Kicking off our first installment of B2B Marketers on the Move in 2026 is this Winter edition celebrating marketing leaders who have moved up or into new roles. This series is part of our continued effort to highlight trends in the marketing labor market and the individual B2B marketing leaders making moves in their careers.
In the 2025 editions of B2B MotM (Winter 25, Spring/Summer 25, Fall 25) marketing leadership hiring was pretty consistently focused on senior-level roles emphasizing investment in revenue accountability. Through the year we saw expansion of roles focused on integrated go-to-market strategy, ABM, digital transformation, data-driven performance, and AI-influenced marketing operations, alongside an emphasis on building or modernizing marketing functions from the ground up.
Now in 2026, AI has taken on an even more pervasive role with some interesting outcomes. Research from LinkedIn found that 95% of B2B marketers use AI at least weekly and 65% use it daily or more.
“95% of B2B marketers use AI at least weekly and 65% use it daily or more.” LinkedIn.
Focus on productivity has yielded gains in many areas but not across the board. A study from Workday, Beyond Productivity: Measuring the Real Value of AI, introduced the notion of an “AI tax”: for every 10 hours saved, nearly 4 hours are lost to fixing, clarifying, or rewriting content, reducing net value quite a bit. Their research found that only 14% of employees consistently achieve net-positive outcomes from AI use, meaning productivity improvements don’t always succeed at translating into better results. I talked with Workday VP of Thought Leadership Michael Brenner about this, see our podcast episode for details.
The takeaway is that B2B brands that focus first on investing in their people, then AI, see far more productive outcomes and team satisfaction. This is particularly important if we’re going to put confidence in things like Matt Shumer’s recent article about the transformation happening where AI is quickly evolving from a tool for efficiency to a system capable of independent judgment and “taste.” For B2B marketers in 2026, this means a shift where foundational skills like prompt engineering are being eclipsed by “narrative orchestration.” As agentic AI begins to independently execute complex, month-long projects that previously required senior-level human experts, there will be a growing importance for marketing leaders who can provide the human discernment and strategic governance AI can’t replicate. At least not yet.
Four AI focused trends for the B2B marketing labor market in 2026:
1. Strong demand for strategic, digital, analytics and AI-enabled marketing skills
Robert Half’s 2026 Demand for Skilled Talent report shows marketing leaders are prioritizing digital campaign execution, analytics, automation and marketing performance roles, with continued emphasis on AI-powered marketing, A/B testing, personalization and customer experience capabilities. Hiring brands seem confident about growth but say there are skills gaps and difficulty finding qualified candidates, which is pushing them to upskill current employees and use contract talent where needed.
2. AI adoption in marketing has become a baseline requirement
Despite AI implementation variances, research from Jasper, The State of AI in Marketing 2026, found that 91% of marketers are using AI and nearly all say access to AI influences employer preference. The expectation for AI competency is now integrated into an increasing number of marketing job expectations and talent investment decisions, which has elevated AI literacy as an important differentiator. The question remains, after the hire does the marketing operation and execution line up with those expectations for productivity, creativity and impact?
3. CMOs will need to bridge their AI blind spot
A pretty important leadership gap has is emerging as 65% of CMOs expect AI to disrupt their roles by 2026, yet only 32% believe they need significant personal skill updates. Gartner research highlights a “cognitive dissonance” where marketing leaders view AI as an operational efficiency tool to be managed by teams instead of a strategic growth lever they need to lead personally. This trend will have an important impact on executive marketing talent because by 2027, a lack of personal AI literacy is predicted to be a top-three reason for CMO replacement. This makes “leadership fluency” in AI and the ability to manage outputs and prioritize high-impact use cases are a non-negotiable requirement for senior marketing talent.
4. Skills-first hiring and upskilling
There has also been a trend towards skills-first hiring models and investment in organizational skills libraries, mapping skills to jobs, and embedding competency frameworks into talent systems. Mercer’s 2025/2026 Skills Snapshot Survey report shares that this focus represents a shift towards supporting marketing functions that are focused on strategy, data literacy, and cross-functional collaboration. This shift shows a growing appreciation for actual competencies over traditional credentials and those that elevate their AI fluency will be in a differentiated position to show advancement in high-demand skills. LinkedIn’s new Skills on the Rise report echos many of these with performance analysis, AI literacy, and team collaboration ranking in the top 10 skills for marketers.
In a market like this, advancement and movement is worth paying attention to as a reflection of the trends in skills and capabilities needed by B2B brands to create growth. To that end, I’ve been tracking my 1st and 2nd level connections on LinkedIn for career changes as a window into what’s in demand and the leaders advancing change in the B2B marketing space. The group below is a sample of the many B2B marketing leadership role changes in the past 3 months or less from my network.
A few insights about this group of B2B marketers:
- 31 are women
- 14 are people of color
- 16 are promotions or expanded roles within the current company
- 34 are new roles at different companies
Breakdown of B2B marketing job titles:
- 26 – Head/Director/Senior Director/Global Director: Includes roles with “Head of,” “Director,” “Senior Director,” and “Global Director.”
- 12 – VP: Vice President, and similar roles where VP is the primary title like “VP of Marketing”, “VP Global B2B Program Lead”.
- 5 – Chief-Level (CXO/CMO): “Chief Marketing Officer”.
- 4 – EVP/SVP/Group VP: “Executive Vice President”, “Senior Vice President”, “Group Vice President”.
- 2 – Manager/Senior Manager.
- 1 – “Lead Digital Customer Growth”.
As a B2B marketing agency focused on helping B2B companies become Best Answer Brands, the talent behind that evolution is more important than ever. Please join us in celebrating these B2B marketers on the move!
Tyrona Heath
Global Director, Thought Leadership, GTM Strategy at LinkedIn
My good friend Ty has stepped into a new role as Global Director, Thought Leadership, GTM Strategy at LinkedIn, expanding her impact from leading the The B2B Institute to shaping global go-to-market thought leadership strategy across the business.
/in/tyronaheath/
Sarah Groves
Vice President, Marketing & Communications at Concentra
Sarah has joined Concentra as Vice President of Marketing & Communications, taking on a senior leadership role to guide brand, reputation, and growth strategy for the national occupational health provider.
/in/sarah-s-groves/
Sunil Frida
Chief Marketing Officer at Zscaler
Sunil has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Zscaler, bringing his experience as SVP of Product Marketing and Analyst Relations at CrowdStrike to lead global marketing strategy for the cloud security leader.
/in/sunilfrida/
Rayna Naclerio
Director of Performance Marketing at ECI Software Solutions
Rayna has joined ECI Software Solutions as Director of Performance Marketing, stepping into a new company and leadership role to guide the performance marketing team into its next phase of growth and impact.
/in/raynanaclerio/
Michelle Ragusa-McBain
Global Channel Chief, VP of Channel Sales at Corero Network Security
Michelle has joined Corero Network Security as Global Channel Chief and VP of Channel Sales, taking on a new company and executive leadership role to drive worldwide channel strategy and partner growth.
/in/michelleragusamcbain/
James Montana-Pickering
Director, Product Marketing at Vizient, Inc
James has taken a new role at Vizient, Inc. as Director of Product Marketing, where he will focus on advancing healthcare outcomes through data-driven insights and strategic marketing initiatives.
/in/jmpickering/
Min-Jee Hwang
Director, Global Demand Generation & Customer Marketing at Sovos
Min-Jee has joined Sovos as Director of Global Demand Generation & Customer Marketing, bringing a growth-focused mindset to lead pipeline acceleration and customer engagement across global markets.
/in/minjeehwang/
Sean Wisdom
Vice President – Global Marketing at Chainalysis
Sean is now with Chainalysis as Vice President of Global Marketing, stepping into a new executive role to lead worldwide marketing strategy for the blockchain analytics leader.
/in/seanwisdom/
Michelle Blondin
Head of Demand & ABM at Kustomer
Michelle has been brought on by Kustomer as Head of Demand & ABM, taking on a new company leadership role to build a durable, signals-based revenue engine that drives predictable pipeline and scalable growth.
/in/michblondin/
Julie Zisman
Group Vice President, Engineered Sales and Marketing Programs at Oracle
Julie has been promoted to Group Vice President, Engineered Sales and Marketing Programs at Oracle, expanding her leadership to align engineered sales initiatives with integrated marketing programs across the organization.
/julie-zisman-769724/
Jon-Mikel Bailey
Director of Marketing Xecunet
Jon-Mikel has joined Xecunet, LLC as Director of Marketing, where he will work closely with executive leadership and CIOs to position proactive managed IT, secure cloud and data center solutions, and resilient communications infrastructure as strategic business enablers.
/in/jonmikelbailey/
Nakul Goyal
Chief Marketing Officer at CARFAX
Nakul has advanced to Chief Marketing Officer at CARFAX, where he now leads the broader marketing organization with a focus on elevating market position through strategic alignment of Consumer, Dealer, and Service Marketing.
/in/nakulgoyal/
Isaac Montoya
Manager, Regional Downstream Marketing at Thermo Fisher Scientific
Isaac has been promoted to Manager, Regional Downstream Marketing at Thermo Fisher Scientific, advancing his role in driving regional go-to-market strategy and customer-focused marketing initiatives within the organization.
/in/isaac-montoya-37a25a77/
Charlie Riley
VP of Marketing at InsurePay
Charlie has joined InsurePay as Vice President of Marketing, stepping into a new company leadership role to guide brand and growth strategy for the workers’ compensation payments provider.
/in/charlieriley/
Scott Neuman
Senior Vice President Corporate Marketing at Calix
Scott has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Calix, where he now leads global corporate marketing strategy across communications, digital engagement, event experience, and content development.
/in/scottneuman/
Chris Barnett
VP, Innovation & AI Strategy at Kobie
Chris has been promoted to VP of Innovation & AI Strategy at Kobie, expanding his leadership role to shape the company’s AI-driven innovation strategy and future-facing marketing capabilities.
/in/chrisjbarnett/
Lindsay Munro
Director of Social Operations, Response and Care at Adobe
Lindsay has taken on expanded responsibilities as Director of Social Operations, Response and Care at Adobe, where she now leads the company’s global social operating model spanning social operations, customer care, community management, product support, and brand protection.
/in/munrol/
Debra Jayson
Director of Marketing and Events at Littelfuse
Debra has been promoted to Director of Marketing and Events at Littelfuse, advancing her leadership role to guide integrated marketing initiatives and global event strategy.
/in/debrajayson/
Treasa Dovander
Head of Content & Dialogue at Stora Enso
Treasa has joined Stora Enso as Head of Content & Dialogue, stepping into a new leadership role to shape global content strategy and strengthen stakeholder engagement across the organization.
/in/treasadovander/
Debbie Kestin Schildkraut
VP, Global B2B Program Lead, CMO Global Growth Council at Association of National Advertisers
Debbie has expanded her role as VP, Global B2B Program Lead, CMO Global Growth Council at the Association of National Advertisers, where she works with cross-industry CMOs to advance the B2B marketing agenda through complex multi-stakeholder initiatives, strategic partnerships, and flagship events including the Global CMO Growth Council Summit and the B2B Forum at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
/in/debbie-kestin-schildkraut/
Robert Brittain
Global Marketing Director, Electronics at 3M
Robert has been promoted to Global Marketing Director, Electronics at 3M, where he works across the Electronics organization to advance marketing strategy for Consumer Electronics, Semiconductor, and Data Center markets.
/in/robert-brittain-msp/
Holly Meredith
Head of Marketing at Oscar Insurance
Holly has joined Oscar Insurance as Head of Marketing, stepping into a new company leadership role to guide brand, growth, and customer engagement strategy for the health insurance provider.
/in/hollymeredith/
Robin Kim
VP Global Communications at Shield AI
Robin has joined Shield AI as Vice President of Global Communications, stepping into a new leadership role to shape corporate narrative, media strategy, and global communications for the AI-driven defense innovator.
/in/robin-kim-701a689/
Dakota Shane Nunley
Director of Content Strategy at Demand.io
Now at Demand.io, Dakota has taken on the role of Director of Content Strategy, where he is leading authority-building initiatives in the AI era by blending traditional SEO with Answer Engine Optimization to ensure the company’s commerce expertise is discovered, trusted, and cited.
/in/dakota-shane-nunley-6b917867/
Leslie Jurgens
Senior Director Marketing & CRM Strategy at Bounteous
At Bounteous, Leslie has been promoted to Senior Director of Marketing & CRM Strategy, expanding her leadership across digital and web marketing, loyalty and direct programs, traditional and partnership marketing, as well as database analytics.
/in/lesliesmithers/
Deirdre Sullivan
Head of Content Head of Content at Smarsh
Deirdre has joined Smarsh as Head of Content, where she brings together content, SEO, and UX best practices with data-informed storytelling to drive traffic, revenue impact, and high-value customer engagement.
/in/deirdremsullivan/
Mark Milinkovich
Director of Product Marketing Director of Product Marketing at Arango
Mark has taken on a new role as Director of Product Marketing at Arango, joining the company to lead product positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategy for its graph and analytics solutions.
/in/markmilinkovich/
Torarie Durden
Vice President, Marketing at UPS Digital
Torarie has joined UPS as Vice President of Marketing for UPS Digital, where he is building the marketing function, commercial structure, and digital capabilities to support the company’s shipping insurance business.
/in/torariedurden/
Dagmara Szulce
Executive Vice President at Association Of National Advertisers
Dagmara has joined the Association of National Advertisers as Executive Vice President, bringing global leadership experience from her previous role as Global Managing Director of the International Advertising Association to advance the ANA’s B2B and global marketing initiatives.
/in/dagmaraszulce/
Dianne Bruno
Head of Global Channel and Field Marketing at Versa Networks
Dianne has joined Versa Networks as Head of Global Channel and Field Marketing, where she leads the planning, execution, and optimization of regional initiatives to drive pipeline creation and acceleration for the company’s SASE solutions.
/in/diannebruno/
Julia Monti
VP, B2B Marketing at Mastercard
Julia has been promoted to SVP, B2B Marketing at Mastercard, where she continues to elevate the brand and business through data-driven storytelling, strategic communications, and engagement with employees, customers, and industry influencers.
/in/juliamonti/
Brianna Neumann
Director, Brand Experience B2B at adidas
Brianna has joined adidas as Director of Brand Experience, B2B, taking on a new leadership role to shape how the global brand engages business customers through immersive and differentiated brand experiences.
/in/briannaneumann/
Elif Hız
Director, B2B Marketing Strategy at Concentrix
Elif has joined Concentrix as Director of B2B Marketing Strategy, where she defines and leads integrated growth strategies for enterprise and managed services clients.
/in/elifozgecanhiz/
LuJean Smith
Chief Marketing Officer at GlobalLogic
LuJean has stepped into the Chief Marketing Officer role at GlobalLogic, joining the organization to lead global marketing strategy and accelerate brand and growth initiatives worldwide.
/in/lujeansmith/
Ken Kundis
Chief Marketing Officer at CEI
Ken has joined CEI as Chief Marketing Officer, taking on a new executive leadership role to guide brand strategy and growth for the IT workforce solutions provider.
/in/kenkundis/
Claire Karjalainen
Senior Manager, Content Marketing at Motive
Claire has joined Motive as Senior Manager of Content Marketing, bringing a narrative- and revenue-focused approach to building content strategy, customer advocacy, and integrated campaign programs that drive measurable growth.
/in/clairekarj/
Ed Erdem Demirtas
Lead Digital Customer Growth – B2B at AT&T
Ed Erdem Demirtas has joined AT&T as Lead, Digital Customer Growth – B2B, where he is responsible for shaping the vision, strategy, and execution of ABM and digital marketing programs designed to accelerate customer acquisition and growth.
/in/erdemirtas/
Erica Mitchell
Director of Marketing for Enterprise Competitive Programs at ADP
Erica has joined ADP as Director of Marketing for Enterprise Competitive Programs, where she will lead strategic initiatives designed to strengthen competitive positioning and drive growth in the enterprise segment.
/in/erica-mitchell-9549aa1/
Sarah Peek
Director, Content Marketing at Island
Sarah has joined Island as Director of Content Marketing, stepping into a new leadership role to shape strategic storytelling and thought leadership for the enterprise browser innovator.
/in/swpeek/
Heather Bresnahan
Vice President Growth Marketing at Auctane
Heather has joined Auctane as Vice President of Growth Marketing, where she leads lifecycle, digital, and integrated marketing programs designed to accelerate growth through data-driven strategy and deeper customer engagement.
/in/heatherbresnahan/
Richard Maclachlan
Chief Marketing Officer at Granicus
Richard has stepped into the Chief Marketing Officer role at Granicus, joining the organization to lead global marketing strategy and advance its mission to power digital engagement for government and public sector organizations.
/in/richard-maclachlan/
Rob Patey
Director Content Marketing at Phenom
Rob has joined Phenom as Director of Content Marketing, where he will lead content strategy and storytelling to elevate the brand and drive demand across global talent acquisition audiences.
/in/robpatey/
Beverly Spaulding
Sr Director, Global Demand Generation at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
Beverly has joined Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence as Senior Director of Global Demand Generation, stepping into a new leadership role to drive pipeline growth and global campaign strategy across the manufacturing portfolio.
/in/beverly-spaulding/
Karen Naves
Vice President of AMER Marketing at UiPath
Karen has joined UiPath as Vice President of AMER Marketing, taking on a regional leadership role to drive growth, brand visibility, and pipeline performance across the Americas.
/in/knaves/
Mike Wallgren
Director of Lifecycle Marketing at Weave
Mike has joined Weave as Director of Lifecycle Marketing, where he will lead programs that strengthen customer engagement and drive retention, expansion, and long-term growth.
/in/mike-wallgren/
Nate Kristy
Vice President of Marketing – Americas at Infor
Nate has joined Infor as Vice President of Marketing for the Americas, where he will lead regional marketing strategy and execution to accelerate growth and strengthen market presence.
/in/natekristy/
Cari Wilber
Vice President, Marketing at World Wide Technology
At World Wide Technology, Cari has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing, where she now defines enterprise marketing strategy, strengthens global brand visibility, and drives conversion-focused growth initiatives across the organization.
/in/cari-w-16b1967/
TraKisha McNeil
Director of Marketing & Communications | Tech Talent Development at Morgan Stanley
Promoted within Morgan Stanley, TraKisha now serves as Director of Marketing & Communications for Tech Talent Development, leading the strategy and execution of campaigns that engage key audiences, advance business priorities, and elevate the firm’s brand presence.
/in/trakishamcneil/
Caroline Chow
Director of Growth Marketing at OneDigital
Caroline has been promoted to Director of Growth Marketing at OneDigital, where she builds and leads the marketing engines that power revenue growth across GTM strategy, demand generation, sales enablement, brand, and sales-marketing alignment.
/in/chowcaroline/
Shelby Hegy
Sr. Director of Marketing at PTC
Shelby has been elevated to Senior Director of Marketing at PTC, where she focuses on translating complex technology into compelling, customer-centric stories that accelerate engagement and business impact.
/in/shelbyhegy/
Congratulations to these B2B marketing leaders on advancing in their careers and helping elevate the industry!
Beyond B2B Marketing Podcast
As part of our continued effort to put a spotlight on talent in the B2B marketing world, be sure to listen, watch and subscribe to the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast where we interview top B2B marketing leaders to uncover break free strategies to go beyond the status quo to become Best Answer Brands.
