ACAM launches AI advisers network with Maestro backing

The Australian Centre for AI in Marketing has launched a national network of Accredited Advisors, with Maestro as the programme's first strategic partner.

The move expands ACAM's adviser base across Australia as companies seek help building AI expertise in marketing teams and applying it to day-to-day operations.

Under the model, selected advisers will be accredited to work with ACAM's research, benchmarking, education programmes and AI Results Transformation methodology. The network is designed to connect marketing teams and business leaders with practitioners, executives, consultants and specialists who can support capability building and broader transformation work.

Maestro, which brings together fractional experts, interim executives, independent consultants and contractors, will provide the first cohort through the partnership. Vetted members of the network will complete accreditation and help deliver and commercially roll out ACAM programmes and transformation services.

Louise Cummins, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ACAM, said demand from organisations had shifted over the past year.

"Over the past year, we've seen organisations move very quickly from asking what AI in marketing can do to asking how they actually make it work across their organisation," Cummins said.

She said the shift had broadened the support companies now need.

"That requires much more than technology. Organisations need capability, leadership, change, operating model expertise and experienced people who can help turn AI opportunities into action.

"At the same time, there is an extraordinary pool of senior professionals moving into fractional, independent and portfolio careers. This partnership allows us to bring those two shifts together. Our courses and programmes have always been designed by marketers, for marketers, and as we scale, it was important to us to remain true to that. ACAM Accredited Advisors bring deep AI marketing capability across a broad range of disciplines, which means we can now work with many more marketing teams," Cummins said.

The accreditation pathway requires practitioners to become familiar with ACAM's research, methodologies, education programmes and approach to responsible AI adoption before they can represent or deliver defined services.

Cummins said ACAM does not plan to build a large permanent consulting workforce around the initiative.

"Our ambition isn't to build a huge permanent consulting team, but to build a strong core organisation around our intellectual property, research, data and customer relationships, supported by a highly credible collection of experienced advocates who can be brought into engagements when their expertise is needed," Cummins said.

Workforce shift

The partnership also reflects a broader change in how companies source specialist skills. Fractional and interim talent models have gained ground as organisations seek senior expertise for specific projects without adding permanent headcount.

Annabel Acton, Co-Founder of Maestro, said the arrangement aligned with that trend.

"The future of work is increasingly about bringing the right expertise into an organisation at the right moment, rather than building every capability permanently in-house. Our partnership with ACAM is a great example of that model in action, combining ACAM's AI and marketing expertise with the depth, flexibility and sector experience of the Maestro network," Acton said.

Initially, the Maestro partnership will support ACAM's enterprise work in AI capability building and transformation. That includes programmes such as AI Advantage and AI-Ready, as well as strategic support and transformation reviews using the AI Results Transformation methodology.

Four Maestro practitioners have already completed ACAM accreditation, while another 10 are going through the process. Additional candidates are expected to be selected later.

Kathryn Illy, Senior Industry Advisor at ACAM, is leading the Maestro accreditation programme. She said the effort was designed in part to create pathways for experienced professionals between traditional roles.

"One of the things we are seeing is a significant group of highly experienced people between traditional roles who have enormous expertise, relationships and value to contribute. Rather than seeing that experience sitting on the sidelines, we want to create pathways for these Maestro professionals to build their AI capability and participate directly in the transformation taking place across industry," Illy said.

Broader expansion

The adviser network follows ACAM's launch of the Global Centre for AI in Marketing, an international platform focused on research, benchmarking and insight into AI maturity in marketing. The United States is the first international benchmark market for that initiative through a partnership with The CMO Syndicate.

The broader push indicates ACAM is building a model that combines a central research and methodology base with delivery through approved external specialists. The Accredited Advisors network gives it a larger field presence in Australia while maintaining a smaller internal core.

For companies trying to move from trial use of AI tools to broader organisational adoption, the launch adds another route to external advice in a market where demand for practical implementation support is rising.