Podcasts about marketing operations

What's up folks, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Anthony Rotio, Chief Data Strategy Officer at GrowthLoop.(00:00) - Intro (01:10) - In this episode (04:05) - Journeying From Robotics to Modern Marketing Systems (11:05) - Most Marketing Systems Don't Learn Because They Lack Feedback Loops (16:10) - The Martech Engineering Talent Gap (19:51) - AI Will Amplify Whoever Has the Cleanest Causal Feedback Loop (29:17) - Agent Context Graphs for Drift Detection in Marketing Systems (31:51) - Humans Will Set Hypotheses, AI Will Accelerates Iteration (35:50) - The Evolution of Retail Media Networks (45:07) - How Commerce Networks Redefine Targeting With Governed Data (48:26) - How Agent to Agent Commerce Operates Inside Marketing Funnels (53:04) - Google Universal Commerce Protocol Explained (54:43) - Personal Happiness System (56:30) - Favorite Books Summary: Anthony traces a path from robotics and computer science to his current role where he approaches marketing as an engineering system. He explains how execution-first marketing stacks weaken feedback loops and fragment data, which slows learning and iteration. He introduces the agent context graph as a causality model that lets AI simulate and predict customer behavior with greater confidence. The conversation also covers retail media networks, first-party data monetization through governed access, and a shift toward zero-to-zero marketing driven by agent-to-agent transactions. He closes by stressing that strong data foundations determine who can compete as marketing becomes more automated and agent-driven.About AnthonyAnthony Rotio is the Chief Data Strategy Officer at GrowthLoop, where he leads partnerships and builds generative AI product features for marketers, including multi-agent systems, AI-driven audience building, and benchmarking and evaluation work. He previously served as GrowthLoop's Chief Customer Officer, where he built and led teams across data engineering, data science, and solutions architecture while supporting product development and strategic sales efforts.Before GrowthLoop, Anthony spent nearly six years at AB InBev, where he led a $100M owned retail business unit with full P&L responsibility and drove major growth through operational and digital transformation work. He also led U.S. marketing for Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, and other brands across music, food, and related consumer programs. He earned a B.A. in computer science from Harvard, played linebacker on the Harvard football team, founded the consumer product Pizza Shelf, and holds a Google Professional Cloud Architect certification.Journeying From Robotics to Modern Marketing SystemsAnthony's career started far away from marketing. He trained as a computer scientist and spent his early years working with robotics and reinforcement learning. His first exposure to a learning agent left a lasting impression because the system behaved less like traditional software and more like something adaptive. That experience shaped how he would later think about work, systems, and feedback. He learned early that progress comes from loops that learn, not static instructions.That mindset followed him into an unexpected chapter at AB InBev. Anthony entered a world defined by scale, brands, and operational complexity. He treated his technical background like a carpenter treats tools, useful only when applied to real problems. Running marketing across major beer brands taught him how value is created inside large organizations. It also exposed a recurring issue. Marketing teams had ambition and data, but execution moved slowly because ideas had to travel through layers of translation before anything reached customers.That friction became impossible to ignore. Audience definitions moved through tickets. Campaigns waited on queries. Data teams became bottlenecks through no fault of their own. Anthony felt the pull back toward technology, where systems could shorten the distance between intent and action. That pull led him to GrowthLoop, where he joined early and worked directly with customers. The appeal was immediate. The product connected straight to cloud data and removed several layers of mediation that marketing teams had accepted as normal.As language models improved, Anthony recognized a familiar pattern. Audience building behaved like a translation problem. Marketers described people and intent in natural language, while systems demanded structured logic. Early experiments showed that natural language models could close that gap. Anthony framed the idea clearly.“Audience building is a translation problem. You start with a business idea and you end with a query on top of data.”Momentum followed quickly. Customers like Indeed and Google responded because speed changed behavior. Teams experimented more often and refined audiences based on results instead of assumptions. Conversations with Sam Altman and collaboration with OpenAI reinforced that this capability belonged in the core workflow. Standing on stage at Google Cloud Next marked a clear moment of validation.That arc reshaped Anthony's role into Chief Data Strategy Officer. His work now focuses on building systems that learn over time. Faster audience creation leads to shorter feedback loops. Shorter loops improve decision quality. Better decisions compound. The throughline from robotics to marketing holds steady. Systems improve when learning sits at the center of execution.Key takeaway: Career leverage often comes from carrying one mental model across multiple domains. Anthony applied learning systems thinking from computer science to enterprise marketing, then rebuilt the tooling to match that mindset. You can do the same by identifying where translation slows your work, then designing interfaces that move intent directly into action. When feedback loops tighten, progress accelerates naturally.Most Marketing Systems Don't Learn Because They Lack Feedback LoopsMarketing organizations generate enormous amounts of activity, but learning often lags behind execution. Campaigns launch on schedule, dashboards fill with numbers, and post-campaign reviews happen right on time. The pattern repeats month after month with small adjustments and familiar explanations. Over time, teams become highly efficient at producing output while remaining surprisingly weak at retaining knowledge. The system rewards motion, visibility, and short-term lifts, which slowly conditions teams to forget what they learned last quarter.Anthony connects this behavior to structural pressure inside large organizations. Quarterly reporting cycles dominate priorities, and executive tenures continue to compress. Leaders feel urgency to show impact quickly and publicly. Compounding growth requires early patience and repeated reinforcement, which rarely aligns with board expectations or career incentives. Short time horizons shape long-term behavior, even when everyone agrees that learning should stack over time.“When you think about compound interest in finance, the early part looks almost linear. People want big bumps now, even if those bumps never build momentum.”Technology choices deepen the problem. Many companies invested heavily in customer data and built impressive data clouds that capture transactions, events, and engagement in detail. Activation remains slow because teams still rely on handoffs between marketing and data groups. A familiar sequence plays out:A marketer defines a campaign and requests an audience.A ticket moves to a data team for interpretation and SQL.The audience returns weeks later.The marketer realizes the audience lacks scale for ne...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of Ops Cast, we explore a side of operations leadership that rarely appears in roadmaps or system diagrams but determines whether teams thrive or burn out.Kimi Corrigan, Vice President of Marketing Operations at Huntress, joins Michael Hartmann on our latest Ops Cast episode. Kimi shares her perspective on servant leadership, psychological safety, and the emotional intelligence required to lead effectively inside fast-growing, complex organizations.The conversation goes beyond tools and processes to focus on the human side of operations. Kimi discusses how to lead with empathy without lowering standards, how to navigate difficult conversations with honesty and accountability, and how to create sustainable team rhythms in environments that often default to constant firefighting.They also examine how ops leaders can enter new organizations thoughtfully, read culture before pushing change, and decide where to invest their energy early. Kimi shares where AI can genuinely support leadership development, not as a replacement for judgment, but as a tool for reflection, communication, and clarity.What you will learn: • How to balance servant leadership with high performance expectations • Why psychological safety is essential in ops teams • How to lead through growth and organizational transition • Ways to build sustainable team trust outside of crisis moments • The non-technical skills that prepare operators for leadership roles • Where AI can strengthen communication and self-awarenessIf you are leading a Marketing Ops team or aspiring to step into leadership, this episode highlights the interpersonal skills that often matter more than technical mastery.Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals We're an official media partner of B2BMX 2026 — the B2B Marketing Exchange — happening March 9-11 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA. It's practitioner-focused with 50+ breakout sessions, keynotes, and hands-on workshops covering AI in B2B, GTM strategy, and advanced ABM. Real networking, real takeaways. And because we're a media partner, you get 20% off an All-Access Pass with code B2BMAOP at checkout. Head to b2bmarketing.exchange to grab your spot. MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

In the latest edition of Two Reds are Better than One, we woke up super early, to interview Franck Page, the owner of Coastal Dental Care in Australia's Gold Coast, and Julia Riese, the Group Director of Marketing & Operations. Franck, who graduated in 1993, quickly became a part owner of a dental practice within a year. His passion for practice ownership has led him to expand his group to 17 offices, a wholesale dental business, two labs, 83 clinicians, and 300 staff members. His innovative business model, which he discusses in detail, involves part ownership of practices with other clinicians. This approach not only provides capital for acquiring additional practices but also attracts top talent by giving clinicians a vested interest in the business. In this insightful podcast, our listeners will discover: The rationale behind Franck's business model of part ownership with clinicians and its successful implementation. Insights from Julia and Franck on the importance of cultivating a strong company culture and ensuring each office has excellent practice managers and reception teams. How attracting top-tier talent is essential for success. Julia's four essentials framework from her book "Beyond Dentistry," which includes Team, Systems, Planning & Analysis, and Marketing. The significance of meticulous attention to detail and how small daily changes can lead to significant results. Strategies for managing the threat posed by large health companies encroaching on their business. The necessity of delivering "The Ultimate Experience" to retain patients. And much more.

"Hey – So what do you do?” Why is it that we always default to work when we get this question. its like many of us have let our jobs become the center of how we see ourselves. This slowly happens to many of us, as work occupies more mental and emotional space.I asked 50 people in martech and operations how they stay happy under sustained pressure. This 3 part series – titled “50 Operators share the systems that keep them happy” explores each of these layers through the lived experience of operators who feel the same pressure you probably feel right now.Today we close out the series with part 3: meaning. We'll hear from 19 people and we'll cover:(00:00) - Teaser (01:08) - Intro / In This Episode (04:27) - Rich Waldron: Auditing Whether Work Is Actually Moving (06:49) - Samia Syed: Tracking Personal Growth (08:33) - Jonathan Kazarian: Tracking Growth Across Life Health and Work (10:11) - Kim Hacker: Choosing Roles With Daily Visible Impact (12:21) - Mac Reddin: Checking Work Against 3 Personal Conditions (14:11) - Chris Golec: Choosing Early Stage Building Work (15:19) - Hope Barrett: Feeding curiosity across multiple domains (17:45) - Simon Lejeune: Treating work like a game (19:52) - Ana Mourão: A mental buffer between noticing and doing (21:46) - Tiankai Feng: Anticipation planning (25:30) - István Mészáros: Choosing Who You Are When Work Ends (29:52) - Danielle Balestra: Feeding Interests Unrelated to Work (31:42) - Jeff Lee: Continuing to Build Personal Projects After the Workday Ends (33:23) - John Saunders: Keeping a builder practice outside of work (34:41) - Ashley Faus: Group Creative Rituals Outside of work (37:40) - Anna Aubucho: Maintaining a second self through solo creative practice (39:56) - Ruari Baker: Preserving Identity Through Regular Travel (42:15) - Guta Tolmasquim: Building a personal product roadmap (45:37) - Pam Boiros: Feeding identities that have nothing to do with work (47:52) - Outro All that and a bunch more stuff after a quick word from 2 of our awesome partners.A lot of the operators I chatted with don't talk about happiness like it suddenly arrives. They describe it as something you feel when things actually start to move. Our first guest gets there right away by tying happiness directly to progress, the kind that tells you you're not stuck.Rich Waldron: Auditing Whether Work Is Actually MovingFirst up is Rich Waldron, Co-founder and CEO at Tray.ai. He's also a dad, and a mediocre golfer.Progress sits at the center of Rich's definition of career happiness. He treats it as a felt sense rather than a dashboard metric. When work advances in a direction that makes sense to him, his energy steadies. When that movement slows or stalls, frustration surfaces quickly and spreads into everything else. That feeling becomes a cue to examine direction rather than effort.“Happiness is mostly driven by progress.”That framing resonates because it names something many operators struggle to articulate. Long hours can feel sustainable when the work moves forward. Light workloads can feel draining when days repeat without traction. Progress gives work narrative weight. It answers a quiet internal question about whether today connects to something that matters tomorrow.Rich also points to patterns that erode meaning over time.Roles with little challenge dull attention, even when the pay is generous.Constant activity without visible change breeds irritation that lingers after work ends.Both conditions interrupt momentum. The mind keeps searching for movement that never arrives. Rest stops working because unresolved motion occupies every quiet moment.Progress also shapes identity beyond work. When things move in the right direction, attention releases its grip on unfinished problems. Rich links that release to showing up better at home. He describes being more present as a parent because mental energy is no longer trapped in work that feels stuck. Forward motion restores proportion. Work keeps its place as one part of a full life rather than the dominant one.Balance emerges as a byproduct of this orientation. You choose problems that move. You notice when progress fades. You adjust before frustration hardens into burnout. That rhythm preserves meaning over long career arcs and keeps work aligned with the person you want to remain.Key takeaway: Track progress as a signal of meaning. When your work moves in a direction you respect, it stays contained, your identity stays intact, and the rest of your life receives the attention it deserves.Samia Syed: Tracking Personal GrowthThat's Samia Syed, Director of Growth Marketing at Dropbox.  She's also a mother, outdoor fanatic, and an avid hiker.Progress became the scorecard Samia relies on to keep her career from consuming her sense of self. Early professional years trained her to chase perfection, because perfection looked measurable, respectable, and safe. That mindset quietly tightened the frame around what counted as a good day. Effort increased, expectations rose with it, and satisfaction stayed elusive because the standard never settled.Progress creates a different rhythm. It shows up in motion you can recognize without squinting. Samia pays attention to signals that accumulate instead of reset:Teams moving forward together rather than cycling through urgency.People developing judgment and confidence over time.Personal growth that feels lived-in rather than optimized.A child learning, changing, and surprising you in ways no metric could predict.That framing matters because it ties work back to a broader life rather than isolating it. Progress carries meaning when it connects professional effort to personal identity. Samia talks about watching her daughter grow with the same care she gives to her team's evolution. Growth becomes something you witness and participate in, rather than something you chase or defend. That mindset keeps work from becoming the only place where worth gets measured.“Anchoring on perfection as your metric for happiness sets you up for unhappiness. Progress is where I find it now.”Many careers quietly reward polish over development and composure over learning. Progress resists that pressure by valuing direction and continuity. It leaves room for ambition while protecting a sense of self that exists beyond job titles. You still push forward, but you also recognize that your life holds meaning across roles, seasons, and relationships that no performance system can fully capture.Key takeaway: Track progress instead of perfection. Pay attention to growth across work and life, because meaning comes from seeing yourself develop over time, not from chasing a standard that keeps moving.Jonathan Kazarian: Tracking Growth Across Life Health and WorkThat's Jonathan Kazarian, Founder & CEO of Accelevents. He's also father and a frequent sailor.Jonathan keeps work from consuming his identity by actively measuring progress in more than one place at the same time. He pays attention to movement in business, health, and personal life, and he revisits those signals regularly. That habit creates distance between who he is and what he works on. Work becomes one lane of progress instead of the entire road.Growth carries real weight in his thinking because it shows up as momentum you can feel. He talks about forward movement as something tangible, the sense that effort today pushes life somewhere better tomorrow. Setbacks still happen, but they do not erase t...

Pressure at work rarely stays contained within the job. It spills into family life, friendships, and daily relationships. I asked 50 operators how they stay happy while managing responsibility at work and at home. This 3 part series – titled “50 Operators share the systems that keep them happy” explores each of these layers through the lived experience of operators who feel the same pressure you probably feel right now. Today we continue with part 2: connection, the relationships that recharge you and keep you standing when the work would otherwise knock you sideways.We'll hear from 17 people and we'll cover:(00:00) - Teaser (02:00) - In This Episode (04:30) - Eric Holland: Limiting Slack and Prioritizing Family Time (05:33) - Meg Gowell: Shared Family Routines (08:31) - David Joosten: Filtering Reactive Work So Time Stays With Family (10:30) - Aboli Gangreddiwar: Designing Work to Enable Family Travel (12:01) - Kevin White: Separating Career Drive From Family Identity (13:42) - Joshua Kanter: Daily Family Rituals (18:07) - Gab Bujold: Daily Check-Ins With a Trusted Work Partner (22:30) - Anna Leary: Treating Workload Stress as a Shared Problem (24:31) - Angela Rueda: Shared Problem Solving Conversations (26:50) - Blair Bendel: Using In Person Conversations to Stay Grounded (29:28) - Matthew Castino: Work Satisfaction Correlates Strongly With Team Relationships (33:17) - Aditi Uppal: Connection as a Feedback Loop (35:48) - Alison Albeck Lindland: One Social System Across Work and Life (37:34) - Rajeev Nair: Human Bonds Absorb Pressure Before Burnout (40:12) - Chris O'Neil: Filtering Work Through People and Problems That Matter (42:24) - Rebecca Corliss: Creativity as a Shared Emotional Outlet (44:24) - Moni Oloyede: Teaching as a Living Relationship (45:50) - Outro Connection starts with who you protect time for. Our first guest begins there, shaping his work around people who refill him and drawing hard lines around anything that steals those moments away.Eric Holland: Limiting Slack and Prioritizing Family TimeFirst up is Eric Holland, a fractional PMM based in Pennsylvania, and the co-host of the We're not Marketers Podcast. He's also a dad and runs a retail apparel startup. Eric shapes his happiness around people before tasks. He pares his work down to projects shared with colleagues he enjoys being around, and that choice changes the texture of his days. Conversations feel easier. Meetings end with momentum instead of fatigue. You can hear a quiet confidence in how he describes work that feels relational rather than transactional.Family anchors that perspective in a very physical way. Nearly every weekend, from late November through Christmas, belongs to his ten-month-old son. These are not abstract intentions. They are mornings that smell like coffee and pine needles, afternoons on cold sidewalks, and evenings defined by routine rather than inboxes. Time with his son creates emotional weight that carries into the workweek and keeps priorities visible when deadlines start to blur.Eric also draws a firm boundary around digital proximity. Slack does not live on his phone, and that decision protects the moments where connection needs full attention. The habit most people recognize, checking messages during dinner or while holding a child, never has a chance to form. Presence becomes simpler when tools stay in their place.The system he describes comes together through a few concrete moves that many people quietly avoid:He limits work to collaborators who feel generous with energy.He reserves weekends for repeated family rituals that mark time.He removes communication tools from personal spaces where they dilute focus.Eric captures the point with a line that carries practical weight.“Delete Slack off your phone.”That sentence signals care for the relationships that actually hold you upright. Attention stays where your body is, and connection grows from that consistency.Key takeaway: Strong connections protect long-term happiness at work. Choose collaborators who give energy, protect repeated time with family and friends, and keep work tools out of moments that deserve your full presence.Meg Gowell: Shared Family RoutinesNext up is Meg Gowell, Head of Marketing at Elly and former Director of Growth Marketing at Typeform and Appcues. She's also a mom of 3.Remote work compresses everything into the same physical space. Meetings happen steps away from the kitchen. Notifications follow you into the evening. Meg treats that compression as something that requires active design. She and her husband both work remotely, so separation never happens by accident. It happens because they decide when work stops and family time starts, and they repeat that decision every day.That discipline shows up in how she leads at Typeform. An international team creates constant overlap and constant absence at the same time. Someone is always offline. Someone is always mid-day. Ideas surface at inconvenient hours. Meg sends messages when they are top of mind, and she pairs them with clear expectations about response time. People answer when they are working. Evenings stay intact. That clarity removes the quiet pressure that turns collaboration tools into stress machines.Connection at home runs on small rituals that happen often. Family dinner stays protected. Phones stay off the table. Conversation has shape, which keeps it from drifting back to work. One simple routine anchors the evening.Each person shares a positive moment from their day.Each person shares a hard moment.Everyone gets space to talk without interruption.“We have a game we play called Popsicle and Poopsicle where each person says a positive thing from their day and a negative thing from their day.”The table sounds different when everyone is present. You hear voices instead of keyboards. You notice moods. Kids learn that their experiences matter. Adults slow their breathing without realizing it. Work fades because attention has somewhere better to land.These habits teach through repetition. Kids learn priorities by watching how time is protected. Teams learn boundaries by watching how leaders behave. Meg models presence through behavior rather than explanation. She sits down. She listens. She disconnects. Those signals travel further than any policy ever could.Career decisions follow the same logic. Meg focused on the life she wanted to live and then shaped work around it. Dinner with her kids mattered. Time away mattered. Flexibility mattered. That perspective runs against an industry that rewards visibility and constant availability. Many people chase recognition and wonder why their days feel thin. Meg invested in connection and built everything else around it.Key takeaway: Connection grows when time is defended on purpose. Protect shared moments, set expectations clearly, and let daily behavior show people where your attention truly belongs.David Joosten: Filtering Reactive Work So Time Stays With FamilyNext up is David Joosten, Co-Founder and President at GrowthLoop and the co-author of ‘First-Party Data Activation'. He's also a dad of 3.Connection shows up here through restraint. David talks about time as something that gets crowded fast, especially once you step into leadership roles where every problem arrives wearing the same urgent expression. Days fill with requests, escalations, and thoughtful edge cases that sound responsible in isolation. Taken together, they quietly displace the people ...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Balancing change and continuity in Marketing Ops is one of the hardest things to get right, especially in global organizations with fast-moving goals and limited resources. In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann is joined by Adele Kurki, Senior Marketing Operations Lead at Aiven.Adele shares how she has led global Marketing Ops teams through major shifts like funnel redesigns, go-to-market evolution, and operational transformations. She opens up about the challenges of driving technical change while keeping the engine running, the importance of transparency in distributed teams, and the real limits of frameworks like Agile.The conversation covers how to lead change without disrupting execution, communicate with executive stakeholders, and create a growth path for your team in a high-pressure environment. If you are in the middle of building or rebuilding a Marketing Ops function, this one will hit close to home.What you will learn: • How to manage run versus change in Marketing Ops • Why transparency matters more in global teams • When Agile helps and when it gets in the way • The risks of layering transformation on top of BAU • Tips for earning leadership buy-in • How to help your team grow during times of fluxBe sure to subscribe, rate, and review Ops Cast. Join the community at MarketingOps.com for more conversations like this.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message February marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, a time to reflect on the achievements and contributions made by Blacks in this nation. But as Bloodworks 101 producer John Yeager found out, it's also a time to look at some "pretty sobering numbers" when it comes to Black Americans and blood donation. For today's editon of Bloodworks 101, John spoke to Harry Thomas, Bloodworks Northwest's Vice President of Marketing Operations and Planning about those numbers and a new study of Black donors.Support the show

Careers place a ton of demand on energy and attention way before results start to stabilize. Many operators discover that health and routine determine how long they can operate at a high level.I spoke with 50 people working in martech and operations about how they stay happy under pressure. This 3 part series – titled “50 Operators share the systems that keep them happy” explores each of these layers through the lived experience of operators who feel the same pressure you probably feel right now.Today we start with part 1: stability through routines, boundaries, and systems that protect the body and mind. We'll hear from 15 people:(00:00) - Teaser (01:05) - Intro (01:30) - In This Episode (04:09) - Austin Hay: Building Non Negotiables (08:06) - Sundar Swaminathan: Systems That Prevent Stress (12:33) - Elena Hassan: Normalizing Stress (14:32) - Sandy Mangat: Managing Energy (16:31) - Constantine Yurevich: Designing Work That Matches Personal Energy (19:05) - Keith Jones: Intentional Work Rhythms (23:58) - Olga Andrienko: Daily Health Routines (26:06) - Sarah Krasnik Bedell: Outdoor Routines (27:21) - Zach Roberts: Physical Reset Rituals Outside Work (28:57) - Jane Menyo: Recovery Cycles (31:56) - Angela Vega: Chosen Challenges and Recovery Cycles (36:09) - Megan Kwon: Presence Built Into the Day (37:50) - Nadia Davis: Calendar Discipline (39:36) - Henk-jan ter Brugge: Planning the Week as a Constraint System (43:15) - Ankur Kothari: Personal Metrics (44:07) - Outro Austin Hay: Building Non NegotiablesOur first guest is Austin Hay, he's a co-founder, a teacher, a martech advisor, but he's also a husband, a dog dad, a student, water skiing fanatic, avid runner, a certified financial planner, and a bunch more stuff... Daily infrastructure shows up through repetition, discipline, and choices that protect energy before anything else competes for it. Austin grounds happiness in curiosity, but that curiosity only thrives when supported by sleep, movement, and time that belongs to no employer. Learning stays fun because it is not treated as another performance metric. It remains part of who he is rather than something squeezed into the margins of an already crowded day.Mental and physical health shape his schedule in visible ways. Austin treats them as operating requirements rather than aspirations. His days include a short list of behaviors that carry disproportionate impact:Regular sleep with a consistent bedtime.Exercise that creates physical fatigue and mental quiet.Relationships that exist entirely outside work.Hobbies and games that feel restorative rather than productive.These habits rarely earn praise, which explains why they erode first under pressure. In his twenties, Austin chased work, clients, and money with intensity. He told himself the rest would come later. That promise held eventually, but the gap years carried a cost. He remembers moments of looking in the mirror and feeling uneasy about the life he was assembling, despite checking every external box.Trade-offs now anchor his thinking. Austin frames decisions as equations involving time, energy, and outcomes. Goals demand inputs, and inputs consume limited resources. Avoiding that math leads to exhaustion and resentment. Facing it creates clarity. Many people resist this step because it forces hard choices into daylight. The industry rewards the appearance of doing everything, even when the math never works.“I view a lot of decisions and outcomes in life as trade-offs. At the end of the day, that's what most things boil down to.”Sleep makes the equation tangible. Austin aims for bed around 9 or 9:30 each night because his mornings require focus, training, and sustained energy. He needs seven and a half hours of sleep to function well. That requirement dictates the rest of the day. Social plans adjust. Work compresses. Goals remain achievable because the system supports them.He defines what he wants to pursue.He calculates the energy required.He locks in non negotiables that keep the math honest.That structure removes constant negotiation with himself. The system holds even when motivation dips or distractions multiply.Key takeaway: Daily infrastructure depends on non negotiables that protect sleep, health, and energy. Clear priorities, visible trade-offs, and repeatable routines create careers that stay durable under pressure.Sundar Swaminathan: Systems That Prevent StressNext up is Sundar Swaminathan, Former Head of Marketing Science at Uber, Author & Host of the experiMENTAL Newsletter & Podcast. He's also a husband, a father and a well traveled home chef, amateur chess master.Stress prevention sits at the center of Sundar's daily system for staying happy and effective at work. A concentrated period of personal loss collapsed any illusion that stress deserved patience or tolerance. Three deaths in three weeks compressed time, sharpened perspective, and forced a reassessment of what stress actually costs. Stress drains energy first, then attention, then presence. A career cannot outrun that erosion for long.Control defines the structure of his days. Sundar organizes work and life decisions around what he can actively influence and treats everything else with intentional distance. That discipline reduces noise and preserves energy. The system stays practical because complexity invites self-deception.Work within control receives effort, follow-through, and care.Work outside control receives acknowledgment and release.Outcomes matter, but the quality of effort matters more.Emotional reactions get examined instead of amplified.That repetition builds resilience as a habit rather than a personality trait. Over time, the body learns that urgency does not improve outcomes, while steadiness often does.Long-term thinking provides ballast when short-term chaos shows up. Sundar frames happiness the way experienced investors frame capital. Daily decisions compound quietly. Some weeks produce visible setbacks. The trend still moves when investments stay consistent. He invests daily in relationships, energy, and directionally sound choices. Moving his family to Amsterdam followed that logic. The decision carried friction and uncertainty, yet it expanded daily happiness in ways that cautious planning rarely delivers.“If you keep investing in yourself and the relationships that matter every day, the long-term trend moves up.”Priorities reinforce the system. Sundar grew up with career dominance baked into identity. Family now anchors that identity with clarity. That hierarchy shapes calendars, boundaries, and energy allocation. Work performance benefits from this structure because focus sharpens when limits exist. Activities that drain energy lose priority quickly. Unhappiness spreads fast and contaminates every adjacent part of life.Environment completes the infrastructure. Daily systems matter as much as mindset. Living in a place where flexibility exists without negotiation removes friction before it forms. Parenting logistics do not create anxiety. Time away from work does not require justification. Many expat families notice similar relief because daily life carries less ambient pressure. When systems support people, stress loses room to grow.Key takeaway: Sustainable careers rely on daily infrastructure that prevents stress before it accumulates. Clear control boundaries, long-term thinking, and supportive environments create stability that protects energy and compounds over time.Elena Hassan: Normalizing Str...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of Ops Cast, we dig into what it really takes to build demand generation and revenue marketing capability inside a large enterprise organization.Michael Hartmann is joined by Rachel Roundy, Product Marketing Lead for AI at Snowflake. Before Snowflake, Rachel spent more than four years inside a legacy enterprise technology company, where she helped lead a cross-functional tiger team tasked with building modern demand generation and revenue marketing capabilities at scale.This conversation explores the reality of enterprise marketing, where strategy and execution often live far apart, tech stacks are outdated, ownership is fragmented, and meaningful change must happen without direct authority. Rachel shares what it was like working inside systems that felt frozen in time, uncovering unused or partially implemented tools, and compensating for missing fundamentals like attribution and source tracking through manual processes and spreadsheets.You will hear how marketing and operations teams often struggle to understand each other's worlds, why that gap persists in large organizations, and what happens when those two sides finally align. Topics covered include: • Building demand generation inside large enterprises • Leading cross-functional change without formal authority • The gap between marketing strategy and operational execution • Working around outdated or underutilized tech stacks • Lessons from enterprise transformation efforts • How marketers and ops teams can become better partnersThis episode is especially relevant for Marketing Ops, Demand Gen, and Revenue Marketing leaders working inside complex, legacy organizations who are trying to modernize systems, processes, and mindsets.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

Katie Jones, EVP of Marketing Operations at PathFactory explains how PathFactory personalizes content delivery for buyers, allowing them to navigate their purchasing journey without traditional barriers like content gating. The discussion highlights significant changes in B2B marketing over the past four years, particularly the advancements in AI capabilities. Katie emphasizes the importance of focusing on pipeline generation rather than traditional lead metrics and the necessity of building strong relationships with sales teams and CFOs to measure marketing success effectively.   About PathFactory Providing the right content to the right individuals at the right time has become essential to enabling B2B teams to hit revenue targets. PathFactory is a content intelligence and personalization platform that enables B2B marketers to create personalized content experiences for both accounts and individual buyers. With PathFactory, go-to-market teams access the industry's deepest and most detailed content engagement analytics to track buyer and content engagement throughout the entire buyer journey.   About Katie Jones Katie Jones is the EVP of Marketing and Operations at PathFactory, responsible for leading the company's marketing strategy and operational execution with a clear focus on pipeline and revenue impact. With more than eight years at PathFactory, she has built and scaled a strong marketing organization grounded in data, personalization, and buyer-centric experiences. Katie lives outside Toronto with her husband, two daughters, and their dog, Hank.   Time Stamps 00:00:17 - Guest Introduction: Katie Jones from PathFactory 00:01:50 - Overview of PathFactory's Services 00:05:43 - Addressing AI Concerns: Hallucinations and Accuracy 00:12:37 - Measuring Performance and Overcoming Delays 00:15:41 - Shifting Towards B2C Marketing Strategies 00:18:50 - Future Trends: The Evolution of Websites 00:21:55 - Key Marketing Advice for Success   Quotes ""You need to build a really strong relationship with your CFO. If your CFO doesn't understand the strategy and the way that you're going to market... then you're never going to be successful in your company." Katie Jones, EVP of Marketing Operations at PathFactory. "You need to really understand your product and how that drives the strategy of the company. If you don't understand your product, you can't market it." Katie Jones, EVP of Marketing Operations at PathFactory. "Understanding the product is huge in order to grow. Tools will keep changing, but the strategy in which your business is built on is the thing that will endure." Katie Jones, EVP of Marketing Operations at PathFactory.   Follow Katie: Katie Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-jones-0188a12a/ PathFactory website: https://www.pathfactory.com/ PathFactory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pathfactory/   Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/   If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier's other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

Send us a textGuest: Lara Shackelford, SVP of Growth Marketing at iCapital -- Most SaaS companies are investing heavily in AI, yet many struggle to see meaningful ROI. In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Lara Shackelford—SVP of Growth Marketing, MarTech, and CRM at iCapital—breaks down why AI initiatives fail without the right systems, governance, and change management.Lara explains how AI-powered revenue systems should be designed across the full customer lifecycle, from demand generation through customer success. She introduces the concept of “agent sprawl,” outlines why AI readiness assessments are critical before scaling automation, and shares practical examples of signal-based marketing and sales automation that actually work.This conversation is essential listening for SaaS CROs, CMOs, and RevOps leaders looking to align AI strategy, revenue operations, and go-to-market execution.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch.

Curious about motor sourcing? Join us for an inspiring conversation with Jill Wallace, the Director of Marketing Operations at eMotors Direct. Jill shares her journey in the industrial motor industry and how eMotors Direct is transforming the way customers find and purchase motors. We discuss the company's focus on digital marketing, including SEO, paid advertising, and branding, to position themselves as experts in the field. Discover how eMotors Direct leverages customer research and feedback to continuously enhance their website experience. Get ready to be motivated by Jill's leadership insights and her passion for delivering exceptional customer service.

What's up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Phyllis Fang, Head of Marketing at Transcend.(00:00) - Intro (01:23) - In This Episode (04:13) - Uber Safety Marketing Shaped A Trust First Marketing Playbook (10:12) - How Permissioned Data Systems Power Personalization at Scale (15:22) - How Consent Infrastructure Improves Personalization Performance (19:20) - How to Audit Consent and Compliance in Marketing Data (23:24) - What Consent Management Does Across AI Data Lifecycles (28:29) - How to Build a Marketing Trust Stack (30:49) - Consent Management as a Revenue Lever (35:10) - Designing Marketing Teams for Freakish Curiosity (41:19) - Skills That Define Great Marketing Operations (45:33) - Why System Level Marketing Experience Builds Career Leverage (50:13) - System for Happiness Summary: Phyllis learned how fragile marketing becomes when systems move faster than trust while working between lifecycle execution and product marketing at Uber. Safety work around emergencies, verification, and COVID forced messages to withstand scrutiny from riders, drivers, regulators, and the public. That experience shapes how she approaches consent and personalization today. Permission signals decide what data moves and how confidently teams can act. When those signals stay connected, work holds. When they drift, confidence erodes across systems, teams, and careers.About PhyllisPhyllis Fang leads marketing at Transcend, where enterprise growth depends on clear choices about data, consent, and accountability. Her work shapes how privacy becomes part of how companies operate, communicate, and earn confidence at scale.Earlier in her career, she spent several years at Uber, working on global product marketing for safety during periods of intense public scrutiny. She helped bring new safety features to market at moments when user behavior, policy decisions, and brand credibility were tightly linked. The work required precision, restraint, and an understanding of how people respond when stakes feel personal.Across roles in e-commerce, lifecycle marketing, and platform strategy, a pattern holds. Fang gravitates toward systems that must work under pressure and messages that must hold up in practice. Her career reflects a belief that marketing earns its place when it reduces uncertainty and helps people move forward with confidence.Uber Safety Marketing Shaped A Trust First Marketing PlaybookTrust-focused marketing depends on people who can move between systems work and narrative work without losing credibility in either space. Phyllis built that fluency by operating inside lifecycle programs while also leading product marketing initiatives at Uber. One side of that work lived in tools, triggers, and delivery logic. The other side lived in rooms where progress depended on persuasion, alignment, and patience. That dual exposure trained her to see how fragile big ideas become when they cannot survive real execution.Lifecycle and marketing operations reward control and repeatability. Product marketing inside a global organization rewards influence and restraint. Phyllis describes moments where moving a single initiative forward required negotiation across regions, channels, and internal politics. Every message faced review from people who owned distribution and reputation in their markets. Messaging tightened quickly because weak logic did not survive long. Campaigns became sharper because every assumption had to hold up under pressure.“We were all in the same company, but I still had to convince people to resource things differently or prioritize a message.”Safety marketing pushed that pressure even further. The work focused on features designed for rare, high-stakes moments, including emergency assistance and large-scale verification during COVID. Measurement shifted away from habitual usage and toward confidence and credibility. The audience expanded well beyond active users. Phyllis had to speak clearly to riders, drivers, regulators, and the general public at the same time. Each group carried different fears, incentives, and consequences. Messaging succeeded only when it respected those differences without creating confusion.That mindset carries directly into her work at Transcend. Privacy and consent buyers often sit in legal or compliance roles where personal and professional risk overlap. These buyers read closely and remember details. Phyllis explains that proof needs to operate on two levels at once. It must withstand careful review, and it must connect to human motivation. Career safety, internal credibility, and long-term reputation shape decisions more than feature depth ever will.“You have to understand the human behind the role, because their motivation usually has very little to do with your product.”Many martech teams still lean on urgency and fear to move deals forward. That habit collapses quickly in trust-driven categories. Buyers trained to manage risk respond to clarity, evidence, and empathy. Marketing teams that understand systems and human cost create messages people can defend internally, even when scrutiny rises.Key takeaway: Trust product marketing works best when teams pair operational rigor with persuasive clarity. Build messages that survive legal review, internal debate, and public scrutiny, then ground those messages in the real career risks your buyer carries. When proof holds at the detail level and the story respects human motivation, credibility compounds instead of eroding under pressure.How Permissioned Data Systems Power PersonalizationPermissioned data systems sit quietly underneath every durable personalization program. Phyllis describes them as the machinery that keeps experiences coherent when traffic spikes, regulations tighten, and teams ship faster than documentation can keep up. When privacy and data infrastructure receive the same attention as creative and lifecycle planning, personalization gains endurance. It stops wobbling every time a new channel, region, or regulation enters the picture.When asked about what a system of permission actually contains, Phyllis anchors the idea in everyday user choice. Preferences, opt-ins, unsubscribes, and topic interests form the marketing layer most teams recognize. Consent records, deletion rights, and data sharing controls form the privacy layer that usually lives elsewhere. Together, these signals decide what data you collect, where it flows, how long it lives, and which systems get to act on it. That layer governs every downstream decision you make about segmentation, targeting, and automation.“We are talking about a layer of user controls that determine what personal data a company collects, how it is collected, how it is stored, how long it is stored, and what gets shared across systems.”Phyllis points out that teams often rush toward tooling before understanding their own surface area. She pushes marketers to start with an audit that feels closer to whiteboarding than compliance. That work cuts across marketing, product, privacy, and partnerships, and it usually exposes uncomfortable overlaps and blind spots. Most organizations already run this exercise for campaigns and funnels, and they rarely include consent in the room. When permission signals stay disconnected from journey design, personalization feels impressive in demos and brittle in production.Operationalizing consent requires discipline across systems. Preference signals need to flow cleanly into the CDP, CRM, messaging platforms, and analytics tools. That way campaigns, audiences, and triggers operate on live, permissioned data ins...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of Ops Cast, we are talking about metrics, but not dashboards, tools, or attribution models for their own sake.Michael Hartmann is joined by our guest Josh McClanahan, Co-Founder and CEO of AccountAim. Josh brings a business operations perspective to reporting and analytics, working closely with leadership teams to identify which numbers actually matter and how to use them to make better decisions.This conversation focuses on the shift from reporting activity to driving action. Josh shares why many teams produce technically impressive metrics that fail to influence leadership, and how Ops professionals can reframe data in a way that connects directly to revenue, profitability, and how the business truly makes money.You will hear Josh break down which metrics executives care about most, including financial measures like LTV and CAC, how those metrics change as companies mature, and why explainability often matters more than precision.The group also discusses how Ops teams can decide when data is “good enough” to act on, how to prepare for executive conversations beyond pulling numbers, and the common mistakes teams make when data is presented without context.This episode is especially relevant for Marketing Ops, RevOps, and BizOps professionals who want to move from being seen as report builders to trusted business advisors.Topics covered include: • The gap between reporting and decision-making • Metrics that matter most to executives • Financial literacy for Ops leaders • Explainability versus complexity in analytics • Communicating data in a way that drives actionMake sure to watch this episode if you want to better align your reporting with business outcomes and elevate the impact of your Ops work.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

The marketing teams winning with AI today are not the ones chasing every new model release. They are the ones who found the boring, repetitive tasks their teams hate and automated those first.Nir Pochter, Co-Founder and CMO at Lightricks, joins Stephanie Postles on Marketing Trends to break down what AI actually means for creative workflows and why most teams are still using it wrong.You'll learn:- The "algebra problem" of AI adoption- How to save your design team 80% of their time- Why the gap between marketers who use AI well and those who don't is widening fast.- How to use an LLM scoring system to pre-review documents for you- The dangerous trend of "AI Marketer" job titles- What's really in store for the future of video+AI Key Moments:00:00 — Why AI Hasn't Improved Creative Output Yet02:06 — The Algebra Problem: Tools vs. Knowing How to Use Them07:27 — Nir's Background: AI PhD to Lightricks and FaceTune09:46 — What Used to Take Weeks Now Takes Minutes13:35 — Why Automating Everything Failed Miserably16:38 — Start with What People Hate Doing20:08 — The LLM Scoring System: Nothing Gets Reviewed Without an 8521:43 — Train Your LLM to Be Mean, Not Nice23:32 — Building Custom GPTs with Company Guidelines26:30 — The Pitfall: Using AI to Please Leadership28:47 — From Toys to Tools: Why Text-to-Video Isn't Enough31:05 — Coca-Cola's 70,000 Prompts (Was It Worth It?)34:41 — AI Won't Replace Creatives, But This Will37:04 — The Two Critical Skills: Prompting and Curation37:55 — How AI Multiplies the Skills Gap (7 vs 10 Example)42:47 — What CMOs Should Be Asking Their Teams46:20 — Why "AI Marketer" Is LinkedIn Fluff This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise. Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What's up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Jordan Resnick, Senior Director, Marketing Operations at CHEQ.(00:00) - Intro (01:10) - In This Episode (03:47) - Demystifying Go-to-Market Security (06:14) - The Fake Traffic Surge (08:14) - How the Dead Internet Theory Connects to Bot Traffic Growth (12:31) - How to Detect Bot Traffic Through Behavioral Patterns (16:13) - How Go To Market Teams Reduce Fake Traffic And Lead Pollution (30:03) - Preventing Fake Leads From Reaching Sales (34:17) - How to Calculate Revenue Impact of Fake Traffic (38:09) - How to Report Marketing Performance When Bot Traffic Skews Metrics (43:58) - Trust Erosion From Fake Traffic (49:49) - How Marketing Ops Should Adapt Systems for Machine Customers (53:59) - Funnel Audits With Security Teams to Reduce Bot Traffic (57:47) - Detachment as a Career Survival Skill Summary: Distinguishing fake traffic from real machine customers starts where metrics break down. Jordan shows how AI-driven bots now scroll, click, submit forms, and pass validation while quietly filling dashboards with activity that never turns into revenue. The tell is behavioral texture. Sessions move too fast. Paths skip learning. Engagement appears without intent. Real machine customers behave with rhythm and purpose, returning, evaluating, integrating. Teams that recognize the difference lock down the conversion point, block synthetic demand before it reaches core systems, keep sales calendars clean, and only report once traffic has earned trust.About JordanJordan Resnick is Senior Director of Marketing Operations at CHEQ, where he leads the systems, data, and workflows that support go-to-market security across a global customer base. His work sits at the intersection of marketing operations, revenue operations, attribution, automation, and analytics, with a clear focus on building infrastructure that holds up under scale and scrutiny.Before CHEQ, Jordan led marketing operations at Atlassian, where he supported complex GTM motions across multiple business units and global markets. Earlier roles at Perkuto and MERGE combined hands-on execution with customer-facing leadership, integration design, and process ownership. His career also includes more than a decade as an independent operator, delivering marketing operations, automation, content, and technical solutions across a wide range of organizations. Jordan brings a deeply practical, execution-driven perspective shaped by years of building, fixing, and maintaining real systems in production environments.Demystifying Go-to-Market SecurityGo-to-market security shows up when growth metrics look strong and revenue outcomes feel weak. Marketing operations teams live in that gap every day. Jordan describes GTM security as a business-facing discipline that protects the integrity of acquisition, funnel data, and downstream decisions that depend on clean signals. The work sits inside marketing operations because that is where traffic quality, lead flow, and revenue attribution converge.When asked about how GTM security differs from traditional fraud prevention, Jordan frames the difference through decision-making pressure. Security teams historically focus on defending infrastructure and minimizing exposure. Marketing ops teams focus on maintaining momentum while spending real budget. GTM security evaluates risk in context, with an eye toward revenue impact, forecasting accuracy, and operational trust across teams that rely on shared data.Jordan grounds the concept in specific failure points that operators recognize immediately. GTM security examines where bad inputs quietly enter systems and multiply.Paid traffic that inflates sessions without creating buyers.Analytics skewed by automated interactions that look legitimate.Form submissions that pass validation and still never convert.Sales pipelines filled with activity that drains time and morale.Each issue compounds because systems assume the data is real. Teams keep optimizing against numbers that feel precise and still point in the wrong direction.“You are putting money into driving people to your website, and the first question should be how many of those people are real and able to buy.”Invalid traffic behaves like a contaminant. It flows from acquisition into attribution models, forecasting tools, CRMs, and revenue dashboards. Marketing celebrates growth, sales chases shadows, and finance questions confidence in the entire funnel. The problem rarely announces itself as a security incident. It surfaces as confusion, missed targets, and internal friction.GTM security matters because it gives marketing ops teams a framework to protect the inputs that shape every downstream decision. The work runs alongside traditional security while staying anchored in go-to-market outcomes. That way you can spend with confidence, trust your reporting, and hand sales teams signals grounded in real buying behavior.Key takeaway: Treat go-to-market security as part of your core marketing operations workflow. Validate traffic quality, filter lead integrity, and block funnel contamination before data enters analytics and sales systems. That way you can protect budget efficiency, restore confidence in reporting, and align growth decisions with real customer behavior.The Fake Traffic SurgeAI-powered automation now sits at the center of the fake traffic surge, and the data from CHEQ makes that pattern hard to dismiss. The jump from 11.3 percent to 17.9 percent happened because automation became accessible to almost anyone with intent. Writing scripts once required time, skill, and trial and error. AI removes that friction and replaces it with speed and scale, which changes who can participate and how quickly abuse spreads.Jordan ties that accessibility directly to incentives that marketing teams quietly tolerate. Fraud still generates money. Inflated traffic still props up dashboards. Higher visit counts still circulate in board decks without hard questions attached. AI accelerates activity that already existed and widens the group capable of producing it. That combination turns fake traffic into background noise instead of a visible threat, especially when volume metrics continue to earn praise.“You don't need to be a hardcore coder to write a script anymore. You can get AI to do it for you.”Automation also introduces a layer of ambiguity that most teams are not prepared to handle. Bots now perform legitimate tasks that look suspicious inside analytics tools. Some scan pricing pages. Some analyze product specs. Some gather research for downstream purchasing decisions. Jordan points out that people already configure agents to place orders, and that behavior blends seamlessly into traffic logs. Marketing systems treat those visits the same way they treat fraud, which creates confusion across attribution and forecasting.That confusion pushes teams toward blunt fixes that create new problems. Blanket blocking removes useful signals. Loose filtering leaves waste untouched. Jordan frames the real work as classification rather than suppression. Teams now need to separate intent categories instead of chasing a single definition of fake traffic. That work forces uncomfortable conversations about which metrics deserve trust and which exist only because nobody benefits from challenging them.Fake traffic keeps growing because systems reward volume and rarely penalize distortion. AI makes production easier, incentives keep demand high, and measurement practices lag behind reality. Marketing ops teams that continue to treat traffic as a vanity me...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this special episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann is joined by Mike Rizzo and Naomi Liu for a wide-ranging, unscripted discussion about the origins of Ops Cast, the early days of live audio experimentation, and how the show has evolved alongside the Marketing Ops profession itself. What starts as a casual anniversary conversation turns into a thoughtful look at what has truly mattered over the years. They reflect on memorable episodes, first-time speakers finding their voice, career-changing moments sparked by the podcast, and why honest, vendor-neutral conversations have always been central to the show.Most of all, this episode is a thank you. To the guests who took risks, the listeners who showed up, and the community that turned a passion project into a platform for learning, validation, and opportunity.In this episode, you will hear about:How Ops Cast started and why it stayed intentionally unscriptedThe hidden emotional labor of Marketing Ops workCreating space for first-time speakers and underrepresented voicesWhy were some of the most impactful episodes the least predictableOverrated and underrated topics in Marketing Ops todayWhat five years of conversations reveal about the professionWhether you have been listening since the beginning or just discovered the show, this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how Ops Cast became what it is today and why the conversations are still far from over.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

What's up everyone, today we have the honor of sitting down with Aleyda Solís, SEO and AI search consultant. (00:00) - Intro (01:17) - In This Episode (04:55) - Crawlability Requirements for AI Search Engines (12:21) - LLMs As A New Search Channel In A Multi Platform Discovery System (18:42) - AI Search Visibility Analysis for SEO Teams (29:17) - Creating Brand Led Informational Content for AI Search (35:51) - Choosing SEO Topics That Drive Brand-Aligned Demand (45:50) - How Topic Level Analysis Shapes AI Search Strategy (50:01) - LLM Search Console Reporting Expectations (52:09) - Why LLM Search Rewards Brands With Real Community Signals (55:12) - Prioritizing Work That Matches Personal Purpose Summary: AI search is rewriting how people find information, and Aleyda explains the shift with clear, practical detail. She has seen AI crawlers blocked without anyone noticing, JavaScript hiding full sections of sites, and brands interpreting results that were never based on complete data. She shows how users now move freely between Google, TikTok, Instagram, and LLMs, which pushes teams to treat discovery as a multi-platform system. She encourages you to verify your AI visibility, publish content rooted in real customer language, and use topic clusters to anchor strategy when prompts scatter. Her closing point is simple. Community chatter now shapes authority, and AI models pay close attention to it.About AleydaAleyda Solís is an international SEO and AI search optimization consultant, speaker, and author who leads Orainti, the boutique consultancy known for solving complex, multi-market SEO challenges. She's worked with brands across ecommerce, SaaS, and global marketplaces, helping teams rebuild search foundations and scale sustainable organic growth.She also runs three of the industry's most trusted newsletters; SEOFOMO, MarketingFOMO, and AI Marketers, where she filters the noise into the updates that genuinely matter. Her free roadmaps, LearningSEO.io and LearningAIsearch.com, give marketers a clear, reliable path to building real skills in both SEO and AI search.Crawlability Requirements for AI Search EnginesCrawlability shapes everything that follows in AI search. Aleyda talks about it with the tone of someone who has seen far too many sites fail the basics. AI crawlers behave differently from traditional search engines, and they hit roadblocks that most teams never think about. Hosting rules, CDN settings, and robots files often permit Googlebot but quietly block newer user agents. You can hear the frustration in her voice when she describes audit after audit where AI crawlers never reach critical sections of a site."You need to allow AI crawlers to access your content. The rules you set might need to be different depending on your context."AI crawlers also refuse to process JavaScript. They ingest raw markup and move on. Sites that lean heavily on client-side rendering lose entire menus, product details, pricing tables, and conversion paths. Aleyda describes this as a structural issue that forces marketers to confront their technical debt. Many teams have spent years building front-ends with layers of JavaScript because Google eventually figured out how to handle it. AI crawlers skip that entire pipeline. Simpler pages load faster, reveal hierarchy immediately, and give AI models a complete picture without extra processing.Search behavior adds new pressure. Aleyda points to OpenAI's published research showing a rise in task-oriented queries. Users ask models to complete goals directly and skip the page-by-page exploration we grew up optimizing for. You need clarity about which tasks intersect with your offerings. You need to build content that satisfies those tasks without guessing blindly. Aleyda urges teams to validate this with real user understanding because generic keyword tools cannot describe these new behaviors accurately.Authority signals shift too. Mentions across credible communities carry weight inside AI summaries. Aleyda explains it as a natural extension of digital PR. Forums, newsletters, podcasts, social communities, and industry roundups form a reputation map that AI crawlers use as context. Backlinks still matter, but mentions create presence in a wider set of conversations. Strong SEO programs already invest in this work, but many teams still chase link volume while ignoring the broader network of references that shape brand perception.Measurement evolves alongside all of this. Aleyda encourages operators to treat AI search as both a performance channel and a visibility channel. You track presence inside responses. You track sentiment and frequency. You monitor competitors that appear beside you or ahead of you. You map how often your brand appears in summaries that influence purchase decisions. Rankings and click curves do not capture the full picture. A broader measurement model captures what these new systems actually distribute.Key takeaway: Build crawlability for AI search with intention. Confirm that AI crawlers can access your content, and remove JavaScript barriers that hide essential information. Map the task-driven behaviors that align with your products so you invest in content that meets real user goals. Strengthen your reputation footprint by earning mentions in communities that influence AI summaries. Expand your measurement model so you can track visibility, sentiment, and placement inside AI-generated results. That way you can compete in a search environment shaped by new rules and new signals.LLMs As A New Search Channel In A Multi Platform Discovery SystemSEO keeps getting declared dead every time Google ships a new interface, yet actual search behavior keeps spreading across more surfaces. Aleyda reacted to the “LLMs as a new channel” framing with immediate agreement because she sees teams wrestling with a bigger shift. They still treat Google as the only gatekeeper, even though users now ask questions, compare products, and verify credibility across several platforms at once. LLMs, TikTok, Instagram, and traditional search engines all function as parallel discovery layers, and the companies that hesitate to accept this trend end up confused about where SEO fits.Aleyda pointed to the industry's long dependence on Google and described how that dependence shaped expectations. Many teams built an entire worldview around a single SERP format, a single set of ranking factors, and a single customer entry point. Interface changes feel existential because the discipline was defined too narrowly for too long. She sees this tension inside consulting projects when stakeholders ask whether SEO is dying instead of asking where their audience now searches for answers.Retail clients provided her clearest examples. They already treat TikTok and Instagram as core search environments. They ask for guidance on how to structure content so it gets discovered through platform specific signals. They ask for clarity on how product intent gets inferred through tags, comments, watch time, and creator interactions. Their questions treat search as a distributed system, and their behavior hints at what the wider market will adopt. Aleyda considers this a preview, because younger customers rarely begin their journey inside a traditional search engine.Her story from a conference in China made the point even sharper. She explained how Baidu no longer carries the gravitational pull many Western marketers assume. People gather information through Red Note, Douyin, and several specialized platforms, and they assemble answers through a blend of formats. That experience changed Aleyda's expectations for Western markets. She believes...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of Ops Cast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, Michael is joined by Ivelisse Arroyo, Marketing Operations Leader and Executive Advisor on Go-To-Market Operations. Ivelisse brings a business-first perspective shaped by a background in accounting and deep experience across manufacturing and healthcare insurance. Her work focuses on connecting Marketing Ops, RevOps, and Business Operations into a single, cohesive system that supports revenue, efficiency, and customer outcomes. The discussion explores what happens when marketing is embedded across the business instead of being treated as a standalone service function.Ivelisse shares why operational disconnects often explain underperforming marketing, how regulated industries expose these gaps faster, and why executives are paying closer attention to GTM operations than ever before.In this episode, you will learn:Why marketing struggles when it is isolated from business operationsHow embedding marketing into revenue, finance, and delivery changes outcomesWhat Marketing Ops professionals can learn from Business Ops and financeWhy starting with revenue and cost impact resonates with executive leadershipHow modern technology and AI are reshaping Ops career pathsThis episode is ideal for Marketing Ops, RevOps, and GTM leaders who want to expand their influence beyond marketing, align more closely with the business, and help organizations operate as one connected system.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

What's up everyone, today we have the honor of sitting down with the legendary Scott Brinker, a rare repeat guest, the Martech Landscape creator, the Author of Hacking Marketing, The Godfather of Martech himself.(00:00) - Intro (01:12) - In This Episode (05:09) - Scott Brinker's Guidance For Marketers Rethinking Their Career Path (11:27) - If You Started Over in Martech, What Would You Learn First (16:47) - People Side (21:13) - Life Long Learning (26:20) - Habits to Stay Ahead (32:14) - Why Deep Specialization Protects Marketers From AI Confusion (37:27) - Why Technical Skills Decide the Future of Your Marketing Career (41:00) - Why Change Leadership Matters More Than Technical AI Skills (47:11) - How MCP Gives Marketers a Path Out of Integration Hell (52:49) - Why Heterogeneous Stacks are the Default for Modern Marketing Teams (54:51) - How To Build A Martech Messaging BS Detector (59:37) - Why Your Energy Grows Faster When You Invest in Other People Summary: Scott Brinker shares exactly where he would focus if he reset his career today, and his answer cuts through the noise. He'd build one deep specialty to judge AI's confident mistakes, grow cross-functional range to bridge marketing and engineering, and lean into technical skills like SQL and APIs to turn ideas into working systems. He'd treat curiosity as a steady rhythm instead of a rigid routine, learn how influence actually moves inside companies, and guide teams through change with simple, human clarity. His take on composability, MCP, and vendor noise rounds out a clear roadmap for any marketer trying to stay sharp in a chaotic industry.About ScottScott has spent his career merging the world of marketing and technology and somehow making it look effortless. He co-founded ion interactive back when “interactive content” felt like a daring experiment, then opened the Chief Marketing Technologist blog in 2008 to spark a conversation the industry didn't know it needed. He sketched the very first Martech Landscape when the ecosystem fit on a single page with about 150 vendors, and later brought the MarTech conference to life in 2014, where he still shapes the program. Most recently, he guided HubSpot's platform ecosystem, helping the company stay connected to a martech universe that's grown to more than 15,000 tools. Today, Scott continues to helm chiefmartec.com, the well the entire industry keeps returning to for clarity, curiosity, and direction.Scott Brinker's Guidance For Marketers Rethinking Their Career PathMid career marketers keep asking themselves whether they should stick with the field or throw everything out and start fresh. Scott relates to that feeling, and he talks about it with a kind of grounded humor. He describes his own wandering thoughts about running a vineyard, feeling the soil under his shoes and imagining the quiet. Then he remembers the old saying about wineries, which is that the only guaranteed outcome is a smaller bank account. His story captures the emotional drift that comes with burnout. People are not always craving a new field. They are often craving a new relationship with their work.Scott moves quickly to the part that matters. He directs his attention to AI because it is reshaping the field faster than many teams can absorb. He explains that someone could spend every hour of the week experimenting and still only catch a fraction of what is happening. He sees that chaos as a signal. Overload creates opportunity, and the people who step toward it gain an advantage. He urges mid career operators to lean into the friction and build new muscle. He even calls out how many people will resist change and cling to familiar workflows. He views that resistance as a gift for the ones willing to explore.“People who lean into the change really have the opportunity to differentiate themselves and discover things.”Scott brings back a story from a napkin sketch. He drew two curves, one for the explosive pace of technological advancement and one for the slower rhythm of organizational change. The curves explain the tension everyone feels. Teams operate on slower timelines. Tools operate on faster ones. The gap between those curves is wide, and professionals who learn to navigate that space turn themselves into catalysts inside their companies. He sees mid career marketers as prime candidates for this role because they have enough lived experience to understand where teams stall and enough hunger to explore new territory.Scott encourages people to channel their curiosity into specific work. He suggests treating AI exploration like a practice and not like a trend. A steady rhythm of experiments helps someone grow their internal influence. Better experiments produce useful artifacts. These artifacts often become internal proof points that accelerate change. He believes the next wave of opportunity belongs to people who document what they try, translate what they learn, and help their companies adapt at a pace that competitors cannot easily match.Scott's message carries emotional weight. He does not downplay the exhaustion in the field, but he reinforces that reinvention often happens inside the work, not outside of it. People who move toward new capabilities build careers that feel less fragile and more future proof.Key takeaway: Mid career marketers build real leverage by running small AI experiments inside their current roles, documenting the results, and using those learnings to influence how their companies adapt. Start with narrow tests that affect your daily work, share clear outcomes with your team, and repeat the cycle. That way you can build rare credibility and position yourself as the person who accelerates organizational change.If You Started Over in Martech, What Would You Learn FirstCross functional fluency shapes careers in a way that shiny frameworks never will, and Scott calls this out with blunt honesty. He shares how his early career lived in two worlds, writing brittle code on one side and trying to understand marketers on the other. He laughs about being a “very mediocre software engineer” who built things that probably should not have survived contact with production. That imperfect background still gave him an edge, because technical fluency mixed with genuine curiosity about marketing created a role no one else was filling. He could explain system behavior in a language marketers understood, and he could explain marketer behavior in a language engineers tolerated. That unusual pairing delivered force inside teams that usually worked in isolation.Scott makes the case that readers can build similar momentum by leaning into roles where disciplines collide. He argues that the most useful skills often come from pairing two domains and learning how they influence each other. He highlights combinations like:Marketing and IT for people who enjoy systems.Marketing and finance for people drawn to modeling and forecasting.Marketing and sales for people who want to connect customer signals with revenue conversations.He believes these intersections are crowded with opportunity because organizations rarely invest enough in communication across teams. You can create real leverage when you speak multiple operational languages with confidence.“The ability to serve as a bridge of cross pollinating between multiple disciplines has a lot of opportunity.”Scott also shares the part he would invest in first if he were twenty two again. He spent years focusing almost entirely on what systems could do. He cared deeply about architecture diagrams and technical possibility, and he assumed people would adopt anything that worked. He later realized that adoption follows trust,...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, Michael is joined by co-hosts Mike Rizzo and Naomi Liu for a thoughtful conversation on a topic that rarely gets enough attention in Marketing Ops: values-based leadership.Their guest is Jaime López, Head of Marketing at Ververica. Jaime's background spans engineering, machine learning, technical marketing, and operations, along with leading global teams across Europe, Asia, and the United States. He brings a deliberate, human-centered approach to leadership that focuses on clarity of values, adaptability, and building cultures that support both people and performance.The discussion explores what values-based leadership actually looks like in practice, how it differs from traditional performance-first management styles, and why it is especially critical in high-pressure Ops environments where ambiguity is constant.In this episode, you will learn:What values-based leadership means in a Marketing Ops contextHow to intentionally define and shape team cultureWhy leaders must adapt to individuals rather than forcing conformityHow to navigate misalignment between values and behavior with honesty and empathyWays Ops professionals can lead with values even without formal management rolesThis episode is ideal for Marketing Ops leaders and practitioners who want to build healthier teams, improve performance through trust and clarity, and lead with intention in complex, fast-moving organizations.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, Michael is joined by co-host Mike Rizzo for a candid conversation about why most Account-Based Marketing programs fail and how teams can fix them.Their guest is Mason Cosby, Founder and CEO of Scrappy ABM, a leading voice challenging conventional ABM thinking. Mason shares why roughly 80 percent of ABM programs launched in recent years have not delivered results, why most companies already have what they need to succeed, and how to build a scalable ABM program without buying new technology.The discussion cuts through hype to focus on fundamentals, targeting discipline, organizational alignment, and realistic execution. Mason breaks down his practical framework for identifying best customers, avoiding common ABM pitfalls, and rebuilding programs that are stuck in the messy middle.In this episode, you will learn:Why most ABM programs fail before they ever have a chance to workWhat the 70 to 75 percent of existing tools and data most companies already have actually looks likeHow to identify the best customers using simple, objective criteriaWhere ABM programs break down when alignment is missingHow to measure ABM success without overcomplicating the modelWhat role does AI really play in modern ABM effortsThis episode is ideal for Marketing Ops, RevOps, demand generation, and GTM leaders who want a practical, realistic approach to ABM that works at any stage without unnecessary complexity.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, Michael is joined by co-hosts Mike Rizzo and Naomi Liu for a wide-ranging conversation with Lauren McCormack, Lead Strategist for the B2B Experience Platform at Kaiser Permanente.Lauren brings a rare perspective shaped by hands-on experience across Marketing Ops, RevOps, sales, paid media, and analytics. As a multi-time Marketo Champion and MOPsapalooza speaker, she has spent her career helping marketing teams move beyond activity metrics and earn real credibility with revenue leaders.The discussion focuses on what it takes for modern marketing teams to think and operate like business leaders. Lauren shares practical insights on alignment, attribution, financial literacy, and why many teams still struggle to connect their work to real business outcomes.In this episode, you will learn:How cross-functional experience changes the way Ops leaders think about impactWhy earning a seat at the revenue table requires more than good reportingThe right way to approach attribution without overengineering or blameWhy financial literacy is becoming non-negotiable for Marketing Ops leadersThe risks of continuing to market without clear measurement as 2026 approachesThis episode is ideal for Marketing Ops, RevOps, and demand leaders who want to elevate their influence, improve executive trust, and prepare their teams for the next phase of data-driven decision-making.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, Michael is joined by co-host Mike Rizzo to tackle events, which are one of the most persistent challenges in go-to-market execution.Events demand significant investment in time, budget, and coordination, yet many teams still struggle to prove their impact. Data is often fragmented, delayed, or incomplete, making ROI difficult to measure and even harder to trust.To discuss this problem, we are joined by Aaron Karpaty, Senior Director of Strategic Growth at Captello. Aaron works closely with revenue, marketing, and operations teams to modernize how event data is captured, connected, and activated across CRM, marketing automation, and sales workflows.The conversation explores where event programs break down operationally, why so much valuable interaction data never makes it into systems of record, and what a modern event operation needs to look like to drive real business outcomes.In this episode, you will learn:Why event and field marketing data remains fragmented across most organizationsThe most common data traps that prevent accurate event ROI measurementWhat interactions are typically lost during and after eventsHow to think about event value beyond basic lead captureWhat a well-run, integrated event operation looks like todayHow Marketing Ops, Revenue Ops, and Field Marketing can better alignThis episode is ideal for Marketing Ops, Revenue Ops, Field Marketing, and demand generation leaders who want to turn events from one-off activities into measurable revenue drivers.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

The most future-ready marketing leaders aren't the ones chasing trends… they're the ones who can reinvent themselves every time the industry changes.Michelle Huff, Chief Marketing Officer at Alteryx, joins Marketing Trends to break down the mindset that kept her relevant through every major tech revolution, from Web1 to cloud, SaaS, PLG, and now AI. She explains how to balance curiosity with focus, why AI is really about automating judgment (not just tasks), and how she's redesigning her marketing org around agents, automation, and new workflows.Michelle also shares early results from Alteryx's AI experiments, how she's rebuilding a 700,000-person community, and why great leaders still start with the end user even as their buyer audiences expand. Key Moments:  00:00 – How to Stay Relevant Through Every Tech Shift03:42 – A Career Spanning Web1, Cloud, SaaS, and AI06:58 – Curiosity Is the Ultimate Career Advantage10:12 – When Leaders Should Tinker and When to Delegate13:28 – Building a Marketing Culture That Experiments16:41 – Why AI Is About Judgment, Not Just Automation20:07 – Inside an AI-Powered SDR Outbound Workflow23:34 – Do AI Agents Replace People or Elevate Them26:58 – Upskilling Teams in an AI-Driven Organization30:17 – Why Most AI Content Fails to Break Through33:36 – How to Stand Out in a Noisy B2B Market36:52 – Why Enterprise Brands Lose Touch With End Users39:48 – How Alteryx Built a 700,000-Person Community43:06 – Turning Community Into Competition and Learning46:32 – Early AI Wins That Drive Real Pipeline Impact  This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise. Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When patient acquisition feels unpredictable, it is usually an operations problem hiding inside a marketing problem. On this episode of Ignite, Cardinal's VP of Brand Marketing Ashley Petrochenko is joined by Stephen Harrell, Director of Marketing at StrideCare, to break down why real healthcare growth depends on tight alignment between marketing, access teams, and clinical operations. You will hear how one of Texas's largest lower extremity healthcare providers is reshaping its patient journey by connecting marketing metrics to on-the-ground operational performance. This conversation shows what today's marketers must prioritize to drive reliable, scalable growth. You will learn: How marketing and operations partnerships unlock higher converting patient journeys Why call intelligence and CRM data reveal the real blockers to growth Ways to tighten workflows so patient demand actually turns into scheduled visits How to shift your team toward EOS style accountability that supports long term performance If you want marketing that consistently converts instead of guesswork, this is the episode for you. RELATED RESOURCES Connect with Steven - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-harrell-tx/ 2026 Healthcare Marketing Trends: The New Rules Redefining Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-trends-2026/ Marketing + Operations: Why Total Alignment is Vital to Growth - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/healthcare-marketing-operations-alignment/ What is a Patient Journey? Examples to Grow Your Practice - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/healthcare-resources/blog/what-is-a-patient-journey-grow-your-practice/ Why Capacity-Driven Marketing Is Non-Negotiable - https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/capacity-driven-marketing-media-investment-strategy/

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Richard Wasylynchuk, VP of Marketing Operations and Interim Head of Marketing at Trulioo. Richard brings a unique perspective as an operations leader who stepped into an executive marketing role, offering valuable insights on why more CMOs of the future may emerge from Marketing Ops.The conversation explores how the changing business environment, evolving investor expectations, and increasing focus on profitability are elevating the role of Marketing Ops leaders. Richard shares his perspective on visibility, data literacy, team design, and how an operational mindset aligns with modern marketing leadership.In this episode, you will learn:Why Marketing Ops leaders are well-positioned to become future CMOsHow shifting from growth-at-all-costs to profitability changes leadership prioritiesThe difference between activity reporting and outcome reportingHow data literacy and financial acumen build trust at the executive levelThis episode is perfect for Marketing Ops, RevOps, and marketing professionals who want to expand their strategic influence and prepare for senior leadership roles.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Nadia Davis, VP of Marketing, and Misha Salkinder, VP of Technical Delivery at CaliberMind. Together, they explore a challenge many Marketing Ops professionals face today: how to move from being data-driven to being data-informed.Nadia and Misha share why teams often get lost in complexity, how overengineering analytics can disconnect data from business impact, and what it takes to bring context, clarity, and common sense back to measurement. The conversation dives into explainability, mentorship, and how data literacy can help rebuild trust between marketing, operations, and leadership.In this episode, you will learn:Why “data-drowned” marketing ops is a growing problemHow to connect analytics to real business outcomesThe importance of explainability and fundamentals in data practicesHow to simplify metrics to drive alignment and actionThis episode is perfect for marketing, RevOps, and analytics professionals who want to make data meaningful again and use it to guide smarter, more strategic decisions.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Spencer Tahil, Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Growth Alliance. Spencer helps organizations design AI and automation workflows that enhance go-to-market efficiency, streamline revenue operations, and strengthen marketing performance.The discussion focuses on how to move from experimentation to execution with AI. Spencer shares his systems-driven approach to identifying automation opportunities, prioritizing high-impact workflows, and building sustainable frameworks that improve strategic thinking rather than replace it.In this episode, you will learn:How to identify and prioritize tasks for automation using a value versus frequency modelThe biggest mistakes teams make when integrating AI into their workflowsHow AI can strengthen strategic decision-making instead of replacing peoplePractical prompting frameworks for achieving accurate and useful resultsThis episode is ideal for marketing operations, RevOps, and growth professionals who want to turn AI experimentation into measurable, scalable execution.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Ops Cast is brought to you in partnership with Emmie Co, an incredible group of consultants leading the top brands in all things Marketing Operations. Check the mount at Emmieco.comSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Aby Varma, global business and marketing leader and Founder of Spark Novus. Aby helps organizations adopt AI strategically and responsibly, guiding leaders from early adoption to self-reliant innovation.The discussion explores how marketing teams can move beyond experimenting with AI tools to building long-term, value-based strategies that drive measurable impact. Aby shares real-world examples of AI implementation, frameworks for defining a “strategic north star,” and advice for leading change across every level of the organization.In this episode, you will learn:How to apply a value-based approach to AI adoptionWhy productivity is only the beginning of AI's potential in marketingHow to build responsible-use guardrails that support faster innovationThe evolving role of Marketing Ops in AI strategy and executionThis episode is ideal for marketing, operations, and business leaders who want to use AI with purpose, balance innovation with responsibility, and prepare their teams for the next phase of intelligent marketing.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Ops Cast is brought to you in partnership with Emmie Co, an incredible group of consultants leading the top brands in all things Marketing Operations. Check the mount at Emmieco.comSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this special episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, the crew reflects on the final chapter of MOPsapalooza, the flagship MarketingOps.com conference that has defined the community for years.Michael is joined by Mike Rizzo, Naomi Liu, and Audrey Harze to look back on what made MOPsapalooza 2025 in Anaheim unforgettable. Together, they share their favorite moments, the energy of the event, and how it felt to say goodbye to a conference that shaped the Marketing Ops profession.They also discuss the evolution of the MarketingOps.com community, what the event has meant to practitioners everywhere, and what might come next as the movement continues to grow.In this episode, you will hear:Reflections on the final MOPsapalooza and its impact on the communityFavorite moments, stories, and lessons from the 2025 event in AnaheimHow MOPsapalooza helped shape the Marketing Ops professionWhat the future holds for the MarketingOps.com communityThis episode is both a tribute and a look forward, celebrating the spirit of collaboration, connection, and curiosity that has defined MOPsapalooza from the beginning.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Ops Cast is brought to you in partnership with Emmie Co, an incredible group of consultants leading the top brands in all things Marketing Operations. Check the mount at Emmieco.comSupport the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Penny Hill, Founder and Principal Consultant at Three Threads Consulting. Penny has built her career at the intersection of marketing, operations, and strategy, helping teams simplify complexity, connect departments, and make data more meaningful.The conversation centers on one of the most common sources of friction in go-to-market teams: attribution and alignment. Penny shares insights on why teams often clash over credit, what “marketing contribution” truly means, and how simplifying metrics and conversations can drive stronger collaboration and better outcomes.In this episode, you will learn:Why attribution continues to challenge marketing and sales alignmentHow to simplify performance measurement without losing insightWays to present metrics that build trust with executives and peersHow Marketing Ops professionals can shift the focus from “who gets credit” to “how we win together”This episode is perfect for Marketing Ops, RevOps, and go-to-market professionals who want to improve collaboration, clarity, and trust across their organizations.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Ops Cast is brought to you in partnership with Emmie Co, an incredible group of consultants leading the top brands in all things Marketing Operations. Check the mount at Emmieco.comSupport the show

Refine Labs CEO Megan Bowen joins Evan Kirstel for a deep-dive into how B2B marketing must evolve for the AI era. The conversation covers modern go-to-market models, buyer-centric strategies, and how Refine Labs helps companies drive measurable pipeline growth through data, experimentation, and cultural excellence.1. Speakers and RolesMegan Bowen – CEO of Refine Labs. With 20 years in B2B SaaS at companies like Zocdoc, Grubhub, and WeWork, she brings deep expertise in modernizing go-to-market strategy and redefining marketing measurement.Evan Kirstel– Host and interviewer. Brings over 30 years in tech sales and marketing leadership.2. Topics CoveredThe evolution of B2B buying and selling from the analog to the AI era.Why traditional MQL-based marketing is outdated.The “Brand, Demand, Expand” model for full-funnel growth.Refine Labs' AI strategy and benchmarking methodology.Alignment between sales and marketing in 2025.The future of content creation and human creativity in an AI-driven market.Building company culture around people-first principles.The Refine Labs Vault: democratizing growth frameworks and insights.3. Questions This Video Helps AnswerWhat's fundamentally broken about traditional B2B marketing models?Why is the MQL metric no longer a reliable measure of success?How should marketers adapt to buyer-led decision-making?What is the “Brand, Demand, Expand” framework, and how does it work?How is AI transforming marketing operations and customer acquisition?How can companies build a people-first culture that drives performance?4. Jobs, Roles, and Responsibilities MentionedCEO, CMO, VP of Marketing, Sales teams, Customer Success and Account Management, Marketing Operations and Creative roles, Content strategists and paid media managers5. Frameworks and Concepts MentionedBrand, Demand, Expand (three-pillar GTM framework)Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)Buyer-centric marketingAI-powered benchmarksRevenue funnel analysis and pipeline conversion optimization6. Related ResourcesRefine Labs: https://www.refinelabs.comThe Vault: access to Refine Labs frameworks and community.HubSpot (mentioned as part of inbound marketing evolution)Grandin Holdings (Refine Labs investment partner)

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Tracey Fudge, AI Operations Architect and Agentic Workflow Designer at AI By Thrive. Tracey has spent the past several years working hands-on with language models, automation systems, and what she calls agentic workflows. She helps marketing and operations teams move past AI buzzwords and turn technology into practical tools that drive better results.The discussion focuses on how to build real, usable AI systems that enhance creativity, improve efficiency, and deliver measurable business outcomes. Tracey explains what agentic workflows are, how they differ from traditional automation, and how teams can start integrating AI into everyday work in a thoughtful, scalable way.In this episode, you will learn:How to apply AI and automation in practical marketing and operations use casesWhat agentic workflows are and how they create intelligent systemsTechniques for prompting and choosing the right AI tools for each taskWays to balance human creativity with AI assistance for better outcomesThis episode is ideal for marketing and operations professionals who want to make AI an integrated part of their workflow without losing the human touch.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

When marketing meets finance, the data gets real.In this episode, George Samaras, Head of Marketing Operations at Ataccama, joins Adam Kaiser to zoom in on what happens when marketing ops reports directly to the CFO.George explains how being part of the finance org reshaped his view of marketing metrics, moving from campaign performance to pipeline impact and revenue accountability. He also outlines how Ataccama's RevOps model unites marketing, sales, and customer success around one shared source of truth for better GTM visibility.You'll hear how he's helping bridge the gap between creative strategy and financial outcomes, what he's learned about efficiency from the finance lens, and why marketers need to start thinking in terms of dollars, not just engagement.In this conversation, you'll learn:How sitting under finance changes the way marketing ops measures successWhy marketers should frame results around revenue generation or cost savingsHow RevOps alignment improves data visibility and decision-makingWhy financial fluency is becoming a must-have skill for modern marketersJump into the conversation:(00:00) Introducing George Samaras(01:03) Why marketing ops now reports to finance at Ataccama(03:57) How financial alignment changes marketing measurement(05:49) Evaluating MQLs, pipeline, and event ROI(07:14) How AI and SEO shifts are impacting acquisition strategy(08:14) Attribution challenges and in-house solutions using Salesforce and 6sense(10:02) Lessons from sitting under the CFO's org(11:17) How finance influences marketing budgets and ROI analysis(13:30) Why marketing ops needs to think like finance(14:51) Acting as “Switzerland” between marketing and finance(16:35) How shared data builds credibility for marketing(18:17) The most unrealistic request George has ever received

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Danielle Balestra, a seasoned fractional marketing technology executive with experience building teams and stacks in both regulated and non-regulated industries.The conversation examines the requirements for running effective marketing operations in highly regulated industries, including finance, healthcare, and legal services. Danielle shares her insights on working within compliance constraints, earning trust across teams, and building a marketing operations function that strikes a balance between agility and accountability.In this episode, you will learn:What makes regulated industries unique from a marketing operations perspectiveThe skills and mindsets needed to succeed in compliance-heavy environmentsHow to collaborate effectively with legal and compliance teamsStrategies for balancing marketing speed with regulatory requirementsThis episode is ideal for marketing operations professionals, leaders, and consultants who work in or with regulated industries and want to strengthen collaboration, compliance, and operational excellence.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Danielle Urban, Co-founder and CEO of Cartographer Consulting. Danielle brings a blend of demand generation, operations, and HubSpot expertise, helping early-stage startups and scaling teams build smarter, more sustainable marketing systems.The conversation focuses on Martech maturity, how to know when you have outgrown your current setup, what signals indicate it is time to evolve, and how to align platforms and processes as your team grows. Danielle shares lessons from her experience guiding teams through HubSpot optimization, stack consolidation, and key maturity milestones to avoid growth slowdowns.In this episode, you will learn:How to define Martech maturity and identify growth triggersCommon pitfalls when teams outgrow their systemsHow to align HubSpot and processes with business evolutionWhen to DIY and when to bring in outside expertiseThe growing role of AI in shaping marketing operationsThis episode is perfect for marketing operations professionals, HubSpot users, and growth teams looking to scale efficiently without skipping important maturity steps.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Sarah Lane-Hawn, a fractional marketing leader and consultant who helps organizations shape their go-to-market strategy and build operational infrastructure with intention. Sarah brings experience leading both marketing operations and demand generation, offering a clear view of how these functions can work together more strategically.The discussion focuses on how Marketing Operations professionals can move beyond the “ticket-taking” mindset and step into roles that drive real business impact. Sarah shares how understanding the “why” behind requests, influencing decisions, and aligning with organizational goals can elevate both personal growth and company success.In this episode, you'll learn:Why a human-centered strategy is essential to the future of marketing operationsHow MOps professionals can gain credibility and influence within their organizationsThe difference between building for reporting versus enablementPractical ways to bring strategic thinking and intuition into daily workThis episode is perfect for Marketing Ops, RevOps, and demand generation professionals looking to increase their strategic impact, build stronger partnerships with stakeholders, and find more meaning in their work.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Join Dots Oyebolu as he speaks to Teresa Heath-Wareing, Director of Teresa Heath-Wareing Limited, International TEDx Speaker, and Host of “Your Dream Business Podcast.”Teresa shares practical strategies for building a sustainable business rooted in values, consistency and self-awareness. She explains how marketers and personal brands can avoid burnout by focusing on aligned actions over chasing every trend. Teresa emphasizes the importance of showing up consistently, breaking goals into manageable steps and using tools like AI and freelancers to scale with clarity — not overwhelm.Key Takeaways:00:00 Introduction05:02 Success comes from creating a life and business you actually love.06:20 Avoid tactics that don't suit your personality — they won't serve you.11:12 You can't guarantee the outcome, but you can control your actions.12:30 Set realistic goals, and break them into small, daily steps.17:44 Long-term consistency brings better results than short-term strategy.20:29 Adopt a “scientist” mindset to evaluate results rather than a “judge.”25:04 Small audiences offer marketing advantages large brands can't match.31:36 Tech and AI are tools, but humans are still essential.44:42 Treat freelance team members as part of your core team.Resources Mentioned:Teresa Heath-Wareinghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/teresaheathwareing/Teresa Heath-Wareing Limited | LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/thw-marketing-&-pr/Teresa Heath-Wareing Limited | Websitehttps://teresaheathwareing.com/Insightful Links:https://www.ianbrodie.com/escape-marketing-overwhelm/https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-overwhelm-your-marketing-operations-nancy-lipkin-sipera/https://www.shopify.com/ca/blog/marketing-strategiesThanks for listening to the “Marketing Leadership” podcast, brought to you by Listen Network. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. We appreciate the enthusiasm and support from our community. Currently, we are not accepting new guest interview requests as we focus on our existing lineup. We will announce when we reopen for new submissions. In the meantime, feel free to explore our past episodes and stay tuned for updates on future opportunities.#PodcastMarketing #PerformanceMarketing #BrandMarketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingIntelligence #GTM #B2BMarketing #D2CMarketing #PodcastAds

Send us a textIn this deeply human episode, Optidge's own HR Manager, Sarah Cuesta, joins Danny Gavin to explore what AI can't do: lead with empathy, resolve team conflict, or build psychological safety. Drawing from her unique path from clinical hypnotherapy to people operations, Sarah unpacks how trust, structure, and culture fuel successful teams, especially in remote environments. Whether you're managing a team or just part of one, this is your blueprint for building stronger human connections in the age of tech.An Optidge "Office Hours" Episode:Our Office Hours episodes are your go-to for details, how-to's, and advice on specific marketing topics. Join our fellow Optidge team members, and sometimes even 1:1 teachings from Danny himself, in these shorter, marketing-focused episodes every few weeks. Get ready to get marketing!Episode Highlights: Sarah, HR strategist and former clinical hypnotherapist, emphasizes the importance of trust, clear communication, and intentional leadership to foster team success, especially in remote work settings. She shares why even the smartest AI and most sophisticated tools can't replace empathy, feedback, conflict resolutions, or human trust in teams. In her opinion, effective remote leadership requires proactive management, empathy, and regular check-ins to ensure understanding, engagement, and a strong team culture. She advocates for structured team onboarding, safe communication practices, and maintaining rhythm through consistent touchpoints to build trust and clarity. Sarah sheds light on Optidge core values in action, sharing how Optidge executes on mentorship, communication, and excellence. Episode Links: Sarah Cuesta-Dawson on LinkedInThrivetastic Business ServicesFollow The Digital Marketing Mentor: Website and Blog: thedmmentor.com Instagram: @thedmmentor Linkedin: @thedmmentor YouTube: @thedmmentor Interested in Digital Marketing Services, Careers, or Courses? Check out more from the TDMM Family: Optidge.com - Full Service Digital Marketing Agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Paid Social, and Lead Generation efforts for established B2C and B2B businesses and organizations. ODEOacademy.com - Digital Marketing online education and course platform. ODEO gives you solid digital marketing knowledge to launch/boost your career or understand your business's digital marketing strategy.

In this conversation hosted by Nancy Mendelson, hospitality marketing veteran Victoria Feldman de Falco, principal and co-founder of Redpoint, shares how marketing, PR, and operations teams can work together to drive topline growth in hospitality. Drawing from more than four decades of experience leading bold, award-winning campaigns, Vickie explains why communications shouldn't operate in silos — and how general managers play a crucial role in aligning strategy across the business.You'll hear stories that bring this to life, from creative campaigns like Cyber Monday for Hotels and Baggage Buyback to the operational realities that make or break great ideas. The conversation highlights how risk tolerance, collaboration, and clear communication can turn marketing initiatives into lasting brand value — and why PR deserves protection, not cuts, when budgets tighten.If you're focused on performance and looking for ways to strengthen collaboration across your hospitality teams, this episode delivers both perspective and practical examples you can put to work right now.Read the article on hertelier: Hospitality PR in an AI World: Victoria Feldman de Falco on Ideas, Credibility, and Risk-Taking A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestions If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free. Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together. If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve! Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Sari Hegewald, Vice President of Marketing Operations at CeriFi. Sari leads a 10-person team covering marketing automation, creative, content, events, and more, and brings a unique perspective on the human side of marketing operations.She explains why the best MOps leaders focus not only on campaigns and systems but also on relationships, anticipating behavior, and applying empathy in reporting, segmentation, and strategy. The discussion explores the difference between being “data-informed” and “data-driven,” how to combine strategic thinking with emotional intelligence, and ways to engage both internal teams and external audiences without losing the human touch.In this episode, you'll learn:Why empathy is essential in marketing operationsHow to balance data insights with human understandingPractical ways to anticipate behavior and build stronger relationshipsTips for creating campaigns and reporting that resonate without being roboticThis episode is ideal for marketing operations leaders, MOps professionals, and anyone looking to bring a more human-centered approach to data, strategy, and execution.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Chris Golec, Founder and CEO of Channel99, and Emily Gustin, Business Development Manager at LinkedIn. Chris and Emily share how the shift from individual-level to company-level attribution is transforming how B2B marketing teams measure ROI, particularly in social media.They discuss how LinkedIn and Channel99 are partnering to provide marketers with a privacy-safe approach to connect paid and organic social engagement to website activity and pipeline impact. The conversation explores the implications for ABM and ABX strategies, the evolving landscape of view-through attribution, and how marketing operations professionals can gain deeper insight into brand reach, buyer behavior, and overall performance across the funnel.In this episode, you'll learn:How company-level attribution is changing B2B social measurementThe role of privacy-safe solutions in connecting social engagement to pipeline impactInsights into ABM and ABX strategies informed by better dataHow MOPs teams can leverage attribution to understand brand reach and buyer behaviorThis episode is perfect for marketing operations professionals, B2B marketers, and anyone looking to improve social ROI and attribution strategies.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Marketing Ops, RevOps, Data Pros, and AI innovators will come together to share what's really working and what's not during the week of Dreamforce. Join the conversation shaping the future of rev ops and AI, and save your spot now at AI Unfiltered, happening October 15th from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM at Sandbox VR in San Francisco. Just steps away from Dreamforce. Visit tractioncomplete.com to learn more. Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this special 200th episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Monica Wright, growth and demand generation leader with deep experience in both marketing operations and demand generation. Monica brings a rare dual perspective on what it takes for marketing and operations teams to work together effectively.In this episode, Monica discusses the often-overlooked challenge of mutual understanding, why marketers need to understand how Ops professionals work, and why they must understand marketing strategy to drive real business impact. She shares insights from her career leading, building, and advising teams, offering practical advice for bridging gaps, improving collaboration, and maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing organization.You will learn:Why cross-functional understanding between marketing and Ops is critical for successHow Ops and marketing teams can better communicate and align on goalsStrategies to ensure Ops adds measurable value while supporting marketing initiativesLessons from real-world experience building and scaling high-performing teamsThis episode is ideal for marketing leaders, demand generation professionals, and MOps teams seeking to enhance collaboration and achieve a more significant impact throughout the organization.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Marketing Ops, RevOps, Data Pros, and AI innovators will come together to share what's really working and what's not during the week of Dreamforce. Join the conversation shaping the future of rev ops and AI, and save your spot now at AI Unfiltered, happening October 15th from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM at Sandbox VR in San Francisco. Just steps away from Dreamforce. Visit tractioncomplete.com to learn more. Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we're joined by Jon Russo, founder of B2B Fusion and former CMO of high-tech companies across Silicon Valley, New York City, and Luxembourg. Jon shares his insights on why Marketing Operations professionals often struggle to communicate their impact to the C-suite and how AI, cleaner data, and strategic thinking are changing the game.Jon dives into the importance of translating complex marketing data into business language, earning trust with senior leadership, and the evolving role of MOPs in driving revenue and AI-enabled pipeline initiatives. He also offers guidance on career growth, helping MOps professionals expand influence and demonstrate measurable impact.In this episode, you'll learnWhy first-party data and clean systems are critical for AI and pipeline successHow MOPs can effectively “translate” marketing operations insights for executivesWhat builds trust between junior MOps professionals and seasoned leadershipCareer strategies for expanding influence and taking a more strategic roleThis episode is perfect for marketing operations, demand generation, and RevOps professionals seeking practical advice to increase visibility, build trust, and position themselves as strategic leaders in the organization.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we're joined by Ellie Cary, Senior Demand Generation Manager at StarTree. Ellie shares her experience navigating marketing performance challenges, including what happens when teams hit MQL goals but still face cuts, and why ROI visibility has become critical for MOps leaders.Ellie discusses the limitations of attribution and reporting, how over-engineered models can create complexity, and what it takes to simplify processes while improving impact. She also shares insights on customer marketing, retention, and how MOps professionals can make their work more visible and strategic across the organization.In this episode, you'll learn:How to connect marketing performance to business outcomesThe risks of overcomplicated attribution and how to simplify itThe importance of foundational marketing processes for measurable ROIStrategies for MOps teams to communicate effectively with non-technical stakeholdersThis episode is ideal for marketing operations, demand generation, and growth professionals looking to strengthen their impact and visibility in the organization. Tune in for Ellie's actionable guidance on making MOps work matter.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we're joined by Pradeep Manivannan, Martech Consultant at Academy Sports & Outdoors. Pradeep brings extensive experience from roles at eBay, Salesforce, and Nordstrom, offering a unique perspective on connecting data, building journey-based experiences, and aligning marketing operations across channels.Pradeep explains how to map customer journeys effectively, leverage segmentation, and implement omnichannel strategies that work in both B2C and B2B environments. He shares lessons learned from consumer-focused marketing and how B2B teams can apply them to drive better engagement and measurable results.In this episode, you'll learnHow to design seamless customer journeys from scratchThe role of data integration across channels in marketing successSegmentation strategies that improve targeting and personalizationWhat B2B teams can learn from consumer-focused marketing approachesThis episode is perfect for marketing, RevOps, and growth professionals looking to improve customer experience and operational efficiency. Tune in to hear Pradeep's actionable insights on building journey-based marketing strategies.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Visit UTM.io and tell them the Ops Cast team sent you. Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of Opscast, Michael Hartmann and Naomi Liu are joined by Karen Kranack, Director of Applied AI Strategy and Experience, to explore the intersection of AI, brand strategy, and trust. Karen shares her insights on how AI is transforming marketing and operations, while emphasizing the importance of building and maintaining trust in this rapidly evolving field.We dive into key considerations for marketing professionals as they navigate the challenges of implementing AI, from transparency in AI usage to addressing data privacy concerns and ensuring ethical AI practices. Tune in to hear real-world examples, including how AI-generated content impacts brand perception and how organizations can foster a culture of trust internally while driving AI adoption.Key Takeaways:The importance of transparency and honesty when integrating AIHow AI is reshaping consumer experiences and internal workflowsThe role of ethical considerations and privacy concerns in AI adoptionReal-world examples of successful AI use cases in marketingJoin us for a discussion on how to leverage AI to enhance brand strategy while maintaining trust with your customers and employees.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Visit UTM.io and tell them the Ops Cast team sent you. Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In this episode of OpsCast, hosted by Michael Hartmann and powered by MarketingOps.com, we are joined by Evan Kubicek, founder of Grow Rogue. Evan brings 15 years of experience in marketing operations and shares insights on what he calls the foundational operations gap, a critical area that many early-stage companies overlook as they scale.Evan explains why addressing foundational processes and systems early on is essential to avoid building a house of cards. He discusses how tech debt, process inefficiencies, and the lack of clear documentation can derail growth and why speed should never come at the cost of solid infrastructure.In this episode, you will learnWhat the foundational operations gap really means and why it is often neglectedHow to avoid creating "automated chaos" and scale marketing operations effectivelyThe importance of establishing foundational processes, like segmentation and tech integrationsWhy getting the basics right is critical before layering on complex tech solutionsThis episode is perfect for professionals in marketing, RevOps, and growth teams looking to build a sustainable ops foundation. Tune in to hear Evan's advice on how to build strong marketing infrastructure before things break.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals Visit UTM.io and tell them the Ops Cast team sent you. Join us at MOps-Apalooza: https://mopsapalooza.com/Save 10% with code opscast10Support the show

“Marketing Operations is the practice of taking people, understanding what it is that the business is trying to do from a go-to-market perspective, and working to align those people to a process that enables that go-to-market through technology. And it's always in that order. People, process, and technology.” -Mike Rizzo   Mike Rizzo is the Founder and CEO of MarketingOps, MO Pros, and MartechGuru—platforms dedicated to empowering Marketing Operations professionals and advancing the Revenue Operations field. With a background spanning ad tech, growth hacking, and beyond, Mike has built his career around aligning people, processes, and technology to drive effective go-to-market strategies. He also co-hosts Ops Cast, a leading podcast that explores industry insights and emerging trends. Through his community-driven approach, Mike has created innovative resources and a collaborative environment where Marketing Operations practitioners can grow, share knowledge, and thrive. In this episode, Mike dives into his perspective on branding and what it means both strategically and personally.   Website: https://marketingops.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikedrizzo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketingopscom