AMA: 8x8 Vice President, Global Demand Generation, Camila Cook on Demand Generation Career Path

Must-haves:A Demand Gen leader needs strong marketing automation and CRM expertise (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot, Salesforce) to manage campaigns and measure pipeline. They must also have solid data analytics skills - understanding funnel metrics, attribution, and ROI. Expertise in digital channels (paid media, email, SEO, ABM) and budget management are essential, as is the ability to build and optimize integrated campaigns that align with business goals. Nice-to-haves:Experience with AI and automatio ...Read More

First, master the fundamentals; understand your funnel, your data, and your buyer inside out. Great Demand Gen leaders balance creativity with analytical rigor, so build both muscles early. Second, think beyond campaigns. Learn how to connect marketing to the broader business: pipeline, revenue, and customer experience. The best Demand Gen leaders act like business owners, not just marketers. And finally, invest in relationships. Success in Demand Gen depends on strong alignment with sales, prod ...Read More

When hiring for Demand Generation roles, I look for a mix of strategic, technical, and collaborative skills; people who can think holistically about growth, pipeline, and customer experience. I value cross-functional pros who can partner with sales, product marketing, and ops to build programs that truly move the pipeline. They need technical chops; someone comfortable in Marketo, Salesforce, ABM Tools, CMS and analytics tools; but also creative enough to test new ideas and stand out in a crowde ...Read More

To move from Senior Manager to Director, you need to shift from execution to vision. It’s not just about running great campaigns anymore; it’s about owning the strategy, aligning marketing to revenue goals, and influencing across the business. Start thinking like a business leader: understand the numbers behind the funnel, the ROI story, and how marketing impacts company growth. Strengthen your cross-functional leadership, especially with sales and operations, that’s where directors add real val ...Read More

Absolutely not - AI enhances, not replaces, Demand Generation. It’s helping us work smarter by uncovering insights we couldn’t access before, accelerating data analysis, and improving efficiency across every stage of the funnel. AI-powered tools are transforming how we target, personalize, and optimize campaigns; enabling marketers to focus more on strategy, creativity, and customer experience. Instead of replacing the human element, AI amplifies it by freeing us from manual tasks so we can focu ...Read More

I’ve always been a marketer at heart; drawn to creativity, storytelling, and understanding the buyer’s journey. What excites me about Demand Gen is that it sits right at the intersection of marketing and sales. I get to work closely with sales teams, share the same KPIs like pipeline and bookings, but also shape the entire journey from awareness to conversion. Demand Gen allows me to combine data, creativity, and strategy, driving efficiency, building campaigns that resonate, and turning insight ...Read More

What brought me to my current organization was the people and leadership. From the start, I was drawn to a C-suite that’s highly strategic, driven, and genuinely invested in building something meaningful. It’s rare to find a leadership team that combines vision with the willingness to execute and that energy was a huge motivator for me. I also saw an opportunity to grow in a new segment and take ownership of building and scaling the entire Demand Generation function. The role gave me the autonom ...Read More

I’ve built my professional brand as a strategic, transparent, and collaborative Demand Gen leader who drives measurable growth. I focus on delivering results through strong cross-functional partnerships, data-driven decisions, and customer-centric strategies. I value agility, innovation, and accountability, always sharing what works and what doesn’t to build trust across the business. For me, success is measured not just by pipeline impact, but by how effectively I empower teams and strengthen m ...Read More