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The CMO's MO: 9 questions with dynamic APAC marketing leaders, insights and personalities revealed.
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Design should make life simpler.
For Zach Kitschke, global CMO at Canva, this principle has shaped his journey since he joined as the tech design company's fifth hire in 2013. He's since worn many hats, from communications to product, to people, and finally, leading marketing six years later.
In Canva's first year, it had around 750,000 users. Two decades on, it's now one the world’s largest visual communication platforms, with over 240 million active monthly users.
When Kitschke stepped into the CMO role in 2021, he brought a hands-on ethos to his team of around 400 marketers. He's earned a reputation as a community builder and strategist, driving campaigns that have helped Canva reinvent itself from an online design tool into a mainstay platform that's essential in workspaces, classrooms, and well, literally anywhere else that involves creating.
The numbers have been extraordinary, with 40 billion designs created on Canva so far. Kitschke's goal? To bring together creators, teams, and Fortune 500s across 190 countries and 100 languages. As CMO, Zach is most at home leading from the front, overseeing creative, product marketing, and and scaling global operations.
“Our north star has always been clear: to empower the world to design,” he tells Campaign Asia-Pacific. Under his leadership, Canva’s teams have cut campaign analysis times by 75% and built partnerships across consumer and enterprise use cases.
What keeps him motivated? “It’s the chance to make creativity accessible without letting complexity get in the way, and the privilege of working with teams who never stop asking what’s next,” he adds.
For young marketers setting out today, Kitschke’s advice is practical: “Stay endlessly curious. Know your craft, but don’t forget to evolve. The future belongs to those who combine purpose with a willingness to learn.”
Read his full interview below:
1. What is the single biggest challenge and opportunity facing Canva and the design software industry in 2026, and how are you preparing to address both?
Zach Kitschke: On one hand, AI has unlocked creativity in ways we’ve never seen before. But it’s also created a new responsibility to keep things original, meaningful, and high quality in a world that’s moving faster than ever.
Ultimately, I think the real magic happens when you pair the technology with human ingenuity, taste, and strategy. That’s where the next wave of innovation will come from—tools that help bring imagination to life and make the creative process feel even more human. So really, the opportunity and the challenge are one and the same. It’s about building smarter tools that give people confidence that creativity still belongs to them, and that AI is there to help accelerate that.
2. Is generative AI changing your marketing function? Can you share specific examples of its impact on a recent campaign or initiative?
Kitschke: Yes, absolutely. AI has completely changed how my team works. Over the past year, we’ve focused on integrating it into everything we do so we can think more creatively while also moving faster. We even recently ran a company-wide AI Discovery Week to help everyone, including the marketing team, learn about different AI tools and start using them in their day-to-day work.
Now, everyone on my team uses AI in some way. The Canva World Tour and the Keynote event in Sydney are great examples of how AI can be part of the process. From early concepts and storyboarding to scripting and refining our messaging, we relied on it every step of the way. Today, more than 80% of the marketing team uses AI tools daily, which I’m really proud of. We’ve cut ad analysis time by about 75% and cut internal marketing ops queries by around 60%, freeing up our ops team to focus on more strategic work.
3. How do you separate the signal from the noise and focus on what matters most?
Kitschke: There’s always some new trend, channel, or shiny thing fighting for your attention. And honestly, most of them come and go pretty fast. The real challenge, especially when you’re moving quickly, is knowing when to lean in and experiment, and when to just stay focused on what actually matters.
For me, lasting success comes down to doing the basics really well. It’s about knowing your audience, building your community, telling stories that feel real. Our north star has always been clear: to empower the world to design. That’s what keeps us zoned in on impact over noise.
4. Name a brand with a fantastic customer experience you really admire. What about their approach impresses you most?
Kitschke: I’ve really been impressed recently by Uniqlo. Its an amazing story. They don’t rely on hype or chase every new trend. They focus on doing the simple things really well, and making everyday life just a little bit better for their customers.
I love how feedback-driven they are, and their approach to both product development and customer service is second to none. Some of their most successful products are based on a unique observation they had by being hyper tuned to their community. It’s not easy to process a mountain of customer data and actually apply it in ways that make the brand experience better, but they do it, and it shows.
Zach Kitsche (far left) with the Canva team back in 2019.
5. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to young marketing professionals aspiring to become future marketing leaders?
Kitschke: I’d say, stay endlessly curious. The best marketers are lifelong learners who pull inspiration from everywhere: from design and tech to art, community, and more. The more the world changes, the more those who are constantly evolving thrive.
Know your craft, deeply understand your company’s culture, and tell meaningful stories that reflect that. But most importantly, know your values and lead with purpose. That clarity will always point you in the right direction.This industry moves fast, and those who can evolve while staying grounded in the fundamentals will always stand out.
6. CMOs are under increasing pressure to deliver maximum value for every dollar spent. How should agency–client relationships evolve for the better in today’s volatile market?
Kitschke: In the early days, we didn’t have big budgets or endless resources to hit our goals, so we did a lot ourselves. When we started bringing agencies on board, we were definitely a bit of a non-traditional client. We brought in a lot of hands-on energy, but over time found amazing partners who really got our rhythm and could work in lockstep with us, and push us to new heights too.
Now, many years in and with several agencies on our roster, I’ve learned that the best relationships are true partnerships, not transactions. The magic happens when an agency really understands your culture, your community, and your goals, and moves from vendor to partner to feel like part of your team.
A great example of that is our work with Done and Dusted on the Canva World Tour and Keynote, which brought our experiential vision to life, and the “Creative Freedom” ad we created with
Man vs. Machine in the UK. Both agencies were really in touch with who we are and what we stand for, so we truly clicked.
7. If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would they be and what marketing wisdom would you hope to glean from them?
Kitschke: If I can only pick three, I’d go with Albert Einstein, Frida Kahlo, and Winston Churchill. Einstein because he bridged imagination and innovation like no other. Kahlo for her creativity and how she turned vulnerability into strength. And Churchill for his conviction and wit. That dinner would be the ultimate masterclass in leadership and authenticity; a playbook for great marketing.
Kitsche enjoys winter sports in his downtime.
8. Tell us something people might not know about you?
Kitschke: I’ve got a lot of interests, but the biggest one has to be getting out in nature. There’s something about jumping in the ocean at home in Bondi, or snowboarding wherever I can that completely resets me. It’s where I recharge and get the headspace to think clearly.
9. What keeps you up at night as a CMO?
Kitschke: It's about finding that balance between focus and pace. Things move fast, and there’s always pressure to do more, try more, ship more. The real challenge is making sure we’re not mistaking activity for progress.
I also think a lot about how to keep teams inspired and connected to our purpose while focusing on impact. Our world’s constantly evolving, so I try to make sure our foundation is solid and that the team is set up for success. That takes constant reflection on where we are today, and a bit of foresight into what’s coming next.