Dave Edelman — AI Marketing Keynote Speaker & Customer Strategy Advisor
AI Marketing Keynote Speaker | Customer Strategy Advisor | Educator
Bestselling Author with over 1.1M LinkedIn Followers.
Repeatedly recognized as AI Trailblazer, Top Influential CMO,
Top Marketing/Tech Leader
Keynote Speaker
Every year, Dave speaks at dozens of industry conferences and private leadership events across the globe.
Harness AI to drive human creativity and growth.
Competing on Personalization
Aligning cross-functional leadership teams.
Scenario Planning In the Age of AI
Navigate change with confidence and clarity.
Leading Through Transformation
Data-driven approaches that deliver results.
Marketing Strategy for the Modern Enterprise
Advisory
Dave partners with organizations to drive strategic transformation and measurable growth.
Accelerate growth through new strategies and operational transformation.
Enterprise Leaders: CEOs, CMOs, CXOs, CDOs: Counselor and Catalyst
Scale go-to-market, verticalization, and customer success.
Emerging Tech Companies and VC's: Advisory Board member.
Raise the bar on Business development, Productization, and Pitch delivery.
Marketing Services Companies: Active Advisor
Unlock digital/AI/marketing transformation to drive value growth.
Private Equity Firms: Op Co Board Member and Advisor
Insights & Publications
Thought leadership on AI, marketing strategy, and organizational transformation.
My client work allows me to turn my experience and observations into articles I've published in the Harvard Business Review, with BCG and McKinsey. View all AI Marketing Insights.
Find out more about the book on Personalization that I wrote with Mark Abraham from Boston Consulting Group.
Education has been at the heart of everything I do, from my role as a Harvard Lecturer through to my regular live training on Linkedin, which you can see here.
My Story
A journey from Brooklyn to Harvard, from theater to tech, balancing art and science
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, I've always balanced art and science in my interests—conducting musical theater bands while nerding out on the high school math team.
At Harvard College, I started a theater production company while writing my honors thesis on the intersection of technology and economics in the music business. This dual passion led me to Harvard Business School, then to the Boston Consulting Group where I rose to partner and penned "Segment of One Marketing" in 1989, foreshadowing the personalization waves to come.
My career took me through Digitas and McKinsey, where I built digital marketing strategy practices, then to Aetna as CMO, driving transformation through the CVS acquisition. Then I returned full circle as a professor at Harvard Business School, and now I guide clients globally on AI and digitization.
I've been repeatedly recognized by Forbes as one of the "Most Influential CMOs in the World," and by AdWeek as one of the "Top 20 Marketing and Technology Executives." In 2025 I was named a top "AI Trailblazer," and by Enterprise World as "An Iconic Leader to Watch."
Still an avid tenor saxophonist, I enjoy my time as a novice musician in a local jazz ensemble, residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts with my wonderful wife of 35+ years and three artistically-minded grown children.
Let's Work Together
To discuss working with Dave for a keynote speech, private executive retreats, board advisory work, or research, please get in touch.