Growth Activated | The B2B Marketing Leadership Podcast

The 4 Mindset Shifts CMOs Need for AI Transformation - with Liza Adams

Mandy Hornaday Season 1 Episode 49

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0:00 | 49:42

In this conversation, Mandy sits down with Liza Adams — former CMO, Human+AI org advisor, and one of the clearest voices on AI transformation in marketing — to unpack the four mindset shifts every marketing leader needs before AI can actually move the business. They go deep on what real AI transformation looks like inside a marketing org: how to scale beyond Q&A into orchestrated workflows, how to navigate AI sprawl, and how to lead change inside a quarterly pressure cooker without losing your people in the process.

Liza Adams is the founder of GrowthPath Partners and a recognized leader in AI transformation for go-to-market teams — named one of the 50 CMOs to Watch and a Pavilion Fractional/Advisor of the Year Finalist. Her engineering background plus multi-decade GTM expertise gives her a uniquely pragmatic lens on AI adoption. Her bi-weekly newsletter is required reading for marketing leaders operationalizing AI inside their organizations.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why "people-first, AI-forward" is the principle that should anchor every AI decision
  • The four mindset shifts CMOs need to unlock real AI transformation
  • Why "doing more with less" is the floor of AI value, not the ceiling
  • How to move from democratized building to orchestrated AI workflows (and avoid AI sprawl)
  • A simple framework for thinking about AI risk so governance protects — rather than blocks — your team
  • The "law of thirds" Liza uses to lead AI transformation without burning out trying to bring everyone along

RESOURCES:

  • Connect with Liza Adams on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizaadams
  • GrowthPath Partners (Liza’s newsletter & advisory): https://www.growthpath.net
  • Referenced episode: AI Agents and the Future of Marketing Teams — My Weekend Hackathon Wake-Up Call (E39)

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Growth Activated is produced by Mandy Hornaday.

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