Workday CMO, Emma Chalwin, Discussing the AI Era - World Economic Forum Event

Summary

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Marketing Vanguard – Emma Chalwin, Workday CMO on the AI Era

Host: Jenny Rooney (Adweek)
Guest: Emma Chalwin (CMO, Workday)
Date: February 11, 2026
Special Location: FQ Lounge, Davos (World Economic Forum Event)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Marketing Vanguard features a candid conversation between host Jenny Rooney and Emma Chalwin, CMO of Workday, set at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The discussion explores the transformative impact of AI on the workforce, the CMO’s evolving role in the C-suite, the critical importance of trust and human connection, and how brands like Workday are navigating rapid change as they elevate the human potential in era-defining ways.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Davos for CMOs

(01:06 - 02:14)

• Davos provides an unparalleled venue for networking with customers, partners, and prospects.
• The event theme—human connection and dialogue—resonates with Workday’s mission.
• CMOs are increasingly present and influential at Davos, signaling recognition of marketing as a strategic function rather than a supporting one.

Quote:

"Marketing is the master storyteller...we're closer to the customer than we've ever been before...use all the amazing data and insights leveraging technology and AI to get the right message to the right people at the right time."
— Emma Chalwin (02:14)

2. The Shifting CMO Role in the AI Era

(02:14 - 04:41)

• CMOs’ roles have grown increasingly strategic and many now report directly to the CEO.
• The best CMOs blend “art and science”—storytelling and data analytics—to drive not only brand but business growth.
• As AI reshapes the landscape, CMOs must prove the impact of every marketing dollar, moving from “mad men and women to math men and women.”

Quote:

"The CMOs that are going to really flourish...are those that really blend art and science. So no longer can we just focus on the top of the funnel metrics... But we also have to know the numbers. We have to prove the impact of every dollar that we spend."
— Emma Chalwin (03:46)

3. Workday’s Growth & Differentiation

(04:57 - 05:51)

• Workday is the “number one AI enterprise platform for people and money”—the two most vital organizational assets.
• The company focuses on amplifying human potential, not replacing jobs with AI.
• Emma finds deep purpose in leading high-performing teams and developing future leaders at Workday.

Quote:

"We're not talking about replacing jobs, we're talking about amplifying the role of the human and what it means to be a human at work."
— Emma Chalwin (05:24)

4. Emma Chalwin’s Background & Philosophy

(05:54 - 06:48)

• Over 30 years in tech marketing, with a passion for constant learning and curiosity.
• Deep belief in blending creativity with strong data-driven approaches.
• Personal mission is to build the next generation of marketing leaders.

Quote:

"Being creative, I'm creative by nature, but I've had to train my brain to be more data driven and be more of a mathematician in my day to day job...creating the next generation of CMOs but also leaders for Workday really is my passion."
— Emma Chalwin (06:16)

5. CMOs as Drivers of Change in the AI Era

(07:18 - 09:34)

• CMOs must not only respond to change but shape it, particularly as the enterprise workforce diversifies (humans, agents, robots).
• The CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) title and function itself may need to evolve as the nature of work changes.
• CMOs must become trusted advisors and prove the real value of their marketing investments, especially addressing growing employee and customer anxieties around AI and automation.

Quote:

"I feel like one of my roles...is to really be a trusted advisor...showcase the true value that our technology is bringing from an AI perspective to help fuel the growth of the business of our customers and tell our customers' stories to prove that value."
— Emma Chalwin (08:46)

6. The AI Productivity Paradox & Soul Work

(09:57 - 11:07)

• Workday research: While 40% of employees save significant time with AI, much of this time is spent “sanity-checking” the AI’s outputs.
• The goal should be to channel time saved by technology into “soul work”: creative, collaborative, empathetic, and ethical tasks that require a distinctly human touch.

Quote:

"The important thing...is the time that is saved by technology is put back into soul work or put that back into the skills that are essential to be successful in this new world of work."
— Emma Chalwin (10:29)

7. The Evolving Role of Brand — “B2H: Business to Human”

(11:07 - 12:39)

• Trust, humility, and value-driven messaging are now more crucial than ever.
• Brand tone should avoid jargon, instead offering genuine help and clarity.
• Workday’s Rockstar campaign exemplifies doing things differently to stand out: “no one else could put their logo on our brand.”
• Movement away from strictly B2B or B2C marketing, towards B2H (Business to Human), aligning messaging to the customer’s journey and emotional needs.

Quotes:

"There's never been more of a time to lean into your values as a brand, because again, people have a choice. One of the values of Workday is also fun—we try and do things a little bit different so that no one else could put their logo on our brand."
— Emma Chalwin (11:34)

"I'm trying to move our marketing from being B2B to B to human."
— Emma Chalwin (12:09)

8. Notable Moments & Closing Thoughts

(12:39 - 13:11)

• Speculation on Workday’s possible Super Bowl ad appearance.
• Jenny and Emma close by reflecting on the innovative platforms reshaping modern marketing and the excitement of continued evolution in both B2B and B2C brand-building.

Quote:

"We have to watch this space."
— Emma Chalwin, on a possible Super Bowl ad (12:41)

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Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• "Marketing is the master storyteller...we're closer to the customer than we've ever been before..." — Emma Chalwin (02:14)
• "We’ve moved from mad men and women to math men and women." — Emma Chalwin (03:46)
• "We’re not talking about replacing jobs, we’re talking about amplifying the role of the human..." — Emma Chalwin (05:24)
• "I’m trying to move our marketing from being B2B to B to human." — Emma Chalwin (12:09)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:06 — Importance of Davos for CMOs & Workday’s Purpose
• 02:14 — The rise of the strategic CMO and closer customer connection via AI
• 03:46 — The "art and science" of modern marketing; CMOs as growth officers
• 04:57 — Workday's growth story and human-centered AI philosophy
• 05:54 — Emma’s background and passion for team-building
• 07:18 — CMOs leading not just responding to change; workforce diversification
• 09:57 — The AI productivity paradox and the quest for "soul work"
• 11:07 — Brand trust, differentiation, Rockstar campaign, B2H approach

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Tone & Language

The conversation is authentic, candid, and future-focused, balancing strategic insight with warmth, humor, and humility—mirroring Emma Chalwin’s leadership style and Workday’s human-first culture.

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This summary captures all substantive topics and memorable moments, equipping you with a rich sense of the episode’s ideas, tone, and practical wisdom for today’s marketing leaders.

Transcript

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[Jenny Rooney]

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Marketing Vanguard Podcast. I'm Jenny Rooney with adweek coming to you from Davos. We are at the FQ Lounge doing a special series of the podcast, and I'm thrilled now to be joined by Emma Challwin. She's the CMO of Workday. Emma, welcome.

[Emma Challwin]

Thank you so much for hosting me today.

[Jenny Rooney]

Well, I'm so glad to have you here. And by the way, I'm thrilled to have you part of the Marketing Vanguard inspiration excursion that we at adweek brought to Davos in partnership with the FQ Lounge. We're thrilled to have been able to host it here. It's been great to have you part of the conversations. What brings you to Davos?

[Emma Challwin]

Well, it's a great way for us to meet our customers, our partners, our prospects, and really great from a networking perspective and really to showcase our story as we know that the theme this year is all about, you know, the spirit of dialogue and the importance of human connection. And for us at workday, we really want to make sure that we are elevating humans. With the AI technology boom happening all around us, how do we use technology as a platform to elevate humans? So getting that story out in the market is really resonating as people are really looking to see how do we get that level of trust and connection back in the world of work that we're in right now?

[Jenny Rooney]

Not all CMOs get the opportunity to go to Davos. Not all of them are invited, quite frankly. And in many cases, a CEO would come, you know, especially as you get away from companies that perhaps have more of a direct reason for being here. What is your your thought about the fact that CMOs are increasingly finding their way into the conversations in Davos? Why do you think that's important?

[Emma Challwin]

Well, it's great. Every year I attend, there are more and more of my peers and CMOs here, which is great to see. And loads of those are actually female, so it's wonderful to See that too. I think the role of marketing and the CMO as leader of that function has moved from what was once traditionally more of a back office function or a support function to really being a strategic business function. I have an amazing CEO in Carl Eschenbach, and he is such a huge advocate for everything we do in the new world of work that we're in right now. Marketing is the master storyteller. So the narratives that companies want to portray out to the world come from this organization. And second to that, we're closer to the customer than we've ever been before. So we can now use all of the amazing data and insights that we can get leveraging technology and AI to really get closer to the customer, to get the right message to the right people at the right time. And I think our role, as I said, has been much more strategic. And there are many more CMOs that are reporting directly into the CEO now. So I think it's become more strategic and it's great that businesses are truly valuing the impact that we're making to the bottom line of the business and the growth of the business.

[Jenny Rooney]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's a conversation that's been long had. But do you think this era of AI is going to better enable that or better detract from the concept of CMOs having a seat at the table being true not just brand, but business growth drivers?

[Emma Challwin]

I absolutely do. There are more CMOs now that are actually becoming CEOs, which is great to see. And I think it's really the CMOs that are going to really flourish in this new world of work are those that really blend art and science. So no longer can we just focus on the top of the funnel metrics, the brand, the advertising, that's still important, as is storytelling. But we also have to know the numbers. You have to know the business. So we're almost transitioning from chief storytellers to chief market or chief growth officers because we have to prove the impact of every dollar that we spend. So I think that connection of art and science and I like to call it, we've moved from mad men and women to math men and women. So we really have to now have that blend of art and science more than we've ever had before and prove our impact not only to brand, but how do we thread the needle between to demand through to customer advocacy?

[Jenny Rooney]

How's that happening for you personally, you know, as CMO of workday? And tell us a little bit about workday, by the way, for people who aren't as familiar. Where are you in your growth journey and how has your role there morphed and continued to expand and become more dynamic?

[Emma Challwin]

Workday is the number one AI enterprise platform for people, money and agents. So they're your two most important assets. So if you don't look after your people and you don't manage your finances well, you're, you're pretty much not destined for growth. So it's a great time to be in this space for sure. Workday to me. I joined two and a half years ago as CMO and it really is a dream job for me, especially in this new world of work. We're AI first organization, but we really focus on the human element of work. So our 20,000 workmates across the globe are dedicated to showing how we can leverage technology and the power of AI to elevate human potential. So we're not talking about replacing jobs, we're talking about amplifying the role of the human and what it means to be a human at work. So there's never more exciting time to be a cmo and there's never been a more exciting time for me to be at Workday.

[Jenny Rooney]

Tell me a little bit about your background. What got you to this place?

[Emma Challwin]

Yeah, well I've been in tech marketing now for showing my age, 30 years and I've always been fascinated about the speed of change in tech. I get bored very easily if I'm not constantly curious and I have very much a beginner's mind. So tech is the perfect environment for me to thrive and grow. I've worked in all sides of B2B marketing, in particular small companies, large enterprises, but really storytelling and having that blend of art and science. Being creative, I'm creative by nature, but I've had to train my brain to be more data driven and be more of a mathematician in my day to day job. I also love the opportunity to create high performing teams. That really is my soul work. So you know, creating the next generation of CMOs but also leaders for Workday really is my passion and I'm able to do that workday, which is fantastic.

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[Jenny Rooney]

I know we've talked about this, but, you know, especially as we think about the role of the CMO and as we've touched on and all of the things happening in AI, where do you think CMOs need to not just respond to the changes happening, but actually dictate and drive them even as they're having conversations with other C suite members? Where are you having that conversation? Y for workday, by the way, because brand workday is what you oversee. So there's two sides of what you're doing. You're helping your clients with all that, but you're also thinking about it strategically yourself.

[Emma Challwin]

Absolutely, yes. So, you know, as I said, we've got the 20,000 workmates that we have to think about in addition to how we're messaging and positioning such a critical role. The chro, or chief People Officer role has never been so transformational as it is today, especially as you're managing a completely new workforce. They're not just humans. You're managing humans, agents and in some cases robots. So the whole landscape has changed.

[Jenny Rooney]

Chro title is going to need to change.

[Emma Challwin]

Yeah, well, we think, you know, maybe chief Work Officer, I don't know, something like that, maybe. But I do believe that we have a role to do in marketing to really tell the story. And as I said, the skill set of the CMO is probably going to have to evolve over time again to be more data driven and more focused again on the growth and the impact. And you gain the respect within the C suite, within your own organizations from being me able to really prove the impact of not only the dollars that you spend, but I think a lot of CMOs historically have been focused more on customer acquisition and customer retention. And in the world that we're in right now, people are desperate for human connection. They're paranoid and scared and fearful about what the future of work looks like. And I feel like one of my roles in particular and my responsibilities as CMO of workday is to really be a trusted advisor with everything that we're doing. Speak in the V of the customer, showcase the true value that our technology is bringing from an AI perspective to help fuel the growth of the business of our customers and show our customers and tell our customers stories to prove that value. So it's a lot to think about, but it's an exciting time.

[Jenny Rooney]

Yeah, we've talked a lot about trust and loyalty Concepts that we can't lose sight of. If anything, we need to sort of obviously double down on in this era. How are you doing that? You know, I asked, there was a conversation that was had recently with Antonio Lucio who was here, and I asked him, where are you spending your time? Time. He's said, increasingly, I'm spending my time with my directly with my customers. I mean, same for you. I'm sure that hasn't been any more important than now.

[Emma Challwin]

I mean, the good news is, well, actually the team did an amazing job. They did some research. We're calling it the AI productivity paradox. So we're talking about how much time is saved by leveraging AI. And in fact, 40% of the people that we spoke to said that they, yes, they'd saved hours and hours of time and become more productive. And yet the 40% time they'd saved, they were actually spending sanity checking and looking at the work that had been done and performed by technology.

[Jenny Rooney]

Wow.

[Emma Challwin]

So, you know, the important thing there is that what we want to do is the time that is saved by technology is put that back into soul work or put that back into the skills that are essential to be successful in this new world of work. Collaboration, creative thinking, solution orientated thinking, focusing on the things that really feel your soul, ethical decision making, being empathetic, putting yourself in your customer's shoes, your peers shoes, all of those different things. So yeah, the world of work is really changing and workdays at the forefront of how we help build that trust and confidence in what the future looks like.

[Jenny Rooney]

Last quick question is, you know, we're going to have a session here called Wither the brand. You know, what becomes the role of brand in this new era and how are you thinking about the workday brand, how you're making sure you're bringing it forward, you're articulating its purpose itself, it's differentiation. Tell me a little bit about that.

[Emma Challwin]

Great question. I've touched on a bit of it. With regards to trust has never been more important that collaboration, being a trusted advisor. As a brand, people have a lot of choices.

[Jenny Rooney]

They do.

[Emma Challwin]

So you want to make sure that you're being humble and helpful in your messaging. The tone of voice is also really important. People don't want marketing jargon or fluff at this time in the world. Right. They want to know what's happening, how you can help them and the true value. So showcasing that is really critical. And then I think there's never been more of a time to lean into your values as a brand because again, people have a choice. One of the values of workday is also fun. So we try and do things a little bit different so that no one else could put their logo on our brand. Our Rockstar campaign is a perfect example of that. If you haven't seen it.

[Jenny Rooney]

I love that.

[Emma Challwin]

Super fun. Yes, love that. And really thinking about I'm trying to move our marketing from being B2B to B to human.

[Jenny Rooney]

Yeah, I love that.

[Emma Challwin]

So that connection, who am I talking to, at what point in their journey, how are they consuming and engaging with the content that I'm giving them? And how can we build these nurtured journeys to get the right message to the right people at the right time? So I would say it's being humble, helpful, being a thought leader, an advisor, showing the value and speaking in the voice of the customer.

[Jenny Rooney]

Are we going to see you in the super bowl this year?

[Emma Challwin]

We have to watch this space.

[Jenny Rooney]

We shall see. There's some really cool brand platforms out there that are doing some extraordinary things and that continues to work and change as well. So Whether you're a B2B brand, B2C brand, it's exciting to see the new and different ways that people are getting their brands in front of the people that they want to reach. So thank you, Emma. This has been a pleasure. It's been great to spend time with you again. Thank you for being a participant in our Marketing Vanguard Inspiration excursion at Davos and we look forward to many more conversations with you over the next couple days and in the future.

[Emma Challwin]

Thank you so much. It's been wonderful for you to host me today. Thank you.

[Podcast Outro Host]

Thank you for listening to Marketing Vanguard, part of the Adweek Podcast Network and Acast Creator Network. You can listen and subscribe to all of Adweek's podcasts by visiting adweek.com podcasts. Stay updated on all things Adweek Podcast Network by following us on Twitter DWeek podcast. And if you have a question or suggestion for the show, send us an [e-mail] thanks for listening.

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