Kim Storin is Zayo’s resident “transformation architect.”
As a three-time CMO, Kim has built a career on an unwavering optimism that asserts that the future is always bright, even when it is uncertain. She has effectively led three major company turn-arounds, and facilitated more than 30 acquisitions.
That’s why Kim has been a vanguard for AI integration for the marketing team at Zayo. Research she led while at IBM in 2019 showed that “most rogue AI experiments (aka ‘random acts of AI’) led to mediocrity – excess spending, data put at risk, potential bias, and an inability to scale across the organization. And they couldn’t be measured for impact.” These early trials showed too much focus on the technology, and not enough focus on the people trying to implement the technology.
Rather than feeling reluctantly dragged into the world of AI, Kim has a fierce curiosity about the ever-changing landscape of information laid out in a world that is becoming more and more automated and artificial. She embodies Zayo’s principle: Think Big. Using the same skills that have seen her through other corporate culture transformations, she is embracing AI, driving innovation, and bringing radical transformation to the marketing function at Zayo.
How does she do it? Kim shares these five key steps to success:
- Start at the top. Business leaders set the tone for the team. Prioritize AI initiatives and clearly articulate the importance of successfully integrating AI practices, as a tool for working together more effectively, and benefiting the customer’s experience.
- Build with intention and structure. Include employees at every level, so everyone understands the why behind the what. Leaders must articulate a clear objective, with a framework and collaboration model that drives cross-organization focus and collaboration.
- Assign a marketing AI champion or champions. Someone who is authentically aligned with the AI piece. Invest in their AI fundamentals education and have them drive communication, commitment, and collaboration across their team.
- Embed AI agility into the marketing DNA. Adopting new technologies across the Marketing function requires an agile, adopt-and-go mindset. Pilot AI initiatives to scale or kill quickly by monitoring results and measuring outcomes from the beginning.
- Focus on the systems level of marketing, including processes, tools, data, and people. Without a holistic end-to-end approach, AI will fail to live up to the hype and will fail to demonstrate measurable results. A piecemeal approach also leaves bias and discrimination at risk. And remember: people are essential to those systems. Every aspect of the product or service requires a clear strategy for incorporating AI, and a clear plan for testing its usefulness. This means staying open through every stage of the marketing process, not assuming, listening to your team as they encounter setbacks and challenges, and ultimately supporting them throughout.
Kim’s strengths in all things data and analytics have served her well. But it’s her commitment to transformation that is helping her usher in the age of AI to Zayo marketing.