Human Leadership and Digital Transformations in Sales Leadership

As AI, automation, and remote work continue to reshape selling, what does effective sales leadership really look like?

In this episode of AMS Illuminations, host Brad Carlson is joined by Dr. Nawar Chaker, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business, to explore the human dynamics behind modern sales leadership.

The conversation covers what salesperson persistence really means, why relational skills often outperform product knowledge, and how leaders can support performance, ethics, and wellbeing in increasingly digital and remote sales environments. The episode also explores inside sales, social isolation, work-life boundaries, and what true human–AI collaboration looks like in practice.

This season-closing episode offers timely insights for sales leaders, educators, researchers, and practitioners navigating digital transformation—without losing sight of the people doing the work.

Episode Guests:

Nawar Chaker

Dr. Nawar N. Chaker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business. He previously served as an associate professor of marketing at Louisiana State University’s E.J. Ourso College of Business and brings seven years of industry experience in sales to his academic work. Dr. Chaker’s research examines the drivers of salesperson performance, emotions and well-being in sales, the salesperson–sales manager interface, cross-functional sales relationships, and front-line employee management. His work has appeared in leading journals, and he serves as a senior editor for the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management and on editorial review boards for top outlets including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

Brad D. Carlson, Ph.D., Host

Brad D. Carlson, Ph.D., is a professor and James J. Pierson Endowed Chair in Marketing in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University, as well as the current president of the Academy of Marketing Science. Renowned for his exemplary teaching, research, and service, Brad has earned numerous accolades throughout his career. His research, which has appeared in prominent journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, focuses on practical and theoretical aspects of marketing that resonate both in academia and industry.