Who are the top B2B marketers?

If you mean **the B2B marketers worth studying right now**, rather than simply the most famous CMOs, I’d put these people near the top. Current 2026 industry lists and practitioner rankings broadly support this group. [Top 25 Demand Gen Voices of 2026 - Demand Gen Insider](https://demandgeninsider.com/voices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **April Dunford** - **Positioning & messaging.** Probably my #1 recommendation if you want to get better at explaining *why your product is different and valuable*. Her positioning framework is widely used by B2B tech companies. [April Dunford - Positioning for B2B Tech Companies](https://www.aprildunford.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Dave Gerhardt** - **B2B brand, content & community.** Former Drift CMO and founder of Exit Five; particularly good on building a recognizable B2B brand rather than relying entirely on lead-gen tactics. [50 Best B2B Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2026](https://clash.cc/insights/best-b2b-marketing-influencers-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Chris Walker** - **Demand generation & dark social.** One of the strongest voices challenging traditional MQL/lead-gen thinking and advocating for creating demand before trying to capture it. [50 Best B2B Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2026](https://clash.cc/insights/best-b2b-marketing-influencers-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Sangram Vajre** - **ABM & go-to-market.** Co-founded Terminus and helped popularize account-based marketing; now focuses heavily on modern GTM strategy through GTM Partners. [CMO Consult: Redefining ROI for B2B Marketers](https://sell.g2.com/resources/webinars/redefining-roi-for-b2b-marketers?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Katelyn Bourgoin** - **Customer research & positioning.** Excellent at understanding what customers actually care about and translating that into marketing messaging. [Competitors can steal your customers. But buyer indifference will kill your business. Worried prospective buyers don't care about your offer? Don't rush out and change your product... yet. The… | Katelyn Bourgoin | 32 comments](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/katebour_competitors-can-steal-your-customers-but-activity-7187130560216018945-cqvl?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Emily Kramer** - **B2B SaaS marketing strategy.** Particularly strong on building the actual marketing function: positioning, channels, content, demand, and team structure. - **Amanda Natividad** - **Content strategy & distribution.** Especially useful if you're trying to build an audience organically rather than just buying attention. - **Peep Laja** - **Conversion & growth.** Strong on messaging, experimentation, and turning traffic/interest into business results. - **Ann Handley** - **Content & storytelling.** A veteran voice whose work remains particularly useful for B2B content teams. - **Maja Voje / Devin Reed / Ross Simmonds** - **Modern content, GTM and distribution.** These are particularly worth watching if you're interested in how B2B marketing is evolving on LinkedIn and creator-led channels. A September 2026 roundup highlights all three among current B2B voices. [B2B Marketing Influencers: 10 Experts to Follow in 2026](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/b2b-marketing-influencers-10-experts-follow-2026-efpac?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### If I had to narrow it to 5 For someone who wants to **actually become better at B2B marketing**, I'd start with: 1. **April Dunford** - positioning 2. **Dave Gerhardt** - brand/content 3. **Chris Walker** - demand generation 4. **Katelyn Bourgoin** - customer insight/messaging 5. **Sangram Vajre** - ABM/GTM The important distinction is that these people aren't all teaching the same thing. **Dunford teaches you what to say, Bourgoin helps you understand whom you're saying it to, Gerhardt teaches you how to build attention, Walker teaches you how to create demand, and Vajre teaches you how to connect marketing to the broader GTM motion.** If you tell me whether you're **a founder, CMO, demand-gen marketer, product marketer, or agency owner**, I can give you a much more targeted **“top 10 B2B marketers to follow” list**, including what to read/watch from each.

Here are some of the **top B2B marketers and influencers in 2025**, recognized for their impact on digital marketing, thought leadership, and consulting: ### 🌟 Influential B2B Marketers According to Clutch’s 2025 list of B2B digital marketing influencers: * **Dave Gerhardt** – CEO of Exit Five * **Chris Walker** – CEO of Passetto * **Rand Fishkin** – Co-founder of SparkToro * **Morgan J. Ingram** – Founder & CEO of Amp Creative * **Daniel Murray** – Founder of _The Marketing Millennials_ * **Lee Odden** – Co-founder of TopRank Marketing * **Elena Verna** – Head of Growth at Dropbox * **Andy Crestodina** – Co-founder & CMO of Orbit Media Studios * **Peep Laja** – CEO of Wynter * **Kieran Flanagan** – SVP of Marketing at HubSpot * **Amanda Natividad** – VP of Marketing at SparkToro * **Eric Siu** – CEO of Single Grain * **Pam Didner** – B2B Marketing Consultant [2025 Top B2B Digital Marketing Influencers | Clutch.co](https://clutch.co/resources/top-b2b-digital-marketing-influencers-2025?trk=public_post_comment-text) ### 🧠 Global Thought Leaders in B2B Marketing Thinkers360’s 2025 global leaderboard highlights: * **Greg Kihlstrom** – _The Agile Brand_ * **Vladimer Botsvadze** – International marketing strategist * **Jane Anderson CSP** – Jane Anderson Consulting * **Lisa S. Jones** – CEO of EyeMail Inc. * **Greg Verdino** – CognitivePath * **Peter Winick** – Thought Leadership Leverage [Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Marketing 2025 | Thinkers360](https://www.thinkers360.com/top-50-global-thought-leaders-and-influencers-on-marketing-2025/) ### 📊 Top B2B Marketing Consultants From _The Consulting Report’s_ 2025 ranking: * **Jason Weick** – Managing Director, FTI Consulting * **Ryan Murphy** – Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company * **Scot Hornick** – Partner, Oliver Wyman * **Mat Zucker** – Senior Partner, Prophet [The Top 25 Marketing and Sales Consultants and Leaders of 2025 - The Consulting Report](https://www.theconsultingreport.com/the-top-25-marketing-and-sales-consultants-and-leaders-of-2025/) ### 🚀 Leading B2B Marketing Agencies (2025) If you’re looking at organizational leaders rather than individuals, standout agencies include: * **NoGood** – AI-driven performance marketing (NYC, LA, Miami) * **Clay** – Behavioral science & design-led marketing (San Francisco) * **Gravity Global** – Advanced data science-driven campaigns (London) * **Session Media** – Full-funnel B2B strategies (UK, part of Expandi Group) * **Gripped** – SaaS & tech growth specialists (London) [Top 10 B2B Marketing Agencies in 2025 - Ficus Technologies](https://ficustechnologies.com/blog/top-10-best-b2b-marketing-agencies-in-2025/)[The 20 Best B2B Digital Marketing Agencies To Watch In 2025](https://www.b2bnn.com/2025/07/the-20-best-b2b-digital-marketing-agencies-to-watch-in-2025/) ✅ These names represent different facets of B2B marketing: **influencers shaping thought leadership, consultants driving transformation, and agencies executing cutting-edge campaigns.** Would you like me to **narrow this down to the top 10 most influential individuals** (with short bios on why they stand out), or keep the broader mix of influencers, consultants, and agencies?

The B2B marketing space features industry leaders, strategists, and practitioners who excel in content, demand generation, SEO, and brand positioning. **Content and Storytelling** * **Ann Handley** : Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, Wall Street Journal best-selling author, and a pioneer in human-first B2B content. * **Ross Simmonds** : Founder of Foundation Marketing, known for deep expertise in content distribution systems and multi-channel content repurposing. * **Joanna Wiebe** : The pioneer of conversion copywriting and founder of Copy Hackers, focused on high-impact B2B messaging. **Demand Generation and Growth Strategy** * **Chris Walker** : CEO of Passetto (formerly Refine Labs), famous for popularizing modern demand-generation, dark social attribution, and modern go-to-market strategies. * **Dave Gerhardt** : Founder of Exit Five, a massive community and resource hub for B2B marketers, known for his practical, no-fluff marketing leadership advice. * **Peep Laja** : Founder of CXL and Wynter, recognized for advocating brand-first frameworks and rigorous customer messaging insights. **Positioning and SEO** * **April Dunford** : Globally recognized expert in market positioning and product differentiation, and author of _Obviously Awesome_. * **Andy Crestodina** : Co-founder of Orbit Media, an authority on web analytics, content ROI, and high-performance B2B blogging. * **Adam Robinson** : CEO of Retention.com, known for building in-public transparency around aggressive scaling, churn reduction, and outbound demand generation. Are you looking for top B2B marketing agencies, corporate CMOs, or specific thought leaders to follow for a particular channel like LinkedIn or SEO?

The landscape of B2B marketing is shaped by a mix of community builders, growth strategists, and enterprise marketing executives. Depending on what you mean by "top b2b marketers," this can refer to individual thought leaders, specialized agencies, or the world's most valuable business-to-business brands. Here is a breakdown of the leading entities dominating B2B marketing: [Best B2B Marketing Agencies In The US: 2026](https://www.b2bmarketing.net/reports/best-b2b-marketing-agencies-us-2026/)[Top B2B Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2026 - LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/saas_the-best-b2b-marketing-influencers-to-follow-activity-7470246697542213632-rcc7)[World’s top 20 B2B brands revealed](https://www.b2bmarketing.net/worlds-top-20-b2b-brands-revealed/) 👤 Top B2B Marketing Influencers & Thought Leaders These individuals are widely regarded as the top voices for modern B2B playbooks, communities, and tactical execution: [The Top 25 B2B Marketing Voices on LinkedIn](https://exitfive.com/articles/top-25-b2b-marketers-to-follow-on-linkedin/)[2025 Top B2B Digital Marketing Influencers | Clutch.co](https://clutch.co/resources/top-b2b-digital-marketing-influencers-2025) * * **Dave Gerhardt :** Founder of [Exit Five](https://exitfive.com/) (the premier community for B2B marketers) and former CMO at Drift. [LinkedIn·SaaS +1] * ** _Ann Handley_ :** Chief Content Officer at [MarketingProfs](https://www.marketingprofs.com/) and a pioneer in B2B content marketing strategy. [Top 15 Women in B2B Digital Marketing To Follow in 2025 | Clutch.co](https://clutch.co/resources/top-women-b2b-digital-marketing-influencers-2025) * **Chris Walker :** CEO of Passetto and former CEO of Refine Labs, known for pioneering the concept of "demand generation" over traditional lead gen. [Clutch - The Leading Marketplace for Finding Business Services] * **Emily Kramer :** Co-founder of [MKT1](https://mkt1.co/), who provides foundational marketing frameworks specifically for early and growth-stage B2B SaaS startups. [Exit Five +2] * ** _April Dunford_ :** The world's leading expert on B2B product positioning and author of _Obviously Awesome_. [LinkedIn·SaaS] * ** _Peep Laja_ :** Founder of [CXL](https://cxl.com/) and Wynter, highly respected for his data-driven insights on B2B messaging, copywriting, and conversion rate optimization. [LinkedIn·SaaS +1] * ** _Rand Fishkin_ :** Co-founder of [SparkToro](https://sparktoro.com/) and former founder of Moz, focusing heavily on B2B audience research and zero-click content. [LinkedIn·SaaS +1] * 🏢 Top B2B Marketing Agencies (US) If you are looking for agencies that execute high-performing B2B campaigns at scale, the top grossing and highest-rated firms include: [B2B's Top Marketing Agencies In The US 2025](https://www.b2bmarketing.net/reports/top-marketing-agencies-us/) * * **Dentsu B2B Americas** (Enterprise-scale full-service marketing) * **Marketbridge** (Go-to-market strategy and commercial execution) * **Gravity Global** (Brand positioning and complex demand generation) * **Walker Sands** (Specialized PR and digital marketing for B2B tech) * **The MX Group** (B2B digital transformation and account-based marketing) [B2B Marketing +1] * 🏷️ Top B2B Brands by Value & Campaign Execution From a corporate perspective, the companies that consistently set the standard for excellent B2B branding, software dominance, and marketing scale are: [15 best B2B brands on LinkedIn - Abe The Agency](https://www.abetheagency.com/blog/top-b2b-brands-linkedin) * * **Microsoft:** Consistently ranks as the world's most valuable B2B brand, fueled heavily by its cloud and AI enterprise ecosystems. * **HubSpot:** Widely praised for perfecting inbound B2B marketing, content flywheels, and community building. * **Salesforce:** The standard-bearer for enterprise software event marketing (Dreamforce) and relationship-led B2B selling. * **Cognism / Gong:** Frequently cited as modern masters of organic social selling and category design on LinkedIn. [Abe The Agency +2] * * * * To point you toward the right resources, are you looking for **individual influencers to follow for advice** , **agencies to hire for a campaign** , or **examples of top corporate B2B strategies to emulate**?

Here are some widely recognized top B2B marketers and sources you can explore for current leaders and rising stars. Note: the field evolves quickly, so I’ve included a mix of established CMOs and notable industry lists you can follow for the latest updates. - Rishi Dave, Chief Marketing Officer, Dun & Bradstreet - often cited as a leading B2B marketer shaping data-driven demand and ABM programs . - Abby Gabriel, CMO, Schneider Electric (North America) - cited for strategic B2B leadership and cross-functional impact in complex enterprise environments . - Andy Crestodina, Co-founder/Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media - renowned author and speaker in content marketing, frequently highlighted as a top B2B marketer to follow . - The B2B CMO 100 list - a curated roster of influential B2B marketing leaders redefining the function in large enterprises (includes leading CMOs like Abby Gabriel and others) . - James Habben (example names vary by year) and other CMOs frequently highlighted by industry roundups such as Kapost’s Top B2B Marketers in the C-Suite and B2B marketing media outlets . How to identify current top B2B marketers you can follow right now - Follow curated lists: Look at annual roundups like the B2B CMO 100, Kapost’s C-suite lists, and industry publications that regularly publish “top B2B marketers to follow” articles . - Track thought leaders on social media: Many top B2B marketers share frameworks on demand generation, ABM, and revenue marketing. Andy Crestodina’s content is a good example of practical, data-driven B2B insights . - Monitor agency and network rankings: Reports from B2B Marketing and industry aggregators often surface leaders based on impact, execution, and revenue outcomes, not just popularity . Would you like a fresh, up-to-date list tailored to a specific industry (e.g., software, manufacturing, healthcare tech) or a 1-page digest of the current top 10 B2B marketers to follow this quarter? I can pull the latest leaderboards and provide brief profiles with why they’re notable.