Why are we still talking about CMOs as expendable at exactly the moment marketing is becoming more important to the business? Today's CMO is being asked to understand all of that plus digital, performance, customer experience, e-commerce, data, technology, AI, attribution, conversion and increasingly, the P&L. That's not a shrinking role. That's an expanding one. And perhaps that's part of the problem.

One of the hardest decisions a founder can make isn’t hiring someone. It’s admitting when the person who helped build the business is no longer the right person for the role. As companies grow, responsibilities evolve, expectations change, and the leadership that got you from A to B may not be what gets you from B to C. The challenge is knowing when to make the call, and having the courage to act on what you already know.

I've been noticing something in a lot of my conversations with founders lately. Marketing is making a comeback. Not brand marketing. Not performance marketing. Marketing. For a while, marketing became synonymous with brand. Then performance took over and suddenly everything was CAC, ROAS, conversion and attribution. I think the pendulum is swinging back.

Growth rarely happens inside your comfort zone. Looking back over 20 years, Ari shares three uncomfortable moments that shaped him as a founder, from confronting fear and getting fired to learning when to let go. Because sometimes the moments we'd rather forget are the ones that move us forward.

The future of business won't be shaped by technology alone. These three conversations explore why leadership, talent, and the people we choose to build with will define the companies that thrive in the years ahead.

What if the biggest risk in executive hiring isn't the candidate, but the leader making the decision? Inspired by new Wharton research, Ari examines how leadership bias shapes executive search, hiring, culture and organizational performance, and why understanding the founder is the first step to building exceptional leadership teams.

What if the biggest competitive advantage isn't your product or your strategy, but your self-awareness? In this personal reflection, Ari shares the entrepreneurial lessons that shaped his journey and why every executive search begins with understanding the founder before the hire.

Behind every Lion is a room full of people who challenged each other, refined the thinking, and stayed relentlessly focused on one idea. This year, it came down to the 3Cs : Collaboration, Creativity and Craft. And at the heart of it all, were marketers and agencies coming together to create magic. Because the best campaigns aren’t created by lone geniuses. It’s created by people who trust each other enough to challenge each other.

Conversations with founders, CEOs, and leaders highlight how AI and organizational change are reshaping how companies operate. Key themes include the difference between growth and scale, the need to redesign workflows before adopting AI, and the growing importance of cross-functional leadership. As execution becomes increasingly automated, leaders emphasize adaptability, stronger judgment, and the ability to align teams around outcomes rather than functions.

Is AI replacing Product Managers or redefining them? As AI takes over tasks like research, requirements gathering, and documentation, many Product Managers are questioning the future of their role. This article explores why Product Management isn't disappearing but evolving. The future belongs to strategic product leaders who can connect customer needs, business goals, and emerging technologies to drive meaningful outcomes.

Over the last few years, I've noticed something interesting after speaking with many startup founders and high-growth business leaders. Many founders tell me they're looking for a Product Manager. But after a 30-minute conversation, it often becomes obvious they're actually looking for something very different.

As startups race to build leaner, AI-enabled organizations, many may be overlooking a major long-term risk: the loss of future leadership pipelines. This article explores how the push for efficiency and senior-heavy teams could weaken innovation, adaptability, and mentorship opportunities over time. While AI is reshaping how companies operate, sustainable growth will depend on balancing automation and operational efficiency with continued investment in emerging talent and next-generation leaders.

Building High-Performance Teams Starts With Culture, Not Just Hiring. Building high-performance teams takes more than hiring great talent. In this conversation with Eve Remillard-Larose, former CEO of TBWA and Sid Lee Canada, we explore what actually builds strong teams from leadership alignment and onboarding to hiring for shared ambition, mindset, and culture fit. As organizations grow and evolve, the strongest cultures are built intentionally through clear standards, consistent leadership, and a people-first approach that prioritizes empathy, alignment, and long-term success over quick hiring decisions.

AI isn’t replacing people, it’s exposing how companies are built. In this piece, we explore what’s really shifting inside organizations as AI adoption accelerates, from changing hiring patterns and flatter teams to tighter capital and more selective decision making. What’s emerging is less replacement and more redesign, forcing companies to rethink structure, leadership, and what work actually matters, while elevating judgment and adaptability as the real competitive edge.

Founders are wired to move fast, but that instinct often works against them in hiring. What feels like strong gut instinct is usually driven by familiarity, comfort, or emotional patterns rather than true capability. As a result, many hiring decisions prioritize ease and alignment over challenge and impact, leading to missed signals and costly mistakes. The shift isn’t about ignoring instinct, it’s about becoming aware of it and hiring based on what the business actually needs.

Most companies are investing more into hiring than ever, yet outcomes aren’t improving because the real issue isn’t effort, it’s how roles are being defined. As AI accelerates business and reshapes skill requirements, organizations are still hiring based on static job descriptions and past experience, creating a growing disconnect between what they need and who they hire. The companies getting ahead are stepping back to define capability, not just fill roles, treating hiring as a strategic inflection point rather than a transactional process. The shift isn’t about finding the right candidate, it’s about understanding what the business actually needs next.

Most companies assume AI layoffs are about cutting costs, but the deeper shift is structural. Work is being unbundled, with AI taking over predictable tasks while human roles become more complex, judgment-driven, and focused on impact. AI isn’t replacing jobs, it’s redefining what’s worth hiring for. This article breaks down what’s actually driving these changes and why most organizations aren’t built for what comes next.

You can hire smart people and still struggle to scale. When progress doesn’t compound, the issue is rarely effort or talent. It’s leadership misalignment. As companies grow, unclear signals at the top fragment execution and slow decisions. Research highlighted by Workday shows that alignment and leadership compatibility matter more than structure or tools. The companies that scale efficiently aren’t those with the best resumes, but those where founder style and executive decision-making actually fit.

Hiring should feel easier than ever with more talent and more technology, yet founders say it is harder than it used to be. The reason is not recruiting, it is leadership. AI can automate tasks, but it cannot make strategic decisions. The most valuable leaders today combine creativity, judgment, and strategic thinking to guide teams and shape how work and AI are applied. In 2026, the real bottleneck is not execution, it is decision quality, and the companies that win will have stronger thinking at the top.

CMO turnover in scale-ups is high, with 12 to 24 months often cited in founder and boardroom circles. In my experience, this is rarely about capability and more often about mismatch. As growth pressure increases, marketing is no longer judged on brand lift alone but on revenue contribution, acquisition efficiency, and measurable business impact. The future CMO is not a brand steward but a growth operator, accountable for results.