C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives

Episode #255:Vaughn Mordecai, Chief Revenue Officer at Mindmatrix, explains why partnerships must become a core go-to-market motion. He outlines how partner ecosystems unlock revenue that direct sales alone cannot. Vaughn shares why deal sizes grow, close faster, and win rates improve when trust and alignment exist. He also breaks down what leaders must commit to for partnerships to succeed long-term.“Figure out what partners need to succeed in a partnership with you. Know your ideal partner profile, recruit partners who can actually transact on your behalf, and build the relationship. If you can do those three things, the sky is the limit.” - Vaughn MordecaiIn this episode, Vaughn breaks down why partner ecosystems are not a side project; they are a scalable growth engine. He explains how to avoid channel conflict, align your ideal partner profile with your ICP, and build programs that create measurable revenue impact over time.Follow Vaughn Mordecai on LinkedInFollow host Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #254:Christy Marble, Chief Marketing Officer at Siteimprove, explains why AI is changing what “value” means in B2B. She argues that buyers want outcomes, not tools, and that AI makes it easier to deliver those outcomes. She also shares how agents and orchestration can connect systems to create seamless experiences. The result is faster execution, clearer value, and stronger alignment with growth.“Use AI to deliver the value for your customers that you’ve always wished you could do. You’ll differentiate and you’ll win.” - Christy MarbleIn this episode, Christy explains how AI is shifting B2B value from features to outcomes. She breaks down why orchestration matters in complex tool environments, how buyer behavior is moving toward answer engines, and why leaders must connect growth, CX, and revenue in a measurable way.Follow Christy Marble on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #253: David T. Roberts, Chief Executive Officer at SugarCRM, explains why loyalty is a primary growth lever for B2B. He shares how curiosity, process, and data make customer focus real. He breaks down how teams can activate feedback to improve retention. He also explains why context is essential for using AI well.“We try to show the customer, through every part of that lifecycle, that we’re doing things to support their journey. We at Sugar, as an executive team, talk about making sure that every part of our business is focused not only on solving the instance, but on solving the root cause of the issue that may be negatively impacting that customer journey.” - David T. RobertsIn this episode, David breaks down how retention becomes a growth engine when teams operationalize customer insight. The conversation covers curiosity-led discovery, activating NPS into real action, and why process and data must lead software decisions. He also explains how context-driven AI can support sellers without eroding trust.Follow David T. Roberts on LinkedIn Follow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #252: Anand Sankara Narayanan, Chief Marketing Officer at Finance House Group, explains why marketing faces an identity crisis in the C-suite. He argues that marketing has not clearly defined its value within organizations. He breaks down marketing as a discipline built on customer psychology, data, and persuasion. He shares practical ways leaders can defend strategy and build internal trust.“Market your department internally very well. You need to give the reasons, the problem's foundations, the insight, the idea, the execution, and the results you will get. If that is explained clearly, then half the problem is solved. Half the battle is won internally for the marketing department and the marketers.” - Anand Sankara NarayananIn this episode, Anand breaks down why marketing credibility often breaks down in leadership teams and how CMOs can rebuild it with clarity. He explains marketing as both science and persuasion, then shows how customer insight and disciplined decision logic help earn trust, reduce interference, and connect brand building with measurable revenue outcomes.Follow Anand Sankara Narayanan on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #451:Grainne Maycock, Chief Revenue Officer at Acolad Group, explains why deals lose momentum. She outlines how internal friction and misalignment quietly stall progress. She also shares how trust is built through transparency and consistent follow-through. She closes with practical ways to operationalize customer voice and communication.“You can never overcommunicate on any strategy, any topic, or any result. Be customer focused, but overcommunicate with your internal teams and your cross-functional teams.” – Grainne MaycockIn this episode, Grainne breaks down why B2B deals stall long before a buyer says no. She explains how internal misalignment creates friction buyers can feel, why trust requires consistent follow-through, and how a disciplined voice of customer approach protects growth investments. The result is a repeatable momentum model leaders can measure and scale.Follow Grainne Maycock on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #250:Asmita Singh, Chief Marketing Officer at BARBRI Global, explains why the voice of the customer is the foundation of a durable go-to-market. She explains how trust is built on credible data, not cherry-picked claims. She shares how marketing can connect siloed insights across sales, product, and service. She also outlines how bottom-up models improve revenue predictability with finance alignment.“In the go-to-market, voice of the customer is a foundational element because it can help you define and build better products and better marketing strategy. Your roadmap should be driven by what your customers are looking for.” – Asmita SinghAsmita Singh shares how credible customer insight strengthens trust, clarifies ICP decisions, and improves forecast confidence. The conversation breaks down how marketing can connect siloed customer signals across sales, product, and service, then turn those signals into a roadmap that supports retention, growth, and measurable revenue outcomes.Follow Asmita Singh on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #249:Stephanie Pilon, Chief Marketing Officer at Singular, shares how her team exceeded revenue targets without relying on paid media. She explains why long sales cycles and niche ICPs reduce the effectiveness of paid channels in B2B. Stephanie also walks through data-backed decisions that drove a strategic shift away from ads. Her approach shows how focus, alignment, and execution outperform spend.“Start looking at your data and begin understanding the commonalities between the deals you’re winning. Start reverse-engineering those patterns, because that’s how you’ll develop your scoring model. That’s how you’ll figure out which signals will lead you to fresh deals down the road.” – Stephanie PilonIn this episode, Stephanie breaks down how B2B CMOs can rethink growth by shifting attention away from paid channels and toward customer insight, internal alignment, and signal-based execution. She explains how partnerships, precision outbound, and disciplined data analysis create a more predictable pipeline and help marketing earn credibility with sales teams, executives, and boards.Follow Stephanie Pilon on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #248: Michelle Urdiales, CMO at LAM and a Member of the Regional Leadership Board at A.P. Moller - Maersk, explains how customer centricity must move beyond intention and become an operational strategy. She outlines how working backward from the customer shapes leadership decisions, prioritization, and long-term value creation. Michelle connects customer focus to retention, trust, and internal alignment across the organization. Her insights show how sustainable growth follows when customer value leads every decision.“Never lose sight of the customer. Stay close to the business and the customer, and make it intentional. Plan these conversations, bring in the voice of the customer, and apply what you learn daily. This drives personalization, creates meaningful experiences, and completes the growth circle for their benefit.” – Michelle UrdialesIn this episode, Michelle shares how global leadership experience across technology, logistics, and B2B environments shaped her customer-first mindset. She explains why organizations must move past slogans and dashboards and embed customer insight into daily decision-making. Follow Michelle Urdiales on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #247:Vitaly Bochkarev, Chief Marketing Officer at Звук, explains how companies can grow when traditional channels disappear and trust becomes the real competitive edge. He shares how deep partner integration, not surface-level collaboration, creates scalable customer value. Vitaly demonstrates how unified journeys, shared KPIs, and multi-level buy-in turn ecosystems into high-performing engines. His insights reveal why partnerships succeed only when every layer of both organizations commits.“Real growth, especially in B2B, is not about having the biggest budget or the flashiest channel. It is about building trust, creating value, and investing in people and partnerships that actually work.” - Vitaly BochkarevThis episode goes deeper into how partnership ecosystems become a scalable engine when incentives align, teams buy in, and companies commit to shared outcomes. Vitaly shares practical lessons leaders can apply to accelerate growth in complex or limited-channel markets.Follow Vitaly Bochkarev on LinkedIn Follow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #246:Vidhya Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer at Prophix, explains why internal alignment is the most significant barrier to scale. She describes how cross-functional miscommunication creates friction, anxiety, and stalled execution. Vidhya shares how simple, repeatable processes and clear engagement models unlock growth. She closes with a reminder that going back to basics is the fundamental foundation for sustainable scale."If we can get past the internal friction points and make our operational processes like clockwork, then scaling the organization is going to be a breeze." – Vidhya SrinivasanThis episode gives leaders practical steps to remove internal roadblocks that stall growth. Vidhya shows how simple funnels, disciplined communication, and consistent feedback loops improve execution. She also explains how operational clarity helps marketing, sales, and product teams perform in sync for sustainable scale.Follow Vidhya Srinivasan on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #245: Willem Hendrickx, Chief Revenue Officer at Vectra AI, shares how customer insight becomes the foundation for strong strategy and lasting momentum. He shows how a clear ICP sharpens focus and accelerates growth. Willem connects culture, leadership, and the voice of the customer into one unified system. He highlights how internal alignment transforms customer evidence into predictable, scalable success.“The customer should be at the center of gravity. The customer is the one who pays the bill, and the customer is the one who defines your overall strategy. You need to make sure you are very clear about putting that customer first.” – Willem HendrickxThis episode explores how aligning leadership, data-driven ICP targeting, and customer advocacy builds a reliable growth engine. Willem shows how companies can strengthen retention, reduce internal friction, and scale faster by grounding every decision in customer evidence and shared accountability.Follow Willem Hendrickx on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #244: Jillian Als, Chief Marketing Officer at Dealfront, reveals why misalignment is the hidden challenge slowing growth inside every organization. She explains how internal definitions of success must match across departments. Jillian shares why direct, agenda-free customer conversations reshape strategy. She also warns that chasing AI without clarity results in wasted effort rather than impact.“You need to have the most honest conversation about what growth means to you individually. Everyone needs to get around the table and align on where the organization is going, when agreement is reached, and how each strategic goal contributes to achieving that growth.” – Jillian AlsIn this episode, leaders will learn why clarity, shared expectations, and authentic customer dialogue create a roadmap for growth. Jillian shows how alignment, experience, and defined outcomes help companies avoid wasted effort and make strategy executable across the entire organization.Follow Jillian Als on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #243:Jacqueline Woods, Chief Marketing Officer at Teradata, explains why execution only works when trust and culture come first. She shows how clear roles, accountability, and mutual respect unlock performance. Jacqueline connects preparation and discipline to sustainable innovation. Even with an average product, the right culture can still win.“When teams perform best, everyone feels like they are in it together, and they do not feel blamed for things that are not working. That kind of culture builds trust. If you do not have that, your execution probably does not go as well.” – Jacqueline WoodsIn this episode, Jacqueline breaks down why high-trust environments outperform even with average products. She shares practical stories on accountability, communication, and team alignment, giving leaders a clearer view of how trust shapes execution, innovation, and long-term success.Follow Jacqueline Woods on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #242:Kari Hanson, Chief Marketing Officer at Robin, explains why traditional ideas of predictability are breaking under the pressure of AI-driven change. She describes how shifting buyer behavior makes historic performance less reliable as a guide. Kari shows how brand and voice of the customer can restore clarity in this chaos and outlines a path to rebuild more predictable revenue systems grounded in genuine customer insight.“The brand and really understanding the voice of the customer are the pieces that feed the predictability in a very unpredictable way.” - Kari HansonThis episode explores why classic ideas of predictability are breaking in an AI-driven world and what CMOs can do about it. Kari unpacks shifting buyer behavior, lazy AI use, and noisy markets, then shows how brand and customer voice give leaders the context they need to design more reliable, scalable revenue systems.Follow Kari Hanson on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #241:Matt Gorman, Chief Revenue Officer at MSH, explains why the most significant barriers to sustainable growth are almost always internal rather than external. He shows how misaligned expectations, lack of internal trust, and weak revenue operations discipline undermine even strong strategies. Matt challenges leaders to define growth clearly, align risk tolerance, and protect their long-term plan from short-term decisions.“If you're not a master of your own home, it's going to be very hard to be a master of somebody else's. Too many companies focus too much on what the market and competitors are doing. It's great to have awareness of those things, but it is not okay to be paralyzed by them that you forget that execution is the actual winning strategy.” — Matt GormanMatt highlights how internal trust, clear definitions of growth, and disciplined revenue operations determine long-term performance. He explains why companies struggle when they misread risk and reward, prioritize speed over alignment, or let short-term decisions override long-term plans. His insights reveal how mastering internal execution creates predictable, sustainable growth.Follow Matt Gorman on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #240:Peter Dibbern, Chief Marketing Officer at COSMO CONSULT, explains why customer understanding shapes every part of a modern GTM system. He details how SaaS models require deeper, continuous customer relationships. He discusses how data supports but never replaces real conversations and emphasizes that trust grows through honest stories, not polished marketing claims.“The customers are a lot better informed today, so we have to create solutions together in a dialogue. If you respect the customer, you will get insights from them, and those will be the best sellers of your product for future prospects.” – Peter DibbernThis episode moves beyond the usual alignment conversation and shows why a modern GTM system cannot function without a living connection to the customer. Peter highlights how customer insight becomes the signal that guides every strategic decision and why authentic stories carry more influence than any crafted message. It reinforces the idea that customer truth is not an input but the operating force that shapes the entire GTM engine.Follow Peter Dibbern on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #239:Dr. Adrian Seeger, Chief Sales Officer at thyssenkrupp Schulte, explains why fundamental restructuring must start with the customer, not with internal cost-cutting. He describes customer centricity as a shared mindset that reaches far beyond tools and dashboards. Adrian urges every C-suite leader to spend meaningful time in direct conversations with customers. He shows how treating sales as a value center creates alignment, trust, and sustainable B2B growth.“If we start with the customer and the customer's needs, we will carry out a more focused restructuring process, and we will have the chance to restructure the right things and be stronger for the future. The view on the customer is a lasting thing and more strategic, and it will pay off in the profitability of the company in the future.” – Dr. Adrian SeegerThis episode goes deep into how customer-led decision-making dissolves internal friction, strengthens alignment, and empowers leaders to build more resilient, profitable organizations. Adrian shares decades of C-suite wisdom on why customer proximity outperforms dashboards, why sales must be treated as a value engine, and why leadership must champion the voice of the customer daily.Follow Dr. Adrian Seeger on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #238:Rich Watson, CRO at Amira Learning, explains why customer experience is now the primary driver of competitive advantage. He highlights how AI accelerates product creation, making experience the true differentiator. He outlines why renewals and expansion depend on consistent value. He also shows how organizations can evolve compensation, structure, and technology to align around the customer journey.“Customer experience is going to rule everything because solutions are easier to build than ever, and the real differentiator will be how companies deliver value.” – Rich WatsonThis episode explores why CX has overtaken product features as the actual growth engine. Rich shares practical examples from sales, customer success, and product teams, showing how organizations can unify around value delivery to strengthen renewals, reduce churn, and accelerate expansion paths in a changing AI landscape.Follow Rich Watson on LinkedIn Follow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #237:Alena Iakaitite, CMO at Ozon Global, explains that B2B pipelines rarely leak leads but instead leak trust, which modern buyers increasingly rely on peers to validate. She shows how even a single failure can spread across business communities within hours, and why transparency, promise-keeping, and internal alignment are the only durable defenses. She also demonstrates how consistent communication and accountability create the customer experience that drives long-term growth.“B2B is a business society, and people always communicate with each other. You need to demonstrate consistent experience and build trust across the entire business community. Your brand voice should be the one that is transparent and willing to address what happened and how you will fix it openly.” – Alena IakaititeIn this episode, Alena shows how trust is the real source of B2B leakage. She explores how internal transparency, promise-keeping, and accountable communication fuel customer experience and long-term growth, especially in global environments where a single misstep can quickly spread across entire business communities.Follow Alena Iakaitite on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn

Episode #236:Mark Flanagan, Chief Revenue Officer at LOGEX, explains why customer value must anchor every decision a revenue team makes. He highlights how rigid sales processes create friction that erodes trust early in the buyer experience. He explores why buyers arrive more informed than ever and how CROs must adapt to remain credible.“Your margin for success comes from how buyers experience every interaction and whether they feel understood at each stage.” – Mark FlanaganIn this episode, Mark examines how CROs can reduce friction in the buyer's journey, rebuild trust in a skeptical market, and create systems that keep revenue teams aligned with real customer needs. He highlights why organizations succeed when customer proximity becomes a regular practice, not just an aspiration.Follow Mark Flanagan on LinkedIn Follow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn