# Kieran Flanagan

> Kieran Flanagan is the Chief Marketing Officer at Zapier and one of the most influential voices in B2B marketing. A former software engineer turned marketing leader, he spent nearly a decade at HubSpot building its international marketing engine - growing the Dublin office from 12 to 1,000+ employees. Today he co-hosts the 'Marketing Against the Grain' podcast with HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar, publishes 'The AI Marketing Generalist' newsletter on Substack, and invests as a Sequoia Scout. He is widely credited with pioneering the B2B creator approach to marketing and is an outspoken champion of AI-driven marketing transformation.

- **Role:** CMO at Zapier
- **Organizations:** Zapier, HubSpot, Marketing Against the Grain, Sequoia Capital (Scout)
- **From:** Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** Irish/British
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science (BSc), Computer Science, Ulster University
- **Known for:** Scaled HubSpot's international marketing from a team of one to a global operation covering 190+ countries, Grew HubSpot's Dublin office from 12 to 1,000+ employees, Quadrupled HubSpot's marketing demand generation during tenure

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked as a software engineer before pivoting to marketing
- **2010** — Joined Salesforce as European Inbound/Search Marketing Manager
- **2012** — Joined Marketo as Online Marketing Manager for EMEA
- **2013** — Joined HubSpot as Marketing Director - first international marketer outside Cambridge
- **2015** — Promoted to VP of Marketing and Growth at HubSpot
- **2018** — Promoted to SVP of Marketing at HubSpot; led Dublin office growth from 12 to 1,000+ employees
- **2021** — Helped build HubSpot's media team and oversaw acquisition of The Hustle newsletter
- **2022** — Co-launched 'Marketing Against the Grain' podcast with Kipp Bodnar on HubSpot Podcast Network
- **2023** — Left HubSpot after ~10 years; joined Zapier as Chief Marketing Officer
- **2023** — Became a Sequoia Scout and began angel investing in B2B startups
- **2025** — Launched 'Marketing AI Action' newsletter; continued publishing 'The AI Marketing Generalist' on Substack with 12,000+ subscribers

## Achievements

- Scaled HubSpot's international marketing from a team of one to a global operation covering 190+ countries
- Grew HubSpot's Dublin office from 12 to 1,000+ employees
- Quadrupled HubSpot's marketing demand generation during tenure
- Co-hosted 'Marketing Against the Grain' podcast to 70,000+ monthly downloads
- Built following of 12,000+ subscribers on 'The AI Marketing Generalist' Substack newsletter
- Ranked #3 in Top 1% on LinkedIn in Ireland with Favikon Authority Score of 7,990
- Angel investor in 8+ B2B companies; Sequoia Scout
- Oversaw HubSpot's acquisition of The Hustle media publication
- Pioneered the B2B creator approach to content marketing
- Former software engineer who became one of B2B marketing's most-followed voices

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Voiced concerns about AI startups mimicking personal writing styles to auto-post comments on social media.
- **2025-01** — Launched 'Marketing AI Action' newsletter to help marketers use AI for growth.
- **2025-01** — Continued publishing weekly on Substack with paid AI marketing playbooks for subscribers.
- **2024-12** — Reached 12,000+ subscribers on 'The AI Marketing Generalist' Substack.
- **2023-01** — Joined Zapier as Chief Marketing Officer after nearly 10 years at HubSpot.

## Links

- Website: https://www.kieranflanagan.io/
- LinkedIn: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/kieranflanagan
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MATGpod

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kieran-flanagan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-22