We recently launched a new research report about the intersection of B2B thought leadership, content and influence. In true TopRank Marketing fashion, we’ve “walking the talk” by collaborating with influential voices on our research report content and we’re creating space to recognize the pros that are advancing the practice of thought leadership every day.
A HUGE THANK YOU to the B2B marketing and thought leadership pros who contributed to, Answer Engine: The State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026. Here are those contributors and excerpts of the insights they shared in the report.
“Research gives you the evidence for your point of view and ensures it’s relevant to your audience. Without that foundation, you’re just publishing opinion.”
Cindy Anderson
CMO,
IBM Institute for Business Value
Co-author of The ROI of Thought Leadership
/in/clwanderson480/
“Data alone isn’t enough. The real skill is taking complex research and distilling it into frameworks people can actually use.”
Ty Heath
Director, Market Engagement, at The B2B Institute,
LinkedIn
/in/tyronaheath/
“The most effective leaders connect the dots to align brand strategy, buyer intelligence, and channel execution around a unified narrative. When thought leadership becomes the platform that ties it all together, every asset works harder.”
Janine Wegner
Global Integrated Thought Leadership Strategist,
Dell Technologies
/in/janinewegner/
“Thought leadership isn’t just data or expertise; it’s emotion with integrity attached to vision and direction. It’s showing people there’s a human on the other side who actually gives a damn.”
Brian Solis
Head of Global Innovation,
ServiceNow
/in/briansolis/
“The most trusted thought leadership comes from people and brands that show up consistently with fact-based insights that help readers think differently.”
Jeanne Hopkins
Vice President, Marketing
XTIUM
/in/jeannehopkins/
“Whether it’s a short video, an interactive data story, or a live event, experiential content builds trust and credibility in ways that a whitepaper never could. It’s what turns insight into influence.”
Tequia Burt
Founder,
The Influence Lab
/in/tequiaburt/
“We anchor our activation around a core report, then build a vast content ecosystem to drive traffic and showcase insights. Strong thought leadership provides an insight-driven framework that fuels channels well beyond launch.”
Jillian Ryan
Senior Manager,
Content Marketing Strategy
Intuit Mailchimp
/in/jillianryanwriter/
“To prove the value of thought leadership and to surface insights for optimizations, two things are crucial: unified analytics and a measurement model that translates multiple signals into a cohesive view.”
Jane Bartel
Director, Search & Content Marketing,
TopRank Marketing
/in/janebartel/
If you’re looking for even more great sources of B2B marketing expertise and experience on the topic of thought leadership, here is a group of
21 B2B thought leadership professionals to follow on LinkedIn:
Allen Webb
Managing Director and Insights Leader, Global Thought Leadership
PwC
/in/allen-webb-8ab696/
Anthony Marshall
Chair of the Board of Advisors, Global Thought Leadership Institute
Senior Research Director, Thought Leadership
IBM Institute for Business Value
/in/anthonyejmarshall/
David Dankwa
Thought Leadership Senior Manager
Protiviti
/in/david-dankwa-0413681/
Francis Hintermann
Global Research Executive Director
Accenture
/in/francis-hintermann-243a9a1/
Karen Feldman
SVP, Chief Marketing Officer
Iron Mountain
/in/karen-feldman-217440/
Kate Houston
Head of Global Marketing
Executive Thought Leadership Programs
Amazon Web Services
/in/kateebingham/
Kevin Kailath
Group Marketing Manager, Integrated Marketing
Sales Enablement & Thought Leadership
LinkedIn
/in/kevinkailath/
Lucia Rahilly
Global Editorial Director & Deputy Publisher
McKinsey & Company
/in/luciarahilly/
Lynne LaCascia
Global Head of Brand, Creative, Content, Thought Leadership & Research
Cognizant
/in/lynnelacascia/
Mara Stefan
VP of Global Insights
ManpowerGroup
/in/marastefan/
Matthew Loys Duncan
Head of Thought Leadership on the Future of Work
Microsoft
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewloysduncan/
Melissa Catelli
Global Head of Brand, Content and Editorial Strategy
AECOM
/in/melissa-catelli/
Michael Brenner
VP, Thought Leadership & Customer Advocacy
Workday
/in/michaelbrenner/
Peter Linder
Head of Thought Leadership Americas
Ericsson
/in/peterglinder/
Savannah House-Lundberg
Senior Manager, Thought Leadership Marketing
Autodesk
/in/savannahdhouse/
Sheila Bernus Dowd
Director, Content Marketing
Thought Leadership Content Intelligence, Activation and Operations
ServiceNow
/in/sheilabernusdowd/
Sonja Jacob
Thought Leadership & Content Strategy Leader
Cisco
/in/sonjajacob/
Stephen Seemer
Senior Director, Thought Leadership Content and Strategic Relations
Thomson Reuters
/in/stephen-seemer-51087b13/
Suzanne Rose
Senior Marketing Manager
TCS Thought Leadership Institute
Tata Consultancy Services
/in/suzannerose/
Toneisha Smith
Executive & Thought Leadership Communications
Enterprise Innovation, Digital and Data Science
Merck
/in/toneishasmith/
Yadin Porter de León
Director, Customer Marketing and Thought Leadership
Heroku
/in/porterdeleon/
As you work to elevate your thought leadership and original research content marketing efforts, be sure to follow these experts for insight, inspiration and expertise.
For insights from 797 other B2B marketing professionals on thought leadership for full funnel marketing, be sure to check out the full report, Answer Engine: The State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026.
If you prefer a format that’s downloadable, let us know where to send the PDF of the Answer Engine B2B Thought Leadership report and its companion Best Answer Marketing Playbook.
About the author
Lee Odden has been recognized as a top B2B Marketing professional by Forbes, The Economist and the Wall Street Journal. For over 20 years he’s worked with his team at TopRank Marketing to help elevate the B2B marketing industry through creative marketing programs that deliver more authentic, experiential and inclusive content for brands like LinkedIn, Dell and Adobe. Lee is the author of Optimize and has published over 1.4 million words on his agency’s B2B marketing blog. As a trusted marketing thought leader, he has given nearly 300 presentations in 20 different countries on B2B content, search and influencer marketing. When not marketing, Lee is probably running, cooking or traveling.
