BOSS with my boss, Tim Barnes, GM AWS for Advertising & Marketing

On BOSS this week, I interviewed my boss, Tim Barnes, at Amazon Web Services (AWS).

We talked AdTech, Agentic AI, CES, and what actually matters as we head into 2026.

"I think the next sea change in AdTech is going to be an interoperability of AdTech based on agents." - Tim

Tim leads the Advertising & Marketing vertical at AWS, and he has built his career through multiple cycles of this industry, from early CRM and AdTech days to AT&T/Xandr and now AWS.

What stood out most in this conversation wasn’t hype.

"I think everyone knows who's in this industry; this is an industry driven by annual buzzwords." - Tim

It was clarity.

On agentic AI, Tim said what a lot of people are thinking:

This industry loves buzzwords.

Some move the needle. Some don’t.

This one feels different.

Why? Listen to find out as 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year.