The time is now
The AI era is redefining marketing leadership. To stay relevant and future-proof success, CMOs must rethink how they lead, operate, structure teams and drive growth. So, what are the four key shifts they must make now?
The time is now
The AI era is redefining marketing leadership. To stay relevant and future-proof success, CMOs must rethink how they lead, operate, structure teams and drive growth. So, what are the four key shifts they must make now?
4 key shifts needed: becoming A-shaped
1. Mindset
Move from linear to systems thinking.
With CMOs looking after at least six functions and working across 10+ channels (Salesforce State of Marketing), linear thinking and siloes reign. Now, it’s important to review workflows and systems as a whole, for a holistic approach to the marketing ecosystem. This shift to systems thinking will allow CMOs to overcome complexity and take a holistic, interconnected and highly scalable approach.
2. Structure
From people with tools to a hybrid team of humans and agents.
The A-shaped CMO leads a hybrid marketing organisation where people and agents each do what they're best at. Getting this right – by defining where human judgment adds value and where agents should operate autonomously – is itself a leadership skill and one that will increasingly separate high-performing marketing functions from the rest.
3. Skillset
Upskilling from execution to prompting and governance.
CMOs will need hands-on experience with AI in a wide range of use cases, not only to understand where it can and should be used, but also the guardrails required to use the technology responsibly and effectively.
4. Stakeholder influence
Defensive reporting to proactive cross-functional leadership.
Building cross-functional alliances will be crucial for CMOs to break down barriers in the business, so that AI can be used effectively to create a seamless growth ecosystem.
Now is the opportunity for CMOs to prove their leadership. Using a hybrid team of people and AI agents, the A-shaped CMO unites creative brand-building and data-driven performance under a single leader to focus on customer outcomes and growth.
The ‘A’ describes a specific kind of leadership advantage: depth in two disciplines that are rarely found together, connected by the systems thinking and agentic AI capability that most organizations haven't yet developed. CMOs who build this shape will bridge the gap between brand and performance and use that to their advantage.
Agentic marketing will mean change for every leader in the industry – and action is needed. At an individual level, that means adopting a growth mindset and investing energy into upskilling, from AI knowledge to systems thinking.
When it comes to the marketing team and wider organisation, it means re-evaluating how marketing operates and seizing new opportunities to drive growth.
The A-shaped CMO can set new standards for marketing. But the time to transform is now.
Research methodology This survey of 100 chief marketing officers in mid-market and enterprise companies in the UK and Ireland was conducted in April and May 2026. Respondents were split between B2B and B2C CMOs. The research was conducted using an online survey by Coleman Parkes on behalf of Salesforce.
