Christopher Young
Fairfield, Connecticut, United States
4K followers
500+ connections
4K followers
500+ connections
Activity
4K followers
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Christopher Young shared thisOne last post from Adobe Summit, focused on an important topic: the future of marketing. We had a standing room only crowd (~200 attendees… we needed a bigger room) for a session with EY Studio+ and Adobe on Agentic AI and the future of marketing in financial services. Yoann Michaux pushed a critical shift that most organizations are underestimating which is rebuilding marketing around continuous, agent-driven systems. AI is becoming the first consumer of content, personalization is moving from discrete campaigns to always-on decisioning, and content supply chains are being re-architected around AI, not headcount. That changes everything. Marketing moves from manual orchestration to systems where agents generate content, optimize media, and continuously learn across every interaction. The role of the marketer shifts from executing campaigns to defining outcomes, setting guardrails, and overseeing performance. One of the highlights was seeing this come to life in Julián López Lopez’s Adobe Summit debut, demonstrating LLM optimization and an end-to-end financial services journey, from discovery through real-time orchestration. It made clear how fast this is moving from concept to execution. The takeaway is simple: financial institutions will either redesign their marketing organizations for agentic execution, or they’ll try to layer AI onto legacy models and fall behind. If you missed the session, it’s worth the time as it goes deeper into what it actually takes to operationalize. Watch the full session (registration required): https://lnkd.in/eKepUUKv
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Christopher Young shared thisThis was one of my busiest Adobe Summits to date, packed with great conversations across customers and partners. One highlight came right at the start of the week, when I hosted a session with Sun Life and Vanguard, with nearly 300 attendees, on what it really takes to modernize at scale in financial services. The reality is clear: commoditization is accelerating, expectations have reset, and AI pressure is rising faster than most organizations can operationalize. Competing on experience is now the only durable advantage, but moving from ambition to execution is where most AI initiatives break down. Chris Hewitt, MBA was direct: this isn’t a capability problem, it’s an alignment problem. Organizations already have the talent and tools, but they’re fragmented across teams, data, and processes. That fragmentation creates duplication, inconsistency, and prevents scale. The answer isn’t more innovation, it’s aligning the fundamentals first, then scaling selectively. Integration is what turns strategy into execution. Without it, AI just accelerates dysfunction. Jake Bennett grounded this in execution. Transformation happens in stages, modernize the stack, drive adoption, then scale into AI and skipping steps is why most efforts stall. When done right, the impact is significant: step-change gains in efficiency, engagement, and conversion. But those results only come from rethinking end-to-end workflows, not layering in point solutions. AI progress is non-linear, requires experimentation, and ultimately depends on data quality and enterprise integration. The pattern is clear: Alignment is the prerequisite to scale, and AI is an accelerant, not a strategy. If you’re working through this, the full session goes deeper into Sun Life and Vanguard's approach. If you missed this session, you watch it here (registration required): https://lnkd.in/ejscU4_R
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Christopher Young shared thisAt Adobe Summit last week, one thing was unmistakable: customer expectations aren’t just rising, they’re becoming harder to interpret in real time. That’s what makes this new IBM Institute for Business Value study so relevant right now. I had the opportunity to contribute alongside an exceptional group of leaders: Nisha Kohli, ��� Jay Trestain, Pierre Charchaflian, Saralyssa Gonzalez, Dylan Titherley, Tessa D'Agosta, Thiago Sartori, Angela Finley and the findings reflect a challenge we’re seeing across every industry: Customer intent is fragmented, fast-moving, and increasingly difficult to operationalize. Three ideas from the research stand out: - Intent is distributed — it lives across signals, channels, and moments, not in a single interaction - Experience is orchestration — value is created (or lost) in how well those moments are connected - Trust is the constraint — speed and personalization only matter if they’re delivered responsibly This is where the Adobe + IBM partnership becomes incredibly powerful. IBM brings the consulting depth, and transformation expertise. Adobe brings the ability to activate that intelligence through real-time AI powered experience orchestration and content at scale. Together, the focus is shifting from understanding customers in hindsight → to acting on intent in the moment. If you’re thinking about how to close that gap, this research is worth a closer look: https://lnkd.in/eP6FtkFA
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Christopher Young shared thisAt Adobe Summit last week, I had the chance co-present with Craig Elimeliah to talk about something the industry still avoids: The Gap Nobody Names. We have built an incredibly sophisticated systems to target, segment, and measure. And we’ve built powerful creative engines to produce at scale. But the connection between the two is more critical than ever. Creative teams are too often operating without access to the actual intelligence sitting inside CDPs, reduced to broad personas or static briefs. Meanwhile, performance data shows up too late to shape decisions when it matters. The result is exactly what we’re seeing in financial services: - Declining attention - Low perceived relevance - Messaging that informs… but doesn’t move people And this is where it gets harder than most acknowledge. Financial services marketing isn’t just about demographics or simple segments. It’s shaped by: - Life stage - Financial fluency - Risk tolerance - Deeply personal attitudes toward money and investing If creatives don’t have access to that level of insight, grounded in real, actionable segments, then personalization is surface level at best. The opportunity we discussed with Code and Theory is simple in concept, but difficult in execution: What if intelligence actually flowed through the entire creative lifecycle? - From segment → to persona → to idea → to optimization. - Not as a report at the end. - But as input at every decision point. That’s where real creative impact—and real business performance—start to converge. Learn more about the Creative Intelligence System here: https://lnkd.in/efNuNRQQ Thanks to Clive Henry, Landon Curtis Houghtaling, Courtney Hofbauer, Emilia Scarlett, Danielle Block, Alexandra Eden and Stef H. for the collaboration in supporting this solution launch at Adobe Summit!
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Christopher Young shared thisAI is everywhere, but impact is not. The next era of growth won’t be defined by who adopts AI first. It will be defined by who applies it most effectively to orchestrate trusted, real‑time customer experiences at scale. In our latest blog, we explore: • Why experience, not product, is now the only durable differentiator • How fragmented engagement models are widening the personalization gap • Why trust must be engineered into every AI‑driven interaction • How AI is reshaping customer discovery and intent across the journey Read the full perspective here: https://lnkd.in/gwck3quS I’d welcome your perspective on how this is showing up in your organization.AI-driven experience orchestration in financial servicesAI-driven experience orchestration in financial services
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Christopher Young shared thisFinancial Services Leaders Heading to Adobe Summit 2026 - Register for this Can't Miss Session! Modernizing financial services at scale isn’t a technology problem—it’s an alignment problem. Financial institutions are complex, highly regulated, and matrixed by design. What slows transformation isn’t a lack of innovation, but the challenge of aligning people, operating models, and governance across regions and functions. I am hosting this session with Muhammad Baseer (Group Head of Digital Sales & Marketing, Standard Chartered) and Chris Hewitt, MBA (Head of Global Brand & Marketing Technology, Sun Life Financial), where we’ll get candid about the HOW of making modernization stick. You will hear global perspectives across banking and insurance on how our speakers are: - Breaking down silos and aligning stakeholders across large, distributed organizations - Moving beyond AI experimentation to embed intelligence into workflows and future strategies - Modernizing experiences in ways that drive measurable business impact—without compromising trust or governance We’ll also ground the discussion in insights from Adobe’s AI & Digital Trends research, highlighting how leading organizations worldwide are operationalizing AI to reshape customer journeys, unify data, and deliver relevance at scale. 👉 If you’re attending Adobe Summit 2026 and focused on turning modernization into enterprise‑wide outcomes register for "Bringing It All Together to Modernize Financial Services at Scale" and join us Monday April 20th, 11:30 - 12:30 PT in Las Vegas! https://lnkd.in/grupVSjM
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Christopher Young shared thisI had the pleasure of participating in Adobe’s Customer Experience in an AI-Driven World event, focused on Financial Services and I left energized by the conversation and the community we continue to build together. What’s clear is that this AI journey isn’t something any of us are navigating alone. The incredible ecosystem Adobe has cultivated, bringing together customers, partners, and industry leaders, is more important now than ever. As AI reshapes marketing, collaboration and shared learning is what will move the industry forward. A special thank you to our partners at Perficient, especially Yusuf Tayob, for the strong partnership and perspective. And it was great to reconnect with Nataraju Muniraju from Valley Bank and continue the dialogue around innovation in financial services. Our discussion reinforced that marketing is on the cusp of reinvention. The emergence of agents and agentic workflows represents a fundamental shift in how work gets done, enabling teams to truly do “more with less” while increasing marketing’s strategic impact. But technology is only part of the story. We also had an honest conversation about organizational readiness. Successfully adopting AI requires bringing the entire organization along, aligning leadership, empowering teams, and rallying around new ways of working. That change management journey is significant, but the opportunity is even greater. I’m grateful for the active participation from everyone in the room. The willingness to lean in, share challenges, and exchange perspectives made the morning both productive and inspiring. Thank you at Benjamin Harold Frederick for moderating the event. Excited for what we continue to build together!
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Christopher Young shared thisWe continue to be relentless at Adobe about one thing: using AI to drive real growth in Financial Services. Not experimentation for experimentation’s sake. Not governance theater. Execution. If you weren’t able to join us live, you can now watch the full webinar: “AI Driven Growth in Financial Services: Actionable Perspectives on Digital Transformation, Personalization, and CX.” https://lnkd.in/eTV7ZYJd Thank you to Erin McFarland for bringing an authentic perspective to where you are in the journey, to Nathan Eckhous for showcasing what execution looks like in action, and to Sarah Iliff for orchestrating a seamless virtual event experience. And to Mariano Gutierrez's point, the opportunity for the industry is massive, but first movers won’t wait.Christopher Young shared thisWhy do we continue to be OBSESSED at Adobe about using AI to grow your insurance company? Because you must! And you can! 🚀🚀🚀🚀 So... you're a P&L head, or a marketer, or a CIO, and you work in a bank, in insurance or asset management. And you are being asked to GROW? Yup. Join the club. That's the mandate for 2026: show me the money. 🤑🤑🤑 Where do you start, though? HERE! 🫡 Are some solid insights and ideas... Erin McFarland from Huntington National Bank shared some real, down-to-earth, let's-do-it insights into accelerating the speed of execution within the complexity of a large bank, Christopher Young shared Adobe's perspective on the importance of navigating AI implementation from an ENABLEMENT perspective (not just GOVERNANCE!!! I know my insurance peeps 🐥 feel me as I write this), and Nathan Eckhous crushed a demo on building audiences in real time with an AI assistant to launch an email campaign on Adobe's Experience Platform. Here are my main takeaways from today's seminar, titled "Unlocking AI Driven Growth in Financial Services: Actionable perspectives on digital transformation, personalization, and CX" ✅ Only 6% of Financial Services Companies are leveraging agents today - but the growth is accelerating and it's only a matter of time before they dominate ✅ Governance can be tied to both ACTION and CONTROL - pulling back too much on this lever can hurt execution and companies stand to lose the competitive advantage of accelerating growth and experimenting with AI ✅ Speed of execution is critical, even in the face of uncertainty or having perfect data, a perfect setup or a perfect team (loved this from Erin) The slide below captures perfectly why so much is at stake in unlocking growth in insurance, banking, asset management and beyond by using AI and agents. What are the main roadblocks stopping you from navigating the use of AI at scale in your organization! Reply in the comments or shoot a DM to start a conversation! First mover advantage is real in financial services these days...
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Christopher Young shared thisWhy do so many digital transformations stall? It’s not the tech. It’s the structure and the people. CXOs consistently rank organizational silos and talent gaps as bigger barriers than technical challenges. Even the best systems fail when teams can’t collaborate across boundaries. What’s really holding back transformation? Our State of CX Report - https://lnkd.in/ecdddAUt - reveals a striking gap between what organizations rank as top challenges and what CXOs see as the real obstacles. Globally, the #1 challenge is securing budget (40%). But for CXOs, that drops to #3. Their top priority? Breaking down silos ranked #4 globally, but #1 for CX executives. Similarly, finding and retaining skilled talent ranks #2 for CXOs but only #5 globally, underscoring that transformation success depends more on people than platforms. Break down silos: Transformation isn’t just integration—it’s alignment. Without structural changes, cross-functional collaboration remains a dream. Invest in talent: Skilled people drive transformation. Technology alone won’t close capability gaps. So, how do we make it happen? Create cross-functional teams, define shared OKRs, and make collaboration a core metric—not an afterthought. 👉 What’s your experience—are silos or skills the bigger challenge in your organization? #AI #CustomerExperience #AdobeforBusiness #DigitalTransformation
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Violet Bell thank you so much for carving out the time for. Always great to see you!
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Alli Young incredible bias here. I, however, will gladly accept it.
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Christopher Young liked thisCheck out my buddy Brian Chidester's recent post. This dynamic feels very similar to what we see in auto. There’s no shortage of belief in AI’s value (OEMs and suppliers are investing heavily)... But adoption often stalls when it comes to integrating AI into complex, highly-governed workflows. What stands out here is the focus on operational efficiency (not just pure content generation). That mirrors auto priorities, where the challenge isn’t just creating more assets; it’s managing the explosion of content across vehicle lines, markets, compliance requirements and channels.Christopher Young liked this87% of federal employees believe their agencies should be using AI extensively. Only 48% are actually using it at all. That gap isn't a technology problem. It's an infrastructure and readiness problem. Adobe and Market Connections just published new research — "Streamlining the Mission: Modernizing the Federal Content Lifecycle" — and the AI adoption findings stopped me cold. Here's what federal and defense professionals told us: → 75% are interested in AI for reporting & insights → 74% want AI for content management → 62% are interested in AI for creative content generation But nearly half (48%) report using AI "not at all" or "not very much" in their day-to-day work. So what's behind the gap? It's not a lack of belief in AI's value. Federal employees overwhelmingly see the potential. The barrier is the absence of platforms that integrate AI safely, responsibly, and at scale within existing governance frameworks. This matters because the stakes are real. Federal agencies spend 34% of employee time on manual, repetitive content tasks. 83% struggle with slow speed to market. Only 14% describe their content workflows as "very efficient." AI isn't a nice-to-have here. It's the mechanism for reclaiming that time — and redirecting it toward mission-critical work. The most telling signal in the data? Where federal workers want AI most isn't creative generation. It's operations: reporting, insights, and content management. They want AI that reduces burden and increases accountability — not just AI that produces more content. The path forward isn't about deploying AI for its own sake. It's about building the integrated, governance-ready foundation that lets AI actually work at scale. That's the modernization imperative. #FederalTechnology #AIAdoption #PublicSector #DigitalTransformation #ContentOperations #GovTech
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Christopher Young liked thisChristopher Young liked thisOne theme that kept coming up at Adobe Summit last week: customer expectations aren’t just rising—they’re getting harder to interpret in real time. And as we head into IBM Think next week, I expect that tension to only grow. I had the opportunity to work on this alongside a strong group from IBM's Institute for Business Value, digging into what this shift actually means in practice. What stood out to me: most organizations don’t have a data problem—they have a timing problem. By the time signals are processed, the moment has already passed. The companies pulling ahead are operating differently: • Recognizing intent as it emerges • Connecting data, content, and journeys in real time • Balancing speed with the governance needed to build trust It’s a shift from understanding customers in hindsight to acting on intent in the moment. We go deeper on what it takes to operationalize this shift here ↓ https://lnkd.in/ePwPsbxu Pierre Charchaflian, 🦄 Jay Trestain, Christopher Young, Dylan Titherley, Nisha Shah, Neerav Bhansali, Geoff Hymas, Jana Chan, Nicole Gibson #CustomerExperience #AI #Personalization #DigitalTransformation #AdobeSummit #IBMThink IBM Institute for Business ValueCapturing customer intent in the AI era: Adobe and IBM studyCapturing customer intent in the AI era: Adobe and IBM study
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Christopher Young liked thisChristopher Young liked thisA week on from Adobe Summit and it's been good to pause and reflect on what was delivered. 78 sessions. 100+ assets. 193 speakers. Fast turnaround, high pressure, and great fun. And there's a real privilege in not just creating content for an iconic brand, but helping them communicate products we genuinely believe in and use every day. But underneath it all, it always comes back to the same thing: service, craft, and enabling an exceptional pool of speakers to do their best work on a global stage. Huge credit to the Adobe team who trusted us with this, and to our own people who delivered it at scale. A real effort across the presentations, demos, videos and everything in between. Tagging a few heroes below 👇 Jordan Bradley, Seán O' Doherty, Brady Zollino, Katie Reynolds, Madalina Benderschi, Maria Gonzalez, Lucy Smith, Chris Reid, Ian Yong, Ed Geraghty, Rhian Stein, Charles Furborough Proud of the team. Energised by the work.
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Christopher Young liked thisChristopher Young liked thisThe shift from AI frenzy to real ROI is here. From content creation at scale to brand visibility for the agentic web, we're building the future of more intelligent, connected, and creative customer experiences. Today's #AdobeSummit product announcements are changing the game for customer experience orchestration in the AI era. Adam Justis, VP of Solution Marketing & Evangelism, unpacks the key innovations and partnerships you need to know. Learn more about Adobe CX Enterprise, Brand Intelligence, CX Enterprise Coworker, and more: https://adobe.ly/4exvomn
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Christopher Young liked thisChristopher Young liked thisAdobe Summit 2026 is proof that the best ideas happen when you bring the right people to the table. 🏓 Big thanks to Terrell Owens, Rangan Anandan, Lily Zhang, Christopher Young and the many partners who helped us bring newfound energy to this outstanding event. Want to experience the star of the show? Get in touch and book a demo to see The Creative Intelligence System with Adobe in action here: https://lnkd.in/g-43t9Jz #AdobeSummit2026
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Christopher Young liked thisChristopher Young liked thisThis week marks my first days back at work after four months of paternity leave. I’m incredibly grateful to Adobe and the amazing team I get to work with for giving me the time to fully unplug and be present with my family. It’s time I’ll always value. But I’m really excited to be back! I’ve missed the team, the energy, and the work, and I’m looking forward to jumping back in and building together again. With tons of innovation coming out of Adobe Summit, I can’t wait to dig in and start applying it to the content needs of B2B enterprises.
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Christopher Young liked thisChristopher Young liked thisAttention is the scarcest resource in any room. In a world that fragments it constantly, commanding a group's focus is a real edge. People notice the person who makes them want to actually be there. The simplest tactic I've found comes from Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why. At start of the meeting, name why this conversation matters. The why does a few things at once. It aligns the room before decisions get made. It signals you've actually thought about this. And it respects everyone's time enough to give them a reason to lean in. The opening 60 seconds set the rest of the meeting. #BeyondTarget
Honors & Awards
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2018 Americas Friend of Field
Adobe
Recognition for above and beyond support of the Americas Field Organization.
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2011 Leadership Award
E*TRADE
Annual award recognizing exemplary leadership and contribution to the firm among all employees Director and above. One of eight recipients in 2011.
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2006 President's Award
E*TRADE
Acknowledges the personal investment, spirit of teamwork and commitment to delivering an exceptional level of service to the company.
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