AI for CMOs Summit

Pre-Conference Summit
for Marketing Leaders

Built for CMOs navigating what AI means for their teams, strategy, and growth.

As part of MAICON 2026, we’re bringing together a dedicated group of CMOs and senior marketing leaders for a focused summit on how CMOs are approaching AI right now.

This is a space designed specifically for marketing executives.

It’s a chance to meet before the broader conference and engage in conversations with peers facing similar experiences and decisions.

The AI for CMOs Summit takes place the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 13.

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

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.

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.

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.

Matt Heinz

Heinz Marketing

Sara Larsen

Wolters Kluwer

Jen Griffin-Smith

Acquia

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.

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.

Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone

Wonder Consulting

Andy DeLaO

GE Healthcare

Robin Ross

Costco

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.

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.

Event Details

Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland (MAICON)
Oct. 13, 2026, 8:30am - 12pm
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
AI Mastery Member Lounge Access
$900 add-on to MAICON main conference pass*

*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.

Why Attend

With 2,500 marketing and business leaders and practitioners convening in Cleveland for MAICON 2026, this AI for CMOs Summit creates a more 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 AI for CMOs Summit and MAICON 2026

The AI for CMOs Summit is a $900 add-on to your MAICON main conference pass, 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.

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

AI for CMOs Summit
Oct. 13, 2026

A CMO-Focused Experience at MAICON 2026

Pre-Conference Summit
for Marketing Leaders

The AI for CMOs Summit takes place the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 13.

What You'll Experience