This is Rouch’s second year on ADWEEK’s CMOs to watch list.
In 2025, Rouch’s impact saw the AI challenger dive into mass marketing for ChatGPT and its other products. The company advertised in the Super Bowl earlier this year with a 60-second spot from Droga5 that recounted the history of human innovation, and focused faculty college students with a smaller marketing campaign throughout ultimate examination season.
In June, the exec took temporary leave following a breast most cancers analysis, with former Fb CMO Gary Briggs taking the advertising reins within the interim. Rouch returned in November, sharing the news that she was cancer-free.
In 2026, the previous Coinbase CMO might want to construct on the momentum round ChatGPT’s first big emotional ad campaign, which demonstrates how the AI chatbot is helpful in relatable, each day moments.
Within the coming yr, Rouch will even assist the enterprise market blockbuster partnerships with Disney and Mattel, and proceed to satisfy the problem of constructing model belief in a world nonetheless cautious of AI.
Marian Lee, CMO, Netflix
Netflix’s Marian Lee can also be marking her second yr on this checklist.
Lee’s advertising ethos, the place culture is the “main character,” has put Netflix on the map as one of many buzziest and inventive manufacturers of 2025. Within the final 12 months, the platform has launched IRL campaigns for shock hit film KPop Demon Hunters and introduced brands like Gatorade into the Upside Down for the ultimate season of Stranger Issues.
It additionally opened the doorways to 2 Netflix Homes in Dallas and Philadelphia, the place followers can discover, style, play, and store their favourite reveals, from Bridgerton to Cash Heist.
Lee will play a key position in 2026 as Netflix cozies up to brands, including AB InBev, for partnerships linked to its rising advert tier, which now counts virtually 100 million subscribers. She’ll additionally proceed to assist the corporate increase its viewers past films and sequence into gaming, dwell sports activities, and extra.
Looming largest on the horizon is Netflix’s push to shut its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. Slated for late 2026, the transfer might deliver iconic movie franchises, together with Harry Potter, and huge studio capabilities into the streamer’s fold. If accredited, it can reshape not solely Netflix’s content material arsenal however how Lee positions the streamer in tradition and Hollywood.
