Podcasts about marketing technology

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!For years, the hard part of ops work was building the technology. Now the tech is getting easier while the people and process side is getting harder. So why are so many organizations still stuck debating AI instead of activating it?In this episode, host Michael Hartmann sits down with Andrea Tarrell, President of the Tech Services line at Trilliad and CEO of Sercante. Together, they discussed the human side of change in the AI world with speed, trust, risk tolerance, and the trade-offs GTM teams are making right now.In this episode:Why the technology got easier, but the people and process side got harderHow much of AI adoption is really a trust and change management problem, not a tech oneFear of job replacement vs. plain organizational inertiaAI may not replace your job, but someone using it well may outperform someone who refuses to adaptSolving the tension between "move faster with AI" and "watch out for the risks."What companies get wrong about risk management and tolerance for risk in the AI worldWhy old governance frameworks may not fit a world of fast experimentationAnd a lot more...Whether you lead an ops team or sit inside one, this is a timely conversation about innovation, speed, governance, and practical business reality.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone in the ops community who would find it valuable.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Twenty-five years ago, the goal was to build a website as a digital "single source of truth." In an era of AI agents and hyper-personalized realities, is the very concept of a single, universal brand "truth" now an obstacle to creating a truly relevant customer experience?Agility requires not just adopting new channels and technologies, but fundamentally rethinking the role of content and data in a constantly shifting landscape. It's the ability to move from managing a static digital property to orchestrating a fluid, dynamic relationship with your audience.Today, we're going to talk about the 25-year evolution of digital experience, from the early days of enterprise content management to today's complex ecosystem of AI-driven, composable platforms. We'll explore how seismic shifts—from the introduction of the iPhone to the rise of agentic AI—have not just changed the tools we use, but have fundamentally redefined the relationship between brands and their customers.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek, CMO at Sitecore, a company that is turning 25 this year and has managed to maintain its leadership in the space through many changes and a few curveballs. About Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek (BB) is the Chief Marketing Officer at Sitecore, where she leads a global team of marketers who are redefining what's possible in modern marketing. Together, they're putting the power of generative and agentic AI to work – creating digital experiences that connect people and possibilities across the globe. Michelle is a trailblazer in bringing AI into marketing. At IBM, she served first as Global Head of B2B Marketing at the Weather Company, and then as CMO of IBM Watson, the company's pioneering AI platform. There, she served as the steward of the Watson brand, helping the world understand how AI can transform both work and life. Since then, she's become a Fellow at the Marketing Academy, a founding member of CMO Huddles, and has held CMO roles at both Skillsoft and IDC. At IDC, Michelle reimagined marketing as a strategic growth engine, launching a bold new brand identity, spearheading the company's first GenAI initiatives, and aligning brand, demand, and strategy to drive global impact. Michelle is a frequent speaker on marketing leadership, AI, and purpose-led growth. A lifelong learner, she's also a runner, rescue dog mom, and dark roast devotee. Her best ideas rarely arrive in a meeting, but often hit mid-stride or mid-walk. Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebb/ ---------- Resources ---------- Sitecore: sitecore.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fDon't miss We Make Future - the International Festival of Innovation in AI, Tech, and Digital Marketing, June 24-26 in Bologna. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c80991afff416bb2The most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marketing leaders are being asked to drive more growth with less budget, fewer resources, tighter timelines, and more pressure from every direction while AI is being treated like the shortcut to replace entire marketing teams. But AI will not fix bad strategy, weak alignment, poor customer understanding, or broken marketing fundamentals. In part two of this master class conversation with Matt Hummel, CMO of Pipeline360, the focus moves into what it really takes to become the kind of CMO AI cannot replace. Not by chasing every new tool, adding more MarTech, or hiding behind automation, but by understanding the business as a whole, building trust across departments, speaking the language of revenue, and creating alignment between marketing, sales, product, leadership, and the customer. To lead marketing in a volatile market where expectations keep rising and the old playbook is no longer enough, you need to know how to: • Make sales an ally instead of your bitter rival • Build shared pipeline ownership across marketing and sales  • Communicate risk without becoming defensive • Connect marketing decisions to the larger goals of the business • Set clearer expectations with your team and leadership • Understand resource constraints without using them as excuses • Stay close to customers while leading strategy • Create momentum without pretending there is an easy button The best marketing leaders are not just managing campaigns, tools, reports, and dashboards. They are translating complexity into strategy the business can trust. The reminder is clear: AI will not fix bad strategy. More MarTech will not fix bad marketing. The CMO AI cannot replace is the one who understands the business, earns trust, aligns with sales, leads the team, knows the customer, and gets back to real marketing when everyone else is hiding behind tools. (P.S. If you haven't, listen to Ep. 149 for part one of this masterclass episode) Beyond The Episode Gems: Connect With Matt Hummel on LinkedIn Listen To Troy On Matt's Podcast, Pipeline Brew: The Evolving Role of CMOs & Community Building Visit Pipeline360 website to learn more about how they solve B2B marketers' biggest headaches Buy Troy's Book, Strategize Up: The Blueprint To Scale Your Business StrategizeUpBook.com Discover All Podcasts On The HubSpot Podcast Network Get Free HubSpot Marketing Tools To Help You Grow Your Business Grow Your Business Faster Using HubSpot's CRM Platform Support The Podcast & Connect With Troy:  Rate & Review iDigress: iDigress.fm/Reviews Follow Troy's Socials @FindTroy: LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, TikTok Subscribe to Troy's YouTube Channel For Strategy Videos & See Masterclass Episodes Need Growth Strategy, A Keynote Speaker, Or Want To Sponsor The Podcast? Go To FindTroy.com  

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Today, most teams aren't just struggling to build their AI strategies. The real struggle begins when they try to execute their strategies. In this episode of Ops Cast, host Michael Hartmann sits down with David York, Chief AI and Innovation Officer at Helix CXM, to get practical answers about what it really takes for GTM organizations to move from talking about AI to operationalizing it.David has spent years working at the intersection of marketing operations, RevOps, automation, and AI transformation. Together, he and Michael discovered an uncomfortable truth about how most teams are already overwhelmed by manual work, fragmented processes, shadow systems, and operational debt. Piling "figure out AI" on top of all that creates more chaos. In this conversation, you'll hear:Why the gap between AI strategy and implementation is so hard to closeWhat operational excellence actually looks like in practice, and why it has to come firstWhy mapping how work gets done today is the critical first step before introducing AIThe real difference between automation and "automation plus intelligence"How to identify low-risk, high-value AI use cases (like partially manual lead routing) versus harder onesThe hidden costs teams underestimate: tooling, LLM costs, maintenance, and human monitoringWhere human judgment is still absolutely requiredPractical advice on where to start if you're feeling overwhelmed by AI pressure right nowWhether you lead a scrappy SMB or a specialized team inside a large enterprise, this is a grounded discussion about the reality of AI in modern GTM, beyond the hype and the LinkedIn hot takes.David also published a new book this week, AI-Powered Growth: A 7-Step Adoption and Transformation Framework, which goes deeper into how Marketing Ops leaders can systematically prioritize and operationalize AI initiatives. Grab a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/AI-Powered-Growth-7-Step-Adoption-Transformation/dp/B0H2QCZG5M/Enjoy the episode!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

Twenty-five years ago, the goal was to build a website as a digital "single source of truth." In an era of AI agents and hyper-personalized realities, is the very concept of a single, universal brand "truth" now an obstacle to creating a truly relevant customer experience?Agility requires not just adopting new channels and technologies, but fundamentally rethinking the role of content and data in a constantly shifting landscape. It's the ability to move from managing a static digital property to orchestrating a fluid, dynamic relationship with your audience.Today, we're going to talk about the 25-year evolution of digital experience, from the early days of enterprise content management to today's complex ecosystem of AI-driven, composable platforms. We'll explore how seismic shifts—from the introduction of the iPhone to the rise of agentic AI—have not just changed the tools we use, but have fundamentally redefined the relationship between brands and their customers.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek, CMO at Sitecore, a company that is turning 25 this year and has managed to maintain its leadership in the space through many changes and a few curveballs. About Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek (BB) is the Chief Marketing Officer at Sitecore, where she leads a global team of marketers who are redefining what's possible in modern marketing. Together, they're putting the power of generative and agentic AI to work – creating digital experiences that connect people and possibilities across the globe. Michelle is a trailblazer in bringing AI into marketing. At IBM, she served first as Global Head of B2B Marketing at the Weather Company, and then as CMO of IBM Watson, the company's pioneering AI platform. There, she served as the steward of the Watson brand, helping the world understand how AI can transform both work and life. Since then, she's become a Fellow at the Marketing Academy, a founding member of CMO Huddles, and has held CMO roles at both Skillsoft and IDC. At IDC, Michelle reimagined marketing as a strategic growth engine, launching a bold new brand identity, spearheading the company's first GenAI initiatives, and aligning brand, demand, and strategy to drive global impact. Michelle is a frequent speaker on marketing leadership, AI, and purpose-led growth. A lifelong learner, she's also a runner, rescue dog mom, and dark roast devotee. Her best ideas rarely arrive in a meeting, but often hit mid-stride or mid-walk. Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebb/ ---------- Resources ---------- Sitecore: sitecore.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fDon't miss We Make Future - the International Festival of Innovation in AI, Tech, and Digital Marketing, June 24-26 in Bologna. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c80991afff416bb2The most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!What separates a marketing team that drives growth from one that just stays busy?Ondar Tarlow came into marketing from the business side rather than the traditional marketing path, and that lens changes how he reads a P&L, how he allocates budget, and how he earns credibility with finance and the executive team.In this episode of Ops Cast, host Michael Hartmann sits down with Ondar, marketing consultant and former CMO, for a practical conversation about thinking commercially. They get into why so many marketers struggle to articulate how their company actually makes money, how to translate strategy into a budget and investment plan, and how to secure buy-in from the people holding the purse strings without getting blindsided in the room.Michael and Ondar discussed:Why coming from the business side reshapes how you approach marketingThe reason so many marketers can't explain how their business makes moneyWhat separates growth-driving teams from teams stuck executing activityHow to turn strategy into a real budget and investment planThe biggest mistakes leaders make when seeking buy-in from finance and the boardBalancing spend across acquisition, retention, partnerships, and brandWhy minimizing surprises is a hallmark of strong operatorsWhere AI is already creating a practical advantage in research and learningHow cheap access to strategic knowledge changes career development, and its risksWhat community building (Fast Lane Drive, Worn & Driven Magazine) teaches about retentionWhat makes a brand partnership strategically valuable versus just promotionalIf you've ever wanted to be the marketer the executive team actually listens to, this conversation is a roadmap for getting there.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Why is it so hard for teams to say what they actually think?We nod in meetings, then raise concerns in Slack afterward. We approve work, then reopen it at the last minute. We pile up version 20, 30, 40 of a deliverable, wondering why nothing ever feels finished.In this episode of Ops Cast, host Michael Hartmann sits down with Kira Troilo, founder of Art & Soul Consulting, who brings two decades of theater experience into the world of team collaboration. Her insight is that most teams are stuck in "performance mode," being careful and polite, when what they really need is "rehearsal mode," where it's safe to be messy, disagree early, and surface the truth before it gets expensive.Michael and Kira discussed:Why politeness is a hidden source of inefficiency, and what the "silence tax" actually costs organizationsThe real reason approval cycles balloon into endless rounds of revisionsHow theater's "first rehearsal" tradition translates to designing better team kickoffsWhy tools, workflows, and AI don't fix the underlying communication problemPractical tactics teams can adopt this week to give honest feedback earlierWhether AI and automation make these collaboration challenges better or worseHow leaders can shift from managing output to designing how their teams work togetherIf you've ever felt that rework, fire drills, and misalignment are symptoms of something deeper on your team, this conversation will give you a new lens and a starting point.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 pleasure of sitting down with Elizabeth Dobbs, AVP of Marketing Technology, Data and Growth at Databricks.(00:00) - Intro (01:18) - In This Episode (01:47) - Sponsor: Knak (02:55) - Sponsor: MoEngage (04:16) - Why Velocity Beats Permanence in Marketing Data Architecture (12:00) - Why Databricks Embedded Data Engineers Inside Marketing (15:02) - Inside Databricks' 3 Marketing Ops Agents (18:56) - How Databricks Built an AI Analyst That Marketing Teams Actually Trust (26:13) - How Agent Tagatha Cut Months of Manual Content Tagging to Hours (30:07) - Sponsor: AttributionApp (31:09) - Sponsor: GrowthLoop (34:48) - How Agent Atlas Replaced the Rules-Based Segmentation Wheel (39:28) - Why Marketers Don't Care Whether You Call It an Agent (43:32) - How to Get Data Warehouse Access When Your Team Doesn't Own It (48:36) - What Databricks Is Actually Testing for in Marketing Hires Now (54:04) - What Gives Liz Energy Outside the Office Summary: Elizabeth Dobbs spent 6 years at Databricks doing something most marketing leaders only talk about: building the data infrastructure before deploying the AI on top of it. She's shipped 3 production agents (Marge, Tagatha, and Atlas) and she'll tell you exactly what broke first and why the team kept going anyway. You'll hear how a marketing lakehouse becomes the foundation that makes every agent actually work, why the agent label debate is a distraction, and what Liz is genuinely testing for in marketing interviews now that AI-polished resumes all look the same in Greenhouse. If your AI ambitions are running ahead of your data foundation, this episode is going to reorder your roadmap.About Elizabeth DobbsElizabeth Dobbs is the AVP of Marketing Technology, Data and Growth at Databricks, where she leads the team responsible for the company's full marketing stack, including data engineers and data scientists embedded directly in marketing. Promoted to AVP in February 2025 after more than 5 years building Databricks' marketing data infrastructure from scratch, she architected the company's marketing lakehouse and deployed 3 production AI agents serving the entire marketing org. Before Databricks, she spent nearly 7 years at Khoros in a series of marketing operations and demand generation leadership roles, including Chief of Staff to the CMO.Why Velocity Beats Permanence in Marketing Data ArchitectureIf you work at a company called Databricks, you assume the marketing data is fine. The word "data" is literally in the name. When Elizabeth Dobbs was interviewing 6 years ago and someone in sales ops told her straight up that the data was a complete mess, she thought they were being politely humble. She took the job. She found out they meant it.What she encountered fit the startup playbook exactly. Agencies hired for agency's sake because headcount was thin. Systems that barely talked to each other. Stacks of what she calls "human middleware," people spending their days manually bridging gaps the infrastructure couldn't close. Databricks was probably no worse than any other high-growth startup at that scale. But fixing it meant accepting something most marketing teams resist: building for permanence is a waste of energy.When Liz and her team sat down to fix things, they made a call that runs against how most marketing orgs are wired. They stopped trying to build the perfect foundation. At 1,000 people, you might get away with it. At 10,000, perfection is a distraction. By the time you finish, the company has changed shape again. So they optimized for velocity. Centralized data imperfectly. Built shared definitions that not everyone followed consistently. Accepted the bubblegum-and-duct-tape reality. And they stayed intentional about exactly 1 thing: knowing which decisions you cannot walk back.The one-way door framework is how they sorted the rest. Some decisions hurt to make but compound over time. A marketing lakehouse, all first-party data in 1 governed and catalogued place, is the example she keeps returning to. There is no SaaS tool you would buy, no agent you would deploy, that wouldn't benefit from having that foundation underneath it. That makes it a no-regret decision even when it's brutal to build. The other category, the rip-and-replace bets, is where you move fast and hedge. Agents might automate an entire workflow in 18 months. They might not be ready. You place smaller bets there and iterate. What you don't do is apply the same level of commitment to decisions that actually shouldn't last.6 years later, the core of Databricks' marketing stack looks a lot like it did when Liz started. LeanData. Familiar prospecting tools. The same basic webinar infrastructure. The vendors who survived are the ones who grew alongside the team, who stayed flexible as Databricks scaled well past what their standard playbook assumed. In a market that treats every tool as disposable, the ones that last are the ones that earned it. The companies that build durable AI systems in marketing will be the ones who made the unsexy architectural call first and let everything else follow from it.Key takeaway: Before committing to any AI agent or new platform, split your roadmap into 2 categories: one-way doors and reversible bets. A centralized, governed marketing data layer goes in the one-way door category. Pour resources into it without condition and treat every setback as a speed bump. For everything else, including which agents you deploy and which tools you layer on top, move fast, hedge small, and iterate. Run that filter on your next planning cycle and you'll stop debating tools and start building the foundation that makes all of them actually work.Why Databricks Embedded Data Engineers Inside MarketingMarketing ops leaders who don't have embedded data engineers spend a lot of time explaining to others why they can't move faster. Liz's team has data engineers and data scientists who report into marketing, not into a central IT org. Most people assume she fought for it. The actual story is less dramatic and more instructive.It came from 2 leaders giving the team room before they could prove the full return. Her CMO Rick and CCIO Mike Hamilton were direct about it: we have our own fires, you know enough to be dangerous, you know where the lines are. File Jira tickets if you need something outside your lane, but otherwise go run. That kind of organizational trust is rare. What made it stick was showing the velocity difference on something concrete. Bring in 1 or 2 data engineers with actual marketing domain experience, and the speed gap becomes obvious. Marketing data has its own rules. MDF means different things to different teams. ROAS has regional variations. Pipeline attribution is a political minefield. Someone who has lived in that domain moves 10 times faster than someone learning it in place.That observation turns out to apply directly to the agents Liz's team built later. You spend months onboarding a new hire with marketing domain context. That person leaves before the investment fully pays off and you start over. Agents don't do that. You train them, you give them the context, they hold it. What Databricks figured out with internal resourcing, they've since encoded into how they think about deploying AI. The parallel is direct and Liz draws it explicitly: the reason domain knowledge matters for people is the same reason it matters when you're configuring an agent.The team that resulted from this structure is part of why Marge, Tagatha, and Atlas were even possible. You can't build a marketing lakehouse without engineers who understand what the data is supposed to represent. You can't deploy an agent ...

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show! Most RevOps advice assumes your organization is already halfway in your success journey. But what happens when you're starting from zero, with no clear blueprint, inconsistent data, and a team that can't agree on how revenue actually works? In this episode, host Michael Hartmann sits down with Chelsea Gill, CMO at Resultant, who recently expanded her role to include RevOps and Customer Experience. What started as a need for better data and process quickly revealed a full-scale management change challenge across the entire organization.Chelsea and Michael discussed:What Chelsea expected when stepping into RevOps and what she actually foundWhy most RevOps frameworks assume more maturity than most teams haveWhat a "beta" version of RevOps actually looks like in practiceHow to change behavior across sales, marketing, and leadership (not just process)The role of empathy and storytelling in building organizational trust around dataWhether marketing has contributed to its own credibility problem inside the businessIf you're going through the messy middle between marketing, sales, and operations, or trying to build RevOps without a roadmap, this episode is a must watch for you.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In today's episode of Ops Cast by MarketingOps.com, we're going beyond systems, processes, and technology to talk about how Pros are actually doing and executing the work.  Marketing has grown into a measurable revenue engine, but that transformation has come at a cost, and the pressure on operators is now constant, unrelenting, and in many cases, unsustainable.Our guest is Debbie Qaqish, one of the original pioneers of Revenue Marketing and Marketing Operations, and the founder of her new venture, The Growth Factor. Debbie has spent years helping organizations turn marketing into a measurable driver of business growth, and now she's tackling the human side of that shift, focusing on resilience, leadership, and how marketers can perform at a high level without burning out.Key Topics Include:The evolution of Revenue Marketing and where most companies get stuck todayWhat comes next after accountability and measurement defined the last eraHow AI is rebuilding the role of marketing ops and the expectations placed on teamsWhy does the pressure on marketers feel different now than even a few years agoWhat resilience actually looks like in practice for marketing ops and RevOps rolesHow "caveman brain" shows up in high-stress work environments and affects decision-makingSimple resets operators can use when stuck in fight-or-flight modeWhat effective leadership looks like when pace and pressure are this highHow operators can move from surviving to performing at a high levelIf you've been feeling the weight of constant pressure, changing expectations, and the demand to do more with less, this episode will give you a different lens on what's happening and what to do about it.If you're ready to think about performance, leadership, and resilience in a way that actually fits the reality of modern marketing ops, tune in!For leaders looking for a reset, here is the 10-Minute Leadership Reset™ Ops Cast (https://www.growthfactor.us/opscast)Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to join the conversation at MarketingOps.comEpisode 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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!In today's episode of Ops Cast by MarketingOps.com, we're breaking the misconception that digital accessibility is just a compliance issue. Instead, we're exploring why accessibility should be viewed as a strategic advantage, a lever for better customer experience, stronger performance, and sustained growth.Our guest is Mike Barton, the leader of Corporate Communications and Content Marketing at AudioEye. He shares how accessibility isn't just about ticking boxes or worrying about lawsuits; it's about enhancing the experience for all customers, creating more inclusive content, and ultimately driving business success.Key Topics Include: • The real definition of digital accessibility and why it's often misunderstood • How accessibility impacts revenue and growth opportunities when ignored • Why designing for accessibility improves the overall customer experience for everyone • Where Marketing and Revenue Ops teams should focus on accessibility through email programs, websites, campaigns, and more • Best practices for ensuring accessibility across different channels • Quick wins for Ops teams to implement accessibility changes without getting overwhelmedIf you haven't thought about accessibility in your workflows, this episode will show you exactly where to start and how to implement changes that will have a lasting impact.If you're ready to take actionable steps to make your marketing, web operations, and campaigns more accessible, tune in!Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Our guest today, Chris Douglas is the founder of Big Red Dog Marketing with degrees in Applied Psychology from UNC-Charlotte and an MBA from East Carolina University. With over 15 years of experience in Marketing Technology, Local SEO, and Email Marketing, he's passionate about helping startups and small businesses scale and reach their potential. A Raleigh native, Chris has helped local businesses thrive as the city grows into a business hub. He founded and runs the Triangle Marketing Club, a non-profit networking group for local marketers. In his spare time, he's an avid pilot with Single and Multi-Engine Licenses and Instrument Rating, holds a blackbelt in Aikido from Innovative Martial Arts Academy, and enjoys time with his Red Golden Retriever, three daughters, and wife. Today we're talking.. you guessed it, ADHD.  Also in this episode, we explore how ADHD influences creativity, time management, and client relationships through an engaging conversation with Chris Douglas, founder of Big Red Dog Marketing. Discover practical strategies for agency owners and entrepreneurs to harness ADHD strengths and improve productivity. Enjoy! 01:09 - Intro and welcome Chris Douglas!!  02:51 - Navigating ADHD in Business 05:37 - Agency-Client Relationships and Communication 08:20 - Time Management Strategies for ADHD 10:18 - Handling Emergencies and Daily Tasks 14:27 - Advice for Agency Owners 16:10 - Conclusion and Resources 17:00 - How can people find you? • Website: https://bigreddog.marketing/ Socials: LinkedIN Thank you for being here- give us a shout anytime! https://linktr.ee/petershankman Substack:  petershankmanofficial.substack.com Email: peter@shankman.com Podcast: Faster Than Normal 18:41 - Thank you for staying tuned-in; more episodes coming up soon! Do you happen to know anyone who is doing wonderful things with #ADHD or their neurodivergent brain? We would love to have them on to learn how they are using their #neurodiversity to their advantage. Shoot me an email and we will get them booked! My link tree is here if you're looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!What happens when you throw out a nearly finished $500K rebrand… and rebuild it in two months for $22K?In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann sits down with Michael Yehoshua, CMO at WiseStamp, to discuss a decision that most marketing leaders would never make and why it worked.Michael walked into an 18-month rebrand that looked polished on the surface but was fundamentally disconnected from real customer insight. Instead of finishing it, he scrapped the entire effort and rebuilt the brand using AI in a completely different way.What followed was not just a faster rebrand, but a change in how decisions get made. From analyzing customer conversations for emotional signals to rethinking how content is structured for LLM-driven discovery. This conversation challenges many of the assumptions behind traditional marketing, SEO, and brand strategy.This is not a tools discussion. It is about how marketing and operations teams need to rethink data, signals, and decision-making in an AI-shaped environment.Topics covered include:• Why a nearly complete $500K rebrand was scrapped• How AI was used to listen to customers instead of just generating content• What analyzing tone, intent, and “aha moments” reveals beyond transcripts• How Marketing Ops teams should think about capturing new types of signals• Why optimizing for LLMs is different from optimizing for traditional search• The shift in content, backlinks, and site structure for AI-driven discovery• Why traffic can drop while conversions improve• What metrics matter when traditional SEO signals become less reliable• Why brand may become more important, not less, in an AI-first worldIf you are in Marketing Ops, RevOps, or growth, this episode forces a hard rethink. Not about tools, but about how decisions should be made going forward.Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Welcome to another episode of Ops Cast by MarketingOps.com, powered by The MO Pros. Host Michael Hartmann is joined by co-hosts Mike Rizzo and Naomi Liu for a candid, no-guest conversation about one of the biggest questions in operations right now, which is what are we actually getting from AI?With massive funding announcements, rapid product releases, and constant noise around AI, it is easy to assume everyone is seeing results. But when you look closer, most teams are still struggling to measure real impact beyond surface-level efficiency gains.In this episode, we discussed the gap between hype and reality, exploring why ROI is so difficult to quantify, where AI is genuinely useful today, and the expectations that users have for what the technology can actually deliver.In this episode, you will learn:1. What OpenAI's massive funding signals for the future of AI and operations2. Why most teams cannot clearly measure ROI from AI initiatives3. The difference between time savings and real revenue impact4. Hidden costs of AI tools that make ROI harder to track5. Why AI adoption often fails without proper change management6. The belief gap, skill gap, and expectation gap are slowing teams down7. How fear and uncertainty are shaping AI adoption inside organizations8. Why the “AI gold rush” does not guarantee real business value9. What AI agents can and cannot do without human oversight10. Why strong operators become more valuable in an AI-driven worldThis episode challenges the assumption that AI automatically drives value and offers a more grounded perspective on how operators should think about adoption, measurement, and long-term impact.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

In this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc sits down with Rohit Sriram, Senior Vice-President eCommerce at Loblaw Companies Limited, for an exclusive preview of the ideas, strategies, and thought leadership he'll be bringing to the stage at the Retail Council of Canada's highly anticipated STORE Conference this June in Toronto. For retail leaders planning to attend STORE—or those tracking the future of AI in commerce—this conversation offers an early look at how one of Canada's most sophisticated retailers is operationalizing artificial intelligence at scale. Sriram leads one of the most expansive digital ecosystems in the country, spanning eCommerce across Loblaw's grocery banners, Shoppers Drug Mart, Joe Fresh, and the PC Optimum loyalty program. At the core of his approach is a disciplined focus on solving real customer problems—not chasing technology trends. In this discussion, he breaks down how Loblaw cuts through the noise around AI by anchoring every investment in two critical questions: what problem are we solving, and is this solution materially better than what exists today? This pragmatic lens has enabled the company to move beyond traditional personalization toward real-time, context-aware customer experiences powered by advanced data and AI capabilities. Listeners will gain early insight into the themes shaping Sriram's upcoming STORE panel, including the rise of “agentic commerce,” the growing influence of AI-powered discovery platforms, and the evolution of conversational interfaces across both third-party ecosystems and owned retail channels. A key takeaway is the shift from static segmentation to dynamic personalization—where customers are no longer defined by a single identity, but understood across multiple, evolving contexts. This capability is unlocking more relevant engagement, stronger loyalty, and improved conversion across Loblaw's platforms. Sriram also shares how Loblaw's culture of experimentation—grounded in OKRs, rapid testing, and scalable architecture—allows the organization to validate and deploy innovation quickly while maintaining operational discipline. For those attending STORE, this episode serves as a strategic primer. For those unable to attend, it delivers a front-row perspective on the ideas that will shape the conversation on stage. Whether you're a retailer, brand leader, or technologist, this is your opportunity to hear directly from one of the industry's leading voices—before he takes the spotlight. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this episode of the Talk Commerce podcast Live from Shoptalk, host Isaac Morey speaks with Karen Wood, the Chief Marketing Officer at Treasure Data. Filmed directly from the bustling show floor at Shoptalk in Las Vegas, this episode explores the practical application of artificial intelligence in modern marketing. The conversation highlights how businesses—ranging from mid-sized companies to large enterprises—can leverage their existing data to drive customer loyalty, identify brand advocates, and drastically improve operational efficiency.Key TakeawaysData Utilization: Many companies possess vast amounts of customer data but fail to maximize its potential for repeat business and loyalty.Identifying Advocates: Advanced propensity modeling and AI allow brands to identify potential and current brand advocates by synthesizing real-time data across various channels, including web activity and physical store interactions.Efficiency Gains: By utilizing AI, tasks that previously required weeks of work—such as audience segmentation and campaign activation—can now be executed in minutes using natural language commands.Mid-Market Support: Medium-sized businesses, which often have smaller, strapped teams, stand to benefit most from all-in-one AI marketing platforms that enable them to do more with fewer resources.The Reality of AI: Genuine expertise in AI is still evolving; successful adoption relies on continuous learning, testing, and incorporating real-world feedback into product development.Chapter Minutes:00:00 Introduction to Talk Commerce at Shoptalk00:16 Understanding the Treasure Data platform00:41 Unlocking customer data opportunities01:42 Identifying and cultivating brand advocates02:27 Integrating AI into the marketing stack04:14 AI solutions for mid-market businesses05:48 Introduction to the Marketing Super Agent06:55 Karen Wood's hot take on AI adoption07:54 Reflections on the Shoptalk experienceThis has been produced in cooperation with Content Cucumberhttps://www.contentcucumber.com/

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Conflict is part of every operation's role, but most people avoid it. However, the best operators learn how to use it to their advantage.In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann sits down with Anna Lecat, CEO and Founder of Bridging Global and author of the upcoming book Loving Conflict, to explore why conflict is not something to eliminate, but something to understand and navigate.If you work in Marketing Ops, RevOps, or any cross-functional role, you are constantly operating between teams with different priorities, incentives, and perspectives. The question from this conversation is whether you avoid it or learn how to work through it effectively.Anna brings more than 25 years of experience leading multicultural teams and working across global organizations. She shares practical ways to reframe conflict, build trust, and turn difficult conversations into productive outcomes.Topics covered include• Why conflict naturally shows up in operations roles• The concept of “loving conflict” and what it actually means in practice• How different teams operate with different “languages” and priorities• Why people feel stuck in the middle and how to shift that mindset• How to prepare for difficult conversations with stakeholders or leadership• Common mistakes that escalate conflict instead of resolving it• How strong operators and leaders handle tension differentlyThis episode is not about frameworks or tools. It is one of the most overlooked skills in operations, the ability to solve conflict in a way that builds alignment rather than breaks it.Loving Conflict by Anna Lecat If this conversation feels relatable, Anna's book goes deeper into the ideas discussed in this episode. This offers a practical framework for turning tension into trust, alignment, and stronger relationships across teams. Here's the link to buy the Loving Conflict: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1966629974Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!What happens when an Ops leader thinks like a marketer?In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann sits down with Julie Hamada, Chief Operating Officer at Monarch Dentistry, to explore the connection between marketing, operations, and customer experience.Julie's path from marketing into operations shapes how she leads today. She views marketing as promise-making and operations as promise-keeping, and she focuses heavily on retention, customer psychology, and the full journey from first touch to long-term loyalty.This conversation challenges the way many organizations think about growth. It looks at why retention is often overlooked, how operational design directly impacts customer experience, and why some of the most valuable insights come from conversations rather than dashboards.Topics covered include:• The transition from marketing into operations and executive leadership• Why the gap between marketing promises and operational delivery matters• Retention vs acquisition and why most companies get the balance wrong• Designing operations around the full customer or patient journey• How understanding human behavior improves internal leadership• The limits of dashboards and why conversation-driven leadership matters• Practical ways to break down silos between marketing, ops, and frontline teamsIf you're leading or working in Marketing Ops, RevOps, or business operations, this episode offers a different lens on growth. One that starts with the customer experience and works backward into systems and execution.Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Why do marketing teams keep adding approvals, processes, and controls… yet still struggle to move faster or perform better?In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann sits down with Joe Bockerstette, Partner at Business Enterprise Mapping, to discuss what is really happening inside modern marketing organizations.Joe brings over 30 years of experience helping companies redesign how their business systems function. A former PwC partner and CPG leader, he focuses on mapping entire operational systems to reveal why teams produce the results they do and where friction actually lives.This conversation goes beyond surface-level process optimization. It explores how hidden system design drives delays, why adding more controls often makes problems worse, and how marketing teams can diagnose the root causes behind slow execution and inconsistent outcomes.Topics covered include:• What a “business system” actually means in a marketing context• Why organizations are structured to produce their current results• How approval layers and control mechanisms create bottlenecks• The difference between documenting processes and mapping systems• “Red Clouds” and how they expose operational friction and missed opportunities• Key differences between in-house teams and agency operating models• Practical ways smaller teams can start improving their systems without external helpIf your team feels stuck in cycles of rework, delays, or constant firefighting, this episode offers a clear framework to understand why and what to do about it.Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Social media is changing fast. Platforms are becoming search engines, video continues to dominate, and AI tools are rebuilding how people discover brands and information online.In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann speaks with Stephanie Gardner, a freelance social media and marketing strategist who works across B2B, B2C, nonprofits, and small businesses. Stephanie focuses on helping organizations build purposeful social strategies that align with real business outcomes rather than vanity metrics.The conversation explores how social platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn are evolving into discovery engines, why brands need to think in terms of searchable intent instead of hashtags and trends, and how the lines between search, social, and AI-driven discovery are rapidly disappearing.Stephanie also explains why follower counts and engagement can be misleading indicators of success, shares real examples of how smaller but more targeted audiences can drive better results, and discusses why executive visibility and employee amplification are becoming essential trust signals in B2B environments.Topics covered include: • The shift from social media feeds to search-based discovery • How Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube are evolving into search engines • Why intent-based visibility matters more than hashtags or trends • The difference between vanity metrics and real business impact • How smaller, targeted audiences can outperform large follower counts • The growing role of executive visibility on LinkedIn • How Marketing Ops teams should think about social, search, and AI togetherIf you work in Marketing Ops, RevOps, or digital marketing strategy, this episode offers a practical look at how discovery behavior is changing and what organizations should start preparing for now.Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Many Marketing Ops professionals eventually hit a ceiling. The work is important, the systems are running, but the influence over the broader go-to-market strategy remains limited.In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann speaks with Jackson Fisher about what it takes to move beyond execution and step into a more strategic role inside the business. Jackson recently completed ten years at the American Hospital Association, where he began in Marketing Operations and later moved into Product Development. As an early member of the MarketingOps.com community and part of the Founding 100, Jackson shares how his operations background helped him transition into a role focused on pipeline structure, revenue performance, and product strategy.The conversation explores how operators can translate their skills into business impact by connecting marketing activity to pipeline, pricing, and financial outcomes. Jackson also explains what it looks like to introduce pipeline discipline in organizations that lack a clear revenue structure and how Marketing Ops professionals can learn to communicate in the language of finance and revenue leadership.Topics covered include: • Recognizing when you have hit the Marketing Ops ceiling • Translating Marketing Ops skills into broader business impact • Building pipeline discipline in organizations without clear revenue structures • Connecting marketing activity to pricing, Salesforce data, and revenue outcomes • Creating strategic impact with a lean tech stack • Moving from order-taker to trusted GTM partner • Preparing for leadership roles in Revenue Operations and GTM strategyIf you are a Marketing Ops professional thinking about the next phase of your career, this episode offers practical insight into how operators can expand their influence beyond campaign execution.Be sure to subscribe, like, and share Ops Cast, and join the conversation at MarketingOps.com.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

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!The traditional B2B marketing playbook is becoming irrelevant. At the same time, AI is fundamentally transforming how buyers research, evaluate, and purchase.In this episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann is joined by Naomi Liu and Mike Rizzo for a wide-ranging conversation with Jon Miller. Jon co-founded Marketo, helped define modern Marketing Operations, later co-founded Engagio, and is now the Co-Founder and CEO of a stealth AI startup focused on the future of buying behavior and revenue systems.This conversation challenges long-held assumptions about campaigns, MQLs, attribution, and the systems Marketing Ops teams have relied on for over a decade. Jon explains why rules-based automation is not sufficient now, how AI changes what marketing platforms must do, and what it means to move from campaigns to AI-orchestrated experiences.The panel also explores buying groups, lifecycle orchestration across anonymous and known buyers, and how Marketing Ops can operationalize trust, brand, and customer experience in a world where AI filters much of what buyers see.The topics that we covered include: • Why the traditional B2B playbook is no longer working • How AI shifts marketing from campaigns to orchestration • What it really takes to operationalize buying groups • Why MQLs and last-touch attribution are losing relevance • How Marketing Ops can build infrastructure for modern buying behavior • The evolving role of Marketing Ops in 2026 and beyond • Where AI is genuinely useful today versus oversoldIf you work in Marketing Ops, RevOps, or revenue leadership, this episode will push you to rethink the systems you are building and how artificial intelligence can transform them.Be sure to like, share, and subscribe to 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

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

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

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

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

Send us a textIn this episode of Imperfect Marketing, I sit down with Danielle Hayden, founder of Kickstart Accounting, to talk about healthy business spending—and how investing in the right places can actually improve your profitability (instead of living in “cut back” mode forever). Danielle shares her journey from hairstylist to corporate accounting to building Kickstart Accounting, and breaks down the benchmarks business owners under $500K/year can use to spend smarter and grow sustainably. We discuss:The Truth About “You Have to Spend Money to Make Money”Why entrepreneurs often assume the answer is always “spend less” (and why that's not usually the fix)How money stories from personal life can mess with business decisionsWhat “healthy spending benchmarks” reveal about what's normal—and what's notHealthy Spending Benchmarks That Support GrowthAdvertising + marketing: why you should group everything visibility-related together (including podcasts + marketing tools)Outside services: when hiring experts (bookkeeping, tax, attorney, VA, ops) becomes essentialPayroll + paying yourself: why not paying yourself creates resentment (and can impact relationships at home)Cash Flow + Systems That Keep You in BusinessWhy “bill early, bill often” is a CEO-level moveHow better tools and automations can reduce chaos and stabilize cash flowWhy relying on manual invoicing and checks keeps businesses stuck in survival modeProfit, Growth, and the Reality of SeasonsWhat it means if you're highly profitable but exhausted (and why that's a red flag)Why breaking even can be okay for a season—but not foreverThe long-term goal: building a healthy business with 10–15% profit after expensesBiggest Marketing Lesson Learned“Do it anyway”: how showing up imperfectly builds confidence and momentum over timeWhether you're trying to grow, hire support, or simply stop feeling tense every time you look at your numbers, this episode will help you rethink spending as a strategy—not a punishment. Connect with Danielle Hayden:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danielle-hayden-kickstartaccounting Looking to leverage AI? Want better results? Want to think about what you want to leverage?Check and see how I am using it for FREE on YouTube. From "Holy cow, it can do that?" to "Wait, how does this work again?" – I've got all your AI curiosities covered. It's the perfect after-podcast snack for your tech-hungry brain. Watch here

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.

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

Send us a textIn this episode of Imperfect Marketing, host Kendra Corman sits down with Audrey “Tech Diva” Wiggins—an early tech adopter with deep marketing instincts—to talk about how entrepreneurs can use technology without losing the human touch.  Audrey shares how her love of innovation started long before today's tools, and how business owners can stay focused, credible, and authentic while navigating constant change. We discuss:The Tech + Human Balance in Modern MarketingWhy you should evaluate what you're already using before chasing the “next shiny thing”How to keep the “human factor” front and center through messaging and real customer accessWhy customer service is still a core marketing strategy—inside companies and outHow to Avoid Getting Overwhelmed by TrendsThe “pick 1–2 things and work them hard” approach (then automate as you grow)Why choosing platforms you actually enjoy helps you stay consistent and authenticWhen to delegate to tech vs. when it's time to bring in a VA or support teamA Real Transformation ExampleThe “Frankenstein website” problem: patchwork sites that look old, cluttered, and confusingWhy a modern website isn't just prettier—it's functional, cleaner, and improves the customer journeyThe importance of mobile-friendly design (because your clients live on their phones)Branding Mistakes That Quietly Cost You BusinessWhy using Gmail/Yahoo/AOL for a business email hurts credibility—and what to do insteadHow a clean email signature supports your brand without being “chunky” or overwhelmingThe self-promotion gap: why many entrepreneurs hesitate to post their own content (even when their audience is already engaged)A Hard Marketing Lesson LearnedHow choosing the wrong advertising channel can waste money fastWhy “liking the salesperson” isn't a strategy—knowing your market and ROI isWhen advertising does make sense without ROI: “passion investments” that support causes you care aboutIf you've ever felt torn between keeping up with tech and staying authentic—or you've been tempted by marketing opportunities that don't actually match your audience—this episode will give you a sharper, calmer way forward.Connect with Audrey:Subscribe to her weekly newsletter:  https://www.altogether.bizHer weekly newsletter, packed with actionable marketing insights, tech trends, and resource tools designed to sharpen their skills and fuel business growth. Looking to leverage AI? Want better results? Want to think about what you want to leverage?Check and see how I am using it for FREE on YouTube. From "Holy cow, it can do that?" to "Wait, how does this work again?" – I've got all your AI curiosities covered. It's the perfect after-podcast snack for your tech-hungry brain. Watch here

In this episode of Disruption/Interruption, marketing veteran Ed Locher pulls back the curtain on B2B marketing's biggest lie: that the MQL machine actually drives growth. As CMO of PureFacts Financial Solutions and author of "Digital Transformation: People, Process and Technology," Ed reveals why 15 years of marketing automation created a sugar rush that's now crashing, and how AI can help fix it without repeating the same mistakes. This is a no-holds-barred conversation about emotional connection, the 95% of buyers marketers ignore, and why marketing tenure averages just 18 months. Four Key Takeaways: The MQL Mirage Is Built on a Lie 8:56Marketing automation promised accountability through MQLs, but overdelivering on MQL targets quarter after quarter never translated to actual revenue growth. The entire system targets only the 5% of the market ready to buy right now—ignoring the 95% who need demand creation, not demand capture. B2B Buying Committees Have Tripled in Size 16:30The buying committee for enterprise B2B purchases has exploded from 5 people to 16. You can't build credibility and trust with 16 stakeholders through email sequences—you need emotional connection and personalized storytelling that speaks to each person's specific drivers (CFO cares about ROI, compliance cares about regulations, operations cares about not making headlines). AI Raises the Floor, Not the Ceiling 29:59AI protects terrible marketers from themselves by raising the quality floor, but it hasn't raised the bar for great marketing. The real opportunity lies 3-4 standard deviations above the mean—where human empathy, emotional triggers, and genuine understanding of customer pain create outsized impact that AI can't replicate. Marketing Attribution Is a Myth 44:13There will never be a "cast iron steel rod of attribution" connecting marketing activities directly to purchases. Marketers who work for leadership that doesn't understand this are doomed to 18-month tenures, chasing MQL targets that deliver short-term sugar rushes followed by revenue crashes. The rare CEO or investor who recognizes this broken motion is the problem—not the marketer—creates space for real growth. Quote of the Show (44:13):"There will never be a cast iron steel rod of attribution that says marketing did X, which led to this person buying something. It just doesn't work that way.” — Ed Locher Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Ed Locher: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edlocher/ Company Website: https://purefacts.com How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlDSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

January has a very particular energy. The holidays are behind us. The inbox is slowly filling up again. Calendars are waking up. And there's always this short window, just a few quiet days, where it feels like everything could still go in a different direction. I've been thinking a lot during this pause. Over the last couple of years, AI and large language models have gone from experiments to expectations. What used to feel optional is now part of daily work, whether someone asked for it or not. And the biggest shift I've personally noticed isn't technical. It's psychological. People aren't asking "What can AI do?" anymore. They're asking "What should we actually build?", "What do we trust?", and "What's worth shipping versus waiting?" That question shows up everywhere, especially in product teams. Because as exciting as LLMs are, shipping the wrong AI feature is worse than shipping none at all. And that's exactly why today's conversation matters. This episode is not about hype. It's about judgment, timing, and responsibility in product leadership. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Angshuman Rudra 01:06 The Impact of Large Language Models on Product Management 03:14 Balancing Innovation and User Needs 04:37 Navigating Generative AI in Product Development 06:46 Driving Adoption of New Features 09:34 Challenges and Lessons in Generative AI Products 11:15 Evolving Roles of Product Leaders with AI 12:39 The Future of Multi-Agent Systems 14:36 Translating User Requirements into Product Features 17:31 Finding the Next Big Feature 19:56 Adopting AI in Development Cycles 21:24 Tips for Job Seekers in Tech 23:10 Market Shifts in Marketing Technology 25:01 Exciting Use Cases in Marketing Technology 26:52 Concluding Thoughts and Future Outlook   Episode # 178 Today's Guest: Angshuman Rudra, AI Product Leader, building Martech platforms, AI Agents, and data workflows for 500+ agencies. Angshuman Rudra is a senior product executive at TapClicks, where he leads a portfolio of data, analytics, and AI products for a market-leading martech platform. Website: Angshuman Rudra What Listeners Will Learn: How to evaluate real user demand for AI features (not hype) When AI adds value and when it creates unnecessary complexity How product leaders should think about LLMs as tools, not magic Why many AI features fail after launch How to balance innovation with resource constraints What "AI adoption" actually looks like inside real companies Why multi-agent systems are promising but not ready to be fully autonomous How PMs can use AI for research, specs, and design without losing judgment What skills will matter most for product leaders over the next 3–5 years   Resources: Angshuman Rudra

The websites that win today are not the ones with the most content. They are the ones that deliver a fast, clean experience in the very first second a visitor arrives.Josh Koenig, Co-Founder and SVP of Marketing at Pantheon, joins Stephanie Postles on Marketing Trends to break down what he is seeing across thousands of high-traffic sites and why most teams still miss the basics. He explains how the shift from search to ask is changing online discovery, what AI bots prioritize when they crawl a site, and why the fundamentals of clarity, structure, and speed now matter more than any growth hack.Josh also shares how teams are using Pantheon's new Content Publisher to eliminate copy-and-paste workflows, why vibe coding is giving non-technical teams the ability to build richer digital experiences, and what the rise of AI-powered crawlers means for anyone trying to stand out on the modern web.Key Moments: 00:00 — The Two-Second Rule: Why Website Speed Kills Conversions04:30 — The Hidden Growth Killer Most Marketers Miss08:21 — AI Crawlers Gone Wild: The UFC Fight Night Story12:22 — Five Evergreen Website Tactics for the LLM Era16:13 — The Gated Content Dilemma: Lead Gen vs AI Indexing20:42 — Avoiding Artificial SEO: When Optimization Goes Too Far23:10 — The Generic Content Trap Poisoning AI Search Results26:00 — Content Publisher for Google Docs: Eliminating Copy-Paste31:53 — The CMO-CTO Partnership: Why This Relationship Unlocks Growth36:05 — Brokering Peace Between Marketing and IT Teams40:20 — Vibe Coding for Marketers: The Prototype Revolution44:06 — Next.js Explained: Open Source for Marketing Development48:17 — From Vibe Code to Production: The Last Mile Problem51:03 — Data Analysis Without the Wait: LLMs Democratizing Insights54:20 — The Entrepreneurial Marketer: Why Technical Fluency Is Required 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.

In this episode, Erik Huberman, founder and CEO of Hawke Media, discusses his journey in building a successful marketing agency focused on challenger brands. He shares insights on the marketing landscape for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the importance of choosing the right clients, and how to leverage AI in marketing strategies. Eric also provides his perspective on current market trends and the economic environment, emphasizing the need for businesses to adapt and thrive in a competitive landscape.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Erik Huberman and Hawke Media02:21 The Evolution of Hawke Media and Its Niche07:15 Choosing Clients and Building Relationships11:29 Marketing Strategies and the Role of AI22:11 Current Market Trends and Predictions for E-commerce25:25 Closing Thoughts and Shameless Plug

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

Recorded live at SocialWest 2025, this episode of the Marketing News Canada podcast, hosted by special guest host Laila Hobbs, Co-Founder of Social Launch Labs, features a conversation with Umair Tazeem, Founder of Embold, a Canadian-based influencer marketing platform. Umair shares what it really takes to run influencer marketing that performs, from building an in-house strategy and choosing quality creators to setting KPIs you can actually measure. He also breaks down the shift beyond one-off posts into a smarter mix of UGC, ambassador programs, and amplification that supports your promo calendar year-round.Plus, hear Umair's take on how AI is changing the game, what it can automate today, where humans still need to stay in the loop, and what to make of AI influencers. If you want influencer marketing that feels authentic and drives real results, this one's for you.

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

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

In this episode of Wharton Tech Toks, Kirk Hachigian (Wharton MBA '27) sits down with Justin Hannah, Senior Director of Marketing Technology and Automation at FanDuel Sports Network. Justin shares his career journey from a 40-person ad tech startup to leading MarTech at Hulu and FanDuel, breaking down the complex world of marketing technology.The conversation explores how customer data platforms and CRM systems power modern marketing, the challenges of multi-touch attribution in a privacy-first world, and FanDuel's innovative approaches to measuring campaign ROI. Justin discusses transitioning from streaming entertainment to real-time sports, balancing aggressive personalization with responsible gaming, and where AI is actually delivering value versus hype in MarTech today.

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

In the fast-growing world of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), competition for attention is fierce. Companies are constantly looking for ways to clearly explain their complex products, highlight value propositions, and build trust with users. Video marketing has become one of the most effective tools for SaaS brands to educate, convert, and retain customers. High-quality product demos, explainer...

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 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

Time spent on converting new clients is one of the biggest pain points for any business. We've all experienced it: you research the opportunity, calculate a budget, put together a proposal - only to discover weeks later, it was a waste of time. Wouldn't it be great to know before you even started the conversation...

Remote teams continue to struggle with delays caused by outdated, paper-based signature workflows. Printing, scanning, and mailing add unnecessary friction, especially when teams operate across time zones. When organizations move at a digital pace, slow approvals can derail momentum and create serious operational risk. Teams need a faster, safer way to move documents through the...

In this live SocialNext Toronto 2025 conversation, guest host Maddie Alvarez sits down with Joe Teo, founder and CEO of HeyOrca!, the Canadian-built social media platform helping thousands of agencies and teams simplify their content workflows.From dad jokes to dashboards, Joe shares why the point of social media isn't virality—it's community. He unpacks how HeyOrca's product philosophy puts collaboration first, what social media managers actually need in 2025, and how AI can support (not replace) the humans behind the posts.You'll hear Joe's take on why strong communities require intentional moderation, how brands can create digital “gardens,” and why the best social spaces are both safe and self-sustaining.