Leading without a playbook: AI in advertising and entertainment

The way people discover what to watch—and how brands show up in those moments—is changing quickly. As artificial intelligence reshapes both entertainment and advertising, it’s creating new opportunities for connection between audiences and marketers.

For Kelly MacLean, Vice President of Engineering, Science, and Product at Amazon Ads, and Nikki Santoro, CEO of IMDb, that transformation is already underway, shaping how they build and lead every day.

Kelly and Nikki didn’t begin their careers in traditional engineering roles. Both have cultivated their leadership style around a shared principle: understanding what customers need and moving quickly to build it.

Kelly originally planned to pursue a career in professional soccer. When injuries forced a change in direction, she taught herself to code and began working alongside engineers, an experience that informed her approach as a builder. Today, she leads the teams building Amazon Ads full-funnel advertising capabilities, with a focus on moving quickly, testing ideas, and learning in real time.

Nikki’s path into technology was equally nontraditional. She studied psychology and instructional design, with an early focus on how people learn and make decisions—a perspective that has shaped her approach to building products and leading teams. Today, Nikki leads IMDb as its first female CEO in the company’s 35-year history. “It shows the power of possibility,” she says, reflecting how representation can expand what leadership looks like in the industry.

Navigating change in the age of AI

For both Kelly and Nikki, their paths into technology weren’t conventional, but that perspective has shaped how they build, lead, and navigate change.

Nikki credits her background in human behavior for shaping how she approaches product development. Understanding customer motivations—what people want to watch, discover, and engage with—has become central to how IMDb continues to evolve the way people discover entertainment.

That same customer-first mindset is increasingly critical as artificial intelligence reshapes both entertainment discovery and advertising. Today, audiences spend significant time navigating streaming services and recommendation engines to find something that fits their interests. “When someone is deciding what to watch, that’s a meaningful moment,” Nikki says. “Advertisers can be part of that discovery process with messaging that is actually helpful.” She sees AI dramatically improving that experience, enabling audiences to express exactly what they want, based on their preferences in the moment.

For advertisers, those moments of discovery represent powerful opportunities to connect with audiences in relevant and contextual ways.

Kelly sees a similar change underway in advertising. As campaigns grow more complex, marketers are navigating an increasing number of signals, formats, and decisions—often across fragmented tools and workflows.

AI is simplifying that complexity. By streamlining how campaigns are built, optimized, and measured, it enables marketers to move faster, act on insights more quickly, and operate with a level of sophistication that was previously difficult to achieve. “AI will simplify and automate how marketers build and manage campaigns at scale,” Kelly says. “It allows teams to move faster and focus on what actually drives results.”

Capabilities that once required specialized teams are becoming more accessible, allowing advertisers of all sizes to operate with greater efficiency and precision.

This is also changing the role of agencies and partners. By reducing manual and operational work, it allows teams to focus on higher-value contributions like strategic guidance, creativity, and deeper client partnership.

This is reflected in tools like Amazon Ads Campaign Manager, which brings planning, activation, and measurement together in a single interface, helping marketers manage full-funnel campaigns more simply.

Rethinking leadership in a moment without a playbook

For both Kelly and Nikki, one of the defining challenges of this moment is how to lead through uncertainty without a defined path.

“There isn’t a clear playbook,” Kelly says. “The focus is on moving forward—testing, learning, and iterating quickly.”

Nikki emphasizes a similar mindset. “If you wait for perfection, it’s going to be too late,” she says. Instead, she encourages teams to create space for experimentation and to learn together, reducing the friction that often slows adoption of new technologies.

This moment requires leaders to question past assumptions and move with speed, creating environments where teams can test, learn, and build with confidence as the technology evolves.

As Kelly puts it, “the pace of change may feel unprecedented. But for those willing to adapt, the opportunities are just beginning.”

Watch the full conversation between Kelly and Nikki to hear more about leadership, AI, and navigating change without a playbook. You can also explore other conversations in this series, featuring Sarah Iooss and Jessica Brown on building trust through negotiation, and Paula Despins and Melissa Burdick on partnership and innovation in advertising.