Live from San Francisco
Building Trust in High-Skepticism Markets
Hosted by Kari Wiens, we brought together four powerhouse marketing leaders from Demandbase, Commvault, Fortinet, and GitLab for a first-of-its-kind roundtable session of our Women Leading the Way in B2B series.
The conversation explored how they bring coherence to complexity — translating deep technical innovation into credible business outcomes — while proving impact when the pressure is high and the margin for error is small.
Panelists: Ami Tank – VP US Marketing, Fortinet | Rebecca Clayman – Senior Director, Brand, GitLab | Genelle Kunst – SVP Growth Marketing, Demandbase | Kristin Heisner – Senior Director, Partner Marketing, Commvault
Shaping the future of B2B
Our first session shared powerful lessons on why women’s voices matter at the leadership table, and how to ensure they’re heard.
The conversation explored how psychological safety enables women to thrive, why sponsorship goes further than mentorship, and how confidence grows when leaders lean into their unique “superpowers.”
We also tackled the impact of AI, emphasizing that human-first skills like empathy, curiosity, and relationship-building are indispensable in guiding B2B strategy.
Panelists: Alice Crook, Splunk (Cisco) | Kit Haines-Bornheimer, Verizon | Nimmi Bhalla, Virgin Media O2 Business | Rachel Lockwood AWS
Leading through chaos
In this session, we brought together women leading in B2B marketing to explore how they created coherence in the face of growing complexity and economic pressure.
In the second session of our Women Leading the Way in B2B series, marketing leaders from Criteo, Workday, IBM, and Cognizant came together for a candid conversation. No slides. No buzzwords. Just real talk about what it takes to lead and make an impact in modern B2B marketing, where complexity is the new normal and chaos is the backdrop.
Panelists:
Charlotte Aspeheim Schmidt, Cognizant | Jill Cross, IBM | Michelle Frantino, Criteo | Vicky McNamara, Workday
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Leading with trust
In this session, we brought together women leading in B2B marketing to explore how they built trust when conditions were unpredictable and showed value when the pressure was high.
As 2026 began, B2B marketing leaders entered another year shaped by rapid change and rising expectations. Generative AI reshaped how we understand buyers and demonstrate impact, while economic and political uncertainty continued to challenge even the most seasoned teams.
Our panelists from AWS, Compass Datacenters, McKinsey & Company, and Autodesk shared how they're navigating not just business pressures, but the personal realities of leading through uncertainty. They offered an honest look at how they stayed centered, build resilient teams, and create cultures grounded in trust and transparency.
Panelists:
Zoe Hominick, AWS | Naeemah Philippeaux, McKinsey & Company | Jessie Wu, Autodesk | Frances Verdugo, Compass Datacenters
