The top B2B AI keynote speakers for 2026 each solve a different problem — from enterprise AI strategy (Andrew Ng, Sol Rashidi) to AI-powered marketing and sales execution (Pam Didner, Paul Roetzer, Chris Penn) to AI ethics and human-centered design (Fei-Fei Li, Kate Darling, Mo Gawdat). Speaker fees range from $15,000 for emerging voices to $100,000+ for globally recognized authorities. The right pick depends less on who is most famous and more on what the audience needs to do differently on Monday morning.
This question often comes up — usually from a CMO, a Chief Revenue Officer, or a VP of Sales Enablement who has a sales kickoff or a marketing summit on the calendar and a budget line that says “AI keynote.” The pressure is real. The goal is a speaker who will move the room and can also hold up under questions from a skeptical sales leader who has already sat through three AI demos this quarter.
This list was built as it would be for a client — matched to specific event types, with honest notes on who fits where. Twelve speakers, organized by the problem they actually solve.
How to Choose the Right B2B AI Speaker for Your Event
Before booking anyone, four questions help narrow the list down to two or three names fast.
Who is in the room? A CMO audience needs different depth than a cross-functional executive team. A sales kickoff has a different energy than an executive offsite.
What outcome do you need? Strategic clarity is one job. Practical implementation frameworks are another. Cultural buy-in is a third. Most speakers do one of these well — a few do two.
Where is your AI maturity actually? Be honest. A team running its first Copilot pilot needs a different speaker than one scaling AI across six business units.
What is the format and budget? Keynotes typically run $15,000 to $100,000+. Workshops add cost but compound the value. Virtual cuts the fee 30–50%.
Important Note: The biggest mistake in speaker selection is matching a name to the brand rather than the audience’s need. A globally famous AI researcher in front of a regional sales team can land flat. A practitioner-focused speaker in front of a board hungry for vision can feel small. Match the voice to the room.
With that filter in mind, here are the 12 speakers recommended most often.
1. Andrew Ng
Primary focus: AI education, enterprise adoption, and practical implementation strategy.
Best for: Organizations scaling from AI pilots to production, and revenue teams that need structured AI upskilling.
Key speaking topics:
- Moving from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale deployment
- Building AI-literate organizations through systematic upskilling
- Data-centric AI: improving model quality without ballooning costs
- Identifying the highest-value AI use cases by industry
Why book Andrew: He is one of the most trusted voices in AI education globally — co-founder of Google Brain, former Chief Scientist at Baidu, and the founder of DeepLearning.AI and Coursera’s AI programs. His keynotes translate deep technical expertise into clear implementation roadmaps. Where many AI speakers generate excitement, Andrew generates clarity. His data-centric approach helps teams get more value from AI without unnecessary cost or complexity.
Pam’s take: Andrew is the recommended choice when the room has more skeptics than believers. His credibility shuts down the “is AI just hype” debate inside the first ten minutes — which means the rest of the day can actually be productive.
Notable credentials: Co-founder of Google Brain; former Chief Scientist at Baidu; founder of DeepLearning.AI and Coursera AI Programs; Time 100 Most Influential People in AI.
Connect with Andrew Ng on LinkedIn
2. Paul Roetzer
Primary focus: AI for marketing, AI readiness, and organizational transformation.
Best for: Marketing teams and CMOs building AI-powered workflows from the ground up.
Key speaking topics:
- The state of AI in marketing — what’s real, what’s hype, what’s next
- Building an AI-ready marketing organization
- Human + machine collaboration in content, demand gen, and campaign strategy
- AI scoring frameworks for evaluating tools and use cases
Why book Paul: Paul is the founder of the Marketing AI Institute and one of the most recognized authorities on AI’s practical application in marketing. Through MAICON — the Marketing AI Conference he founded — and his widely followed podcast and research, he has built the largest community of AI-focused marketers in B2B. His frameworks for evaluating AI tools, building AI-ready teams, and scoring AI use cases give marketing leaders a structured approach to transformation rather than ad hoc experimentation.
Pam’s take: Paul is the one to call when a CMO needs a vendor-neutral framework for tool selection. He has watched more marketing AI tools fail in the wild than almost anyone, and that pattern recognition shows up on stage.
Notable credentials: Founder, Marketing AI Institute and MAICON; author of Marketing Artificial Intelligence; co-host of the Marketing AI Show podcast.
Connect with Paul Roetzer on LinkedIn
3. Cassie Kozyrkov
Primary focus: Decision intelligence, AI strategy, and responsible AI for enterprise.
Best for: C-suite and cross-functional leadership teams making high-stakes AI investment and governance decisions.
Key speaking topics:
- Decision intelligence: how to make better decisions with AI
- Responsible AI governance frameworks
- Demystifying machine learning for non-technical executives
- Building a culture of evidence-based decision-making
Why book Cassie: As Google’s first Chief Decision Scientist and the founder of the field of Decision Intelligence, Cassie has guided some of the world’s most complex AI transformations. She brings a rare range — technically rigorous enough to earn the respect of data teams, yet accessible enough to move C-suite audiences who have no patience for jargon. Her theatre-trained delivery and gift for analogy make her one of the most memorable AI speakers on any stage.
Pam’s take: Cassie is the rare speaker who can hold a board’s attention and a data scientist’s respect in the same hour. Book her when your AI governance conversation is stuck and you need someone who can reset the room.
Notable credentials: Google’s first Chief Decision Scientist; founder of the field of Decision Intelligence; advisor to enterprise leaders on responsible AI deployment.
Connect with Cassie Kozyrkov on LinkedIn
4. Pam Didner
Primary focus: AI implementation for B2B marketing and sales, sales and marketing alignment, and Microsoft Copilot training for enterprise teams.
Best for: Marketing and sales leadership teams that have AI licenses, AI curiosity, and AI pilots — but not yet AI-driven revenue.
Key speaking topics:
- Practical AI adoption frameworks for B2B marketing and sales teams
- Microsoft Copilot training for enterprise — why most rollouts stall and how to fix them
- Sales and marketing alignment in the AI era: building unified revenue operations
- Human-in-the-loop: integrating AI without losing the relationships that close complex B2B deals
- AI readiness assessment and upskilling for mid-market and enterprise organizations
Why book Pam:
Pam has spent 20+ years inside corporations — accounting, supply chain, marketing, and sales enablement at Intel and beyond — which means she has seen what happens when a tool rolls out to a team that wasn’t trained on it. The license sits unused, the executive sponsor gets frustrated, and someone eventually decides “AI didn’t work for us.” That is not an AI problem. That is an enablement problem.
Her work focuses on the unglamorous middle layer between AI strategy and AI results — the prompts, the workflows, the team rituals, the sales-marketing handoffs that determine whether a Copilot deployment saves a team 5–30 hours per employee per month or quietly becomes shelfware. Pam speaks at events including the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, delivering both keynotes and full-day strategic planning workshops, and works directly with B2B technology, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare companies on Copilot training and AI-ready team building.
What Pam brings to a stage is implementation, not inspiration. Frameworks people can run on Monday. Real prompts. Honest limitations. The kind of session where the VP of Sales walks out with three things to change that quarter — not three slides to screenshot. Most of the frameworks used on stage come from her book The Modern AI Marketer in the GPT Era, the field guide she wishes she’d had when she started running AI workshops three years ago.
Notable credentials: Speaker and workshop facilitator, MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2026; author of five B2B marketing books including The Modern AI Marketer in the GPT Era; host of B2B Marketing and More podcast; former global marketing strategist at Intel; trusted advisor to Fortune 500 AI marketing implementations.
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn | Book Pam to Speak
5. Allie K. Miller
Primary focus: Enterprise AI strategy, AI product development, and innovation leadership.
Best for: Executive teams and innovation leaders scaling AI across enterprise functions.
Key speaking topics:
- Building AI-powered products and services at scale
- Enterprise AI strategy — moving from pilots to production
- The future of AI in sales, marketing, and customer experience
- Diversity and inclusion in AI development
Why book Allie: Allie is a former Global Head of Machine Learning Business Development for Startups and VC at AWS and a TIME100 Most Influential Person in AI. She also launched IBM Watson’s first multimodal AI team, giving her rare depth across both research and commercial AI deployment. Her keynotes are known for energy, accessibility, and forward-looking relevance. Her investor perspective across hundreds of AI-first companies gives her pattern recognition that purely academic or purely practitioner speakers don’t have.
Pam’s take: Allie is the right pick for a sales kickoff where the audience is trying to size up the competition. Her investor lens means she can name which AI capabilities will commoditize fast and which ones will hold — which is exactly the question your sales leaders are quietly asking.
Notable credentials: Former Global Head of Machine Learning, Startups & VC at AWS; TIME100 Most Influential Person in AI; launched IBM Watson’s first multimodal AI team.
Connect with Allie K. Miller on LinkedIn
6. Zack Kass
Primary focus: AI business strategy and the future of human-AI collaboration.
Best for: Executive leadership teams preparing for AI-driven market disruption.
Key speaking topics:
- Unmetered Intelligence — how AI abundance shifts the source of competitive advantage
- Building AI-first go-to-market strategies
- Leading organizations through AI-driven transformation
- The ethics and opportunity of AI in the modern enterprise
Why book Zack: As the former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI, Zack was inside the company as it transformed from a research lab into a global business phenomenon. He built the teams responsible for sales, partnerships, and customer success — and personally advised executives across dozens of industries on deploying AI at scale. His 2026 book The Next RenAIssance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential debuted as a USA Today and LA Times bestseller. For B2B organizations that want a speaker who combines inside knowledge of the AI frontier with practical commercial experience, Zack is a top-tier choice.
Pam’s take: Zack is the recommended choice when a CEO needs to walk away convinced. The OpenAI pedigree opens the door, but it’s his commercial fluency that closes it — he speaks like an operator, not a researcher.
Notable credentials: Former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI; author of The Next RenAIssance (USA Today and LA Times bestseller, 2026); advisor to Fortune 1000 companies on AI business strategy.
Connect with Zack Kass on LinkedIn
7. Chris Penn
Primary focus: AI analytics, marketing data science, and practical AI tools for marketers.
Best for: Marketing operations, demand generation, and analytics teams ready to build technical AI capabilities.
Key speaking topics:
- AI-powered marketing analytics and attribution
- Practical generative AI tools and workflows for marketing teams
- Data quality and AI readiness for B2B organizations
- Prompt engineering and AI workflow automation for non-technical marketers
Why book Chris: Chris is a co-founder of TrustInsights.ai and one of the most technically credible AI practitioners in the B2B marketing world. Where many speakers stay at the strategic level, Chris goes deep into the tools, workflows, and data infrastructure that make AI actually work for marketing teams. His sessions are dense with practical demonstrations and frameworks technical and analytical marketers can apply immediately. For organizations where MOps and analytics are driving AI adoption, Chris is the working-level expertise that complements more strategy-focused keynotes.
Pam’s take: Chris is best paired with a strategy speaker like his cofounder and CEO, Katie Robbert. An expert in organizational behavior, change management, and AI strategy, Katie created the 5P Framework by Trust Insights™, the master framework for the company and the blueprint for how organizations should enable AI and empower people to use it well.
A CMO keynote sets the vision; Chris gives the analytics and ops team the actual tooling depth so the vision doesn’t die in implementation.
Notable credentials: Co-founder, TrustInsights.ai; co-host of the Marketing Over Coffee podcast; author of multiple books on AI and data-driven marketing.
Connect with Chris Penn on LinkedIn
8. Sol Rashidi
Primary focus: Enterprise AI transformation, data strategy, and AI value realization.
Best for: C-suite and technology leadership at Fortune 500 organizations scaling AI initiatives.
Key speaking topics:
- Cutting through AI complexity to drive real business value
- Building data foundations that make AI work at enterprise scale
- AI governance, ethics, and organizational change management
- Lessons from leading AI transformations at Fortune 100 companies
Why book Sol: Sol is one of the most accomplished enterprise AI executives in the world. She played a pivotal role in launching IBM’s Watson and led AI initiatives across multiple Fortune 100 companies — Sony Music, Merck, Royal Caribbean. As a bestselling author and prolific innovator, she brings the battle-tested perspective of an executive who has actually owned AI P&Ls, built AI teams from scratch, and delivered quantifiable results — not just advised on them from outside. Her keynotes cut through AI hype with the specificity and candor that come from having lived inside the decisions.
Pam’s take: Sol is the speaker your CIO will respect and your CMO will quote. Book her when the AI conversation has already happened a few times in your company and what the room needs now is someone who has actually shipped, not pitched.
Notable credentials: Pivotal role in launching IBM Watson; led AI initiatives at multiple Fortune 100 companies; bestselling author on data, AI, and technology leadership.
Connect with Sol Rashidi on LinkedIn
9. Radhika Dirks
Primary focus: AI strategy, quantum computing, and the future of intelligent enterprise systems.
Best for: Innovation-forward executive teams exploring the long-term strategic implications of AI.
Key speaking topics:
- AI frameworks for enterprise decision-making and competitive positioning
- The convergence of AI, quantum computing, and data intelligence
- Building organizations that learn and adapt faster than their competitors
- Strategic AI implementation: from concept to measurable business impact
Why book Radhika: Radhika brings a combination of deep AI research credibility and executive business acumen that is genuinely rare on the speaking circuit. As a quantum physicist turned AI entrepreneur, she founded XLabs, an AI research and commercialization lab focused on the next generation of enterprise intelligence systems. World Bank leadership has described her AI frameworks as immediately applicable — not theoretical — across their entire strategic agenda. Her ability to bridge the near-term and the long-term without losing either is what makes her valuable for senior executive audiences.
Pam’s take: Radhika is the right pick for a board offsite, not a sales kickoff. The depth she brings rewards an audience with time to think — it’s wasted on a room that needs to move fast on Monday.
Notable credentials: Quantum physicist and AI entrepreneur; advisor to major global institutions on AI strategy; expert in AI-quantum convergence and enterprise intelligence systems.
Connect with Radhika Dirks on LinkedIn
10. Fei-Fei Li
Primary focus: Human-centered AI, AI for social good, and the long-term implications of machine intelligence.
Best for: Healthcare, education, and enterprise audiences focused on responsible, human-first AI implementation.
Key speaking topics:
- Human-centered AI: building systems that augment human capability
- AI in healthcare, education, and public sector applications
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion in AI development
- The long-term societal and business implications of AI advancement
Why book Fei-Fei: Fei-Fei is one of the most influential AI researchers in the world and co-director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI). Her creation of ImageNet — the visual database that triggered the modern deep learning revolution — means she is not simply a commentator on AI’s development; she is one of its architects. As former Chief Scientist of AI/ML at Google Cloud, she also brings the commercial deployment perspective that purely academic speakers lack. Her keynotes argue persuasively that organizations building AI that genuinely serves human needs will outcompete those optimizing purely for efficiency.
Pam’s take: Fei-Fei is the recommended speaker for healthcare, financial services, and any regulated industry where customer trust is the moat. Her scientific authority gives boards the cover they need to invest with confidence rather than caution.
Notable credentials: Co-Director, Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI); creator of ImageNet; former Chief Scientist of AI/ML at Google Cloud; named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
Connect with Fei-Fei Li on LinkedIn
11. Mo Gawdat
Primary focus: Humanizing AI, AI ethics, and preparing organizations for an AI-abundant future.
Best for: Executive teams trying to understand AI’s societal impact and build human-first AI cultures.
Key speaking topics:
- The human implications of AI — what leaders must understand now
- AI strategies that prioritize human wellbeing alongside efficiency
- Working with AI anxiety and change resistance inside organizations
- The future of human purpose in an AI-augmented workplace
Why book Mo: Mo served as Chief Business Officer at Google X — the moonshot factory behind self-driving cars and delivery drones — which means he has seen AI development from closer to the frontier than almost any public speaker working today. Since leaving Google, he has become one of the most honest voices on what AI’s rapid advancement means for human beings inside organizations. His global bestseller Scary Smart and his podcast Slo Mo have built a following of millions. Mo is particularly valuable when the human side of AI transformation is as complex as the technical side.
Pam’s take: Mo is who you book when your employees are scared and your leadership team isn’t sure how to talk to them about it. He gives executives language for the conversations they have been avoiding — about purpose, displacement, and what meaningful work looks like next.
Notable credentials: Former Chief Business Officer at Google X; author of Scary Smart, a global bestseller on AI and humanity; host of Slo Mo podcast.
Connect with Mo Gawdat on LinkedIn
12. Kate Darling
Primary focus: Human-robot interaction, AI ethics, and the social dimensions of intelligent technology.
Best for: Organizations seeking balanced, evidence-based perspectives on AI’s integration into work and society.
Key speaking topics:
- How humans form relationships with AI and robots — and what that means for business
- AI ethics beyond compliance: building trust with customers, employees, and partners
- The New Breed — rethinking how we categorize and relate to intelligent machines
- Balancing AI capability with human accountability
Why book Kate: Kate is a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab and one of the world’s most cited experts on the social and ethical dimensions of robotics and AI. Her bestselling book The New Breed rejects both the utopian and dystopian framings that dominate most AI conversations, offering instead a research-grounded model for how organizations can think practically about integrating AI into their teams. What distinguishes Kate on a lineup is her ability to hold nuance without losing the room — she is neither booster nor alarmist, and she translates years of research into frameworks B2B leaders can use.
Pam’s take: Kate is the speaker for an event where the audience spans technical, legal, HR, and leadership — and each group is worried about something different. She is one of the few voices who can speak credibly to all four at once.
Notable credentials: Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab; author of The New Breed; awarded the Mark T. Banner Award in Intellectual Property; advisor on AI ethics and policy to major organizations globally.
Connect with Kate Darling on LinkedIn
How Pam Didner Helps B2B Marketing and Sales Teams Get AI-Ready
For events focused on the part of AI that actually moves revenue — the prompts, the workflows, the Copilot rollouts that 11% of a team is currently using six months in — this is the work Pam does.
Pam helps B2B technology, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare companies get their marketing and sales teams AI-ready, aligned, and driving revenue. That looks different depending on where a company is. For some, it is a keynote that gives a leadership team a shared language and a shared roadmap. For others, it is a full-day strategic planning workshop. For others still, it is an AI training program for marketing or sales enablement teams who have Copilot licenses and no idea what to do with them.
What stays consistent is the focus: implementation, not inspiration. Frameworks people can run on Monday. Real prompts. Honest limitations.
For those planning a sales kickoff, marketing summit, or executive offsite where the audience needs to leave with an AI-driven plan rather than a list of things to think about, submit a speaker inquiry or schedule a call with Pam to talk through what the team needs.
About Pam Didner
Pam Didner is a B2B AI strategist, fractional CMO, and 5x author who helps marketing and sales teams get AI-ready, aligned, and focused on revenue. With 20+ years in the corporate world – across accounting, supply chain, marketing, and sales enablement – she knows how big organizations actually work, and how to move them. She does that through fractional CMO engagements, keynote speaking, workshop training, private coaching, and hands-on consulting. Contact her or find her on LinkedIn. She also leads Microsoft Copilot training programs for enterprise marketing and sales teams.
Frequently Asked Questions About B2B AI Keynote Speakers
Who are the top B2B AI keynote speakers for 2026?
The top B2B AI keynote speakers for 2026 include Andrew Ng (enterprise AI adoption), Paul Roetzer (AI for marketing), Cassie Kozyrkov (decision intelligence), Pam Didner (AI implementation and sales-marketing alignment), Allie K. Miller (enterprise AI strategy), Zack Kass (AI business transformation), Chris Penn (AI analytics and tools), Sol Rashidi (Fortune 100 AI transformation), Radhika Dirks (AI strategy and quantum), Fei-Fei Li (human-centered AI), Mo Gawdat (humanizing AI), and Kate Darling (AI ethics and human-robot interaction). Each brings a distinct lens — from practical implementation to strategic vision to ethical frameworks.
How much do B2B AI keynote speakers cost in 2026?
B2B AI keynote speaker fees typically range from $15,000 to $100,000+ depending on the speaker’s profile, demand, and event format. Emerging AI practitioners usually charge $15,000–$30,000. Established thought leaders and bestselling authors command $40,000–$75,000. Globally recognized AI authorities with academic or major tech company pedigree can exceed $100,000 per engagement. Virtual presentations typically cost 30–50% less than in-person. Workshops, customization, and travel are billed separately.
What should a B2B AI keynote actually cover in 2026?
In 2026, the most useful B2B AI keynotes go well beyond generative AI basics. Audiences need practical frameworks for scaling AI from pilots to production, strategies for aligning marketing and sales around AI-powered buyer journeys, guidance on AI governance and responsible deployment, and honest assessment of where AI creates competitive advantage versus where it introduces risk. The strongest speakers combine strategic vision with implementation roadmaps tailored to the audience’s actual AI maturity — a team running its first pilot needs different content than one scaling AI across six business units.
How do I choose the right AI speaker for my corporate event?
Start by defining the outcome you want: strategic clarity, team upskilling, cultural alignment, or tactical execution capability. Then match speaker expertise to that outcome. Review speaker videos to assess delivery style. Check whether they customize content for your industry. Consider your audience’s AI literacy — a highly technical audience needs different depth than a general executive audience. The right AI speaker is credible enough to earn trust, accessible enough to move the room, and specific enough to drive action by the next quarter.
What is the difference between an AI keynote speaker and an AI consultant?
An AI keynote speaker delivers a structured 45-to-90-minute presentation designed to educate, inspire, and equip an audience with frameworks they can apply immediately. An AI consultant works with an organization over weeks or months to diagnose challenges and build customized solutions. The strongest B2B AI speakers bridge both worlds — they deliver keynotes that function as strategic frameworks and offer workshops or advisory engagements for organizations that need deeper implementation support. If your team needs both inspiration and an execution roadmap, look for speakers who explicitly offer post-keynote workshops or advisory options.
Which B2B AI speakers are best for sales kickoffs versus marketing summits?
For sales kickoffs focused on AI adoption, Zack Kass, Allie K. Miller, and Sol Rashidi tend to land hardest — they speak the language of revenue, pipeline, and competitive advantage that sales audiences respond to. For marketing summits and CMO-level events, Pam Didner, Paul Roetzer, and Chris Penn offer the most directly applicable frameworks for AI-powered marketing strategy, demand generation, and sales-marketing alignment. For cross-functional leadership events where sales, marketing, and operations are all in the room, Andrew Ng and Cassie Kozyrkov offer the breadth and executive-level credibility to speak across all three audiences at once.
Are there B2B AI speakers who also run workshops, not just keynotes?
Yes, and for most B2B audiences this is the higher-value option. A 60-minute keynote builds shared language and energy — but it rarely changes how a team works the next week. Speakers who pair keynotes with half-day or full-day workshops give your team a chance to apply the frameworks to real prompts, real workflows, and real accounts. From this list, Pam Didner, Paul Roetzer, Chris Penn, and Sol Rashidi all offer workshop and advisory engagements alongside keynote work. If your event has time and budget for both, the workshop is usually where the behavior change happens.