but the best things I did were in order to expand my skills. Reflecting on — I have a first-grader, and his teacher was telling us last night that first graders don't like to read and they don't like to write, and that is completely normal because they don't know

how to do it exactly — it's not perfect. And when I was reflecting on that, I mean, it's true. You don't want to stumble on words, and you don't want to have to think through "is the S — which way does the S go," et cetera. And that is the same in careers. We often are like, "well, I don't know anything about that area, so I shouldn't go there." But that's really the power. You're training for the half marathon and you've been asked to run the full,

with a twenty-pound backpack on. If someone is recognizing that you can do more, I think you really need to lean in.

Ally Bancroft: Yeah, I think it's a little bit — women feel sometimes the imposter syndrome, isn't it? And you've got to recognize that you start off sort of unconsciously incompetent, to consciously incompetent, to consciously competent, and then you move up that ladder, in this journey that you've got to be on. Yeah.

Genevieve Weber: Yeah. But yeah — and you might stumble, but that's part of the learning. It's the same thing — that's how we learn to read. We didn't learn it by just knowing all the words immediately. You have to have that stumble, and that will make you into a great—

Ally Bancroft: I agree. So I'm going to ask you a bit of a lightning round before we close and summarize. So I am going to ask for one-word answers only. So I'll give this to Sylvia to start with. What's one skill every future marketing leader should develop?

Sylvia Nash: Curiosity.

Ally Bancroft: Genevieve?

Genevieve Weber: Flexibility.

Ally Bancroft: And Vixa?

Ivickza Sanchez: Drive.

Ally Bancroft: Love it. Curiosity, flexibility, and drive are all the key characteristics. So, just to summarize then — thank you all for contributing, there's been fantastic insight. I think we've all acknowledged the trends, the challenges, the environment that you're working in,

but that also, not only brings challenges — it brings opportunities, it brings new learning for all of us as well. So there are some opportunities amongst the current backdrop that we are working in. So I don't know about you all, but I'm still on the optimistic level rather than the pessimistic level around our marketing

careers and functions. But I think, yeah, if there's one thing, or even one theme, that's emerged today, I think that the role of the marketing leader isn't boxed into just driving campaigns, driving events, hospitality, channel. You're very much informing business direction, business strategy. You're having to navigate uncertainty,

you're having to report to CROs on revenue contribution and what you're doing, but equally you're having to look after the teams, where actually people can love marketing, stay in marketing, and thrive through it as well. So a big thank you to all of the panelists today for sharing your experiences and perspectives,

particularly in busy times — trains, planes, and automobiles, and wherever you are. And really, thank you for joining us all today. Until next time.

Ivickza Sanchez: Thank you.