The creative revolution inside the worlds most dull category - Novartis CMO, Gail Horwood

Novartis CMO Gail Horwood joins Janet Balis, Managing Director & Senior Partner at BCG, to explore how one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies is redefining healthcare marketing.

Fresh from winning two Cannes Lions, Gail shares how Novartis is proving that creativity can thrive even in one of the most heavily regulated industries. From partnering with the NFL for a Super Bowl campaign to convincing stakeholders to embrace bolder ideas, we discuss what it takes to create work that stands out while navigating complex regulations.

The conversation also explores how AI is reshaping both creativity and business transformation, where marketers should focus their efforts, and why the biggest opportunity for AI isn't just efficiency, but unlocking growth.

This episode has been produced in partnership with BCG. Browse their CMO Report here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/making-the-agentic-marketing-transformation-a-reality

Timestamps

00:00 - Start
00:49 - Jon’s full circle moment with Norvatis
01:39 - Novartis’ journey to two Cannes Lions
02:54 - Why more people need to walk the work
04:05 - Creating surprising advertising in a heavily regulated category
09:03 - Partnering with the NFL for a Super Bowl campaign
10:24 - How to get your company to embrace risky work
16:01 - How to get stakeholders outside of marketing onboard
19:35 - The reaction to the ads after Super Bowl
21:56 - How AI is being used in the service of creativity
27:04 - How Novartis are using AI for creativity
30:27 - How Novartis are rethinking their marketing with AI
32:46 - Where AI is going to be used outside of marketing
35:03 - AI for efficiency vs growth
37:16 - How to deliver leadership change in the age of AI
40:22 - The boring things AI will solve
42:53 - What makes Gail such a good CMO
44:25 - The worst way to evaluate your career success
45:57 - The best advice Gail has ever received