From Code to Storytelling: How AI Is Reshaping Software Engineering and Marketing Leadership
- Marc Karasu, CMO at Vention
- AI and Automation, Digital Transformation, Managing Org Transformation, Managing Your Career, Other Martech, Strategy and Trends
Is AI rewriting the rules of software development and marketing leadership faster than companies can adapt? Artificial intelligence is moving at a pace that few industries have experienced before. In software development, the technology is not only changing how products are built but also how teams collaborate, how careers evolve, and how marketing leaders operate in B2B technology companies.
Marc Karasu, CMO of AI-enabled software development company Vention, has witnessed several waves of digital transformation up close. With nearly three decades in marketing, his career spans the early days of internet advertising, the rise of online job platforms, fintech innovation, and now the AI era.
Marc Karasu, CMO of AI-enabled software development company Vention, has witnessed several waves of digital transformation up close. With nearly three decades in marketing, his career spans the early days of internet advertising, the rise of online job platforms, fintech innovation, and now the AI era.
Watch the full interview with Marc Karasu of Vention to hear his take on AI’s impact on product development and the modern CMO’s playbook. Learn how it’s speeding delivery, shifting early-career engineering work, and powering internal tools.
From the early internet to the age of AI
Marc began his career in advertising, working on high-profile brands including ESPN, Reebok, and Absolut Vodka. That experience gave him a unique vantage point as digital channels reshaped commerce. “I had a front-row seat at the emergence of the internet as a business tool,” he explained.
He later moved to the client side and joined HotJobs during its early growth stage. At the time, searching for jobs online was far from mainstream. “People looked for jobs in newspapers,” said Marc. “This was a very cutting-edge type of business.”
HotJobs was eventually acquired by Yahoo, where Marc spent several years before moving into fintech leadership roles at companies such as Betterment and Ellevest. Today, he leads marketing at Vention, an AI-enabled software engineering company with thousands of developers worldwide. The company helps organizations both large and small build digital products and platforms, turning ideas into working software that can generate revenue.
He later moved to the client side and joined HotJobs during its early growth stage. At the time, searching for jobs online was far from mainstream. “People looked for jobs in newspapers,” said Marc. “This was a very cutting-edge type of business.”
HotJobs was eventually acquired by Yahoo, where Marc spent several years before moving into fintech leadership roles at companies such as Betterment and Ellevest. Today, he leads marketing at Vention, an AI-enabled software engineering company with thousands of developers worldwide. The company helps organizations both large and small build digital products and platforms, turning ideas into working software that can generate revenue.
AI adoption is happening faster than expected
Few technological shifts have accelerated as quickly as generative AI. “What I say today might feel outdated in a week, honestly, given the way and speed at which things are happening,” shared Marc.
When ChatGPT launched three years ago, many organizations viewed it as an interesting experiment. Today it has become a standard productivity tool for many teams. “I do remember when it came out, obviously, and we were early adopters,” he said. “I’m not sure that we all immediately saw the transformation that was coming.”
The speed of adoption has surprised even experienced technology leaders. “It’s definitely been shocking how quickly it’s become a go-to basic benchmark tool for so many people.”
At the same time, Marc noted that most of the world is still only scratching the surface of how to use these tools effectively. The technology may feel ubiquitous, but deep adoption is still developing.
When ChatGPT launched three years ago, many organizations viewed it as an interesting experiment. Today it has become a standard productivity tool for many teams. “I do remember when it came out, obviously, and we were early adopters,” he said. “I’m not sure that we all immediately saw the transformation that was coming.”
The speed of adoption has surprised even experienced technology leaders. “It’s definitely been shocking how quickly it’s become a go-to basic benchmark tool for so many people.”
At the same time, Marc noted that most of the world is still only scratching the surface of how to use these tools effectively. The technology may feel ubiquitous, but deep adoption is still developing.
Software engineering careers are evolving
One of the biggest questions surrounding AI is how it will affect software engineering careers. Marc believes the field is entering a period of adjustment rather than decline.
“I can give you my opinions, but I do think there are a lot of opinions out there,” he said. “What I am seeing is a real-time evolution and maybe even resetting of what software engineering might mean as a career choice.”
For decades, computer science and software engineering were among the safest career recommendations. “For the last 20 years, if anyone thinking about college asked me what they might want to focus on for a career, I would have almost always said you should get into software development or software engineering,” he reflected.
Today the picture is more complex. AI systems can already automate certain repetitive coding tasks, which may affect early career roles. “Entry-level software engineering is probably under the most pressure because it is, today at least, more easily replicated or applied by AI tools.”
Tasks such as basic coding, QA, and repetitive development work are exactly the types of activities that AI systems can perform efficiently at scale. However, Marc does not believe the profession will disappear. “I don’t believe it’s going away. I believe there’s always going to be a need for that layer of focus, expertise, and humanity in the process.”
Instead, he sees a future where engineers work alongside AI systems. “Good engineers are going to work in partnership with AI.”
“I can give you my opinions, but I do think there are a lot of opinions out there,” he said. “What I am seeing is a real-time evolution and maybe even resetting of what software engineering might mean as a career choice.”
For decades, computer science and software engineering were among the safest career recommendations. “For the last 20 years, if anyone thinking about college asked me what they might want to focus on for a career, I would have almost always said you should get into software development or software engineering,” he reflected.
Today the picture is more complex. AI systems can already automate certain repetitive coding tasks, which may affect early career roles. “Entry-level software engineering is probably under the most pressure because it is, today at least, more easily replicated or applied by AI tools.”
Tasks such as basic coding, QA, and repetitive development work are exactly the types of activities that AI systems can perform efficiently at scale. However, Marc does not believe the profession will disappear. “I don’t believe it’s going away. I believe there’s always going to be a need for that layer of focus, expertise, and humanity in the process.”
Instead, he sees a future where engineers work alongside AI systems. “Good engineers are going to work in partnership with AI.”
The growing value of human insight
As AI takes over more technical tasks, the human layer of software development may become even more important. Marc pointed to a simple comparison to show why that human layer matters. He recently read an example comparing how AI describes a sunset versus how a human experiences it. “When you ask ChatGPT what a sunset is, it gives you a very scientific, dry and verbose explanation of what a sunset is,” he explained. “But it doesn’t at all get into feelings, emotion, how color makes you feel, optimism, sadness, introspection.” The answer may be technically correct, but it lacks the emotional and contextual understanding that humans naturally bring.
This distinction highlights why human judgment will remain critical in fields like software development and marketing. Technology can process data, but it does not easily replicate the emotional and experiential context that shapes human decision-making.
This distinction highlights why human judgment will remain critical in fields like software development and marketing. Technology can process data, but it does not easily replicate the emotional and experiential context that shapes human decision-making.
Why liberal arts may matter more for engineers
The growing importance of human perspective may also influence how future engineers are educated. Marc believes interdisciplinary thinking will become more valuable. “I’ve definitely seen articles where there’s some thought that liberal arts education will become more important in the near future,” he said.
Technical expertise will still be essential but combining it with broader thinking could help engineers build better systems. “You might be sprinkling in more liberal arts than you have in the past.”
In practice, that means skills like critical thinking, communication, and ethical reasoning may become just as important as coding knowledge.
Technical expertise will still be essential but combining it with broader thinking could help engineers build better systems. “You might be sprinkling in more liberal arts than you have in the past.”
In practice, that means skills like critical thinking, communication, and ethical reasoning may become just as important as coding knowledge.
The modern CMO must move faster
AI is also transforming the role of the chief marketing officer. In B2B technology companies, the CMO is responsible not only for brand awareness but also for measurable business outcomes. “You have a significant amount of responsibility and expectation, not just on some of the more basic things like brand awareness or lead generation, but also on generating pipeline and revenue,” said Marc.
While AI expands the marketing toolkit, he believes the core principles of marketing remain unchanged. “I’ve always been of the opinion that the important component for a CMO is storytelling and emotional connection.” Technology may help produce content faster, but it cannot replace the deeper strategic thinking behind it. “Even if ChatGPT can write a story quickly, you have to bring that wisdom, experience, and visibility of explaining the sunset.”
What has changed dramatically is the speed at which marketing teams operate. “The time to turn around things has gotten exponentially faster because of these tools,” Marc noted. Projects that once required days or weeks can now be completed in hours. “Good tools can allow you or your team to complete a task literally in one hour that used to take 10 hours, or one hour that used to take 100 hours. You have to be able to turn things around more quickly.”
For CMOs, that means adapting processes, budgets, and campaign cycles to match this accelerated environment.
While AI expands the marketing toolkit, he believes the core principles of marketing remain unchanged. “I’ve always been of the opinion that the important component for a CMO is storytelling and emotional connection.” Technology may help produce content faster, but it cannot replace the deeper strategic thinking behind it. “Even if ChatGPT can write a story quickly, you have to bring that wisdom, experience, and visibility of explaining the sunset.”
What has changed dramatically is the speed at which marketing teams operate. “The time to turn around things has gotten exponentially faster because of these tools,” Marc noted. Projects that once required days or weeks can now be completed in hours. “Good tools can allow you or your team to complete a task literally in one hour that used to take 10 hours, or one hour that used to take 100 hours. You have to be able to turn things around more quickly.”
For CMOs, that means adapting processes, budgets, and campaign cycles to match this accelerated environment.
Practicing what you preach with AI
At Vention, AI is not just a topic for marketing discussions. The company actively builds and deploys AI tools internally. One example is a legal RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) platform designed to manage the company’s large repository of contracts and agreements. With more than 50,000 documents across multiple regions and languages, retrieving the right information quickly can be challenging. The AI-powered system allows legal teams to query documents using natural language and instantly retrieve relevant clauses and insights.
“The legal team reports a 50% to 70% time savings on tasks such as document summarization, contract comparison, and workflow creation,” summarized Marc. The goal is not to eliminate roles but to increase productivity. “It is always about doing more faster.”
Another example is Vention’s internal platform called World of Development. The system acts as a company-wide knowledge ecosystem that helps engineers find project components, documentation, and expertise across thousands of employees. By integrating tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT into development workflows, engineers can automate routine coding tasks. “In early stages of adoption, engineers were able to generate between 70% and 80% time savings on specific development tasks.”
That efficiency allows developers to focus on more complex engineering challenges instead of repetitive work. “This is not about replacing our engineers with AI,” said Marc. “It’s about making each one pound for pound more productive.”
“The legal team reports a 50% to 70% time savings on tasks such as document summarization, contract comparison, and workflow creation,” summarized Marc. The goal is not to eliminate roles but to increase productivity. “It is always about doing more faster.”
Another example is Vention’s internal platform called World of Development. The system acts as a company-wide knowledge ecosystem that helps engineers find project components, documentation, and expertise across thousands of employees. By integrating tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT into development workflows, engineers can automate routine coding tasks. “In early stages of adoption, engineers were able to generate between 70% and 80% time savings on specific development tasks.”
That efficiency allows developers to focus on more complex engineering challenges instead of repetitive work. “This is not about replacing our engineers with AI,” said Marc. “It’s about making each one pound for pound more productive.”
Lean in, experiment, and build
For marketers and technology professionals navigating this shift, the rapid pace of change can feel disorienting. “I would say that it is a little scary out there these days because of the pace of change,” Marc said. But avoiding it is not an option.
His advice is straightforward: Lean in. “My own advice would be lean in, read a lot.” He encourages professionals to experiment with multiple AI platforms and learn through hands-on experience. “I have accounts with ChatGPT and Claude, dabbled in Gemini, and I’m using their video engines.”
Even better, he suggests building something with AI instead of simply reading about it. “I do want to use some of the emerging technologies and create some sort of a side business using AI,” he said. The goal is not necessarily financial success, but practical understanding.
“Learning and building is the best way to see reality of limitations, and where things excel.” In an industry moving as fast as AI, curiosity may be the most valuable skill of all.
His advice is straightforward: Lean in. “My own advice would be lean in, read a lot.” He encourages professionals to experiment with multiple AI platforms and learn through hands-on experience. “I have accounts with ChatGPT and Claude, dabbled in Gemini, and I’m using their video engines.”
Even better, he suggests building something with AI instead of simply reading about it. “I do want to use some of the emerging technologies and create some sort of a side business using AI,” he said. The goal is not necessarily financial success, but practical understanding.
“Learning and building is the best way to see reality of limitations, and where things excel.” In an industry moving as fast as AI, curiosity may be the most valuable skill of all.
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