Laura Cross,

Laura Cross

VP, Principal Analyst

Laura Cross is a seasoned B2B marketing leader with 25 years of experience helping organizations drive measurable outcomes across demand marketing, marketing technology, marketing planning, marketing operations, and revenue operations. Known for her proactive mindset and sharp analytical skills, Laura excels at bringing clarity and structure to complex challenges, connecting the dots across teams, tools, and processes to unlock efficiency, scalability, and impact.

At Forrester, Laura partners with B2B marketing operations, revenue operations, PMO leaders, and chiefs of staff to the CMO or CRO to optimize and orchestrate core processes across the marketing and sales lifecycle. Her expertise spans aligned revenue planning and budgeting, integrated marketing planning and investment, campaign and program design, centers of excellence, operating models, organizational structure, and team capabilities. She brings deep experience in process optimization, helping clients design disciplined, scalable workflows that improve performance, streamline operations, and accelerate business outcomes. Laura is also a recognized expert in demand and ABM strategy, having authored extensive research on how to design, build, and execute high-performing campaigns and programs. Her guidance on lead and opportunity, management, waterfall optimization, and performance measurement helps clients improve operational rigor and drive growth.

Research Coverage

Planned Research

What research can you expect from Forrester in the next 12 months? Updated biweekly, our publishing plan will keep you current with market and technology trends. Use the link below to download a list of our upcoming research.

Download Planned Research
September 10th, 2025 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Webinar

2026 Budget Planning For B2B Sales, Marketing, And Revenue Operations Leaders

As 2026 approaches, it's time to think about where to focus your resources and investments for maximum impact. Join analysts Ross Graber, Vicki Brown, Laura Cross, Brett Kahnke and Anthony McPartlin as they discuss what the coming year will hold for B2B businesses. They'll highlight specific challenges operations leaders should anticipate and offer recommendations to help you shape your investment decisions, as well as answer questions about what making these changes will mean for your organization.Key takeaways: Learn how marketing and sales are allocating their budgets today - and how they expect that to change.Hear Forrester's recommendation for specific areas where go-to-market operations teams should increase and adjust investment levels.Target audience level: all levels