Great marketing leadership is not about playing it safe. It is about making confident decisions, questioning outdated assumptions, and being willing to do things differently when the old playbook no longer works.
The leaders featured here are doing exactly that. They are not chasing trends or copying what worked five years ago. They are setting direction, making hard calls, and shaping how marketing shows up inside large, complex organizations.
These twenty six marketing leaders represent different industries, roles, and perspectives, but they share a common trait. They are willing to challenge convention and lead with intention. To keep the focus on their work rather than comparison, the list appears in alphabetical order.
Their leadership offers a clear signal of where marketing is headed in 2026 and why bold thinking matters more than ever.
26 Marketing Leaders to Follow in 2026
Anna Griffin
Chief Market Officer, Commvault
LinkedIn
Anna doesn’t just market. She galvanizes. Her work at Commvault shows how strategic storytelling and crisp execution can shift perception and drive transformation. The handful of best-in-class marketing awards under her belt should be enough to convince you – Anna’s the real deal.
Ariel Kelman
President & CMO, Salesforce
LinkedIn
Ariel leads with intention and heart, bringing a clear, values-driven perspective to enterprise marketing. At Salesforce, his work shows how trust, culture, and thoughtful storytelling can scale without losing their humanity. He’s a steady, thoughtful voice in a space that often forgets the people behind the platform.
Aurelie Guerrieri
Chief Marketing & Alliances Officer, DataDome
LinkedIn
With expertise spanning B2B, B2C, and even B2B2C brands, Aurelie offers a refreshing clarity to your LinkedIn feed, offering sharp insights to guide any marketing strategy. Her work helps demystify digital protection in an age of increasing complexity
Carrie Palin
CMO, Cisco
LinkedIn
Heading up the marketing for one of the biggest, most impactful companies in the industry, Carrie’s learned a thing or two – and Cisco’s behemoth of a global brand reflects that. Her leadership spans everything from global campaigns to inclusive team building, and she serves as incredible inspiration for any woman climbing the ladder of success in our industry.
Chris Koehler
CMO, Twilio
LinkedIn
There are some marketers who live behind a computer screen, operating from a purely numbers-based standpoint and calling it good enough. Chris isn’t one of them. He’s on the ground, constantly innovating new ideas for Twilio’s ever-expanding brand and using his hands-on experience to guide every strategic decision.
Colin Fleming
CMO, ServiceNow
LinkedIn
In Colin’s own words, he’s spent his career figuring out what works and rethinking what doesn’t. Now, he’s the brand-builder behind one of the most important enterprise brands of a modern, AI-driven era. He scales his storytelling with soul and strategy, refusing to play it safe and always advocating for bigger, bolder ideas.
Danielle Guzman
Enterprise Head of Social Media, Marsh McLennan
LinkedIn
Danielle has a unique ability to blend storytelling with strategy at scale. She’s passionate about humanizing B2B, building communities, and keeping brand voice consistent and impactful across global platforms.
Diane Brode
Senior Director, Global Partner Marketing, Dell Technologies
LinkedIn
Diane is a true source of inspiration for any leader (or aspiring!) in the industry. She leads with clarity, purpose, and passion, offering a deep understanding of how integrated storytelling drives rock-solid brand loyalty. As a result, Dell Technologies is a shining star in the B2B marketing landscape. Take notes.
Gabie Boko
CMO, NetApp
LinkedIn
With more than 25 years of experience in the B2B space, Gabie has learned to lead with empathy. Her marketing mindset blends enterprise wisdom with startup agility, helping NetApp show up with impact across every channel.
Jennifer Chase
Executive VP & CMO, SAS
LinkedIn
Driven by a strong belief in the power of technology to create genuine, positive change in the world, Jenn is a powerhouse when it comes to analytics marketing. At SAS, she brings analytical rigor and inspiring leadership to every program, helping teams turn data into precise direction.
Jirina Yates
CMO, Alteryx
LinkedIn
It’s no surprise that Jirina was named one of the top 100 Global B2B CMOs. Her demand-gen chops and commitment to inclusivity are reshaping how data companies connect with real business users.
Joyce Hwang
Head of Marketing, Dropbox
LinkedIn
Dropbox aims to create a more enlightened way of working – and for her part, Joyce aims to create a more enlightened way of marketing. Her strategies are as clear as they are compelling, and her work at Dropbox helps position collaboration as the real driving force behind business transformation.
Julia White
VP & CMO, AWS
LinkedIn
Julia leads global marketing at AWS, where she focuses on helping enterprises navigate complexity and make confident decisions about cloud and AI. Her leadership emphasizes clear storytelling, customer trust, and disciplined execution at scale, positioning AWS as a long-term partner for organizations undergoing digital transformation.
Katie Foote
CMO, CaptivateIQ
LinkedIn
Katie is all about growth, growth, growth – which makes her a great source of inspiration for customer-centric B2B marketing that truly moves the needle.
Kimberly Storin
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Zoom
LinkedIn
Kimberly understands that above all else, effective marketing is about connection. This understanding has allowed her to evolve Zoom from a simple meeting tool to a full-scale communications platform that businesses can’t live without. Her strategic leadership brings both consistency and creative spark to every touchpoint.
Lara Hood Balazs
Executive VP & CMO, Global Marketing, Adobe
LinkedIn
At Adobe, Lara is steering one of the most respected brands in tech with creativity and conviction. Her customer-centric, data-driven work has allowed Adobe to both soar and maintain altitude.
MariCarmen Ribes Espinosa
Marketing Director, Kyndryl
LinkedIn
MariCarmen is helping turn one of the world’s largest IT services firms into a marketing powerhouse. Her collaborative approach to brand-building means that her marketing strategies are deeply aligned with customer needs, culturally resonant, and built to scale across global markets.
Mika Yamamoto
Chief Customer & Marketing Officer, Freshworks
LinkedIn
For a refreshing dose of passion in your feed, give Mika a follow. While she approaches every strategy from a technical experience standpoint, she never loses sight of the overarching goal, which is, of course, to drive authentic, genuine connections between a brand and its customers.
Patricia Harris
CMO, Blue Yonder
LinkedIn
Patricia’s marketing leadership at Blue Yonder is rooted in precision, purpose, and a deep understanding of what today’s enterprise buyers really need. With future-focused messaging and sharp execution, she’s helping brands navigate change with the confidence and clarity they need.
Sally Croft
SVP of Global Marketing, Amadeus
LinkedIn
Sally’s curious nature and relentless optimism allows her to approach B2B marketing from an angle most wouldn’t consider. The work, Sally says, is B2B – but the conversations happening within the industry are all person to person. As a result, her leadership focuses on empowering people first, creating marketing that’s rooted in empathy, driven by insight, and designed to build genuine connection at every touchpoint.
Sangeeta Prasad
CMO, Slalom
LinkedIn
Sangeeta brings a quiet confidence and a strong point of view to her work at Slalom. She believes that marketing should reflect the values of the company it represents —inside and out. Through a mix of thoughtful storytelling, inclusive leadership, and a deep focus on community, Sangeeta is building a brand that prioritizes connection over convention.
Sarah Kennedy Ellis
VP Global Marketing, Google Cloud & Google Workspace, Google
LinkedIn
Sarah leads with heart, utilizing a bold, growth-focused mindset to help redefine the marketing at Google Cloud. She’s got a true eye for innovation, and keeps a sharp focus on AI-powered programs in order to build a future-proof marketing engine that always delivers.
Shannon Sullivan Duffy
CMO, Okta
LinkedIn
Shannon is a master of narrative. Her belief that authenticity is king when it comes to successful marketing has served her well – just take a look at how Asana’s brand has grown in her tenure. She leads Asana’s brand with empathy and insight, helping teams around the world see the power of purposeful collaboration.
Sumit Virmani
Global CMO, Infosys
LinkedIn
Sumit’s global perspective allows him to connect the dots between innovation, scale, and human impact. His leadership at Infosys is grounded in the belief that great marketing doesn’t just tell a story; it enables transformation. With an eye toward the future and a deep respect for the customer journey, Sumit builds marketing programs that resonate across borders, industries, and cultures.
Takeshi Numoto
EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft
LinkedIn
After a successful career in international government, Takeshi is now steering one of the most influential enterprise brands on the planet. With a product-first lens and a passion for innovation, his leadership connects marketing strategy directly to customer outcomes.
Zeynep Inanoglu Ozdemir, PhD
CMO, Atlassian
LinkedIn
Zeynep is something of a unicorn in the B2B marketing landscape, utilizing her PhD in Machine Learning to elevate her marketing strategies to incredible heights. Her award-winning dissertation, ”Data-Driven Emotion Conversion in Spoken English,” laid the foundation for her scientific approach to brand marketing. At Atlassian, she champions data-led creativity with a focus on authentic, developer-first communication.
Why Bold Leadership Will Define Marketing in 2026
What connects these leaders is not their titles, industries, or backgrounds. It is their willingness to challenge convention and make confident decisions when the path forward is not obvious. They are setting direction, questioning outdated assumptions, and reshaping how marketing shows up inside complex organizations.
At Onalytica, this belief sits at the core of our work. As we look toward 2026, progress will come from marketing leaders who are willing to be bold, rethink the rules, and lead with intention rather than habit.
If this perspective resonates, you can explore more of this thinking in our B2Bold on-demand summit, where marketing leaders share how they are breaking from legacy playbooks and moving the industry forward.
We would love to hear from you. Which marketing leaders are shaping how you think about what comes next?