AI Reshaping CMO Role — and Giving Midsize Brands Like Bush Brothers an Edge

Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape how CPG companies plan, operate and allocate resources — and the shift is already redefining the role of the chief marketing officer, leaders from Bush Brothers & Co., Keen Decision Systems and Brand Surge Consulting said in a session during P2PI LIVE & Expo.

Panelists said shopper marketers should prepare for a future in which marketing decisions can no longer be made in isolation from supply, inventory or financial performance. Instead, AI-enabled systems will increasingly force alignment across functions — and elevate marketing leaders who can operate as enterprise-wide growth architects, not just brand storytellers.

Evolving CMO Responsibilities

Bradley Keefer, chief revenue officer at Keen Decision Systems, said companies adopting unified AI planning tools are already starting to pull marketing, finance and supply chain into a single decision-making framework. As that integration accelerates, he expects the traditional CMO role to evolve.

“We don’t need more AI marketing,” Keefer told attendees. “We need more understanding of how to operationalize AI across the organization.”

He pointed to the rise of chief growth officer and chief commercial officer roles as early signs of that shift — roles that blend analytics, profit and loss (P&L) responsibility and cross-functional collaboration.

Dan Hofmeister, CEO of Brand Surge Consulting, noted that many large CPGs face execution challenges because marketing and supply chain still operate under siloed systems with conflicting objectives. “You end up with all the best ingredients for a great pizza, and it may taste good, but it doesn’t look as good as it possibly could be,” he said.

The Midsize Brand Advantage

One of the strongest signals for shopper marketers: midcap challenger brands may be better positioned than large enterprises to capitalize on AI.

Keefer said these companies often see 100–300% improvements in net present value when adopting unified AI decisioning systems, compared with 10–30% at large enterprises. Their speed and comfort with experimentation and willingness to revise plans frequently are driving that performance.

Glen Ciborowski, vice president of analytics and insights, Bush Brothers, noted that legacy brands still benefit from scale, portfolio breadth and reach, but must balance “offense and defense” by maintaining awareness of new competitors and acting more dynamically in-market.