The Slack Vision: Everyone Manages an AI Team from Day One | Ryan Gavin

Building High-Performance Teams for the Agentic AI Future of Work

Ryan Gavin, Chief Marketing Officer at Slack, shares how leadership self-awareness and closer alignment between marketing and product are becoming essential as AI reshapes modern organizations. He explains why employee productivity—enabled through AI orchestration—may be one of the fastest accelerators of top-line growth businesses have ever seen.

The conversation unpacks the shift from employees as “doers” to orchestrators who manage digital coworkers and AI agents from day one. Ryan also discusses Slack’s principles for integrating agents into workflows, the social dynamics of working alongside AI teammates, and practical ways leaders can reduce adoption anxiety by framing AI as capability expansion rather than displacement.

Throughout the episode, Ryan offers actionable guidance on building exceptional teams through understanding how different people receive feedback and recognition. He also makes the case that marketing should function as a strategic amplifier between product and sales—earning a seat in product strategy and sales planning by connecting business opportunities with talent growth.

Key Topics Covered:

• Self-awareness as the foundation of effective leadership and team development
• Why marketing is product and product is marketing in modern B2B organizations
• The shift from doers to orchestrators in the age of AI agents and digital coworkers
• How every employee will manage AI teammates from day one across functions
• Employee productivity as an underutilized growth lever for businesses
• Slack’s product principles for agent integration: “don’t make me think” and “be a great host”
• Reducing AI adoption fear by emphasizing capability expansion over job displacement
• Social dynamics of agent interaction in channels and preserving psychological safety
• Why there is no single “right” career path—and how to expand opportunities by excelling in your current role
• Shifting consumer patterns of information seeking and how they change business workflows

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and setting the stage
02:16 - Knowing thyself: Ryan’s journey to leadership self-awareness through family and life experience
05:19 - What makes an amazing marketer in 2026 and bridging the marketing-product divide
08:43 - From doers to orchestrators: how AI agents give every employee a team from day one
11:24 - Designing agents to work like teammates: Slack’s approach to intuitive AI integration
14:55 - Addressing AI fear: why productivity gains lead to higher expectations rather than job loss
18:03 - Advice for the next generation entering an AI-transformed workforce
21:49 - Career lesson from delivering papers in 110-degree Chicago heat
24:30 - Final question: why Ryan does what he does and the importance of lasting market impact

About the Guest:

Ryan Gavin is the Chief Marketing Officer at Slack. In this episode, he draws on leadership experience and lessons in self-awareness to outline how teams can adapt as AI agents become embedded in everyday work, and why marketing must operate as a strategic partner to both product and sales.

About the Company:

Slack is a conversational work platform focused on helping teams communicate and coordinate work across channels. The episode highlights Slack’s approach to integrating AI agents as “teammates” within workflows, with an emphasis on intuitive design and supportive collaboration dynamics.