How the modern CMO Is reinventing B2B growth strategy in the age of AI

When I was invited to speak at Rutgers University, I wanted to go beyond trends and buzzwords–especially for MBA students trying to grow their careers in this era of rapid change. This presentation: “AI, Attention, and Authority: How the Modern CMO Is Reinventing B2B Growth Strategy” is based on what I’m seeing and hearing every day working with high-growth startups, enterprise CMOs, and private equity-backed GTM teams.

My goal was simple: to help the next generation of marketers understand why the old playbooks are breaking—and what leaders must do now to build high-impact, AI-powered, buyer-centric growth engines.

This isn’t just a theory. It’s a call to action for anyone shaping the future of B2B—from aspiring marketers at Rutgers to C-suite leaders navigating transformation today.

Let’s dive into the key ideas I shared during my talk; embedded slides and a downloadable pdf are available at the end of this post.

The role of the CMO has never been more dynamic, or more critical, or more misunderstood. As we face a perfect storm of AI disruption, shifting buyer demographics, and increased budget scrutiny, traditional B2B marketing playbooks are rapidly becoming obsolete.

This summary is an outline of how today’s marketing leaders must shed outdated metrics and embrace modern, AI-powered go-to-market strategies to drive growth, trust, and customer connection.

1. The Fall of the MQL Era

The traditional reliance on Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), gated content, and lead scoring is collapsing. Why? Because they generate:

• Low conversion rates
• Poor alignment between sales and marketing
• A disjointed and intrusive customer experience

A growing “Anti-MQL” movement calls for abandoning vanity metrics in favor of:

• Product Qualified Leads (PQLs)
• Buying group signals (MQAs)
• Intent data and predictive analytics
• True revenue impact and pipeline growth

The goal is clear: shift from chasing leads to building trust and enabling buying.

2. The New CMO Mandate: Revenue + AI + Strategy

Modern CMOs are expected to:

• Drive revenue (not just leads)
• Orchestrate cross-functional GTM strategies
• Collaborate across product, sales, and CS
• Master AI fluency and deploy it across workflows

Yet, trust in marketing leadership is at historic lows, with only 32% of CEOs trusting their CMOs. To close this gap, CMOs must own more than the funnel, they must own commercial outcomes.

3. A New Generation of Buyers Has Arrived

Millennials and Gen Z now dominate B2B buying committees, bringing expectations of:

• Self-service, digital-first journeys
• Frictionless UX and mobile-native access
• Peer reviews and AI-assisted search
• Deep personalization and value alignment

Old-school outreach methods feel interruptive. Winning brands meet these buyers where they are, with authenticity, speed, and personalization.

4. AI as a Strategic Multiplier

AI is not just a buzzword, it’s transforming every stage of the marketing funnel. But success depends on intentional execution:

The 4 Stages of AI-Powered GTM:

1. Essentials: Establish foundational AI capabilities
2. Scaling: Deploy top-priority use cases
3. Leading: Build differentiated workflows
4. Transforming: Create a self-reinforcing flywheel between marketers and machines

Top CMOs are deploying AI in content, insights, personalization, and decision-making, backed by structured experimentation and real impact measurement.

5. Metrics That Matter

To secure budget and board trust, CMOs must focus on metrics that align with the business:

• Net Revenue Retention (NRR) – the top metric for sustainable growth
• EBITDA & Revenue Growth – indicators of operational and investor value
• Sales Pipeline Health – forward-looking insights into growth potential

New tools leveraging Causal AI and incrementality modeling help marketing leaders answer the hard questions: What’s actually working? Why? And what’s the real ROI?

6. The Rise of Composable, High-Leverage Teams

Big marketing teams are out. Composable, agile teams are in.

Forward-thinking CMOs are assembling:

• Freelance specialists for deep, flexible execution
• AI tools as creative and analytical copilots
• Fractional execs to provide strategic horsepower without full-time costs

This composable approach delivers speed, scale, and adaptability, especially critical for VC-backed startups, SaaS scaleups, and transformation-focused enterprises.

Final Takeaway

The future of B2B growth belongs to CMOs who:

• Lead with strategy and cross-functional alignment
• Integrate AI into marketing, sales, and CX
• Focus on revenue, not just reach
• Build adaptive, high-performance teams

Modern marketing isn’t about owning the funnel. It’s about earning influence across the entire customer journey, from the first click to long-term retention.

Presentation slide deck:

Here's a downloadable pdf for you to archive, share, or read later.