Adam Brotman and Andy Sack | Co-Founders, Forum3 | It's a Bird! It's a Plane! Holy Sh!t, It's AI!

A CMO Confidential Interview with Andy Sack and Adam Brotman, Co-Founders and Co-CEO's of Forum 3, authors of the book AI First, previously at Microsoft and Starbucks. They discuss why AI is different from previous technology advances and the series of "Holy Shit!" moments experienced when interviewing Sam Altman, Bill Gates and others. Key topics include: their belief that AI is "moving faster than you think" since it isn't constrained by an adoption curve or infrastructure; the power of Artificial General Intelligence which will be smarter than most experts; why trying to calculate the ROI of AI is comparable to measuring the return on electricity; and the possibility of 95% of marketing and agency jobs being impacted over the next 5 years. Tune in to hear how Chat GPT scored a top grade on the AP Biology Exam, how Moderna became an AI leader, and their tips for staying near the front of the wave.This week on CMO Confidential, host Mike Linton sits down with Adam Brotman, former Chief Digital Officer of Starbucks and co-CEO of J.Crew, and Andy Sack, venture capitalist and Managing Partner at Keen Capital. Together they co-authored AI First and co-founded Forum3, a company on a mission to educate businesses on how to thrive in the AI era.In this episode, Adam and Andy recount their interviews with leaders like Sam Altman, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman—and unpack why we are at a true “Holy Sh*t Moment” in technology.Learn how generative AI is poised to replace 95% of marketing tasks, what agentic AI means for the future of work, and why marketers need to shift from campaign thinking to orchestration and system design—fast.Topics Covered: • What Adam and Andy learned from interviewing tech’s top minds • Why artificial general intelligence (AGI) is closer than you think • How AI tools will transform agency and in-house marketing roles • Why marketers must experiment now—or risk irrelevance • The unexpected productivity ROI of adopting AI toolsThis episode isn’t just about AI—it’s about how business leaders and marketers must transform to remain relevant in the age of exponential change.00:00 - Intro & AI-Powered Marketing by Publicis Sapient 01:42 - Welcome + Adam Brotman & Andy Sack intro 04:45 - Why “AI First” started as “Our AI Journey” 08:13 - The “Holy Sh*t” moment explained 10:00 - Interviewing Sam Altman and the AGI revelation 15:50 - Bill Gates’ AI holy sh*t moment 20:30 - What AGI means for marketers and agencies 25:20 - Agentic AI and spinning up marketing agents 30:40 - Consumer behavior and synthetic influencers 34:50 - How agencies must evolve or die 38:20 - The case study of Moderna's AI-first approach 41:00 - Evaluating AI vendors + building internal councils 45:10 - The ROI of AI: Productivity & Unlocks 49:00 - Playbook for becoming an AI-first org 52:30 - Funny poker shirt story + parting advice 56:00 - Closing thoughts and next episode teaser #GenerativeAI #CMOConfidential #AdamBrotman #AndySack #Forum3 #MarketingAI #AIInMarketing #AIRevolution #HolyShitMoment #AIFirst #SamAltman #BillGates #AGI #MarketingPodcast #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #AIProductivity #ChiefMarketingOfficer #CMOLife #AIPlaybook #MarketingLeadership #AIForBusinessSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What this episode covers

They discuss why AI is different from previous technology advances and the series of "Holy Shit!" moments experienced when interviewing Sam Altman, Bill Gates and others. Key topics include: their belief that AI is "moving faster than you think" since it isn't constrained by an adoption curve or infrastructure; the power of Artificial General Intelligence which will be smarter than most experts; why trying to calculate the ROI of AI is comparable to measuring the return on electricity; and the possibility of 95% of marketing and agency jobs being impacted over the next 5 years.

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This episode was published on July 8, 2025.

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