FINITE: B2B Marketing Podcast for Tech, Software & SaaS

The traditional CMO career path is disappearing. Senior marketers are now expected to be strategists and builders - able to vibe code landing pages, wire up automations, understand agents, and ship prototypes alongside leading teams and shaping narrative. So what does a successful marketing leader actually look like in 2026?In this episode of the Finite Podcast, Jodi Norris sits down with Kat Wendelstadt to unpack how AI, economic pressure, and changing expectations are reshaping marketing leadership. They explore why director and CMO roles are getting rarer, why salaries in some areas are dropping, and how AI is simultaneously shrinking team sizes and raising the bar for individual marketers.Kat Wendelstadt is a seasoned go-to-market leader and startup advisor with a track record of scaling companies from early stage to billion-dollar valuations. A former GTM lead at Microsoft and three-time CMO, she has co-founded and advised ventures backed by investors including Sam Altman, Bill Gates, and the venture firm Founders Fund. She now leads marketing at Electric Twin, where she focuses on bringing its AI-driven synthetic audience technology to market.  Kat shares how she’s rebuilt her own skill set to stay ahead — from going deep on one AI platform, to building plugins and automations herself, to rethinking how and when to hire humans versus agents. She talks candidly about cognitive load, burnout risk, and why “having options” should be the north star of every marketer’s career.If you want to stay employable (and in demand) as a modern marketing leader, this conversation is a must-listen.

In this episode of the FINITE Podcast, Jodi sits down with the brilliant Dario Debarbieri, CMO at HCL Software. With a career at the intersection of marketing and AI, Dario offers a candid look at the Intelligence Economy and what it means for the modern B2B marketer.We explore a world where artificial intelligence interacts with audiences in real-time, reading the sentiment of minute digital movements to deliver personalized content in exactly the right context. Dario explains why the traditional 4 Ps of strategy may now matter less than your data quality, and why marketers must evolve from artists into engineers to survive.Key topics covered in this episode include:The Intelligence Economy: Why data is the new oil and how to use the right tools to extract and refine it.Marketers as Engineers: How the role of the marketer is shifting toward technical precision and data science.Context is King: Moving beyond simple demographics to understand the situational context of your buyer.The Ethics of AI: Navigating the fine line between helpful personalization and creepy intrusion (e.g., following a customer to their Alexa at bedtime).Listen to the full episode to hear how hyper-personalization is setting companies apart and how you can prepare for a future where AI is the norm.

Kris Rudeegraap, co-founder and co-CEO of Sendoso, who scaled a gifting automation platform from sales roots to community-driven growth. He explains tiered community structures, certification that boosts spend, automating job-change outreach for high response, and using peer-to-peer interactions plus life-moment gifting to build lasting customer relationships.

Kate O’Keeffe, CEO and co-founder of Heatseeker and former Cisco innovation lead, builds synthetic data tools for marketers. She explains creating digital twins of customer segments, turning behavioral signals and calls into interactive personas. Conversation covers pitfalls of biased training data, how to run rapid experiments, and using synthetics to align teams and de‑risk bold marketing moves.

How do you move from simply using AI to truly integrating it into your workforce? In this episode, Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek, CMO of Sitecore, introduces her philosophy of Designed Intelligence - the intentional choreography between human creativity and AI capability.Michelle breaks down why the future of marketing isn't about chasing cost efficiencies, but about scaling empathy and connection. She shares how Sitecore is evolving its org charts into agile squads, the shift from personalised to "permissioned" marketing, and why curiosity is the most important skill for the modern marketer. Discover how to treat AI as a teammate rather than a tool to build deeper trust with your audience.Inside this episode:The Human-AI-Human Model: Why humans must lead the strategy, AI must accelerate the output, and humans must provide the final review.Organisational Evolution: Moving from channel silos to agile squads supported by "AI teammates."Permissioned vs. Personalised: How to maintain brand authenticity and trust in an era of industrial-scale synthetic media.The Future of the CMO: Shifting from a campaign engine to a real-time experience engine.

Andy Lambert, a former entrepreneur and now Principal Product Manager at Adobe, dives into the evolving world of B2B marketing. He discusses the shift from traditional influencers to personality-led growth, emphasizing genuine advocacy over mere audience size. Andy shares hard-earned lessons from his time at ContentCal, including a costly paid media mistake and the success of community partnerships. He highlights the importance of long-term creator relationships and how Adobe integrates their products into creators' workflows for authentic marketing.

This week, we get meta, discussing the strategy and execution behind high-impact B2B podcasts. Jodi speaks with Anne Feuss, Co-founder of PodPeople, an agency that produces top-ranking shows for clients like Google and HBO.Anne offers actionable insights on how B2B brands can stand out in a noisy market. We cover key topics, including:Finding the right host and hook to make technical content compelling.The essential move from audio-only to video-first podcasting.Tying content efforts to commercial impact and pipeline growth.Learn the current trends B2B audiences demand and how to evolve your content strategy from basic to best-in-class.

Deema Tamimi, VP Marketing at The Brief and seasoned tech marketer, dives into the essence of humanizing B2B branding amidst an AI-dominated landscape. She shares insights on how companies can go beyond the typical 'About Us' pages, infusing authenticity and artistry into their messaging. Deema discusses the delicate balance between leveraging AI for efficiency while retaining human trust. She also highlights the importance of real stories and faces in content, emphasizing that creativity should reclaim its place in marketing.

Steffen Hedebrandt, CMO and co-founder of Dreamdata, brings his 15 years of B2B marketing experience to the table. He shares a contrarian growth playbook, highlighting how 'unserious' content like memes can boost serious results. Discover the art of leveraging LinkedIn for organic growth and the power of employee advocacy. Steffen also dives into measuring true ROI, the lengthy B2B buying journey, and the rising importance of AI in content strategy. His insights provide fresh tactics for marketers looking to break free from cookie-cutter approaches.

Will Gardiner, our guest today, has a theory: The tactics used in successful marketing today are based on the strong fundamentals of old school PR! He’s got the experience to prove it. Will Gardiner is VP of Marketing at Vertice, the UK’s fastest growing scale-up in 2025. They’re growing fast, and it’s not just because of a good product or positioning. Will’s approach to marketing prioritises high-quality, resonant thought leadership across all digital channels. He employs creativity, data, and emerging channels such as influencer marketing to achieve immense marketing impact. You’ll learn from a marketer cracking the code for growth in 2025, with tactical tips for your own strategy.