March 21, 2025
In the AI Race for CMOs, It’s “Ostriches and Wolves”
Spencer Stuart’s Chief Marketing Officer Practice recently sat down for a lively conversation with Vikrant Batra, former CMO at HP and co-founder of Maximon Tech, a leading AI marketing training and transformation company. There are “ostriches,” he told us — proverbial heads in the sand, afraid of what AI means for the work they need to do — and there are “wolves,” who see an enormous opportunity and are aggressively driving AI initiatives. Few leaders today are “wolves,” he said, but the number is rising.
“People are starting to wake up and realize that we need a strategic way to integrate AI,” Batra told us. “The next phase is going to be: Give me an entire transformation. We’ve moved on from the learning phase and now really want to do something.”
Below we look at four takeaways from our conversation with Batra.
1. Solving the “cold start problem”
For many leaders today, the problem with AI is at the outset: They don’t know where to begin. As a result, many companies are engaging in what are best termed “random acts of AI” rather than structured initiatives, based on a clear and strategic framework that aligns with broader organizational goals.
The “random acts” are being adopted in some cases because of the strong pressure CMOs are feeling from stakeholders demanding that they incorporate AI into their marketing strategies.
2. Understanding AI’s transformational opportunity
Batra noted that among the “wolves,” are two different types — first, the ones who are adopting AI simply to optimize costs and increase efficiency in a quicker period of time, and those who see AI as a transformational opportunity to completely rethink marketing.
The transformational opportunity is right there in the very underpinnings of artificial intelligence, Batra noted. Large language models (LLMs) are trained on words and images — on content. These are the fundamental building blocks of marketing. It stands to reason that marketing itself is poised for a major transformation.
3. Getting fluent in AI
One surprising thing we’ve seen in our work as advisers to C-suites and boards is how few CMO job specs mention AI at all in their descriptions. But it’s clear that future CMOs will need to be fluent in technology, and in AI in particular. Knowledge and hands-on experience with AI tools are essential for leadership candidates to stay relevant and drive innovation in their organizations. As Batra noted, the best way to understand AI is to use AI, and more CMOs need to be using AI in their day-to-day work and in their lives.
While concerns about AI backlash still linger, Batra believes the real issue is enabling teams with the skills and tools to create better quality from AI-generated content. “This is why we focus on training, transformation and tools at Maximon,” Batra noted. “It’s the combination of all three that gives our clients the ability to make AI effective and impactful in their organizations.”
4. Tapping into human creativity
Creativity and emotional intelligence remain critical marketing capabilities — and they remain human-centered skills for the time being. Computers on their own can’t replicate humans’ nuanced understanding of effective marketing campaigns. However, humans working collaboratively with AI can do more than either of them could do on their own. Human creativity alongside AI capabilities points to a future where collaboration between AI and marketing professionals is essential. The thing is: That future is now.
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When it comes to AI, CMOs face a crossroads: embrace the technology with confidence (the “wolf”), or risk being left behind (“ostrich”). The key will be embracing collaboration between human creativity and AI in order to innovate and elevate marketing efforts.