“AI is also gonna unleash exponential ability to create, to enhance human creativity, for humans and people to use machines to give them a different starting point, to allow them to generate lots of different options, and revise their work quickly. But it won't replace human touch. It won't replace human creativity. It just enhances it and accelerates it.” - Laura Desmond

As consumer expectations rise and AI accelerates change, the advertising industry faces a new mandate: fewer, smarter ads that deliver personalization and performance at scale. Laura Desmond, CEO of Smartly and longtime industry leader, believes this shift marks a renaissance for creativity. In this conversation with Matt Britton, she delves deep into how AI is transforming campaign production, why CMOs must evolve from cost managers to growth drivers, and how Smartly is convening the industry to rethink outdated models.

Laura Desmond is the CEO of Smartly, the world’s leading AI-powered advertising platform, managing over $5 billion in ad spend for 700+ global brands. At Smartly, she is redefining how media, creative, and intelligence come together to deliver intelligent creative and advertising that adapts in real time to consumer behavior.

She is also the creator of ADVANCE 2025, described as the “Davos of Advertising,” a global forum convening the industry’s top leaders from Meta, Google, TikTok, Unilever, and more to debate the future of creativity, technology, and consumer connection.

Prior to Smartly, Laura became the youngest CEO in Starcom’s history at 35 and later held senior leadership roles across Publicis Groupe and DoubleVerify. Known for her ability to grow teams, scale organizations, and mentor the next generation of leaders, Laura has built her career on a simple mantra: get sh*t done.

Leadership Is About Betting on People and Mission

Laura reflects on lessons from her early years as one of the youngest CEOs in the industry. She explains that leadership is about creating meaning and making three core bets: on yourself to inspire and provide clarity, on your team to grow and win together, and on the mission to keep it relevant to current realities. For Laura, defining reality and helping teams move toward it is what separates managers from leaders who inspire loyalty and long-term impact.

AI as the Most Disruptive Shift Yet

Having worked through the internet boom, the mobile revolution, and the rise of social commerce, Laura calls AI the most transformative shift of her career. Unlike past changes, AI accelerates everything, how consumers consume culture, how brands engage, and how creativity is delivered. She notes that consumers will increasingly operate at “algorithm speed,” demanding content that entertains, sells, and delights instantly. Brands that fail to embrace this pace, she warns, will be left behind.

From Volume to Intelligent Creative

Laura makes it clear: the industry doesn’t need more ads, it needs smarter ones. Smartly’s approach to “intelligent creative” is about building always-on campaigns that adapt to consumer signals in real time. She describes features like background refresh and dynamic pricing, along with video assembly tools that can reformat a TikTok into multiple ad types instantly. This frees marketers from manual, repetitive tasks and allows them to focus on strategic creativity while giving consumers the personalization they expect.

Responsible Data, Responsible AI

Smartly processes 92 billion creative signals every day across platforms from Meta to Amazon. Laura emphasizes that with such scale comes responsibility: Smartly is privacy-first, avoids scraping, and only uses publicly sourced models to protect creators. She explains that the company operates with “AI-first and AI-everyday” principles, embedding AI in product design and employee development. From aggregating performance reviews to automating video production, these practices ensure AI is ethical, practical, and transformative.

CMOs Must Shift From Cost to Growth Drivers

Laura cites a recent BCG study predicting that marketing will be the most transformed function in the enterprise. She agrees, stressing that CMOs must move beyond efficiency to growth. At Smartly, she works with brands like Uber, Spotify, and Disney to scale campaigns from 50 to 100 markets without additional resources by using AI to expand personalization and agility. She argues marketing dollars are no longer just a cost or investment, with AI, they are a growth engine.

Advance: The Industry’s New Forum for Big Ideas

Laura describes Advance, Smartly’s annual event, as a response to an industry at an inflection point. She explains how the forum convenes leaders from platforms like Google and TikTok, global CMOs, and storytellers to discuss responsible AI, brand safety, and the cultural shifts reshaping marketing. Branded by some as the “Davos of advertising,” Advance challenges outdated models and sparks conversations that push the industry to embrace technology, creativity, and culture at speed.

The Mantra: Get Sh*t Done

Asked to distill her career into a mantra, Laura chooses “get sh*t done.” For her, leadership isn’t about ideas left on a shelf but about fearless execution, taking a step forward every day, trying, and making things happen. In an industry where change moves at algorithm speed, she warns that those who hesitate will be passed by. The leaders who embrace action, even in uncertainty, are the ones who will shape the future of advertising.