David Edelman

David C. Edelman is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Harvard Business School (HBS) and has been influential in shaping the landscape of digital marketing and strategy. As co-leader of the Digital Marketing Strategy group, he continues to assist CMOs and other executives across various industries in navigating the evolving digital environment and implementing substantial changes needed to leverage digital strategies effectively.

His extensive experience includes transforming marketing strategy and operations to harness new digital capabilities for multiple clients; developing new digitally based lines of business in financial services; realigning go-to-market channel approaches for B2B service providers; and designing organizations for a balanced local/global digital marketing process in consumer products. Before his current roles, he made significant contributions at Digitas—where he oversaw media and CRM analytics services and pioneered early initiatives at the intersection of marketing and database technology as a partner with The Boston Consulting Group. He also led the development of the E-Commerce practice and has been instrumental in driving digital transformation initiatives globally.

Edelman is recognized by Forbes as one of the "Most Influential CMOs in the World" and by AdWeek as one of the "Top 20 Marketing and Technology Executives." A prolific writer, he has published multiple articles for the Harvard Business Review, including "Customer Experience in the Age of AI" and "Generative AI Will Change Your Business -- Here's How to Adapt." Also, he is the co-author of the upcoming book "Personalized! Customer Strategy in the Age of AI," set to be published by Harvard Business Review Press in October 2024. Beyond academia and writing, he actively contributes to the field through keynote presentations at global conferences on topics such as AI, digitization, and marketing strategies. Additionally, he plays a crucial role in several advisory boards and councils, including serving on the Board of Trustees for The Walnut Hill School for the Arts and on the Advisory Board for Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA.