In Focus: Martech Thinkers Shaping Next-Gen Conversations
This Martech Day, Martechvibe launches what aims to be a listening list of thinkers who are actively shaping the martech discourse, including but not limited to how AI is applied across stacks and adds customer value.
For much of modern marketing history, the frameworks shaping how organisations think about growth, technology, and customer engagement came from a relatively narrow set of disciplines.
Martech evolved quickly, but the strategic thinking behind it often lagged behind the speed of change. That is now shifting.
On Martech Day, Martechvibe highlights a new generation of voices whose work sits at the intersection of AI, marketing technology, data science, and revenue operations.
These thinkers are actively shaping how it is applied across martech stacks, customer journeys, analytics systems, and go-to-market execution.
This series aims to serve as a sounding board for diverse schools of thought at a moment when multiple disruptions seem to converge.
Here are 25 experts working at the forefront of AI in marketing…
Aleyda Solís
Aleyda Solis is an international SEO and AI search optimisation consultant with 18+ years of experience. Founder of Orainti, she advises global brands on scalable growth. She also runs SEOFOMO and AI-focused newsletters and created leading learning platforms like LearningSEO.io and LearningAIsearch.com.
Ann Handley is a pioneering digital marketer and content leader. As Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, she helps brands rethink storytelling in the AI era. A bestselling author of Everybody Writes, she is a globally recognised speaker shaping modern content and AI-driven marketing strategies.
Ari Paparo is a digital advertising veteran with over two decades of experience. Founder of Marketecture and former CEO of Beeswax, he analyses adtech and AI trends through his podcast and newsletter, helping marketers understand evolving technologies and their impact on modern marketing.
Avinash Kaushik is a marketing analytics and AI strategist focused on incrementality and data-driven decision frameworks. At Human Made Machine, he develops frameworks like See-Think-Do-Care. A former Google executive, he helps brands apply AI, analytics, and marketing strategy to drive measurable outcomes.
Ayesha Khanna is an AI entrepreneur and CEO of Addo AI, helping organisations turn data and AI into business value. She serves on multiple boards and advocates for women in tech. She also founded Amplify, an AI activation lab focused on practical AI skills and workforce transformation in marketing and beyond.
Brian Solis is Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and a globally recognised futurist and author. He studies digital disruption, AI, and transformation, helping leaders navigate change. A 9x bestselling author and keynote speaker, he explores the future of agentic enterprises and marketing in the AI era.
Cassie Kozyrkov is CEO of Data Scientific and a former Chief Decision Scientist at Google. She advises leaders at NASA, Lenovo, and Gucci, and trained 20,000+ Googlers in AI-driven decision-making. A top AI educator and speaker, she helps organisations apply data science to marketing and strategy.
Christopher Penn is an internationally recognised keynote speaker and AI marketing expert. As Co-Founder of Trust Insights, he helps brands apply AI to analytics, content, and strategy. An early AI practitioner, he translates complex concepts into practical marketing use cases with measurable business impact.
Darrell Alfonso is a Martech leader, speaker, and co-host of the Humans of Martech podcast. He specialises in marketing operations and AI-driven marketing strategy. A former Amazon & Marketo leader, he advises on scalable MOPs systems and shares insights through his Marketing Operations Leader newsletter and industry speaking.
Dharmesh Shah is Co-Founder and CTO of HubSpot, and a leading voice in inbound marketing. He co-authored Inbound Marketing and founded OnStartups. An active investor and speaker, he focuses on startups, marketing innovation, and how AI is reshaping growth, culture, and customer engagement.
Frans Riemersma is a Martech analyst and consultant specialising in aligning marketing technology stacks with business value. As Founder of MartechTribe, he uses large-scale martech data and AI insights to optimise ROI. He co-authors the State of Martech report and advises global brands on strategy and stack efficiency.
Greg Kihlstrom is a consultant, advisor, and speaker focused on marketing technology, AI, and customer experience. Founder of The Agile Brand, he helps enterprises adopt agile and AI-driven marketing. He advises Fortune 100 companies on personalisation, orchestration, and marketing transformation at scale.
Jim Sterne is a marketing analytics pioneer and the founder of Coastal Intelligence. With 40+ years in marketing, he focuses on analytics, AI, and customer relationships. He founded the Marketing Analytics Summit and Digital Analytics Association, and advises brands on applying AI to improve marketing performance.
Katie King is a global AI strategist, author, and keynote speaker specialising in AI for marketing, sales, and CX. With 35+ years of consulting experience, she advises organisations like SAP and Deloitte. She focuses on actionable AI frameworks, generative optimisation, ethics, and the future of work in marketing.
Neil Perkin is an AI strategist, keynote speaker, and author focused on AI-driven marketing transformation and organisational agility. Founder of Only Dead Fish, he advises global brands on applying AI strategically across marketing, leadership, and operating models to enable adaptive, data-driven organisations.
Pam Didner is a B2B marketing strategist and consultant focused on aligning sales and marketing with AI-driven workflows. She works with enterprise teams on revenue operations, MQL alignment, and AI adoption. An author and speaker, she helps organisations connect marketing activity directly to revenue outcomes.
Paul Roetzer is Founder and CEO of Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX; co-author of Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing and the Future of Business; host of The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast; and creator of the MAICON. As a speaker, Roetzer is focused on making AI approachable and actionable for marketers.
Rana el Kaliouby is an AI scientist, investor, and Co-Founder of Affectiva. A pioneer in human-centric AI, she focuses on ethical and responsible applications of AI across industries. She invests in early-stage startups and explores AI’s impact on creativity, work, and society through her podcast Pioneers of AI.
Ricky Ray Butler is a technology & AI marketing leader with 20 years of experience across the creator economy and media. As CEO of Revmatics, he focuses on predictive intelligence and performance optimisation. Formerly at BENlabs, he advanced AI-driven brand integration and influencer marketing at scale.
Ronald van Loon is an AI and data strategist helping enterprise leaders make structured decisions around GenAI and agentic AI. As CEO of Intelligent World, he focuses on AI governance, vendor evaluation, and decision frameworks for scalable enterprise marketing and technology adoption.
Sangram Vajre is CEO of GTM Partners and a leading go-to-market strategist focused on AI-driven growth. Former co-founder of Terminus, he built scalable ABM systems and authored MOVE. He advises executives on GTM alignment, helping organisations translate strategy into revenue outcomes in modern marketing.
Scott Brinker is an Analyst & Advisor at chiefmartec. He explores the intersection of marketing, technology, and AI ecosystems. Known for the ChiefMartec blog and MarTech landscape, he co-authors the State of Martech report and shapes global thinking on marketing technology and AI-driven transformation.
Tom Burrell is a retention and CRM consultant specialising in AI-driven lifecycle marketing. With 26 years of experience in subscription and recurring-revenue businesses, he helps brands improve engagement, churn prediction, and LTV. He focuses on applying agentic AI to personalise journeys & scale retention strategies.
Tom Roach is VP Brand Strategy at Jellyfish and a brand strategist focused on marketing effectiveness. With 20+ years in leading agencies, he specialises in creativity, brand growth, and strategy. He explores how AI and effectiveness frameworks improve marketing impact and long-term commercial value.
Zeeshan Usmani is a data and AI leader with 15+ years of experience driving enterprise AI transformation. His experience with many large and medium-sized brands focuses on social and headless commerce, influencer networks, scenario planning, analytics, customer segmentation, and AI-heavy marketing applications.
