2025 Wrap-Up & What Tech Leaders are Planning in 2026 w/ Lisa Martin

2025 was the year AI stopped being a "lab project" and started doing real work.

In this year-end wrap-up, Kevin sits down with fellow podcast host Lisa Martin (CMOs Unscripted) to compare notes on the dozens of conversations they've had with founders, marketers, and executives over the last 12 months. They unpack how the winners of 2025 moved from "AI washing" to execution, finally ditching vanity metrics for board-ready ROI.

Looking ahead to 2026, the duo debates the next frontier: Agentic AI. Lisa—a former NASA scientist turned agency leader—explains why the next wave of AI isn't a tool you use, but a workforce you hire, and why successful teams are now onboarding these "agents" just like human employees.

Key Observations from 2025 & 2026:

• The Speed Advantage: Why product-led companies with embedded AI moved significantly faster than their peers in 2025.
• The "Agent as Employee" Shift: Why forward-thinking organizations are no longer just deploying AI tools, but onboarding autonomous agents with specific roles and bias training.
• Marketing as an Operating System: The emerging trend where integrated marketing is being used to unify Sales, Product, and Comms around a single financial narrative.
• The Complexity Reality: Lisa’s observation on why the fragmented, non-linear buyer journey makes B2B marketing a "harder science" than her work at NASA.
• The Media Pivot: Why a growing number of executives are leaving traditional operator roles to become "media-first" leaders who ship content directly to the market.

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Lisa Martin: LinkedIn Profile
• Podcast: CMOs Unscripted
• Kevin Kerner: LinkedIn Profile
• Mighty & True

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