Podcast Summary: "Why Marketing Is Back In The Driver Seat"

Podcast: The Dave Gerhardt Show
Episode: Why Marketing Is Back In The Driver Seat (with Maura Rivera, CMO at Qualified)
Air Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Dave Gerhardt
Guest: Maura Rivera (CMO, Qualified)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into why marketing is experiencing a resurgence at the strategic core of B2B organizations, particularly as AI transforms both the discipline and the expectations of marketers. Dave Gerhardt hosts Maura Rivera, CMO at Qualified, for a candid, pragmatic discussion about modern marketing leadership, staying at one company, building high-retention teams, product and marketing alignment, the new wave of agentic marketing, AI in go-to-market efforts, and the return of in-person events. The vibe is warm, candid, and honest, with both speakers sharing actionable insights and humility about what it takes to thrive as a modern marketer.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The CMO Journey: Marathon, Not a Sprint

• Longevity at Qualified: Maura has been CMO at Qualified for 6+ years—a rarity in B2B tech, where CMO tenure typically hovers around 1-2 years.

  "It's a long time. In this world, it's a long time... each year is different, right?" – Maura Rivera (28:05)

• Team Stability: Half of Qualified’s 25-person marketing team have also been at the company for 4+ years, attributed to product vision and leadership trust.
• Career Path Realism: Both Dave and Maura discussed nonlinear marketing career arcs and openly acknowledged imposter syndrome and learning on the job.

  "I don't know everything... if you can hire the A team, I think it's a good thing if they're smarter than you." – Maura Rivera (21:31, 23:39) "The number one thing at this level is building the team. It’s the one thing that makes everything else easier." – Dave Gerhardt (32:36)

2. Product & Marketing: The Power Duo

• Alignment Drives Momentum: Close collaboration between product and marketing is at the core of Qualified’s playbook.

  "Product launches, the product roadmap, are the best thing and the best partner for marketing." – Dave Gerhardt (02:25)

• Cadence & Playbooks:
  • Quarterly Big Launches: These center around keynotes, demos, and the company’s evolving narrative (35:12).
  • Monthly Mini Launches: Smaller drops keep the brand top-of-mind and the innovation story fresh.

  "We try and do a launch every single month ... Product marketing cadence is the heartbeat." – Maura Rivera (35:12, 37:59)

• Collaboration Tactics: Early and continuous involvement with product leaders (CPO, engineers, designers) ensures launches are integrated and impactful.

  "You have to build that relationship with your head of product, bring them in early." – Maura Rivera (39:55) "That was the secret sauce... we worked on that stuff together." – Dave Gerhardt (42:13)

3. Leadership: Humility & Building an “A-Team”

• Hiring Philosophy:
  • Smart, specialized leaders are essential; the CMO need not be an expert in everything, but must assemble and empower great talent.

  "If you're a CMO... and you try and hire people too junior so you can be the star... you're going to fail." – Maura Rivera (23:41)

• Letting Go:
  • Part of leveling up is trusting others, being vulnerable about not knowing everything, and cultivating curiosity.

  "I'm totally okay with my team seeing me not know the answer... it's your job to figure it out." – Dave Gerhardt (26:16)

4. AI & Agentic Marketing: Why Marketing Is (Really) in the Driver’s Seat Again

• Workflows Transformed:
  • Qualified uses its own AI agent “Piper” to run all inbound SDR functions (scheduling, qualifying, follow-up outreach), replacing what used to be a whole team.

    "I used to have 10 inbound SDRs. Now I have zero. I just have Piper, the agent who does all of our inbound." – Maura Rivera (50:19)

• Outbound, Reimagined:
  • Human SDRs have redeployed to outbound, aided by AI copilots (with a real human overseeing quality and constant improvement).

    "It's much harder to do than inbound. Outbound is harder." – Maura Rivera (54:06)

• AI Creates New Roles:
  • High performers have evolved into roles like “AI Marketing Operations” and “Go-to-Market Engineers,” managing agents to optimize the pipeline (50:19).
• AI & Empowerment:
  • Marketing, armed with AI, now controls and optimizes a larger part of the funnel, driving efficiency and growth.

    "Marketing is back in the driver's seat... we have all these agentic solutions at our fingertips that we can help control." – Maura Rivera (56:24)

• Outbound Not Dead—Just Hard:
  • High personalization still matters, whether human or AI, and an “always tinkering” mindset is key.

    "You need someone setting a high bar, constant tinkering and innovating." – Maura Rivera & Dave Gerhardt (55:50)

5. Category Leadership & Narrative

• Category-Building:
  • Qualified is betting on “agentic marketing” as the future and anchoring both product and thought leadership narratives here.

    "We wrote a book on agentic marketing... how can you take ownership of the category and be thought leaders?" – Maura Rivera (43:53)

• Narrative Agility:
  • The team treats narrative as a living asset, evolving with each launch and market shift (37:59).

6. Events: The Playbook Comes Full Circle

• Events Are Back:
  • Both big summits and smaller meetups re-energize community, drive relationships, and deepen category leadership.

    "Events feel like they're back. In-person events are back." – Maura Rivera (45:02) "The community... People just want to hang out and connect in person." – Dave Gerhardt (48:03)

• No Substitute for Human Connection:
  • Even as agentic, AI-powered marketing rises, the need for real-world connection (and supporting infrastructure) only grows.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Team Overlap and Industry Friendships:

  "The small CMO world is like, a lot of times friends become competitors and then become friends... There's always respect at the end of the day for how other teams are winning."
  – Maura Rivera (07:03-08:40)

• On Leadership & Curiosity:

  "Always be curious. That's what makes a great marketing leader... because the landscape is shifting so quickly. That curiosity is what's gonna propel marketing leaders forward."
  – Maura Rivera (25:24)

• On Product & Marketing Partnership:

  "It's not just about setting the corporate narrative at the start of the fiscal year and letting it sit in a Google Doc—it’s a living, breathing thing for us."
  – Maura Rivera (37:59)

• On AI’s True Role:

  "AI enables marketers to cover more of the funnel, move the business forward and actually look like heroes, not just the team that spends the money."
  – Maura Rivera (56:24)

• On Team Retention:

  "That's the thing I'm most proud of... Everybody, knock on wood, has been around for a really long time because I hope they feel the same way. It’s chaotic and they work their butts off, but there's camaraderie."
  – Maura Rivera (32:36)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Product & Marketing Alignment Insights — [02:25], [35:12], [39:55], [42:13]
• Team Retention and Culture — [28:05], [32:36], [33:07]
• Building a CMO Career — [21:31], [23:39]
• AI & Agentic Marketing Deep Dive — [50:19], [56:24]
• Events, Community, and Human Connection — [45:02], [48:03]
• Leadership and Vulnerability — [25:19], [26:16]

Advice & Takeaways for Marketers

Building a Durable, Engaged Marketing Team

• Prioritize hiring and culture: hire smart, empower them, let them teach you.
• Longevity yields trust, execution quality, and better long-term strategic bets.

Product-Marketing Partnership

• Early & continuous alignment between product and marketing compounds impact.
• Use launches as the heartbeat for team alignment, customer excitement, and refreshed narrative.

Leading in the Age of AI

• AI is not just about efficiency; it’s about enabling marketers to reclaim and expand influence through automation and insight.
• Human oversight and creativity are still the differentiators—even the best AI needs proactive management.

Future-Ready Marketers

• Category creation and active narrative evolution set the leaders apart.
• Invest in events and authentic community—online and off. Relationships still drive results.

Final Thoughts

This episode is an inspiring, no-fluff conversation for marketers and marketing leaders who want to build resilient teams, architect smart playbooks, and confidently claim a central role as AI reshapes B2B marketing. If you’re looking for practical leadership wisdom, new perspectives on AI’s impact, or motivation to stay the course, Maura Rivera’s journey—and her partnership with Dave Gerhardt—is for you.

Want to connect with Maura Rivera or the Qualified team?
Find Maura on LinkedIn (and let her know you heard the show!)
Explore Qualified at qualified.com

For more B2B marketing resources, visit exitfive.com.