Beyond the Map: Marianne Johnson on Leading When There Is No Playbook

With AI turning the traditional leadership playbook on its head, many leaders are finding themselves stuck in cycles of pilots, experimentation, and uncertainty. Marianne Johnson, EVP & Chief Product Officer at Cox Automotive, is one of the select few who are already creating real business impact, rewriting the playbook and redefining what’s possible in the process. In this episode of Tech Whisperers, we’re shining a light on Marianne’s enterprise leadership story, which involves orchestrating one of the largest business transformations in the industry, grounded in the conviction that AI starts and ends with people.

Marianne shares how Cox Automotive moved from “data first, AI enabled” to “AI first, data differentiated,” and the corporate jet conversation that helped launch its agentic AI strategy two years ago. Among other things, she also opens up about surviving an F5 tornado as a baby, the grandmother who taught her that “everything is figure-out-able,” and the young man in Kenya whose life she helped change.

Connect with Marianne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannemcpeakjohnson/

Cox Automotive: https://www.coxautoinc.com/

Tune in for insights from Marianne’s enterprise leadership playbook, including:

Why the leadership job is shifting from being the best explorer to being the cartographerHer philosophy of “start with crazy and work backwards”How Cox Automotive moved from “data first, AI enabled” to “AI first, data differentiated”Why every business needs a “control plane” for agentic AIHow she builds relationships “all the way down” an organizationWhy leadership is a team sportBalancing high standards with high care

Featuring submitted questions from:

Barry McCarthy, President & CEO, DeluxeChris Dillon, VP, Infrastructure & Operations Platforms, Cox Automotive Inc.Elaine Baker, EVP, Global Operations & Financial Protection, Global Payments Inc.Shawna Easley, Senior Director, Product Management, Cox Automotive Inc.Mitch Gersten, CIO, Cox Automotive Inc.Keith Ferrazzi, NYT Best-Selling Author, Founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight