Tricia Gellman on AI hype vs. reality
From CMO Box, Tricia Gellman on the State of AI · · AI x Marketing
“So back in May and June, which feels like decades ago at this point, it's now November, we had a question of is this all hype or what are IT leaders really thinking is going on with AI and what are they doing themselves?”
On , Tricia Gellman, Chief Marketing Officer at BOX INC, spoke about AI hype vs. reality during CMO Box, Tricia Gellman on the State of AI on AI x Marketing.
About Tricia Gellman
Tricia Gellman, Chief Marketing Officer at Box, appeared on the B2B CMO podcast on April 25, 2026. She discussed her approach to building C-suite buy-in and selling the brand story, noting that Box CEO Aaron Levie made two foundational decisions before she joined: not building their own large language model and not partnering with a single AI partner, and prioritizing getting users to try AI even if it meant losing money in some cases. Gellman said she moved 30% of Box's budget into awareness and pitched working with an agency to measure it, but Levie told her it was a waste of money because "we would know if we had awareness based on the vibe." Gellman also reflected on her previous roles. She described her time as CMO of Salesforce Canada as "not viewed as strategic" and "not viewed as necessary at all," stating that she left as a result. She recounted an experience at Adobe where a new C-suite was brought in to take the company to the next level but was fired within six months after the team "was falling apart."