Kristie Nettles, V.P., Managing Director and Head of Global Insurance and Institutional (North America) Marketing, AllianceBernstein

Institutional Investor's Chief Marketer Institute has recognized Kristie Nettles, V.P., Managing Director and Head of Global Insurance and Institutional (North America) Marketing at AllianceBernstein, as CMO of the Year. In an interview with II's David Braham, Executive Director, Senior Executive Director, Head of Thought Leadership & Market Intelligence, and Julie Segal, Editor of Institutional Investor Magazine, Nettles described her career path and her current approach to institutional marketing. She previously served as Managing Director, Global Head of Client Marketing Strategy at State Street, and began her career as a crime reporter at the Paris Post-Intelligencer in Paris, Tennessee. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Murray State University and a master's in Communication Management from Simmons University.

Nettles said institutional marketing differs from retail marketing because it is relationship-based and moves at the pace trust can be built. She described modern institutional decisions as involving many stakeholders, including the CIO who signs, analysts, consultants' associates and rising portfolio managers, each consuming content differently. Technology has changed her work mainly by providing visibility into which titles and firms within a buying committee are engaging, allowing adjustments before meetings. She said many marketers still follow a launch-day model, whereas her approach sequences website, spokesperson, and social content over weeks, with messaging tailored to whether a prospect is a long-standing client, an existing relationship being shifted, or a first-time contact. She described LinkedIn as a central venue for allocators and consultants, supplemented by earned media, video and podcasts, and targeted out-of-home advertising.

On AI, Nettles said the first question is what the firm is willing to let the technology do, which she treats as a leadership decision rather than a tools decision in a regulated business. She said her team uses AI for competitive scans, data pulls and first drafts, and that tools must show measurable gains such as faster pipeline or lower production cost. She also serves on the board of the Just Horizons Alliance, a nonprofit focused on AI ethics. On communication, she said credibility depends on naming costs and trade-offs, such as liquidity given up for a return premium, because allocators quickly detect spin. The article notes that the interview was edited for length and clarity.