Marketing Vanguard – “How Rachel Thornton is Making Marketers 10x More Powerful at Adobe”

Host: Jenny Rooney (Adweek)
Guest: Rachel Thornton (CMO, Adobe Enterprise)
Event: World Economic Forum, Davos
Date: February 6, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Marketing Vanguard, recorded at the World Economic Forum in Davos, features a dynamic conversation with Rachel Thornton, CMO of Adobe Enterprise. Host Jenny Rooney and Rachel discuss the evolving role of CMOs, the real-time transformation of marketing through AI, the essential human element of creativity, and the ways marketers are being empowered at scale. The episode also captures takeaways from a unique gathering of CMOs across industries and highlights the importance of cross-functional collaboration and co-creation in contemporary marketing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Evolving Future of Marketing is Now

• Rachel Thornton: “The future of marketing is not really the future. It's sort of right now.” (00:30, 10:44)
  • Major shifts driven by AI are happening in real-time, fundamentally changing marketing workflows and efficiency.
  • AI is less about replacing creativity and more about removing scale and operational barriers to unleash marketers’ creative focus.

Amplifying Impact Through Cross-Industry Collaboration

• The Davos event convened CMOs from a diverse set of companies—Adobe, Microsoft, Ferragamo, Major League Baseball, Marriott, Marmot, Workday—bolstering cross-sector dialogue.
• Rachel Thornton: “It was fascinating to hear each of them… talk about not only how they're meeting this moment with marketing and AI and creativity, but also… how you're leading your teams, how you're experimenting, how you're leaning in on training for things like AI, but also how you're thinking about vulnerability and authenticity.” (02:05)
• Themes of leadership, experimentation, and especially vulnerability and authenticity were emphasized as keys to marketing success in disruptive times.

AI as an Augmenter, Not a Replacement

• Both Rachel and Jenny discussed how, while AI streamlines the production and deployment of assets and campaigns at a large scale, it’s human creativity that drives value and differentiation.
• Jenny Rooney: “Some people say it shouldn’t be called artificial intelligence, it should be called augmented intelligence… as an enabler.” (04:31)

Practical Application

• AI enables marketers to:
  • Translate and traffic creative ideas with global reach.
  • Generate and personalize assets efficiently (a critical need for global campaigns).
  • Use intelligent audience segmentation and optimization tools, freeing marketers to focus on higher-level strategy and deep customer insights.
• Rachel Thornton: “If you can say, great, there's an audience agent that can make recommendations… that's powerful because now the marketer is like, I now have the extra time to really think, how do I land this campaign? How do I land this experience?” (05:20)

Human Creativity and “Co-Creation”: Gen Z & Fan Engagement

• Emphasis on the “human at the center” philosophy—AI enhances but doesn’t replace human ingenuity.
• Younger generations (Gen Alpha/Gen Z) are increasingly participatory, seeking to co-create and personalize their interactions with brands.
  • Example: NFL and English Premier League using league content creators and fan-generated content to deepen engagement.
  • Rachel Thornton: “They feel like they're also contributing to your brand because they're engaging, they're consuming it, they're making it their own.” (12:47)
• This signals a shift for brands: customers are not just audiences, but collaborators.

The CMO’s Evolving Role: From Brand Guardian to Business Driver

• Communication with CEOs and CFOs is increasingly vital; CMOs must articulate marketing’s role in driving growth in the language of business metrics and revenue.
• Rachel Thornton: “Being able to sit with your C suite peers… and saying this is how marketing is contributing to revenue growth… has become even more important.” (08:54)
• Authenticity remains at the center, especially as AI-generated content raises questions about what’s “real.” Marketers are uniquely positioned to define, uphold, and communicate brand authenticity.

Davos as an Ecosystem for Learning and Growth

• Rachel highlights the value for CMOs of being in mixed executive environments to learn what matters to CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs.
  • Rachel Thornton: “It is nice to be surrounded by a bunch of different, you know, C suites… It's nice to be here and hear the conversations.” (14:41)
• She encourages access to collaborative, cross-disciplinary discussions as essential for marketing leaders’ growth and perspective.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rachel Thornton:
  • “At the heart of it, like you say, is human creativity, human innovation, human ingenuity. We think of it as human in the center.” (03:29)
  • “You get to do more of that 100%.” (06:22) — On enabling marketers to focus on what brought them to the field.
  • “Every brand has to think, you know, what do I want my brand to be? You know, where do we want to lean in? What is the thing that we want customers to really feel about us, to know about us?” (09:37)
  • “Integrating…with AI tools like what Adobe builds, you're able to build customer experiences and… the content that you need to bring those experiences to life.” (11:13)
  • On co-creation: “We know that our fans want to be involved. They don’t just want to watch, they want to consume and they want to create. And that is what's really the difference now.” (13:23)
• Jenny Rooney:
  • “The human element in everything that we talked about… it means taking risks. It means doing things that are sort of uncomfortable.” (02:54)
  • “It frees their minds and their creativity to lean into the things that got them into this job in the first place.” (06:16)
  • “It’s the best of both worlds, right? Human creativity, the visual elements… while taking a lot of the, and freeing up spaces we talked about.” (12:05)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:30-02:05 – Event context; reflections on the unique CMO group at Davos.
• 03:29-04:31 – Adobe’s philosophy on AI, creativity, and human-centered innovation.
• 05:13-06:22 – How AI liberates marketers’ creativity and strategic focus.
• 06:45-07:34 – Rachel Thornton’s personal career background; increased prominence of marketers at Davos.
• 08:07-09:37 – The CMO at the business core; communicating impact to C-suite; authenticity in the AI age.
• 10:44-11:13 – AI’s role in scaling personalization and customer experience.
• 12:47-13:23 – Young generations as creators; examples from sports engagement.
• 14:32-15:09 – Takeaways from Davos; value of diverse executive perspectives.

Takeaways and Advice for CMOs

• The future of marketing is happening now: AI is fundamentally changing workflows, but human creativity remains essential.
• CMOs should embrace AI to amplify their strategic value—using data intelligently, freeing up creative energy, and driving measurable business results.
• Brands should foster authentic, co-creative relationships with customers, especially as generational expectations evolve.
• Continuous professional growth comes from cross-disciplinary exposure and conversations with executive peers outside of marketing.
• Maintain brand authenticity and clarity of purpose, particularly as content creation accelerates and diversifies through AI.

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