AI for CMOs Summit
Oct. 5, 2027

A CMO-Focused Experience at MAICON 2027

AI for CMOs Summit 2026 at MAICON

AI for CMOs: An Executive Experience at MAICON


Designed for marketing leaders navigating what AI means for their organizations, teams, and growth.

AI for CMOs brings together CMOs and senior marketing executives for a dedicated experience within MAICON 2027.

Beginning with an exclusive pre-conference summit, the experience continues throughout MAICON with curated programming, meaningful peer connections, and opportunities for candid conversations about the decisions shaping the future of marketing.

Connect with leaders facing similar challenges, exchange perspectives, and explore how AI is reshaping marketing strategy, operations, and leadership.

The AI for CMOs experience kicks off the evening of Monday, Oct. 4, and continues throughout MAICON 2027.

What You'll Experience

  • A clear, executive-level view of where AI is headed in marketing
  • Insights from CMOs actively leading AI initiatives
  • Peer discussions around real-world challenges and priorities
  • Time to connect with other senior leaders in a more focused setting

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2027 AGENDA COMING SOON - See the 2026 AI for CMOs Summit Agenda

MONDAY, October 12, 2026, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Start the AI for CMOs Summit with an intimate reception designed to bring CMOs together before the program begins. Meet the leaders who will be part of the experience, get settled in, and build early connections before heading into the Summit and MAICON together.

Attendance is limited to AI for CMOs Summit pass holders.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Join a curated group of CMOs for a private Summit focused on the leadership challenges and opportunities created by AI. Through peer discussions and executive-level conversations, attendees will explore how other marketing leaders are approaching AI strategy, adoption, organizational change, and the future of marketing.
Attendance is limited to approved participants who meet the Summit criteria and are registered with an AI for CMOs Summit Pass.
Summit Agenda
 
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
Networking Breakfast
Before programming begins, introduce yourself and share one AI decision you’re wrestling with heading into 2027.
9:00 AM
9:05 AM
Welcome + CMO Summit Framing
Kick off the CMO Summit with an introduction to the day’s agenda, themes, and conversations ahead. This opening session will set the stage for a candid, peer-driven experience focused on the decisions, challenges, and opportunities shaping marketing leadership in the age of AI.
CM
Cathy McPhillips
SmarterX
9:05 AM
9:30 AM
State of AI for CMOs
Explore the forces reshaping marketing leadership heading into 2027, from the rapid acceleration of AI capabilities and changing economics to evolving organizational models and shifts in customer behavior. This focused briefing will give marketing leaders the context they need to understand what’s changing, what it means for their organizations, and where to focus next.
PR
Paul Roetzer
SmarterX
9:30 AM
10:10 AM
The 2027 CMO Budget: What Are You Cutting, Funding and Defending?
AI is forcing CMOs to rethink where marketing dollars go, from headcount and agencies to technology, media, brand and new AI capabilities. In this candid conversation, marketing leaders compare the assumptions behind their 2027 plans: what they are investing in, what they are cutting, which AI bets have earned continued funding and what they are prepared to defend when the CFO or board pushes back.
MH
Matt Heinz
Heinz Marketing
SL
Sara Larsen
Wolters Kluwer
JG
Jen Griffin-Smith
Acquia
PJ
Patricia Jurca
KeyBank
10:10 AM
10:35 AM
From 42% to > 90% AI Adoption: What Baptist Health Learned Along the Way
Most organizations can get employees to experiment with AI. Far fewer can make it part of how work actually gets done. At Baptist Health, daily AI use across a 115-person Marketing & Communications team grew from 42% to > 90% in just over a year. Christine Kotler will unpack what changed behind those numbers: the leadership decisions, learning model, guardrails, workflow changes and manager behaviors that helped adoption take hold, along with what proved harder than expected, what still cannot be fully measured and what she would do differently if starting again today.
CK
Christine Kotler
Baptist Health
10:35 AM
10:50 AM
Break
Take a break to recharge, grab a coffee, and connect with fellow marketing leaders before the next session.
10:50 AM
11:30 AM
AI-Enabled Capacity: What Will You Do With It?
AI is beginning to create meaningful new capacity across marketing. The harder question for CMOs is what to do with it. Do you reinvest that capacity into growth, new capabilities, and more ambitious work? Use it to reduce costs and simplify how work gets done? Or raise expectations for what the existing organization can deliver?
In this candid conversation, marketing leaders will compare how AI is changing team expectations, hiring priorities, workflows, agency relationships and investment decisions. They’ll share where productivity gains are showing up, where they are choosing to reinvest them, and how they are thinking about the evolving role of human talent as AI takes on more of the work.
LS
Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone
Wonder Consulting
AD
Andy DeLaO
GE Healthcare
RR
Robin Ross
Costco
KH
Kelly Hopping
6sense
11:30 AM
12:00 PM
The Decisions That Define 2027
After a morning focused on what is changing across marketing leadership and what those shifts mean for the CMO, the conversation turns to the decisions that come next. In this interactive closing session, CMOs will compare the priorities, tradeoffs, and unresolved questions they are carrying into 2027, then surface the ideas and tensions they believe will matter most in the year ahead.
CM
Cathy McPhillips
SmarterX
12:00 PM
Closing Remarks
Cathy McPhillips · SmarterX
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
CMO Networking Lunch
Continue the conversations from the CMO Summit over lunch with fellow marketing leaders. Build new connections, exchange perspectives, and dig deeper into the ideas and challenges surfaced throughout the morning.
Please note: Agenda is subject to change.

Who Should Attend

  • Chief Marketing Officers
  • VPs of Marketing
  • Senior marketing leaders at enterprise organizations

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Event Details

  • Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland (MAICON)
  • Oct. 5, 2027, 9:00am - 12:00pm
  • Private AI for CMOs Summit networking reception the evening prior
  • Private breakfast and lunch on Summit Day
  • Reserved VIP seating at MAICON
  • CMO Lunch on Day 2 of MAICON
  • VIP Lounge Access
  • Featured Speaker Meet + Greet
  • Includes access to MAICON Main Conference*

*This is a curated experience for CMOs and senior marketing leaders. Registrations are reviewed within 30 days of submission. If the Summit isn’t the right fit for your role, you’ll receive a refund for the AI for CMOs Summit. 

This package option does NOT include a Tuesday workshop, but workshops can be added on during registration.

Why Attend


The AI for CMOs Summit creates a focused environment for senior marketing leaders.

It’s an opportunity to:

  • Learn how peers are actually implementing AI
  • Compare approaches and priorities
  • Build relationships with other marketing executives

Spots are limited to maintain a strong peer group of senior marketing leaders.

 

Register for the AI for CMOs Experience at MAICON 2027

The AI for CMOs Summit Experience is designed specifically for CMOs and senior leaders to engage in candid, peer-level conversations and gain perspective on how others are leading AI across their organizations.

REGISTER FOR MAICON 2027

This experience is intentionally limited to ensure a high-quality peer group of CMOs and senior marketing leaders.
We curate attendance to maintain the integrity of the conversations and connections.