AI, Outsourcing, and Modern Marketing Leadership with CMO Lisa Cole (Ep 62)

What happens when marketing becomes responsible for everything, but doesn’t have the systems, workflows, or structure to keep up?In this episode of The Marketing Share, Alec Cheung and Barb VanSomeren talk with Lisa Cole, CMO of 2X, about what modern marketing leadership actually looks like inside today’s B2B organizations.Lisa has spent her career helping marketing teams transform from overwhelmed “order takers” into revenue-driving functions. After advising CMOs for more than 16 years and leading multiple marketing transformations herself, she now helps companies rethink how marketing work gets done in the age of AI.The conversation explores why many marketing teams are still stuck in outdated operating models, how AI is changing both the buyer journey and the way campaigns are executed, and why workflows, not just tools, are becoming the real competitive advantage.Lisa also shares practical frameworks for deciding what marketing teams should own internally, what can be outsourced, and where AI can actually create meaningful impact without creating more chaos.If you’re leading marketing, building a team, or trying to figure out how AI fits into your organization beyond the hype, this episode is for you!Timestamps00:00 Introduction 02:55 Lisa’s path from sales to CMO leadership 05:45 Why marketers struggle with outsourcing 08:00 The growing complexity of modern marketing 11:10 From “order taking” to revenue-driving marketing 15:00 The hidden work consuming marketing teams 18:35 Why workflows matter more than org charts 21:15 How AI is reshaping marketing operations 24:05 The problem with “random acts of AI” 26:20 Lisa’s “Own, Outsource, Automate” framework 28:00 How AI is changing buyer behavior and search 30:45 The new importance of community and credibility 32:10 Why PR and thought leadership matter again 37:10 What companies misunderstand about AI costs 42:15 Where outsourcing and AI work best together 45:10 What 2X actually does for marketing teamsConnect with the hosts:👉 Barb VanSomeren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbvansomeren/👉 Alec Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleccheung/Connect with the Podcast Manager 👉 Cinthya Zeledón: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthyazeledon/Explore the video content of each podcast episode on YouTube Want to be a guest on The Marketing Share Podcast?  Send us your bio and proposed interview topic to [email protected], and our Podcast Manager will get back to you.