Observed Signal · Aug 19, 2026 · Interview · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
B2B Demand Generation Market: Katrina Kilgas: Trust Is B2B's Competitive Edge
Katrina Kilgas, B2B digital journey manager at Shell Lubricants and juror for The Drum B2B Awards, argues that earning buyer trust before a sales opportunity is the primary long-term competitive advantage in B2B. Drawing on 12 years at Shell Lubricant Solutions, she says marketers should measure influence over clicks, use AI to surface buying signals and prioritize human judgment for strategy, and protect brand investment while investing in end-to-end first‑party data integrations that unify CRM, intent data and analytics.
Provides practitioner-level guidance on B2B strategy, first-party data integration and AI use for marketers; relevant to B2B MarTech planning but not a major platform policy or industry-shifting event.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Katrina Kilgas is B2B digital journey manager at Shell Lubricants and a juror on The Drum B2B Awards Industry jury.
- She has 12 years’ experience building digital marketing strategy inside Shell Lubricant Solutions.
- Kilgas recommends investing in end-to-end data integrations and a unified first-party customer intelligence capability combining customer data, buying signals, CRM activity, intent data, analytics and AI-driven decision-making.
- She uses AI to analyze buying signals, predict account stages, prioritize sales actions and surface insights, but emphasizes humans remain responsible for strategy and decision-making.
- Her stated marketing priority for B2B is earning brand trust and shaping preference before buyers enter demand funnels.
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