AI is no longer just accelerating marketing workflows. It is fundamentally reshaping how organizations engage customers, make decisions, and operate at scale.
In this episode of the Evolve Podcast, Moderator Steve Ashe, SVP Decisioning at Blend, is joined by Greg DeMelo, CTO for 1:1 Customer Engagement at Pegasystems, and Ryan Serpan, Head of CX Practice at Blend, for a deep conversation on the future of agentic marketing and the evolution of SaaS in an AI-driven world.
Together, they explore why traditional campaign-centric marketing models are breaking down, how real-time decisioning is changing customer engagement, and why organizations must rethink not just their technology stack, but their entire operating model.
The discussion dives into the realities behind “SaaSmageddon,” the shift from siloed execution to intelligent orchestration, and the growing importance of loyalty, personalization, and adaptive customer experiences. Greg and Ryan also unpack the challenges organizations still face around governance, measurement, operational maturity, and AI adoption, while offering practical insight into what leaders should prioritize over the next 6 to 12 months.
Whether you’re a CMO, CX leader, decisioning strategist, or enterprise transformation executive, this episode offers a grounded and actionable perspective on what comes next in AI-powered marketing.
Key Takeaways:
Steve Ashe brings a rare mix of growth leadership, customer-first thinking, and enterprise AI expertise. As Managing Director, Decision Sciences at Blend, he helps organizations turn data, decisioning, and AI into measurable business outcomes. With a background spanning GTM strategy, presales leadership, customer success, and business development, Steve is known for building high-performing teams, modernizing enterprise solutions, and creating the kind of client experience that drives both trust and growth. His career reflects a consistent ability to connect strategy with execution and help organizations scale with purpose.
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Caroline Caldwell is Head of Marketing at Blend, where she built and scaled the global marketing function to position the company as a leader in AI services. With experience spanning Oracle, Merkle, and high-growth ventures, she specializes in transforming emerging technologies into scalable, revenue-driving marketing engines. Caroline is passionate about helping enterprises operationalize AI at scale and building teams that turn bold vision into measurable growth.
Greg DeMelo is a recognized leader in AI-driven customer engagement, decisioning, and enterprise transformation. He helps global organizations turn customer data into real-time, adaptive experiences at scale, combining strategy, technology, and operational execution. Greg works closely with leading brands to modernize marketing and customer engagement through AI, Next Best Action decisioning, and intelligent orchestration. Known for cutting through complexity, he brings a practical perspective on how organizations can unlock greater value from their existing technology investments while preparing for the next generation of agentic AI-powered operations
Ryan Serpan is Blend's Head of CX Practice, a digital and AI transformation executive with a track record of scaling businesses and advising Fortune 100 leaders on what it takes to drive measurable growth. At Blend360, Ryan built the AI-driven CX transformation practice from the ground up, growing it to a $50M run rate in under two years. His advisory work spans CMOs, CDOs, and CIOs across industries, with a focus on AI-powered personalization, agentic operations, and martech modernization. Before Blend360, Ryan launched and exited multiple consumer brands, including VitaminAdvisor.com's acquisition by The Vitamin Shoppe, giving him a founder's instinct for execution alongside his enterprise consulting depth.
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