New skills, new mindset: Leading marketing in an AI future
MARKET VIEW
Sponsored by:
Produced by:
Mario Escudero
Global Business Leader at Royal Philips
about
Mario Escudero
Mario Escudero is Global Business Leader for Restful Families at Royal Philips, where he oversees strategic direction and innovation for the company's mother and childcare portfolio. His career spans senior marketing and general management roles at Kimberly Clark, where he managed major consumer brands including Huggies and Kleenex. Mario has also been involved in AI-focused startups, including one using large language models for marketing planning optimisation. He brings a distinctive perspective that combines deep consumer goods experience with practical knowledge of AI implementation.
Where does your marketing organisation sit regarding AI adoption, and what's shaping your current approach?
We are embracing AI and running with it. There is considerable energy, enthusiasm and organisational commitment to embedding AI and developing our people's capabilities in this area. The conditions are promising.
What shapes our approach is a clear conviction that AI represents a permanent shift in how we work. There is no established playbook for this – success depends on sound change management principles: bringing people along, communicating the rationale for change, and demonstrating commitment through action. Training, skills development, practical experience and recognition of early achievements all contribute.
I see parallels with e-commerce adoption twenty years ago. Early adopters led the way, formal education followed, and eventually we stopped distinguishing between offline and online – it simply became omnichannel. AI will follow the same trajectory. Within two to three years, it will be integrated into standard ways of working rather than treated as something separate.
As AI handles more routine tasks, where do you see marketing adding the most value?
AI excels at handling administrative and process-driven activities. This creates space for marketers to focus on what should always have been central to the discipline, but was often constrained by operational demands and internal processes. The priority is genuine consumer-centricity – spending time with consumers, shoppers and customers rather than at a desk. As John Le Carré observed, a desk is a very dangerous place from which to see the world.
AI enables skilled marketers to concentrate on the distinctly human capabilities that remain irreplaceable: judgement, taste, ethics and intuition. The most effective marketers will use AI to redirect their time and attention toward what genuinely creates value – keeping the consumer at the centre of every decision. Those who cannot make this shift will find themselves increasingly challenged.
How is AI changing collaboration between marketing and other functions?
AI will boost collaboration by accelerating the way different functions partner with each other. Results will be attained faster, and hence the benefits of working together will grow exponentially as AI facilitates synergies of knowledge between different functions.
Consider reframing how marketing contributes: alongside an innovation pipeline, what if there were a margin pipeline or revenue growth pipeline? This is where marketing begins speaking the same language as general management and commercial leadership. Similarly, there is natural tension between marketing's preference for product variants and supply chain's drive for standardisation. Finding the right balance requires collaborative analysis.
AI enables rapid scenario modelling with varying assumptions. Cross-functional teams can now work through multiple scenarios in hours rather than waiting weeks for analytical support. This allows real-time challenging of assumptions, consideration of different perspectives, and alignment around solutions that optimise for company-wide outcomes rather than departmental priorities.
What is the most significant shift you see in how consumers discover and interact with brands?
More and more consumers start their shopping journey using some sort of AI tool. In this sense, LLMs are challenging the likes of Google and Amazon. Some data suggests that at least half of shopping journeys now involve interaction with an AI tool at some point, whether as the starting point or as a validation step. This is the most significant shift in how consumers discover and interact with brands.
This shift requires better understanding of how large language models formulate product recommendations. AI operates differently than the traditional search algorithms which requires understanding that winning in SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) may look different vs. Winning in GEO (Gen AI Engine Optimisation). Ask ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for the best product in a category, and the response may not favour market leaders. Recommendations can draw from diverse sources – a Wikipedia article, a YouTube review, a discussion thread. The strategies that established search leadership will not automatically translate to AI visibility. This requires careful attention and new approaches.
What will separate marketing leaders who navigate this transformation successfully from those who struggle?
The distinction mirrors previous technology transitions – it comes down to whether individuals choose to lead change or resist it. This is fundamentally about mindset: curiosity versus apprehension, willingness to experiment versus waiting for certainty.
Leaders who embrace AI will become early adopters, accept that learning involves occasional missteps, and progressively build expertise. This is not determined by educational background, geography or industry sector. It depends entirely on one's orientation toward change and new ways of working. Those who demonstrate openness, confidence and willingness to act decisively will accelerate ahead of their peers.
Interestingly, early research suggested AI might narrow performance gaps by elevating lower performers. The evidence suggests otherwise – AI amplifies existing differences rather than equalising them. Those with a growth-oriented mindset extract greater value from these tools and extend their advantage. Intellectual curiosity and willingness to adapt will distinguish successful leaders from those who hesitate. In an environment where change is constant, these qualities become more valuable than specific technical knowledge.
about
Philips
Royal Philips is a global health technology company focused on improving people's health and wellbeing through meaningful innovation. With a portfolio spanning health systems, diagnosis and treatment, connected care and personal health products, Philips serves consumers and healthcare professionals worldwide. The company's baby care business provides products designed to support parents and infants, from feeding solutions to monitoring devices.
About 6sense
6sense is on a mission to revolutionise the way B2B organisations create revenue by predicting customers most likely to buy and recommending the best course of action to engage anonymous buying teams. 6sense Revenue AI is the only sales and marketing platform to unlock the ability to create, manage and convert high-quality pipeline to revenue. Customers report 2X increases in average contract value, 4X increases in win rate and 20-40% reduction in time to close deals. Know everything, do anything, with 6sense.