The 10 Most Influential CMOs to Watch 2022 February2022_compressed.pdf

Digital Engagement
Components of
Digital Marke ng
Reforming Benchmarks
The Significance of an
Effec ve Marke ng Strategy
The
10
Most CMOs
toWatch,2022
Influential
www.insightssuccess.com
VOL-02 | ISSUE-17 | 2022
Eric
Eric
Eric
Marketing Leadership
at its Finest

Maximum
Creativity,
Enhanced
Productivity
arketing is an inbuilt aspect of an organization
Mwherein maximum creativity can be used to
benefit productivity. It aims to reimagine the
strategic functions to position the brand so that it can
generate demand. Marketers do the job of responding to
customer needs meaningfully without making things
complex.
Marketing strategies are no longer devised on an annual
time frame but need to be curated as frequently as 3-6
months so that the sales aren’t affected. The industry is
turning dynamic with passing time, which is why it’s a
necessity rather than an option. To plan and validate all
team members’ work at an organizational level, a CMO is a
focal point. A Chief Marketing Officer is the heart and soul
of the marketing department. To ensure the smooth working
of an organization, a competent CMO is essential. A CMO
has the vision from a business, workforce, and
technological perspective to meet the marketing needs.
A CMO is crucial to the overall betterment of a company to
compete in the fast-changing marketing niche. The rapid
technological advancement has made it easy for all
companies to formulate marketing goals and achieve them
quickly. This has opened the field where all competitors
need to give their best to achieve desirable results. For
leading the race, new-age CMOs are pushing their limits
and making their teams competent to face difficulties and
overcome obstacles.
The company employees often work on the strategies given
by CMOs to reach their potential personally and
organizationally. Fresh plans are made to build and
incorporate new tactics into the marketing dynamics.
Creative CMOs guide highly analytical individuals to offer
Editor’s Desk

a mix of technicality and a human touch. An optimal
marketing campaign has the likes of all technical and
creative aspects blended into a single framework. For
this, excellent market insight is needed to gauge the
wants of customers or clients and deliver the required
results. A CMO is a bridge between the team process
and the client expectations, so it is a critical role to
fulfill.
To steer the wheel of a company into the trajectory of
growth, a knowledgeable and accountable CMO is a
sheer necessity. This edition, “The 10 Most
Influential CMOs to Watch 2022,” covers many such
visionary leaders who have helped their company
reach heights of success.
Do check out the articles written by our in-house
editorial team and CxOs written by experts in the
field.
Turn over for an insightful read.
Raunak Mhetre
Raunak
raunak.mhetre@insightssuccess.com

CxO
Cover Story
08
26
Articles
22 38
Eric Herzog
Marketing Leadership at its Finest

sales@insightssuccess.com
February 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
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April Critchfield
CMO
Zurixx’s team members are thoroughly involved in constantly
improving educational programs to fit their clients’ needs.
Zurixx, LLC
zurixx.com
Barry Rabkin
CMO
Identified Technologies
identifiedtech.com
Cinn Tan
CMO
Pan Pacific Hotels Group
panpacific.com
Joelle Kaufman
CMO
Dynamic Signal
dynamicsignal.com/
Peter Neve
CMO
ACG World
acg-world.com
Sharon Cook
CMO
Mountain America
Credit Union
macu.com
Eric Herzog
CMO
Infinidat
Infinidat.com
George Hughes
CMO
The Star Entertainment
Group
starentertainment-
group.com.au
Description
Company Name
Featured Person
Identified Technologies' software and services take care of
everything from FAA compliance and flight planning, to
advanced analytics.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group is a member of Singapore-listed UOL
Group Limited.
Infinidat helps customers drive petabyte-scale competitive
advantage while providing faster-than-all-flash performance.
The Star Entertainment Group is an ASX listed company that
owns and operates The Star Sydney, The Star Gold Coast and
Treasury Brisbane.
Dynamic Signal is the leading Employee Communication and
Engagement Platform.
ACG is the world’s only integrated pharma manufacturing
solutions company.
Mountain America Credit Union first opened its doors in the
1930s with a commitment to guiding our members to achieve
their financial dreams.
Jennifer Deutsch
CMO
Park Place Technologies
parkplacetechnologies.com
Park Place Technologies optimizes data center and networking
Uptime and performance worldwide via a comprehensive
portfolio of IT services and products.
10
Most CMOs
toWatch,2022
Influential
T
h
e
Sidra Berman
CMO
Tangoe
tangoe.com
Tangoe offers the best order, invoice, inventory and expense
management solution on the market.

C O V E R S T O R Y
Eric Herzog
CMO

Eric Herzog
Marketing Leadership at its Finest
Infinidat is devoted
to helping our
enterprise
customers compete
more effectively in
the era of digital
transformation.
The 10 Most Influential CMOs to Watch, 2022

Voyaging towards Marketing Zeniths
April Critchfield:
An efficient marketeer is what
an organization needs to cater
to the evidently widening
outreach of contemporary marketing. A
well-learned practitioner of modern
marketing methodologies knows, sees
and performs actions that throttle the
analysis and derivation of a profound
marketing strategy.
One such marketing specialist working
in Zurixx, LLC is its CMO, April
Critchfield. Holding a BS in
Communication, Organization &
Speech and initially an accounting
background, April possesses the
curiosity and ambition towards
marketing. “I have 10+ years of
experience in accounting, I love
numbers. I love reports: Creating them,
analyzing them, presenting them and
everything about the numbers. With
Accounting, I did it all: payroll, A/R,
A/P, Recon, you name it,” states April
while narrating her story of how she
entered the marketing discipline.
Another instance that instigated April’s
passion for marketing is her history of
stage performances. She asserts, “I did
a lot of big band shows in college and
earned vocal scholarships to help pay
for tuition. Watching a big event from
back-stage and also all the parts that
make it a ‘well-oiled machine’, made
me want to know more about the event,
from start to finish.”
and I had a really good conversation
about my passions which included
people and numbers, so he offered me
the marketing assistant’s position,
right there, on the spot. My accounting
experience, combined with a dormant
desire for marketing created a new
opportunity for me, so I jumped – all
in, entire body, mind & soul – into the
deep end,” states April about her
moment of realization and her
subsequent step towards a promising
career.
Defining Roles
According to April, setting an example
in the little things like being on time,
sticking up for others, accepting blame,
praising team members, encouraging
ideas, and promoting employees to be
self-sufficient and to see their value to
the overall company should be
influenced by every CMO.
She also explains the insistent issues
that CMOs face on a regular basis.
“CMOs rely on numbers and statistics
to make decisions, so when stats
change, and we have to re-think the
way we’re doing things, sometimes it
makes ‘making the change’very hard to
implement.”
“Campaigns or ideas that may or may
not work are a challenge, but just
because something doesn’t work or
doesn’t translate like we thought it
An Innovative and Compassionate
Organization
Zurixx, LLC is based out of Salt Lake
City, Utah, and Dorado, Puerto Rico.
Founded in 2012 by James Carlson, the
company develops financial education
programs and has received several
accolades and awards from Inc
Magazine, Fortune, Salt Lake Tribune,
and many more. By crafting messaging
and developing materials, and
launching sales programs, Zurixx’s
team members are thoroughly involved
in constantly improving educational
programs to fit their clients’ needs.
Zurixx is also a big contributor to
community efforts and organizations. It
is extensively involved in fund-raising,
food banks, sports events, health
awareness, etc. In 2017, Zurixx
stepped in as the presenting sponsor to
the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and
helped raise thousands of dollars for
the event. April was honored to kick
off the race as the spokesperson from
Zurixx for the event.
The Commencement of Success
April has always wanted to own a
business and to get involved in a
company that was just starting up.
“When I had the opportunity to
interview at Zurixx, I actually
interviewed for the Accounting
Assistant Position. My Boss, the CEO,
| February 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
16

would, doesn’t make it a failure. Being able to
see the parts of it that worked, makes every test
a success,” April expresses.
Overcoming Imminent Challenges
April discovered the abilities of determination and
discipline, which is not possessed by many people. She has
been honing these skills for a long time and now, applies
them to a lot of situations in life, and in and out of her
workplace.
“I like to really be prepared when I go to meetings or with
presentations. I love displaying the element of surprise
when my CEO asks me for a report that I’ve anticipated
and I can actually show it to him on the spot,” April asserts.
Speaking up about situations she feels strongly about, and
having her issues addressed, she emphasizes, “A lot of
times, I would think that my idea has been brought up
before, or it’s been suggested by someone else, but I’ve
come to ﬁnd out that 9 times out of 10, it hasn’t been
suggested. So it has encouraged me to speak up and know
that I’m heard.”
Expressing about her ambitions, April says, “I see myself
continuing to grow, and encouraging others to grow, not
only in Zurixx, but in life. Understanding communication,
networking, and relationship marketing has been a huge
opportunity for me. Learning what I have at Zurixx,
combined with all of my odd-jobs before I became a CMO
has shaped me into who I am in this Industry.”
Advising the Aspiring Generation
“I would deﬁnitely say that if you think someone has “been
there” or “done that” you’re wrong. The marketing world
is getting so creative and just because someone might have
done something before you, doesn’t mean you can’t tweak it
and make it better. Be prepared for multiple outcomes and
be ready to roll with the punches,” is April’s advice to the
young marketing aspirants.
She also elucidates, “Sometimes you just have to
understand what you want to create. Do it yourself if you
can, and if you can’t, allow other people to help you. Keep
testing, keep learning, allow mistakes, learn from them, and
keep coming back for more. Don’t be afraid to collaborate
and ask for support. You never know what could come out
of a new partnership.”
Keep testing,
keep learning,
allow mistakes,
learn from them,
and keep coming
back for more.
”
”
”
”
April Critchfield
CMO
Zurixx, LLC.
|
February 2022
www.insightssuccess.com 17

A Passion for Problem Solving Products
Barry Rabkin:
In an interview with Insights
Success, the CMO of Identified
Technologies, Barry Rabkin
shares the key insights powering his
transformative results as the Chief
Marketing Officer. Learn the
innovative marketing strategies that
this recognized industry leader has
used to create coast-to-coast demand
for his company’s offerings.
Below are highlights from the
interview conducted between Barry
and Insights Success:
Can you brief us on your
background?
I have always loved technology,
creativity, people, and the fusion of the
three. I am a computer programmer,
turned psychology major, turned
breakdancing entrepreneur, turned
product and marketing strategist. I’ve
always followed my passions, and
however random my path may seem,
every step has helped prepare me for
the challenges that followed.
I started CypherStyles out of my
college dorm room and grew it to be
the world’s largest online street dance
store. We reached 17 million YouTube
views, nearly 2 million in sales, and
offered over 1,000 different products,
60 of which I developed, before
bringing the company to acquisition.
After discovering my love of product
management and marketing, I took
night classes to earn my MBA from the
Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper
School of Business. After graduating
from CMU, I managed new product
development for Heinz’s largest brand,
Ore-Ida. There, I led my cross-
functional innovation team in creating
and implementing the strategic re-
with everything that has come before
for a nearly infinite range of world
changing possibilities.
What are the most daunting
challenges for CMOs today?
Modern marketers are blessed and
cursed with a churning ocean of new
marketing tactics, strategies, and tools
available to us daily. With so many
opportunities for distraction, it has
never been more essential to focus on
timeless principles, and avoid getting
sucked into the churning undercurrent
of short-term trends.
Instead of analyzing rapidly changing
new solutions, what can you learn
about the timeless problem to be
solved? Instead of writing about the
fast forgotten news of the day, what
‘evergreen’ content can you create that
will still be relevant in a year, or better
yet, in a decade?
How did you arrive at your unique
approach to marketing leadership?
Playing drums in bands throughout my
teens was the perfect training to
become a CMO. What happens if the
marketer’s customer insights are off or
the drummer goes off beat? They drive
the whole group in the wrong
direction. What happens if the
marketer stops generating interest from
new prospects or the drummer stops
playing? Either the entire group stops,
or each member goes off in their own
separate direction without a single
driving force keeping them together.
Drummers and marketers aren’t
usually in the spotlight doing solos, but
if you take them out of the mix, no one
else in the group can do their job. I’m
amazed every day by my co-workers’
skills, and it gives me immense
branding of the entire portfolio and the
most successful new product launch in
a decade.
When I first met Dick Zhang, the
Founder of Identified Technologies, I
knew nothing about drones, enterprise
SaaS, or the commercial construction
industry, but I was blown away by the
innovative autonomous technology the
team had developed, and they
appreciated my product and marketing
experience, and ravenous hunger to
learn more.
What are the most critical
characteristics that every CMO
should possess?
To be a successful marketer you need
the 3 Cs. You have to be curious,
collaborative, and creative. Curious,
because in a fast-evolving industry,
yesterday’s fact is tomorrow’s fiction.
You have to accurately predict what
will be true in the months and years
ahead and position your products and
company accordingly.
Collaborative, because anything worth
doing is worth doing well and anything
worth doing well is worth doing big
and scaling up with a team, and also
because complex problems require
complex solutions. By communicating
our centralized vision and goals, our
shared perspectives create a better
outcome than any one person could
create individually.
Creative, because we live in an age of
modern miracles and the interplay
between new technology, new
competition, and new customer trends
mean that amazing new breakthroughs
are happening daily. If we have the
creativity to ask ‘What if?’ every new
invention is an opportunity to combine
18

satisfaction to provide a foundation for their work and
bring in new prospects for us to serve.
What advice would you give to aspiring marketers?
Strategy is defined by hard choices, prioritization, and laser
focus. If you are responsible for scaling a company, ask
yourself what few things have the potential to rapidly 10x
the business? Decide what is likely to have a transformative
impact on your business, and go after it single-mindedly.
This approach means that some lower impact work won’t
get done. Some blog posts and social media updates won’t
get written. That’s okay. There are only so many hours in
the day, and the best way you can serve your stakeholders is
by focusing all your resources on the top priority
opportunities that can help fuel the company’s exponential
growth.
Where do you see yourself in coming years, and how do
you see yourself catalyzing that progress?
I proudly specialize in being a generalist. As Leonardo da
Vinci said, “Everything connects to everything else.” I love
studying fields that may at first seem unrelated. I know that
every new insight that I gain can be combined with my
other experiences to create something unique.
I live at the intersection of people, technology, and
creativity. Whether I’m leading product management at
Fortune 500 companies or marketing at VC backed startups,
you will find me doing what I love to do, solving problems
by bringing great people and great products together.
About the CMO
Barry Rabkin has over a decade of strategic and operational
success ranging from Fortune 500 B2C companies to
venture-backed B2B startups. He is passionate about
identifying, communicating and solving problems, using
new technologies such as big data analytics, cloud
computing, machine learning, IoT, and robotics.
CareerMetis, CMU Today, Going Deep, and the Pittsburgh
City Paper have featured Barry’s work leading
development on over 100 successful physical and digital
products that have sold millions of units
.
About the Company
Industrial leaders use Identified Technologies’ managed
drone mapping solutions to improve project tracking and
team productivity. Founded in 2013, based out of
Pittsburgh, PA, the company’s integrated hardware,
software, and services take care of everything from FAA
compliance and flight planning to advanced analytics.
Identified provides clear insights to make fast, accurate
project management decisions at the push of a button.
Making the
world a
better place,
one product
at a time.
”
”
”
”
Barry Rabkin
CMO
Identified Technologies
|
February 2022

Reforming the Art of Marketing
Joelle Kaufman:
Aprolific marketing strategy
defines an organization’s
approach towards its adopted
business. The organization’s outreach
to the intended audience is profoundly
reliant on the proficiency of the
marketeer’s vision and determination.
Maintaining adequacy and efficiency in
devising such a strategy must be a
Chief Marketing Officer’s forte.
Joelle Gropper Kaufman is the
recursive ingenuity of Dynamic
Signal’s marketing strategies and
processes conceived from her role as
the CMO of the company. She began
working in the Internet in 1996 when it
was just beginning and dial up was still
the dominant mode of consumer
connection. Her days in Product
Management at Firefly Networks, time
in Brazil advising multiple US
companies and working in product,
business development and sales
management at start-ups and large
companies all combined to give her a
broad experience and perspective to
lead marketing.
She has led marketing and sales
development for Reactivity, Adify,
BloomReach, Westfield and now
Dynamic Signal, the leader in the
Employee Communication and
Engagement category. Joelle’s primary
goal is to create and operate the engine
of growth for her companies using the
most effective sales and marketing
tactics for each market and product.
technology with Barnes&Noble for
their launch to include personalized
recommendations. From that point
forward, Joelle focused on the
transformational and disruptive power
of technology on business.
Reconceiving Ideologies
While sharing her insights on what
qualities should be possessed by an
ideal CMO, Joelle states, “Every CMO
needs to be focused on growth
opportunities and risks that are 6-12
months away, at least, while
supporting the activities to drive near
term sales and delight existing
customers.”
“The most pressing challenge that
CMOs face is continued creativity.
There is no strategy or tactic that
works every time or is impossible to be
copied. The speed of duplication has
accelerated along with Moore’s Law
and CMOs must stay on the edge of
experimentation while remaining
budget conscious,” Joelle adds.
Exemplifying Determination
“I value clarity, prioritization and
authentic interactions,” Joelle
expresses. Her ability to identify root
causes, organize and align people
across the organization behind a
strategy and then execute it is
prominent among the people who have
worked with and around her. In her
An Empowering Workplace
Dynamic Signal is the leading
Employee Communication and
Engagement Platform trusted by over
20% of the Fortune 100 and more than
350 enterprises worldwide. The
company solves the challenge of
connecting with any organization’s
most valuable asset, its people, though
modern, streamlined and measurable
communication. This platform can
deliver targeted broadcasts and content
to each employee on any channel or
device they prefer.
Dynamic Signal closes the loop with
robust analytics that illuminate
engagement with content and the
impact it’s having.
Perceiving Success
In her second year of business school
at Harvard, while taking an
Entrepreneurial Marketing class, she
was asked to write a business plan for a
new business. Joelle recognized an
opportunity to leverage technology to
increase the volume of books sold by
harnessing preferences to make
personalized recommendations.
This insight to revitalize a slow growth
business introduced her to the world of
start-ups, enterprise sales and
marketing and SaaS product strategy.
In 1996, she sourced, closed and
implemented a license of Firefly’s
20

f
irst leadership role in Marketing at Reactivity, she was
one month into her tenure when multiple bake-off
reviews were published in her category. Her appliance
won rave reviews for its interface and usability, but lost
dramatically on throughput.
Joelle created both, a rapid response and a long term
strategy to focus discussion and buying criteria on usability
and integration working with sales, marketing, customers,
press and analysts at Gartner and Forrester. This was carried
out in order to educate the market, empathize with the
application and security architects and ensure that
Reactivity was seriously considered for their current XML
needs – and that Reactivity’s architecture would allow them
to accelerate to meet future envisioned targets. Reactivity
survived and three years later was acquired by Cisco at over
x
20 revenues.
Bequeathing the Keys of Excellence
“Don’t fall in love with your technology. Fall in love with
solving a big problem,” is Joelle’s advice for the aspiring
marketeers.
She adds, “Ideally, your problem should either impact one
large industry significantly or many verticals in a
meaningful way. Don’t try to create a problem to fit your
technology – instead, find the problems and build scalable
solutions to address.”
“Stay as focused on making your customers successful as
you do on acquiring new ones. As a marketer, learn how to
tell stories that resonate and build bridges between many
audiences. Enterprise B2B technology is not bought by one
person, it’s bought by a committee and you have to help
each person on that committee in navigating the process,”
Joelle expresses while reminiscing about her past
experiences and lessons.
Foreseeing a Triumphant Tomorrow
Joelle envisions ascending growth at Dynamic Signal
globally, over the next few years and continuing the journey
of building great companies and creating a community of
inspired, creative marketers who deliver.
Live Big.
Play all-in,
be extremely
clear about goals
and roles and
then unleash
people with
autonomy to
solve problems
and get
stuff done.
”
”
”
”
Joelle Kaufman
CMO
Dynamic Signal
|
February 2022

Components
Digital
Marketing
of
Digital Marketing is marketing done on digital
platforms such as search engines, websites,
emails and mobile apps. It is an efficiently
targeted, conversion oriented and interactive marketing
of products and services by optimally utilizing digital
platforms to acquire customers. The scope of digital
marketing is not limited to advertising. It also includes
Acquiring new customers and sustaining the current
customers. The reason why digital marketing is a topic
of discussion is the statistics behind the same:
Ÿ 81% of shoppers conduct online research before
making big purchases. (Retailing Today, 2014)
Ÿ 65% of smartphone users agree that when conducting
a search on their smartphones, they look for the most
relevant information regardless of the company
providing the information. (Google, 2015)
Ÿ 51% of smartphone users have discovered a new
company or product when conducting a search on
their smartphone. (Google, 2015)
Ÿ 61% of marketers say improving SEO and growing
their organic presence is their top inbound marketing
priority. (HubSpot, 2017)
Components of Digital marketing
Digital Marketing is known to be an umbrella under
which all the aspects of online marketing activities are
covered. Following are the most common types of
marketing activities under digital marketing:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is a process of utilizing all
the available resources in order to optimize the overall
performance of a website. Through SEO, a company can
improve the quality of the content on its website,
increase the reachability, attain higher user engagement,
etc. For example, Amazon generating content to be on
top of the search engines is a type of SEO. According to
statistics, 67% of the clicks come from the first five
listings of a search page. This clearly states how
important it is for companies to use SEO.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay per Click is when a company bids for a certain
keywords and optimizes its website accordingly to be on
the top of the search results page. The companies pay the
search engines every time someone clicks on the
Digital Engagement
22

websites link.
In the process, the
search engines look at
three aspects before putting them on
the top of the list in their search
results page:
Ÿ The amount of money the
company is bidding
Ÿ How relevant the keyword is with
the website and its products
Ÿ How optimized is the landing
page of the website
Content Marketing
Content Marketing is a process of
creating relevant content to acquire
t
he
response
time from
customers
via
smartphone is highest. 97% of all
the text messages are read within 4
minutes of being sent. The
companies acquire new customers
every day by oﬀering them discounts
on its products through text
messages.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing refers to the
process of interacting with customers
new customers. The content must be
valuable to the customers and
consistent in quality. It is a key tool
for SEO and helps the website to get
noticed on social platforms. Good
Content should not be promotional
but educational and inspirational so
that the user can see the website as a
source of information.
Mobile Marketing
Mobile marketing refers to
advertising/selling the products and
services to potential or existing
customers through text messages on
their mobile phones. This is one of
the most direct ways of marketing as
|
February 2022

In other words it enables the company to know what it is
doing and whether is it feasible or not.
Digital marketing has become a milestone in this ever
changing digital world and has replaced traditional ways
of marketing to some extent by offering a variety of
marketing tools that are very cost efficient compared to
the old marketing techniques. It enables better
interactions with customers, resilient marketing and
better customer relation, rapid growth in sales and
overall effective development of business. Needless to
say, Digital Marketing may just be named as Marketing.
through social media platforms.
Companies advertise, sell, and assist
customers on social media for numerous
reasons:
Ÿ Creating brand awareness for free
Ÿ To get feedback directly from customers
Ÿ Get more traffic on website and improve
SEO rating
Ÿ Acquire new customer and expand sales
Ÿ Marginally low marketing cost
Ÿ 47% of all internet users are on Facebook
Ÿ 88% of product purchases are Pinterest pinned
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a form of marketing that enables
companies to communicate potential/current customers
through electronic mails. The process includes:
Ÿ Sending emails to current customers to enhance
relationship with them for brand loyalty
Ÿ To acquire new customers or to convince the current
one to purchase
Ÿ Advertising through mail
The key benefits of email marketing include cost
effectiveness, flexibility and better rate of success. The
content must be relevant and useful to the user, should
look authentic and strategic and well-coordinated.
Marketing Automation
Marketing Automation is a tool that keeps all your digital
marketing activities together and synchronizes them for
efficient and effective business. It also measures the
performance and ROI for faster growth. Automation
gives direction to the company by providing it data that
shows the area of improvement and ways to improve it.
24

About the Author
Dhiraj Jain is the Co-founder & CEO at dotkonnekt. He
is a seasoned Retail & Consumer industry leader with
20+ years of experience in building and scaling
businesses at the intersection of strategy, product, and
technology. His innate capability to lead and always
challenge the status quo in the Retail & Consumer space
led him to co-found dotkonnekt, amid the COVID-19
pandemic, with a mission to turbo-charge growth for
innovative brands in this Decade of D2C.
Having led global Retail product management &
business solutions teams at Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and
Tech Mahindra, Dhiraj is passionate about the inﬁnite
possibilities at the intersection of business and
technology, and the potent mix of the art of storytelling
& the science of technology to fuel exponential business
growth. With pay-it-forward philosophy at heart, Dhiraj
mentors tech startups at NASSCOM Deeptech Club.
D2C Brands Can
Now Build an
Experience-Driven Commerce
their Customers Desire
D2C Brands Can
Now Build an
Experience-Driven Commerce
their Customers Desire
Dhiraj Jain
Co-founder & CEO
dotkonnekt
26

he online economy is booming as consumer
Tbehavior continues to shift towards eCommerce at a
rapid pace. Consumers are empowered, connected,
and are increasingly more willing to experiment with
brands and products since they are faced with even more
choices than ever before. This means that brands need to
own their destinies more than ever before to adapt to
rapidly evolving consumer expectations. As a result of these
social and cultural shifts, the direct-to-consumer (D2C)
channel has become the crucial source of revenue, not only
for the challenger and emerging brands but for many legacy
brands too.
The last two years saw years of digital transformation
happening in months, accelerating digital innovation in a
way that puts brands back in the driver seat. A strong digital
commerce strategy is not just a critical component of a
business's success anymore but a medium for the survival
of the fittest. And within the broader digital commerce
strategy, the owned commerce experience has become ever
more important as more brands look at scaling their D2C
channels. Modern consumers look for superior brand
experiences that they can’t always find through reseller
channels or marketplaces like Amazon. Research says that
82% of consumers expect to be able to transact with a brand
on its website however, 72% are not fully satisfied with the
current online shopping experience offered by their favorite
brands. In other words, if consumers come to a brand’s site
looking for information, it's not enough to provide basic
information to them or hide the brand story in obscure
places they can never find (general practice is in fact to
keep the blogs, resources somewhere in the footer, right?).
The separation between content, community, and commerce
assumes the customer has a single objective (research,
engage or buy) when they come to the site. But more likely,
the customer wants to cross these boundaries and research
both brand and community-generated content, and
hopefully also make a purchase during their visit to a
brand’s website. While heralding the importance of
informative content and creating engaged communities may
be old news, the key difference here is integration, one
where the customer doesn’t need to switch apps or browser
tabs to further the research or purchase.
Existing commerce platforms are incapable of
delivering the desired commerce experience that winner
brands need to script
In today’s digital economy, the D2C channel is the gateway
to truly connecting with a brand’s consumers, and using that
data to attract and grow that consumer base. This is where
the brand engages with and rewards their super-fans and
loyalists, a sandbox to incubate enriched user communities,
a testing ground for new product launches. It’s a home for
channel-only exclusives and a place for compelling branded
content to connect with consumers in the intervals between
shopping. To achieve this, brands need the right technology
to combine data and content into one cohesive experience
to truly leverage the benefits of and deliver experience-
driven commerce. While for many brands speed to market,
functionality, ease of use, and TCO (total cost of
ownership) are often determining factors, a highly viable
commerce solution for brands looking to take their D2C
channels forward doesn’t exist today.
As more digitally native businesses launched with
standalone online stores, they’ve looked toward platforms
like Shopify — and Magento and WooCommerce, and
Salesforce — as their tech backbone. While launching on
these platforms is fairly easy — brands could pick a
template, click a few boxes, and essentially have a ready-
made online store— sustainable scaling and diversifying
revenue is equally rigid and locked-down. At the heart of
the issue is these platforms’ origin; they weren’t designed or
built for D2C brands to start with. While Shopify and
WooCommerce were designed and built for SMB
businesses, mom-and-pop stores to rapidly go online with
templatized sites; Salesforce Commerce, and other Hybrids
were built for large enterprises and retailers who needed
category-based discovery of hundreds of thousands of
products. None of these platforms is suitable for any brand
that aspires to deliver a very personalized experience to the
consumers, forcing brands to depend on performance
marketing and scaling their way inorganically.
An easy, templated and App Store-driven solution can just
be an easy point of entry but as a brand scales, a commerce
platform becomes very central to the growth strategy. D2C
brands need to differentiate by scripting an experience that
converges customer-centricity, community development,
and a content-focussed approach with the ability to gain
insights, respond quickly, and create similar delight at every
digital touchpoint. One can’t tell such an experiential brand
story in the templatized flows of Shopifys of the world or
the legacy, monolithic, complex, and expensive platforms
built for retailers. Moreover, performance marketing, social
media marketing, influencer marketing can’t offer the kinds
of scale brands need to sustain growth.
It's time to un-platform the tech with a purpose-built
solution for D2C brands
Expert’s Insights
|
February 2022

The fact is that most developers are not designers, and most
designers aren’t developers. Currently, brands have their
blogs and communities being run by design teams while
developers handle the site operations, disjointing the
consumer experience right there. Brands should not be
worrying about the integrations or complex tech problems
or disrupting the backend system just to create innovative
and differentiated customer experiences. What brands need
is a purpose-built commerce solution to act as their tech
backbone in their growth.
dotkonnekt is building an Experiential Commerce platform
purpose-built for D2C brands to converge content and
community to organically grow their commerce. Unlike
traditional monolithic architecture, dotkonnekt’s
Experiential Commerce platform is headless and
composable to brands’ scale needs and unique story. The
flexibility of a DIY platform, power of custom-build,
combined with better long-term affordability, will be a
success moat for brands to win in this high-stakes market.
To all the brands,
Attract and engage consumers, grow your D2C channel
sustainably and organically, and have complete control over
the experience of your commerce site for both your
consumer and your admin users, with dotkonnekt’s
Experiential Commerce Platform, purpose-built for you!
28

Breaking the Marketer Mold
Peter Neve:
pportunities are as much a part of life as
Ochallenges; knowing how to recognize the first
and hurdle the other lay the groundwork for
success.
Peter Neve, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at
ACG attributes his success and career growth over the
past three decades to mastering this approach.
ACG is the world’s only supplier of end-to-end
manufacturing solutions for pharmaceutical and
nutraceutical manufacturers of tablet and capsule based
products. Its range of solutions cover everything from
Empty Hard Capsules, packaging film, and foil to tablet
and capsule production machines, inspection systems,
and Track & Trace systems.
A combination of personal conviction, curiosity, and
innovation has enabled Peter to consistently deliver
stellar marketing results across vastly different
industries.
Self-Taught Expertise
Peter found himself in the startup game long before it
became a buzzword in the business world. It was the
1980s and he was also straddling another nascent sector
– Machine Vision (MV) and Industrial ID – with Image
Industries, a U.K. enterprise he had founded and was
managing.
As is almost invariably the case with startups, Peter had
no choice but to wear several hats, including that of
marketer. Image Industries had to contend with selling a
new technology as an unknown entity with no customer
base and a fledgling business team.
Effective marketing was crucial to jumpstart revenue
generation and the task fell to Peter. He decided to
employ high-impact, cost-effective marketing. It worked.
Image Industries achieved enough success to catch the
eye of U.S.-based MV company, Cognex Corporation.
They acquired the startup and, despite Peter’s lack of
formal marketing training, gave him a marketing
position overseeing Europe based on his track record of
execution.
With his knack for success in the arena, he quickly rose
through the ranks and was appointed Global VP of
Marketing.
When asked what he believes are the key characteristics
a CMO ought to possess, Peter says that the same skill is
critical to any role in the marketing field – an ability to
truly put yourself in the customer’s position.
30

By honestly answering the
“strategic questions of “Is it
clear?”, “Is it
understandable?”, “Does it generate
interest?”, “Does it make me
respond?”, and “Do I want to buy?”,
any marketer can get incredible
insight into what might work and
what will not long before a plan is
implemented.”
He values gut feelings highly, too,
explaining, “If you ignore them, they
will inevitably come back to haunt
you.”
Peter also touches on the challenges
he has faced despite embodying his
effective marketing philosophy.
“Building the right team is absolutely
essential,” he stresses, “and this was
my first priority when I joined ACG.
Without the right people to
complement your strategy and
single ACG identity that would be
promoted globally.
Reputed brand consulting firm,
Landor Associates was chosen to
help with the process. They came up
with the strap line ‘Absolutely
Committed’, which Peter doubts that
his internal team would have been
able to create on their own.
He believes that it aligns perfectly
with ACG’s reputation for customer
service and ethics, and with the
company’s three beliefs -
‘Collaborative’, ‘Consistent’ and
‘Unrelenting’.
Under Peter, ACG’s commitment to
collaboration extends beyond the
marketing narrative. He oversaw the
recent launch of a mobile app for
implement your vision, it is
impossible to deliver on any
marketing goals.”
He works hard to prevent tunnel
vision from setting in. “I keep an
outside-in view of the business and
measure the ROI of every activity,”
he reveals.
Open-Minded Collaboration
Peter’s decentralized approach is not
limited to just marketing products; he
also uses it to broaden horizons and
bring new thinking to his team. It is
the prime reason that he is so
enthusiastic about involving external
vendors whenever he can.
This approach was on full display in
the recent rebranding of ACG that
Peter and his team implemented. The
aim was to coalesce multiple
business and regional brands into a
I keep an
outside-in
view of the
business and
measure the
ROI of every
activity.
”
”
”
” Peter Neve
CMO
ACG Group
|
February 2022

i
nternal communications, which was designed to
foster better and more meaningful interaction
between the company’s staff.
Using daily posts, videos, and assorted content, the
initiative has been highly successful in keeping the entire
organization abreast of the updated branding and new
identity. It incorporates the new strap line and beliefs
into many of the company’s internal events and
processes.
Peter emphasizes that it was critical to complete this
internal communication activity before they started their
external campaigns that incorporate the new branding. It
helps to ensure that everyone in the company reinforces
the brand’s values during every interaction with every
customer.
Sharing the Secrets
Peter is a good leader and an even better mentor, having
dedicated a lot of his career not just to marketing but also
to creating cohesive marketing teams who value their
differences as they execute a common vision. He is eager
to share what he has learnt, while continuing on his own
journey of personal growth.
Peter is proof of the fact that a marketing MBA does not
make you a naturally effective marketer. “Practical
experience, experimentation - without fear of failure -
and working within a complex organization structure are
even more important than a theoretical background,” he
explains.
“Making marketing effective is hard work but a lot of fun
at the same time. You have to quickly acknowledge that
things are not working, however great you thought the
idea was,” he adds. “Learn to ramp up successful
programs quickly and keep ahead of the curve in terms
of the marketing mix being used.”
“I love it when I see competitors playing catch up with
new activities and programs we have introduced,” he
smiles.
Another key piece of Peter’s advice is to share every
idea and concept with as many people as possible, as
many times as possible. Peter acknowledges that the
feedback can sometimes be hard to take, but reiterates
that every comment helps refine the final execution.
Fomenting Progress
Speaking of his plans to keep ACG relevant, engaged,
and effective, Peter says that he intends to exploit the
B2C marketing techniques that have worked so well for
him in the past to B2B marketing programs today.
Before joining ACG he kept his marketing mind whetted
on constant interaction with new technology start-ups in
the U.K. It complements perfectly what he learned in the
U.S. about growing fast and reacting to change quickly.
This diverse range of experiences has helped him
develop more formalized processes and work faster to
deliver solutions.
“Together, this varied practical knowledge, and
interactions with people from a spectrum of industries in
some of the most progressive international markets gives
me great confidence about doing the right thing at
ACG,” adds Peter.
“I really enjoy working here. The fact that ACG was
growing and successful - despite many underexploited
opportunities that existed for us - intrigued me,” he says.
“Helping address these opportunities and making ACG
even more successful is what really drives me every
day.”
Over the first 18 months at ACG, he has created many of
the key infrastructure building blocks needed to make
their marketing even more effective. Now, he is looking
forward to having more fun exploiting the promotional
and revenue generation opportunities this will support.
Peter relishes the unmitigated support his team and he
have enjoyed from the whole organization for the
strategies they have implemented. “It is very satisfying to
see the team moving so quickly to achieve our targets for
making ACG a recognized leader in our field.”
32

An All-Rounder in Modern Marketing
Sharon Cook:
With the advent of social
media, the marketing
industry has taken a whole
different shape altogether. Marketing
personnel have an additional benefit of
showcasing their products and services
on different platforms to create
awareness among people. One leader
in the marketing industry who
completely comprehends the
importance of it and takes it to the next
level is Sharon Cook, the Chief
Marketing and Public Relations
Officer for Mountain America Credit
Union.
After acquiring a degree from
Westminster College, and receiving a
certificate in Leadership and
Negotiation from Harvard Law School,
she held a number of positions as
Director of Brand Strategy and
Director of Marketing in the finance
industry before becoming the Chief
Marketing and Public Relations Officer
for Mountain America Credit Union in
2009. Apart from this, she Co-Chairs
the annual fundraising event sponsored
by Mountain America which raises
money for Primary Children’s
Hospital.
Infusing Creativity and Innovation
Sharon blends a successful mix of
digital, social, and traditional
marketing tactics with innovative ideas
and multiple technologies. She
advocates technology, data, AI, and
strategic communications. Sharon has
savings, mortgages, home equity lines
of credit, business accounts,
commercial loans, personal loans, auto
loans, visa cards, Express Debit cards,
student loans, small business loans,
and wealth management.
Members also enjoy access to secure,
cutting-edge mobile banking
technology, over 90 branches in five
states, thousands of shared-branching
locations nationwide and more than
50,000 surcharge-free ATMs.
Today, Mountain America’s essence
—‘guidance’— remains the focal point
of the company’s identity. It’s a
purpose-driven identity to ensure that
everything else Mountain America
Credit Union does, moves its members
safely along their journey. With more
than 760,000 members and $7.5 billion
in assets, Mountain America Credit
Union assists its members on the right
path to aid in identifying and achieving
their financial dreams.
Voyage of a Market Leader
Sharon’s love for writing landed her an
early career, working in strategic
communications where she learned to
deliver messages that built a brand and
delivered exponential growth across
several industries. The ability to
understand audiences led her into
marketing and her ability to tell
compelling stories, led to big brand
development. She realized what
a fascination for new technologies and
has implemented a full-stack at
Mountain America while building new
cornerstones and digital platforms.
Sharon leads numerous departments
including Public Relations, Social
Media, Creative Services, Content,
Analytics, Web & Online, Channel
Management, Sponsorships, and
Financial Literacy. Adding to this, she
also contributes to the strategic
planning of the overall credit union as
a dedicated member of the senior
executive management team.
She advises the executive team as well
as the Board of Directors on how her
multiple teams and the associated
technologies support and drive growth
in every facet of the organization. The
results of which are evident in the
unprecedented growth of the
organization as it is recognized as one
of the fastest growing companies in the
financial industry for the last 8 years.
Supporting the Communities they
Serve
Mountain America Credit Union was
founded in 1936 in the midst of Great
Depression with a commitment to
guide their members to achieve their
financial dreams. Mountain America
Credit Union provides consumers and
businesses with a variety of
convenient, flexible products and
services, as well as sound, timely
advice. This includes checking,
36

technology and data could do when combined with
strategic marketing knowledge and connected all the
dots.
In order to imprint this vision on the organization, Sharon
methodically introduced changes and technologies that
produced results, one step at a time. She achieved this by
implementing sophisticated layers of processes into projects
while simultaneously growing the expertise on the team,
creating a unique combination of talent and technology over
time. Sharon’s commitment to help those in need has led
her to work with numerous non-profit organizations in both
fundraising and serving in numerous board positions within
the community.
A Potential to Achieve Milestones
Sharon always had a fascination for innovation. She is a
recognized industry leader and early adopter in the
marketing technology, analytics, and social media space. As
an early communications professional, she quickly saw the
potential of social media. Sharon was a pioneer in the credit
union world in understanding the importance this channel
has for developing member engagement and loyalty.
Mountain America Credit Union’s social media campaigns
have achieved national recognition from several sources,
including thefinancialbrand.com as an example of
outstanding Facebook campaigns. Sharon has also been
able to monetize this channel through new accounts and
loan growth. Her ability to implement a communication
strategy, member targeting and compelling offers has
delivered world-class results in short time frames.
Because of Sharon’s contribution, Mountain America
Credit Union currently ranks number 3 globally for Credit
Unions using social media and has held this spot for the last
several years. It also ranks number 2 globally for Credit
Unions using Facebook.
Golden Words for Emerging Trailblazers
Sharon believes, in order to be a successful leader, one must
be intellectually curious and should understand what makes
you successful and keep replicating it. Being aware of your
competition and not copying others’ tactics will always help
maintain originality and thus, achieve success. She states,
“follow your own strategies because you know what works
for your business.”
Great leaders ask
hard questions.
Hard questions
drive great results.
Sharon Cook
Chief Marketing & Public Relations Officer
Mountain America Credit Union
”
”
”
” |
February 2022

arketing has been the real essence in the
Muplifting of any Organization in the long run.
While there are a number of other parameters
that foster a business, marketing certifies to be the base of
it, upholding the awareness and reach it requires, printing
its mark worldwide.
For all firms, whether any poor start-up or an MNC giant,
an effective marketing strategy can serve as a pivotal road-
map for the entire business. By developing a coherent and
well considered marketing strategy, organizations can
promote their business, target the right types of client and
allocate their resources correctly, all while safeguarding the
reputation of the firm.
Because one parameter of a marketing plan affects all of the
others, synchronizing activities is critical to eliminate
obstacles and maximize profits. A marketing strategy looks
at all the areas of the sales activities and helps each one
support the next.
One of the most important aspects of any marketing
strategy relates to recognizing growth opportunities. This
can be efficiently done by using the SWOT analysis. Once
an organization identifies its strength, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of any marketing scheme, it
becomes easier to en-cash those opportunities and
reconsider what course or action should be taken to
eliminate prevalent threats.
The underlying focus of the organization’s marketing
strategy should be based on the concept of developing and
increasing awareness of the company’s brand, and also on
developing trust assurance in that brand. A company’s
credibility or service is its most important asset. Hence,
attempts should be made to enhance and protect it during
the course of the marketing process
.
Understanding how to create an integrated marketing
strategy is the key help to make better individual decisions
with respect to specific marketing tactics. In order to
achieve this, organizations must implement robust and
efficient marketing strategies as quickly as possible. All the
key components of a marketing strategy, if catered and
applied in the best manner, helps to design and manufacture
successful business.
Here are some of the crucial parameters that play a pivotal
role in successfully implementing and nourishing effective
marketing strategies.
Goals and Objectives
As with all the plans, goals and objectives are the origin of
any target-oriented organization. Without a proper mix of
these objectives according to the prevalent resources, a
company proves to be inefficient in the long run.
It can begin by thinking through goal-specific
accomplishments, identifying basic marketing objectives,
The
Significance an
of
Effective Marketing
Strategy
Marketing
Strategy
Reforming Benchmarks
38

which may include some of the following aspects:
Ÿ Increased brand recognition
Ÿ Growth in the market share
Ÿ Market to New Customer Segments
Ÿ Digitization
Investment, Budget and Revenue
Once the objectives for the business are fully determined,
the concept of On-margin investments, Budget and End
revenue come into play. However, there is never enough
budget to cover all the marketing ‘wish-lists’ adequately.
The process of Investment is iterative and operates
continually. It may be a function of:
Ÿ Coming up with budget to shelter all the marketing
needs
Ÿ Identifying the objectives that are more critical and
inclined towards the success factor and reallocating
budget meet top-priority objectives on a ‘ﬁrst-serve’
preference.
Ÿ Searching for innovating ways to stretch the marketing
budget. For example, content development, low-cost
crowd outsourcing etc.
Ÿ Constructing a big picture view and reviewing the key
marketing thrust areas. Others parameters such as spend
comparison, consumption of utilization channels,
website optimization etc. should be fetched under
consideration.
As far as revenue is considered, a marketing strategy is
used to determine the revenue that the campaign will
deliver. All of the parts that go into determining revenue,
including the budget allotted to the campaign, product cost,
selling price and the life span of the product, should all be
considered while developing the marketing strategy. The
estimated End-Revenue can be measured against the actual
revenue, and that information can be used to create future
marketing strategies that are more successful.
Target Audience and Buyer Journey
Tracking and analyzing the dynamic and changing needs of
the audience under radar is pivotal in eﬀective marketing.
Identifying the demographic and psychographic
characteristics of the target audience aids to re localize the
radius under consideration. Based on the available data,
|
February 2022

Ÿ Traditional marketing channels (TV, Radio, Newspaper,
Direct Mail etc.)
Ÿ Digital Marketing Channels (Website, Mobile
applications, Social platforms, online advertisements
etc.)
Ÿ Content Marketing (Blogs, Newsletters, e-books, Info-
graphics etc.)
Competition
Though the role of competition in devising an optimal
marketing strategy is limited, it helps to draw comparisons
among identical products and groups, providing scope for
‘brand-improvements’. In order to symbolize a powerful
campaign, marketing strategy needs to offer a detailed
description of the competition, according to the small
business experts at the Center for Business planning.
The objective of the marketing strategy is to provide
historical information on how the competition has
advertised products in the past, the target market the
competition goes after and the product features that the
competition offers. Some other factors include competition
pricing, the competition’s distribution network and the sales
strategies, which are also a part of the comprehensive
marketing strategy.
segmentation should be done to provide qualified and
need-based resources.
A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal
customer based on statistical market research and the
prevalent data about your existing customers. After
developing buyer personas, developing the Buyer Journey
for each single persona and its interaction with the brand is
considered to be the key to implement trust and satisfaction
among the target audiences.
Media and Messaging
Messaging is a process which signifies the firm’s intentions,
and informs the actual purpose of your business to the
external world.
Based on a detailed evaluation of how target is reacting
with the various components of the brand, establish an apt
messaging media, tone, selling propositions and key terms
that are likely to resonate the most.
Determining the Channel Mix
Ÿ Analyze and decide where the business would get the
most Return on Investment (ROI). This can be done by
echoing the channels around three road categories:
40

Advocating Self-Development and
Creative Marketing Techniques
Sidra Berman:
In an interview with Insights
Success, the CMO of Tangoe,
Sidra Berman shares her insights
behind her triumphant ingenuity as a
Chief Marketing Officer. The zealous
and admired leader has driven the
ascension of the Technology Expense
Management and Enterprise Mobility
Services Company with her
contemporary and innovative
management and marketing expertise.
Below are the highlights of the
interview conducted between Sidra and
Insights Success:
Explain your background in detail
and tell us your prime goals?
When I graduated from college, I had
no idea what I wanted to do with the
rest of my life. Fortunately, the
company that I had been interning with
hired me full time. Basically, I “fell”
into the beginning of my career. Within
a few years, I ended up at GE. GE had
a great training program—the company
really invested in people, their careers,
and growing their skill sets. That is
where I met the first mentor in my
career, Reid Walker, who was a
fantastic boss.
I would ask him regularly during our
1:1 catch-up meetings, “What can I do
better?”, and he would always give me
feedback. Even though it can be hard
candidates and specific issues, and was
able to carry over those skillsets.
What is the most important
characteristic that every CMO
should possess?
There are two important characteristics
that every CMO should possess. First,
listening to the market and customers;
this includes both external customers,
as well as internal feedback from your
sales team. Always remember that
customers pay your paycheck, so you
need to listen to pay attention to what
they want. Second, do your homework
and understand the dynamics of the
market. How big is it? Who signs the
checks that buy your products? Who
influences and researches that
purchase? Knowing the market both
quantitatively and qualitatively is
essential.
What are the most pressing
challenges that CMOs are facing
today to be innovative and Why?
One key challenge for CMOs is that
there is so much noise in the market –
it’s hard to be heard by the people
you’re trying to reach.
Since social media has given everyone
a platform, it is difficult to get attention
as people are being inundated. This
makes it more important than ever to
go back to the basics: who are you
to get constructive criticism, when it is
well delivered and meant to grow the
person, you can’t be brittle about it. As
I’ve moved up in my career, I try to do
the same for the people who work for
me. I want all of them to be successful,
and try to help them with both the hard
and soft skills necessary to get to
where they ultimately want to be in
their careers.
Tell us about the company you work
for, and the services it provides.
Tangoe is the global technology
expense management and enterprise
mobility services standard for the
world’s greatest brands. Our clients
rely on Tangoe to increase productivity,
reduce costs, and drive predictable
results. Our customers believe – like us
– that people work smarter when
technology works for them.
How did you decide to pursue the
career you are working on today?
What was the pivotal moment or
inspiration?
I started my career working on political
campaigns and for non-profits. As I
matured and decided jumping from
campaign to campaign was getting old,
I realized that what I was actually
doing was marketing. While I wasn’t
marketing a product, I had been
marketing and raising money for
42

targeting and what is their pain? Where do they go to
research a purchase? You need to focus your message
through the right channel in order to get the attention of the
people you’re trying to reach.
What are the key values, which helped you to overcome
the roadblocks/challenges in your career as a CMO? Tell
us something about a memorable incident under your
leadership.
The key value I try to live by is treating people as what they
actually are — people with their own hopes, goals, dreams,
lives, and families. When you treat someone like a
human—just as you would want to be treated—it changes
the way you give feedback, lead the department, manage
tasks.
A key memorable incident was when I first became a
Director and had my own team to lead for the first time
ever. My manager at the time (as well as mentor & friend),
Jim Rogers, said to me “I know you’re ambitious and
running a team is a step to where you want to go. Always
remember, the way you treat people who work for you
influences how they feel about themselves, how their
interact with their spouse or significant other, treat their
child and even how they sleep. Being a manager is a
massive, sacred responsibility.”
What would you advise to the budding entrepreneurs
and marketing individuals entering into the market?
Early in your career, try as many different roles as you can
within the marketing or business function you’re in. I
worked in communications, web marketing, event planning,
field marketing, and product marketing throughout my
career before becoming a CMO. Each role taught me a new
aspect of marketing and helped me figure out where I
wanted to focus on with my career.
Where do you see yourself in coming years, and how do
you see yourself catalyzing that change?
I love what I do, and want to empower and mentor others to
reach the highest pinnacle they can in their careers. It would
be an honor if in 5, 10, or even 15 years, there were lots of
CMOs who used to work on my team.
Lead by example.
Don't ask others
to do what you
won't do yourself.
”
”
”
”
Sidra Berman
CMO
Tangoe
|
February 2022

The 10 Most Influential CMOs to Watch 2022 February2022_compressed.pdf

The 10 Most Influential CMOs to Watch 2022 February2022_compressed.pdf

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