Gene Marks didn't set out to be an influencer. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and be a CPA. And he has been for more than 30 years, first at KPMG and now as President of his own business, The Marks Group.

But some years ago, he offered to write a regular business column for The Philadelphia Inquirer and thus began a whole new aspect of Gene's career. Now, in addition to the Inquirer, Gene writes for Forbes, Inc. and Entrepreneur, to name a few, appears regularly on TV, speaks upwards of 60 times a year, and boasts more than 130,000 online followers as one of the top B2B tech influencers in America. And yes, he's still a practicing CPA.

Gene joined us to discuss his evolution as an influencer, what he tells his clients about AI replacing workers, or not, as it were, and his days writing for the school paper at the oldest public high school in America, for this episode of Pressing Matters from Big Valley Marketing, the podcast that brings you conversations with top media and influencers in B2B tech.

I'm Dave Reddy, head of Big Valley Marketing's Media & Influencers practice, and I'm your host. Through research and good old-fashioned relationship building, we've identified B2B tech's top 200 media and influencers, including Gene.

Here's our chat. Enjoy.