What exactly does this person do now, and how is it different from before?

Chyzhova went from managing a 65-person marketing team as CMO to running the entire marketing function alone at AGI Inc., writing copy, building decks, owning every channel, and handling product marketing, developer marketing, and product-led growth. In the last 4 months, she took two major partnership announcements from draft to live, ran a full rebrand, and marketed three product directions simultaneously—work that used to involve multiple teams and weeks of coordination.

Why are managers leaving the management track if raises are higher?

Early in a career, becoming a manager does mean a faster raise: 11% for managers versus 7% for staying an individual contributor, per Glassdoor. But at the senior level, that stops being true. Chyzhova notes she used to be valued for headcount; now she is valued for how good she is at the work itself. In tech, top individual contributors are starting to out-earn managers above them.

What is the downside of this trend for companies?

The grunt work that junior employees once did to learn their jobs is now handled by AI. Entry-level roles in AI-heavy fields are seven times more likely to ask for senior skills; new-grad hiring in tech is down about 65% since 2019, and marketing hiring is down 36%. Without junior hiring and hands-on training, companies risk having no one to promote later.

AI Business & IndustryFortune AIAug 16, 2026Aug 16, 2026, 19:01 JST

CMO drops management to do the work herself—and thrives

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3 Key Points

What happened
Juliana Chyzhova, a former CMO with a 65-person team, stepped down from management to work solo as founding marketer at AGI Inc., handling all marketing functions herself. In the last 4 months, she completed two major partnership announcements, ran a full rebrand, marketed three product directions, built a partner newsletter in 4 hours, and ran 16 events—work that previously required team coordination.
Why it matters
AI has flipped the math on career advancement. Two-thirds of people using AI say it frees them up for better work, and more than half say they're making things they couldn't have made a year ago. At the senior level, individual contributors who excel at the work itself are now valued more than managers—and in tech, top individual contributors are starting to out-earn managers above them. Chyzhova's experience reflects a real trend: Gallup measured manager engagement falling from 27% to 22% in a single year, the biggest one-year drop they've ever recorded.
What to watch
The shift creates a hiring crisis at the entry level. Entry-level roles in AI-heavy fields are seven times more likely to ask for senior skills; new-grad hiring in tech is down about 65% since 2019, and marketing hiring is down 36%. Early-career workers in exposed jobs are down 16%, per Stanford payroll data. The risk: junior employees lose the hands-on learning that once taught them the job.

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Context & Analysis

The article describes a career shift that accelerates a long-standing tension in knowledge work: whether advancement means management or mastery. Chyzhova's story is grounded in a measurable shift. Gallup found manager engagement falling from 27% to 22% in a single year—their largest one-year drop on record—suggesting this is not anecdotal. The mechanism behind the shift is AI. Two-thirds of people using AI report it frees them for better work, and more than half say they're making things they couldn't have made a year ago. That capability flips the old career math in which your value scaled with your team size; now a single skilled practitioner, armed with AI, can accomplish what a team once did.

The data backs this. In tech, individual contributors are beginning to out-earn managers. The article cites SignalFire's term "Super IC" (Super Individual Contributor) for this emerging cohort. But the trend creates a new problem: the work that trained junior employees is now automated. Entry-level roles in AI-heavy fields ask for senior skills at seven times the historical rate. New-grad hiring in tech has fallen about 65% since 2019, and early-career workers in exposed roles are down 16%, per Stanford payroll data. Chyzhova frames this as a deliberate choice facing senior leaders: build a senior-contributor track that retains top talent (and pays them accordingly), or risk losing the pipeline of junior workers who learn the job through hands-on grunt work. The article does not resolve whether companies will make that choice.

FAQ

What exactly does this person do now, and how is it different from before?: Chyzhova went from managing a 65-person marketing team as CMO to running the entire marketing function alone at AGI Inc., writing copy, building decks, owning every channel, and handling product marketing, developer marketing, and product-led growth. In the last 4 months, she took two major partnership announcements from draft to live, ran a full rebrand, and marketed three product directions simultaneously—work that used to involve multiple teams and weeks of coordination.
Why are managers leaving the management track if raises are higher?: Early in a career, becoming a manager does mean a faster raise: 11% for managers versus 7% for staying an individual contributor, per Glassdoor. But at the senior level, that stops being true. Chyzhova notes she used to be valued for headcount; now she is valued for how good she is at the work itself. In tech, top individual contributors are starting to out-earn managers above them.
What is the downside of this trend for companies?: The grunt work that junior employees once did to learn their jobs is now handled by AI. Entry-level roles in AI-heavy fields are seven times more likely to ask for senior skills; new-grad hiring in tech is down about 65% since 2019, and marketing hiring is down 36%. Without junior hiring and hands-on training, companies risk having no one to promote later.

Fortune AIRead Original Article

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