Coworking with Darcy Kurtz

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Darcy Kurtz is CMO of WP Engine, a webhosting company, where she leads corporate marketing, product marketing, revenue marketing, and marketing operations. She has held key marketing and revenue roles at brands including Mailchimp, Dell, and BentoBox.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? I’m responsible for how the world experiences WP Engine. My team defines our brand, creates demand for our products, and makes sure we truly understand our customers. So, that means everything from how we talk about ourselves to how our platform is reflected in the market. My job is to connect the company to its customers—telling our story in a way that builds authentic relationships, highlights our constant innovation, and keeps people engaged. WP Engine powers the digital presence of so many brands, and my job is to show them how to future-proof their websites so they keep up with shifting customer expectations and big changes like AI.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? Launching our AI-driven marketing transformation. It was really challenging and interesting because we went way beyond just plugging in AI for efficiency. We tackled some of the most important questions right now: How will buyers discover us in an AI-first world? What does the buyer journey look like when a chatbot might recommend your brand before a search engine does? Reimagining those experiences with my team has been both humbling and exciting.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Always’s “Like a Girl.” I still remember how groundbreaking it felt the first time I saw it—they tapped into something emotional, cultural, and empowering while still positioning the product. To me, that campaign showed the real power of marketing: it can sell a product, yes, but it can also reframe a conversation, challenge stereotypes, and build lasting brand love. That balance of heart and clarity is what makes campaigns unforgettable and brands truly resonate.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I care deeply about making sure the next generation of girls doesn’t face the same barriers women of my generation did. Whether it’s STEM classrooms, venture funding, or the C-suite, the playing field still isn’t level. I’d love to see the day when women leading billion-dollar companies aren’t an anomaly; it’s just business as usual.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? I’m most optimistic about the shift to creating digital experiences that work for both people and AI. As consumers, we’ll still go to websites ourselves, but increasingly, AI agents will go for us to recommend, summarize, or even buy. Brands that figure out how to serve both audiences will have a real edge, and that’s something we’re already working on at WP Engine.

I’m least optimistic about the AI-for-everything mindset. Just because you can use AI doesn’t mean you should. At the end of the day, marketing is still about human connection, and I don’t think that should ever get optimized away.

What’s one marketing-related podcast/social account/series you’d recommend? I’ve been enjoying Practical AI in Go-to-Market by Liza Adams. She breaks down how AI is actually being used by marketing leaders today, not just theory, but the nuts and bolts of what’s changing in team structures, buyer journeys, and measurement. It’s practical, inspiring, and usually sparks new ideas for me.