Rani Salehi is a principal analyst at Forrester who advises CMOs, marketing leaders, and executive peers on the organizational and leadership choices that drive business growth and readiness. Her coverage spans B2B marketing leadership, marketing strategy and transformation, and business strategy and planning, with particular depth in marketing organizational design, talent management, and workforce strategy. She also advises on acquisition integration, digital marketing strategy, campaign management and program planning, change management, and leadership development, helping clients connect these disciplines rather than treat them as separate problems.

At the center of her work is a simple conviction: Organizational choices shape business outcomes. Most marketing organizations were built for predictability, and Rani’s research challenges that design in an environment defined by constant change: shifting customer expectations, evolving workforce dynamics, and the accelerating impact of AI on how marketing work gets done. She argues that the strongest organizations aren’t the ones that continually realign talent, investments, and priorities as business needs shift.

Through a mix of original research and executive guidance, Rani helps leaders translate strategy into the structural and talent decisions that determine long-term performance, from rebuilding marketing organizations and redefining career pathing and talent acquisition, to strengthening leadership alignment and communicating the value of marketing to the business. Great strategy earns its return when leaders build the workforce and organization to carry it forward, turning marketing into the engine of growth. Her guidance is aimed at executives navigating complex transformation: integrating an acquisition, reshaping marketing knowledge and talent, evolving organizational culture and an AI workforce, or positioning a marketing function to thrive amid continuous disruption.