It’s time to go beyond the AI-hype and dig into what it really is: an inflection point reshaping the foundations of how we work, compete, and create value. “Inflection point” is a term that gets throw around a lot, just like AI. But today we’re here to unpack it’s current trajectory, the undeniable transformation still to come, and how AI is moving from niche academic pursuit to a force that will touch every industry, role, and operating model.

AI is poised to create new winners and losers faster than the digital transformation wave of the 2010s. Those who wait for “the AI cavalry” to arrive risk getting left behind, as competitors rapidly reimagine processes, customer experiences, and go-to-market strategies. The risk is clear: wait too long, and you’ll be left behind.

Paul Gottsegen, President and CMO of ISG, has been in AI since the early days. He’s seen hype cycles come and go, and knows how to tell what’s real from what’s noise. In this episode, he shares what today’s leaders must do to spot big shifts, act with speed, and avoid costly mistakes:

• Winners vs. losers: How AI adoption is already separating forward-thinking enterprises from those clinging to outdated models.
• The “Berlin Wall” effect: How sudden shifts dismantle entrenched paradigms and open unexpected opportunities.
• Operational reinvention: Why leaders should “fire” existing processes (not people) and rebuild operating models for an AI-first world.
• Avoid the AI-washing trap: How to weave AI into your value proposition authentically without relying on empty buzzwords.
• Empower your whole team: Making AI literacy non-optional so every function can identify and exploit its highest-value use cases.

About the Guest

Meet Paul Gottsegen, the rule-breaking marketing strategist who thrives when swimming against the current. As President and Chief Marketing Officer of ISG, Paul orchestrates the firm's global marketing efforts while maintaining his role as Chair of ISG Research—a division he propelled to unprecedented success from 2019 to 2023.

Paul isn't your typical executive. His upcoming book, "(Sort of) Do The Opposite: Unlocking Opportunity by Overruling Conventional Wisdom" (Manuscripts Press, 2025), reveals the contrarian mindset that has defined his remarkable career arc—from pioneering the first network servers to transforming global enterprises.

While marketing remains his "center of gravity," Paul's versatility as a leader who has commanded large sales teams and shouldered full P&L responsibility sets him apart in the corporate landscape. His marketing alchemy has revitalized industry giants, including complete branding transformations at Mindtree and Infosys. Earlier, he shaped enterprise marketing strategies at technology powerhouses HP, Dell, and Compaq.

Beyond the boardroom, Paul channels his leadership into meaningful causes as Board Chair of the Gastric Cancer Foundation. His unique blend of technical expertise (B.S. in Computer Science from Brandeis University) and business acumen (MBA from The Wharton School) forms the foundation of his distinctive approach to challenging business orthodoxy.

Growth Driver is powered by Intelligent Demand, a 2X company. Visit 2x.marketing to learn more about how they can help your organization hit its growth goals.

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How do you redesign your marketing operating model to align with modern growth strategies—without blowing up your team or budget? In this episode of Growth Driver, we dive deep into one of the most overlooked yet mission-critical challenges facing B2B marketing and revenue leaders: marketing org transformation. Host John Common and guest Jen Ross examine why even the most hard-working and well-intentioned marketing teams are falling short—not because of effort, but because their org model wasn’t built for today’s fast-changing environment. The truth? Efficient growth starts not with more tactics, but with rethinking how your team is structured, enabled, and resourced to deliver cross-functional outcomes.

Jen and John walk through the signals that it's time to reevaluate your org—like skill gaps, bottlenecks, and constant fire drills—and lay out a smarter path forward. That means moving beyond reactive hiring, legacy structures, and blunt cost-cutting, and instead designing an operating model grounded in business goals, scalable capabilities, and true alignment across marketing, sales, and customer success. From pilot programs to new models like Marketing-as-a-Service, this conversation arms leaders with the tools to drive both agility and accountability across their revenue engine.

Jennifer Ross brings unmatched insight to this conversation, having advised hundreds of CMOs and now helping organizations execute marketing transformation from both the strategic and operational side. As Executive VP of Marketing Strategy at 2X, she knows firsthand how to operationalize marketing for impact—bridging the gap between strategy and execution. Whether your company is navigating flat budgets, new markets, or just trying to unlock better performance from your team, Jen shares how to think differently about your org—and how to lead meaningful, lasting change.

As an accomplished B2B Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Executive Advisor, Jennifer brings over three decades of expertise to the dynamic realm of business-to-business marketing. A trailblazer in innovative strategies, her journey is marked by an unwavering commitment to excellence and thought leadership, shaping transformative approaches in B2B marketing.

Jennifer is an influential author, thought leader, and sought-after keynote speaker on B2B marketing best practices. With a fervor for future-proofing marketing functions, she guides teams to navigate the ever-changing, complex B2B landscape.

As Fractional CMO and Executive Director of Marketing Strategy at 2X, Jennifer draws upon her extensive background to pinpoint the capabilities, competencies, strategies, and operating models essential for 2X and its valued customers. Her goal is to facilitate exceptional experiences that not only enhance customer value but also drive accelerated growth.

Jennifer's leadership extends to her tenure at Forrester (formerly SiriusDecisions), where she led the B2B CMO Service. In this global research and advisory firm, she and her team served as trusted personal advisors to leading global CMOs, offering actionable intelligence, transformative frameworks, and expert industry guidance. Their collaborative efforts empowered marketing, product, and sales leaders to align with precision, accelerate growth, and execute audience-centric go-to-market strategies.

Growth Driver is powered by Intelligent Demand, a 2X company. Visit intelligentdemand.com to learn more about how they can help your organization hit its growth goals.

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The reality for most B2B organizations is that go-to-market teams—marketing, sales, customer success—are still operating in silos, creating inefficiencies that hurt pipeline conversion and customer experience. RevOps is the unlock. Today we’re digging into how RevOps has become the critical, behind-the-scenes growth driver for today’s B2B enterprises. When executed well, it transforms disconnected technology, data, and processes into a well-orchestrated system that ensures the right signals reach the right people at the right time.

But implementing RevOps isn’t just about adding a new role or department—it’s about enabling your entire revenue organization to work as one. Companies that successfully move beyond RevOps curiosity to capability build what Evan Liang calls a “coalition of the willing,” aligning leaders across departments around shared goals and a unified tech and data strategy. This approach not only reduces friction between teams but also eliminates wasted effort—whether it’s lost leads, duplicated outreach, or missed opportunities to engage key decision-makers in a buying group. And the result? A smarter, more efficient revenue engine that drives better growth outcomes with less waste.

To help break it all down, we’re joined by Evan Liang, CEO and co-founder of LeanData. Evan has spent over a decade helping B2B organizations master revenue orchestration, moving beyond outdated MQL-based models to a more intelligent, signal-driven approach. In this conversation, he shares the key trends shaping RevOps today, the biggest mistakes companies make when structuring their revenue teams, and why RevOps leaders are becoming the future CROs.

About the Guest

Evan Liang is the Co-founder and CEO of LeanData. Prior to launching LeanData in 2012, Evan worked in product, strategy, and business development roles at Microsoft, Ebay, Caring.com and Smart Modular Technologies as well as associate positions with venture capital firms Shasta Ventures and Battery Ventures. Evan is often credited with pioneering revenue operations.

Growth Driver is powered by Intelligent Demand, a 2X company. Visit intelligentdemand.com to learn more about how they can help your organization hit its growth goals.

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