Nvidia has hired Alison Wagonfeld as its first chief marketing officer, marking a strategic shift for the AI chipmaker as it looks to sharpen its brand amid explosive growth. Wagonfeld, who spent nearly a decade at Google leading marketing for its cloud business, will report directly to CEO Jensen Huang and consolidate marketing functions that were previously scattered across multiple executives.The appointment, announced on LinkedIn, comes as Nvidia rides an unprecedented wave fueled by the AI boom. The company posted record sales of $57 billion last quarter—a 62% jump from the previous year—cementing its position as the go-to supplier for chips powering everything from ChatGPT to autonomous vehicles.Wagonfeld takes charge of the entire marketing and communications team starting February. In her post, she described the role as overseeing marketing “as Nvidia embarks on its next phase of growth,” a telling nod to the company’s ambitions beyond its current AI dominance.Read Alison Wagonfeld’s LinkedIn postSharing some personal news! After nearly 10 years of building Google Cloud from a promising start-up in 2016 to a thriving $60B run-rate business today, I will be leaving Google in late January to join NVIDIA as its Chief Marketing Officer. I’m excited to be joining Jensen’s leadership team in a new role heading up marketing and communications as NVIDIA embarks on its next phase of growth.It’s been such a privilege to lead Google Cloud Marketing through so many chapters of growth. While many things have changed over the last decade, Google’s commitment to serving customers and partners with the best technology and team has never been stronger. Thank you to Lorraine Twohill, Thomas Kurian and their teams, as well as our powerhouse Cloud Marketing team, for the amazing collaboration every step of the way.I’m thrilled to be moving from one AI leader to another at such a transformational time. Google and NVIDIA share a strong partnership, and we look forward to continued collaboration.Why marketing suddenly matters for NvidiaFor years, Nvidia didn’t need a marketing chief. Demand for its GPUs spoke louder than any campaign could. But the landscape has shifted. With the AI race heating up and Huang becoming one of tech’s most visible leaders, the company needs someone to translate technical prowess into broader market storytelling.Huang himself has become something of a rockstar CEO, drawing crowds at events like CES where he recently unveiled the Rubin platform—Nvidia’s next-generation AI infrastructure promising to cut token generation costs by 90%. His signature leather jacket and keynote performances have made him a symbol of the AI revolution, but maintaining that momentum requires strategic communication.Nvidia’s racing toward the next frontierAt CES in Las Vegas, Huang told the crowds that “the race is on for AI,” but underlined partnerships with Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, and other industry giants. The company also introduced Alpamayo, an open reasoning model for autonomous vehicles-a sign of Nvidia’s expanded ambitions outside data centers and into new areas.Wagonfeld now leads a company at an inflection point. Nvidia isn’t just peddling chips anymore—the company is positioning itself as the backbone of an AI-driven future. How well she amplifies that message while keeping pace with blistering product cycles will define her tenure in the months ahead.
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