Influential CMOs 2019 | Business Magazine

EDITOR’S NOTE An Ever-evolving Digital Aspect i.e. ‘The Marketing’

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he world has evolved more than it was ever expected. Though the quote—“one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” by Neil Armstrong, is inherently subjected to space research accomplishment but can be also related with the ever-evolving digital age especially the marketing sector.

This referred giant leap or digital-based integrated marketing holds digitalized practices such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), content marketing, email marketing and many others. Earlier, various marketing leaders were striving with the marketing traditional practices such as advertisement through television, radio stream, and printed ads. But through digitalization, marketers have easily achieved many milestones en route to success.

Being a crucial aspect in business management, a job role as a marketing leader has to be done without any flaws. An individual should possess attributes like ability to intrigue, sound communication, effective sales approach, resourcefulness, flexibility, adaptability and accountability.

We cannot imagine running an organization without an error-less strategic marketing structure. As marketing helps every business to increase their reach and provide clear approach of their vision, the need of implementing a dedicated marketing team becomes a necessity rather than a want. Marketing plays a crucial role in businesses, it acts as a forefront of an organization deliberately presenting products and solutions to the audience. This team reach out to customers, prospects, investors or community(depending on the products), whilst creating an

Influential

CMOs

“Marketing is all about spreading and sharing ideologies in the form of products.” overarching portrayal representing a positive face of the company. Known as the founder of modern management, Peter Drucker quotes, “because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two—and only two—basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.” Through above statement, he tries to exemplify that a perfect balancing of marketing with innovation could take businesses in creating customers steadily. In addition, to makes sales easier for any business owner marketing plans and strategies are quite important.

In this special issue, entitled “Influential CMOs 2019”, CIO LOOK tries to focus on some impeccable leaders those beautifully depicted the role of a marketing leader and are inspiring many more buds to come. Equipped by unique ideologies and traits, these featured leaders have brought a revolution in the customary of business procedures. Their contribution have set many examples and influence the modern era of brand as well as product marketing. The trade press magazine admire such flagship bearers and takes pride to feature them in this edition.

Let’s unveil such alike, inspiring interviews and stories of many such significant women business leaders in this special edition and spread a word about their contribution in making this world a better place. Also, flip through the CXO standpoints presented by some of the leading industry experts to taste the glimpse of industrial revolutions.

Enjoy the read…

Bhushan Ghate

Contents

24 Mark Rees Thoughts on AI “What shall we do with all this speed?”

Are we pursuing the right objective in operational efciency?

Articles Graphene: A Material Marvel of the Century

Entrepreneur Echo System Sustaining Entrepreneurial Sprit in the Modern Era

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Bio Tech

Aisling MacRunnels Redeď€ ning the Role of a CMO

10 Carolmarie C. Brown An Accomplished Leader at Global Marketing

14 Gary Lyng Trailblazing Market-Disrupting Enterprise Solutions

22 Sammie Walker An Energetic Leader in Marketing

28 Scott Gainey A Leader of Opportunities

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K. Roy Editor-in-Chief

CONTENT

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July, 2019

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Aisling MacRunnels Chief Marketing Officer Synack

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Aisling MacRunnels

Synack

Redefining the Role of a CMO

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arketing, being the integral part of business, demands skilled leaders with certain attributes, who are good at their work. The criteria also involve inspiring people and smartly getting work done from the them in order to achieve the desired goals of an organization. An avid leader, Aisling MacRunnels, the Chief Marketing Officer of Synack, understands these criteria very well and effectively applies it into her practice.

smartest and most passionate people she could find.

Even when they intimidated her, she pushed herself to hire them. Some of the motivation to hire smart people came from her desire to build a career and to be a mother. Although at times hiring smart people is threatening, but she also knew it was the only way she could scale and be sure that her team was always there for her as she went through maternity leave, etc. She always believes that one should respect the people they hire and should never be afraid to offer an opinion. They should just learn how to do it in an appropriate way.

For Aisling, it was never about a journey to become a leader, but instead a journey to be really good at whatever she was doing at the time and to learn everything she could. To learn, she threw herself into uncomfortable situations. In her early years, she never said no to an opportunity to try something challenging. She optimized for learning and made sure she got exposure to the smartest people around.

Aisling learned long time ago that the best products don’t always win. One must build a great product, but by taking customer’s needs into consideration. Some of those needs are product specific, and others are about the program, the transition, the pacing, etc. It is the role of a CMO to be able to pick or prioritize.

She mentions, “We as a CMO need to pick the target customer (you can sell to lots of people but you need to know what your target really is) and then fully understand your customer - their goals and needs as well as their challenges. Once we have developed our products and company policies around that user, we can add users (always make sure you don’t marginalize one

Aisling firmly believes that we have one mouth and two ears and should use them accordingly. Hence, she keeps asking lot of questions and listens intently.

Aisling always kept herself surrounded with smart and passionate people. She always hired the

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customer while trying to appeal to the other). Stick to your convictions to the decisions made.

This usually takes resilience and patience.”

Find passion and belief in your job.

Approach it with conviction and enthusiasm. Respect your customers, your peers, your subordinates and yourself Aisling never feels short of opportunities, instead she believes that there is always a need for a great CMO. Thus, she tends to focus on the present, believing in what she is doing is well. In the near future, she is working on a goal to create a new category in cybersecurity where Synack can find the perfect balance augmenting humans with artificial intelligence so that security can keep up with the digital transformation. Since the inception of Synack, she is working on this goal, a goal that the company is making a reality.

A role of a CMO is dynamic. According to Aisling, a CMO is a business executive that happens to execute through marketing and hence, should be a valuable part of the team. Like any of their peers at the executive table, CMOs need to fully know the business they are in and should work to achieve the respect of their peers. They also should have well-thought-out opinions backed up with data and should be able to execute those opinions with conviction.

When asked about the crucial traits every CMO must possess, she emphasizes on three attributes.

One is inner confidence, in which she advises to be self-motivated and committed. Second is maintaining balance between strategic and tactical, in which one must be able to have a strategic outlook yet execute tactically. It can be hard to link every activity and initiative to a greater goal, but a CMO must be able to do that. Thirdly, she believes that CMOs are the heartbeat of a company. They should be able to work well with their other departments too such as Engineering, Product, Sales and Operations.

Aisling has built her career in the heart of Silicon Valley from a geographic and trend perspective. She believes that it is CMO who helps create the trends.

CMOs refuse to become victim to their customers but understand them and leverage them as they need and want them. She describes this by saying, “If I am in a market building stage, I’ll harness the tools and trends needed for that stage and not get derailed by sexy, but unimportant or irrelevant trends.”

Having built her career in Silicon Valley, and focusing on startups or new technology and markets, Aisling is usually driving the disruption, and believes that the techniques to do this are simple. It goes back to knowing consumer’s needs, knowing their challenges and goals, being able to develop and champion a strategy and then being patient and confident in execution. It also involves refusing to be derailed and setting the agenda instead of being put in a position to just react to someone else’s agenda.

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Carolmarie C. Brown Director Global Marketing, Brand & Business Communications

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Ashland

Carolmarie C. Brown

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eadership can occur at any age and within any level of an organization. Scientific Marketing Leaders are needed to drive the integration of applied chemistry into the broader world in a way that places science in a more influential position to help change the world for the better.

From a diverse career in sales, marketing, communications, advertising, crisis & issues management, public relations, new business- and productdevelopment, brand strategy, management and licensing, broadcasting and copywriting, Carolmarie C. Brown is the Director Global Marketing, Brand and Business Communications at Ashland.

In 2015, Carolmarie successfully convinced Executive Leadership that Ashland needed a brand transformation and that doing so could significantly improve Ashland’s competitiveness and increase the value of the company’s offer and enterprise. In 2016, she led the evolution of the Ashland corporate brand strategy, new positioning and creative identity, post the IPO of Valvoline.

An Accomplished Leader at Global Marketing Following its launch, the portfolio of work won a REBRAND® 100 Award of Distinction in 2018, and an Ashland Chairman’s Award in 2017. Some of the brand creative has been featured on the covers of industry trade magazines combined with feature stories within the publication.

Below is her story, “Inspire, empower, and trust”, says Carolmarie. The marketing leader completed her education from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. During her career, she has held many roles and experiences which afforded her opportunities to lead. These include executive producer, account executive, copy supervisor, extensive brand and communications management, consumer packaging manager and market development sales manager at DuPont, and marketing manager at INVISTA.

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Today, she leads a highly-talented global, marketing and communications team that supports Ashland’s commercial enterprise that includes pharmaceuticals, personal care, health & wellness, paints and coatings, packaging and structural adhesives, composites, industrial chemicals, advanced materials, and more. She often refers to her team as “rock stars” because they are always solving™ and they outperform their previous “record,” creating new ways to satisfy a variety of stakeholders including internal and external customers and critics. They support the company’s diverse businesses and functions and focus on building brand equity as the organization solves customers’ most complex challenges through revenue-generating opportunities.

They partner together and collaborate on exciting marketing programs. They are a highperformance team and a “source of inspiration” for her.

Interpersonal relationships, a | JULY 2019 |

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Love what you do. Operate from your soul. Challenge the status quo. Magic is possible when you listen to your inner voice and have the courage to follow your heart.

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positive culture, and strong business competencies are important, says Carolmarie. In addition to business skills, the role of a CMO includes managing the internal as well as the external brand. It includes fostering an environment of collaboration and true teaming because great results come from individuals and teams who feel empowered to share innovative ideas. Planning, organizing, and systematizing maximizes efficiencies, so systems and processes are necessary. Clarity of communications supports this effort. Decision making based on the best information at the time is crucial to keep moving forward. She says, “Uplift your team. Be their “cheerleader” and hold yourself accountable and to the same expectation of your organization”. The ability to be decisive in managing conflict quickly also allows an individual to remain focused on the priorities that will be most impactful.

programs. Personalization and customization add another level to marketing and anything digital magnifies the experience. Increasing the digital skills of her team and constantly benchmarking and watching analytics help further develop our digital strategy.

Successful strategies come from a place of strength and not from following competitors. She is a firm believer in market research especially when conducted "blind." The most successful companies, marketers and branders clarify and amplify their own "compelling truth" and they remain steadfast in their positioning and identity developed directly from their own research says Carolmarie. At Ashland, it is particularly important that we focus on where we add genuine value and deliver on the promises we make in a thoughtful and consistent manner. Ashland is comprised of passionate, tenacious solvers and our brand associations are not accidental, rather they are the result of a disciplined and strategic program.

Our plans are based on the true nature of what we do unlike any other company and in demonstrating how we advance the competitiveness of our customers, across the diverse industries in which we compete. The company’s plans are steeped in strategic work based on research, and it uses proven processes, and traditional and new methods of marketing. It constantly monitors data and analytics.

According to Carolmarie, as a creative visionary with a passion for excellence and a drive to deliver great things, I’ll seek challenges where I can continue to make an impact, take risks, be approachable and demonstrate an open-door policy. I really care. Maintaining an unwavering commitment to champion your plan especially when it is hard or you face challenges which are certain to come, define strong leaders.

Technology is all the buzz today, and the landscape is rapidly evolving. Technology, however, should make things easier and not more stressful. There are levels of complexity to consider. Is the reason for the technology part of your strategy or just because it is "on trend" or expected? Strategy and a clear understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish should come first. Carolmarie stays on top of trends through networking and word of mouth. Animations, drones, AR and other technological advances are being used or considered as part of marketing

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A Material Marvel of the Century

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he simplest observations are sometimes the greatest discoveries. Watching an apple falling from its branch, Isaac Newton discovered the famous law of universal gravitation. Almost three centuries later, science could take another leap forward with... a roll of tape. There is a new wonder material in town that might change our future.

Imagine a coffee cup that streams the day’s headlines in real time. Or a cooking pot that can detect the presence of E. coli bacteria that could make you sick. Or a television screen that is as flexible and thin as a piece of paper. All of these applications could be a reality if the wonder material, named Graphene, lives up to its hype.

A Complicated Narrative The story begins in 2004 in the laboratories of the University of Manchester. Fascination with this material stems from its remarkable physical properties and the potential applications they offer. Although scientists knew one atom thick, twodimensional crystal graphene existed, no-one had worked out how to extract it from graphite.

That was until it was isolated in 2004 by two researchers at The University of Manchester: Prof. Andre Geim and Prof. Kostya Novoselov. This is the

story of how that stunning scientific feat achieved while peeling layers of graphite using adhesive tapes, and why Andre-Kostya duo won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work. This is the beginning of a scientific and engineering renaissance.

Unboxing Graphene Graphene is a material that can be perceived as a form of graphite, and therefore a carbon allotrope that is distinguished by its crystalline organization. In simple terms graphene is a sheet of a single layer (monolayer) of carbon atoms, tightly bound in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice. It is the building-block of Graphite but graphene is a remarkable substance on its own with a multitude of astonishing properties proving the title of ‘wonder material’.

Graphene is the thinnest compound known to man having size equal to one atom thick, the lightest material known, the strongest compound discovered surpassing diamond, the best conductor of heat at room temperature and also the best conductor of electricity known to exist.

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The Material of the Future Graphene is a disruptive phenomenon; one which could open up new markets and even replace existing technologies or materials. It is when graphene is used both to improve an existing material and in a transformational capacity its true potential can be realised. The vast number of products, processes and industries for which graphene could create a significant impact, all stems from its amazing properties. Ÿ Biomedical Graphene’s unique properties allow for ground-breaking biomedical applications; Targeted drug delivery, improved brain penetration, DIY health-testing kits and ‘smart’ implants can be mentioned out of many possibilities. Ÿ Composite Materials One of the simplest and most effective ways of harnessing the potential of graphene is to combine it with existing products - so called composite materials. By combining with paints, a unique graphene coating can be formed which could signal the end of the deterioration of ships and cars through rust.

Additionally, it can do wonders in the field of weather-proofing, packaging, sports equipment and creating lightest, strongest, safest structures. Ÿ Electronics Graphene has the potential to create | JULY 2019 |

Bio Tech the next-generation of electronics exploring spheres of Sci-Fi technology, faster transistors, semiconductors, bendable phones, wearable gadgets and other electronics. Ÿ Energy With its influential properties and capabilities, graphene is surely an innovation with distinct future prospects.

Bearing this in mind, one might be surprised to know that carbon is the second most abundant mass within the human body and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass, after hydrogen, helium and oxygen. This makes carbon the chemical basis for all known life on earth, so therefore graphene could well be an ecologically friendly, sustainable solution for astronomical energy demands. Imagine fully charging a smartphone in seconds or an electric car in minutes. That’s the power of graphene batteries and super-capacitors. Ÿ Filtration Membranes Imagine clean drinking water for millions in developing countries. A global toll of 3.4 million deaths each year is a serious concern which underlines the gravity of clean water requirement. The development of graphene-based membranes has brought that possibility closer like never before. Ÿ Sensors Ultra-sensitive sensors made from graphene could detect minute dangerous particles helping to protect potentially dangerous environments. Its inherently micro-sized structure allows for the creation of hair thin like sensors which can be incorporated to detect biological agents like drugs in our body, stresses and strain levels, atmospheric changes caused by decaying food, and many more.

miracle material cost a whopping amount of 600 billion euros.

However, studies in 2012 found that by analysing its interfacial adhesive energy, it is possible to effectually separate graphene from the metallic board on which it is grown. As the techniques continue to evolve in nearby future, on the account of its high productivity, a sharp decline in price is expected to be achieved.

The range of industries where graphene research is making an impact is substantial. And this is only the beginning. These are only the baby steps. Although, it’s important to consider the span within which it is likely to exist in customary life, one simply cannot overlook the inconceivable and endless potential of this supernatural material. With continuously growing necessities and depleting resources of the contemporary world, graphene will certainly turn out to be a panacea of all remedies.

Future It must be a wondering question that despite of graphene’s prodigious abilities why it has not hit the ground reality. The problem that prevented it from initially being unavailable for commercial uses was that the creation of high quality graphene was a very expensive and complex process. “Its industrial production is not yet based on reliable methods to obtain large quantities,” claims Alberto Bianco, a researcher at the CNRS and the University of Strasbourg. It was estimated in 2008 that the production of a square meter of this

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Gary Lyng Trailblazing Market-Disrupting Enterprise Solutions

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omprehending capricious fluctua on in the markets and implemen ng necessary changes in business endeavors, defines an impeccable market leader. One such proven change-agent and evangelist is Gary Lyng, Chief Marke ng Officer at VIOLIN SYSTEMS. His charisma c leadership in defining the compelling vision, strategy with the execu on of 360-degree go-tomarket, and accelera ng revenue has propelled him to achieve many milestones en route to his current stature.

CIO Look admires such prominent leaders and takes pride in featuring them in its latest issue, en tled “Influen al CMOs 2019".

Below are some of the highlights of an interview conducted between CIO Look and Gary: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a leader.

Star ng life off as a programmer and eventually leading many different products to consumers, B2B and the enterprise in roles of product management and overall marke ng has taught me to always be conscious of the “whole product,” which includes go-to-market. I am curious, adaptable and, most of all, passionate about making a difference for the customer.

Bea ng the compe on and trailblazing has always fueled me but I have never, ever looked down on anyone. I'm not afraid to make difficult, mely decisions and remain

accountable for the outcome. I toot the horn of my team and let their successes toot my success. I feel that being humble but confident is the best way to have my passion shine through.

My favorite quote that I try to live is from President John Quincy Adams “If your ac ons inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

How do you diversify your organiza on's offerings to appeal to the target audience?

In technology marke ng, many gravitate to the latest buzzword or technical claims and o en are unable to connect the dots to a real-world business, their applica ons and their customers and, of course, their challenges.

As an example, when marke ng and selling a product into the data center of a hospital, remember that the hospital is also a business and has customers (pa ents) as well as budgets. I try to ar culate value that not only impacts the data center but the overall business and their customers as well. In this case, the bigger picture becomes “How does it impact a pa ent at the hospital?” It isn't just about speeds and feeds but making a difference.

What are the crucial traits which every CMO must possess?

A en on to Detail: It is clear that managing mul ple elements, func ons and ini a ves requires a certain level of juggling. However, as a leader, you

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must understand how all these points intertwine while keeping the focus on the big picture to deploy the appropriate strategies needed to achieve success.

Technical Ap tude: With MarTech innova on rapidly growing, it is impera ve that a leader understand the capabili es of evolving technology to scale, automate with both insight and adjustments. All too o en, in my opinion, marke ng leaders coming through branding or public rela ons can some mes be challenging with all the other cri cal elements of go-tomarket and working closely with product groups and development organiza ons.

Passion: A CMO should have a passion for making a difference; a passion for inspiring others. It's impera ve that when building a marke ng team, that you share your vision, thoughts and proposed projects with each and every member so that they become passionate about what they are doing for the company as well.

As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges are faced by CMOs in a corporate business? And what is your advice to overcome them? Ÿ Always remember that everyone believes they know what marke ng is and has an opinion on the subject, whether you like it or not, though very few fully understand the depth and breadth of marke ng. You have to listen to these opinions but be firm in

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VIOLIN SYSTEMS

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You can’t inspire others to be passionate about your organization and its solutions if you don't lead by example and fully communicate your passion for these project yourself.

“ How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the cu ng-edge compe on in the marke ng?

Become the compe tors' target audience. Ensure you are well ed into their social pla orms, webinars, blogs, analyst engagement and media. These will provide a sampling of their strategy. Regular engagement with sales teams, but more so be an on-going, open channel for feedback and adjustment with the teams in the field.

Always look for new technologies or resources that efficiently handle communica ons, social media and compe ve informa on gathering to be er help create content that effec vely spread our marke ng messages.

—Gary Lyng Chief Marketing Ofcer

championing the ac vi es that will achieve the best impact on all aspects of the company—from the market to the customer and the employees as well. Ÿ Transparency is paramount and overcommunica on is be er than saying too li le but be sure that the informa on you convey is both relevant and useful.

Keep the management team involved and commit to sharing their vision internally and par cipa ng externally when needed. Ÿ Educate the CFO on spend and ROI and trust that he or she understands their importance. Ÿ Be joined at the hip with head of sales and sales leadership.

What will be your future endeavors and/or where do you see yourself in the near future?

My passion is inspiring others while disrup ng the status quo. There is always a be er way. And if you can connect your value back to real-world impact, it touches the emo onal side of your target customer, partner and overall ecosystem. Being aware of the balance of EQ versus IQ has served me well to balance between marke ng the product versus the truly memorable element of “Why” as Simon Sinek has done so well communica ng to many of us.

How do you upgrade yourself with the vola le technological trends to boost your personal growth?

Through being open to new ways to achieve results, trying new technologies and helping vendors to gain insight or automa on. Never walk away form a try-buy, but don't let it suck your me. This is your primary Achilles heel, protect it.

This being said, where do I see myself? Well, perhaps truly in a role touching many lives and making a difference. We will see.

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Mark Rees

Thoughts on AI “What shall we do with all this speed?”

Are we pursuing the right objective in operational efficiency?

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t a DevOps conference in Helsinki, a very learned university Professor gave a great retrospective about how DevOps has transformed the IT-space into a high velocity, continuously improving environment for development, deployment and operations of digital products and services. He presented a whole bunch of empirical data, industry insights and backed it up with solid academic knowledge. It was by far the best keynote at the conference. But what made it stand out above all, was his closing remarks and question to the auditorium, with which he casted a searching question on the concept of automated, AI based systems and how we perceive them. It is perhaps the single question that challenges us the most on this subject. “What shall we do with all this speed?”

Which brings me back to my Professor in Helsinki, I believe he was implicitly asking the audience to selfreflect on the question of do we know when enough is enough? I don´t believe we are even conscious of this question, let alone able to answer it. We just don´t we even think about it?

Fortunately there are people who do think about the question. Professor Kevin Warwick stated in his book “In the Mind of the Machine” (published in 1998) “within the next 10 to 50 years artificial intelligence systems will have been developed, that will not only be more intelligent than humans but also exhibit a significant number of advantages; they will be faster, more reliable, quicker to learn and more robust.” Within 10 years of that prediction stock market High Frequency Trading (HFT) was so fast that humans were no longer capable of monitoring the processes. We now know the consequences of uncontrolled speed in HFT in financial markets. Our pursuit of speed seems not to have considered social and ecological aspects. All that speed benefitted a few and all but destroyed much for the many.

Exactly! Should we be pursuing speed and if so for what reason? To have “speed” in your operations is to have an extra competitive advantage which is a means not an end. And means need utility, otherwise they are pointless. When we take the perspective from the late 1990´s it is truly amazing that products and services are now so well supported by IT-processes. Daily – even hourly –deployments, continuous integration etc. are now the norm and in retrospect this is an awesome achievement. Who doesn´t remember yearly releases, endless QA cycles, never ending rescoping of massive project plans, two thirds of investment locked into processes with low to zero market value? We are all glad to have left all that behind and yet we still fanatically push – myself included – for more process efficiency, faster time to market, more automation etc.

Now we are expecting AI to enhance automation even further than we ever dreamed of 20 years ago. All this velocity is awesome!

The Professor in Helsinki too, was questioning the motives for our continuous drive for velocity and by doing so he was subtely planting the thought in the minds of those who should be reflecting upon the question. Is speed the ultimate objective of DevOps and the like? If we can´t answer the question “what shall we do with all this speed?” – And I did not hear any answers from the auditorium – then velocity can´t really be the main goal. I believe “all this speed" is but a secondary benefit of what Lean Manufacturing states as “waste reduction”. If we instead switch our main focus of automation to the term “efficiency”, then the Professor

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could have phrased the question as “what shall we do with all this efficiency?” then I am sure that answers would have been abundant.

About the Author

Efficiency has many factors, of which speed is just one and, in my opinion, secondary to waste reduction factors. When humans define objectives for the good of the many, then social and ecological factors – usually – inform those decisions, thus making them future oriented and sustainable. Reduction of waste, in a manufacturing context pays dividends in terms of reduction of time as a social factor and reduction of material as an ecological factor. The resulting strategies are in general preventative i.e. error avoidance and protection against anomalies. Combining the ecological and social factors into the decision-making process requires our unique form of emotional intelligence which is a significant driver of our behavior. Can this be said of AI neural networks running automated systems at speeds beyond our comprehension? Maybe someday, but I am a doubter and critic until fully convinced of the opposite.

In his last position, Mark Rees was Managing Director of E-POST Development GmbH in Berlin, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post. There, he led an international team comprised of several hundred employees in agile DevOps development teams, and was responsible for employee direction, as well as the entire budget in the areas of IT security, DevOps, quality assurance,

Lean Manufacturing focuses on waste reduction. Benefits such as just in time supply chains, automation of repetitive tasks etc., all fall into the social ecological framework suggested above whereby is velocity a secondary benefit, not the central objective. We currently hype machine learning and assume it to be “intelligence”. But what if these systems also learn to be stupid and irresponsible, such as the HFT systems that triggered massive sell offs that tanked stock markets. Is that intelligent in a social and ecological context? If humans were to behave this way on such a scale, we would all cry out stupidity and ignorance as suitable words to describe such behavior. We must adopt a critical approach as to where, when and how to utilize AI. I maintain it should not be just pure speed that we pursue, but waste reduction which applies a qualitative meaning to the extra velocity we might generate.

operations and user experience. In his work as COO at Secucloud, Rees applies his expertise in agile leadership and his many years of experience in interdisciplinary IT organizations in the Media and IT security industries.

If you identify an automation-case for waste reduction, i.e. error prevention, protection against outside influences, then proceed proceed cautiously with AI. If velocity is the only apparent benefit, then before you implement, honestly ask yourself the question – and answer it – what are you going to do with all this speed?

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owadays, organizations are evolving with proper planning and marketing strategies. To formulate these procedures the role of the marketing officer comes into the picture. To promote the company globally, the job of marketing officer becomes crucial. The marketing officer represents the organization with activities like campaigns, advertisements, conferences, technology trends, communication with customers and others. It proves as a motivation for a marketing officer to work with these responsibilities, as they are involved with people’s demands and needs.

One such inspiration, Sammie Walker, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer at Infoblox oversees the company’s global marketing organization. She joined Infoblox in April 2016, bringing 20 years of industry marketing experience in defining, launching and growing companies in the Networking, Analytics, Security, Digital Advertising, Telecom, and Collaboration markets. Previously, Sammie held senior management roles at Aerospike, Actian, Vidyo, Zenprise, and Transera Communications.

CIO LOOK admires such leaders and takes pride in featuring Sammie in its special issue.

Sammie Walker Executive Vice President, & Chief Marketing Officer

Below is her story, Sammie’s first managerial role was at a start-up where she had to wear many hats and cover a wide variety of responsibilities. In the beginning, she was the only person in Marketing and was tasked with building the Marketing team. She had to think beyond her role and responsibilities and instead be more strategic about what the organization needed in a Marketing team and then go and bring on those people who could execute upon the vision. Shortly, after building the Marketing team, the start-up was acquired by a publicly held company which gave her the opportunity to expand her role even further. She was promoted and took on additional responsibilities of overseeing a large global team. It was during a meeting with the CEO of another company that she later joined, where they were discussing her career aspirations and decided her goal to become a VP of Marketing. She earned an MBA from the School of Economics & Business

Infoblox

Sammie Walker An Energetic Leader in Marketing 28

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Infoblox

” At the heart of everything Marketing does is the customer.

Whether it’s the products we deliver or the content we provide – everything must be from the customer perspective.

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Administration from St. Mary’s College and began the journey to accomplishing her goal. From there, she had a mentor who believed in her and gave her opportunities to try new roles and expand her learnings and responsibilities in order to grow her career.

In the new hyper-connected world, opportunities are coming faster than before with smart apps, IoT, machine learning, blockchain, and more. To keep up with these changes, creativity, innovation, vision, collaboration, effective communication among stakeholders/customers, and the ability to break down barriers to gain cross-functional alignment is essential. According to her, as a leader, it’s crucial to have a team rallied behind you so that everyone is aligned and feels they have a purpose and are inspired to reach a mutual goal. “It’s really important to focus on the WHY”, says Sammie. Too often we get lost in the company message, or the product features that we forget what is most important; “Why is your product/service important to the customer?” The ‘why’ is critical when it comes to reaching your target audience.

One of the CMO's primary challenges is getting strong alignment between sales and marketing. It is essential to have aligned goals and execute against a common strategy. A lot of Marketing’s work is in the background, which means every marketer needs to be a data jockey for their business. Sammie is regularly learning, whether it’s from her peers, attending conferences, or reading the latest market trends.

And staying abreast of how to communicate with customers and

target audience as well as across different generations is critical You need to understand the demographics of the customer and how they want to engage. It’s all about how customers want to receive information. “If anything, technology trends have created an opportunity for marketers to have more channels to better communicate with customers and reach target audiences,” says Sammie.

When it comes to strategizing game plans, she considers the sales, product, and engineering teams to be her key partners in developing a strategic game plan. The sales team engages directly with customers and can provide valuable feedback on how the company’s offerings are meeting customer needs. The product and the engineering teams are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to understanding the competitive landscape and the organization’s unique product differentiators and capabilities.

Additionally, getting third-party feedback from customers themselves and industry analysts helps to validate the message is resonating with them. Sammie’s mission is successfully executing on Infoblox’s vision and strategy.

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About Infoblox As technology is rapidly evolving with the introduction of Cloud, IoT, machine learning and more – organizations are faced with a hyperconnected world that requires next level networking and cybersecurity. Infoblox solutions allow organizations to strengthen and optimize their security posture from the foundation up with highly accurate threat intelligence and advanced analytics based on machine learning. Network Security Solutions from Infoblox, secures every connection to the Internet, regardless of network, device or location, while improving the effectiveness of the company’s entire security ecosystem. Infoblox empowers organizations to securely manage their on-prem, cloud and hybrid networks through a single pane of glass. The networking company delivers the next level of DDI to 8,000 customers around the world, including 350 of the Fortune 500. It operates in more than 25 countries and counts as its customers some of the world’s largest businesses, including more than 74% of the Forbes 1000..

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Sustaining Entrepreneurial Spirit in the

Modern Era

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usinesses operate, survive and progress in a highly dynamic economy, where change is the rule, not the exception. The change may be slow, sudden or almost extensive. One of the important forces of change is the change in technology. Most of these changes are used to enhance human capabilities to accomplish meaningful work. These changes are sometimes thriving on the entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur works to visualize these future changes rather than waiting for it and create a more desirable environment in the organization.

Technology is helping us solve problems where human power alone is not enough. Different types of businesses require different technologies, but again, it is impossible to solve all integration needs with a single technology. This article will help you understand, that technology is only the part of the original solution and how in different sectors the entrepreneur’s surrounding really matters.

Accounting Technology allows us to complete tasks faster. It replaces the tiresome tasks of manually storing, compiling, sorting, etc. and the ability to use data with a simple digital solution.

For example, Sales ledger in the early days was timeconsuming, expensive and all paper-based process.

Technology helped increase productivity with the development of spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel. Employees today are far better at finding what they need when they need it. Though only this will not achieve the outcome. Here, let’s take a clear look at how the entrepreneur’s spirit is really helping to achieve the desired goal. Ÿ

Technological breakthroughs do occur and it takes courage for an entrepreneur to accept the change and its implication. Technology breakthroughs like computers, color television sets, electronic sets, fuel-efficient vehicles, etc. have encouraged entrepreneurs to manufacture these products. Thus changes in technology from time to time pose several alternatives before the entrepreneur. This is an ongoing process in which the entrepreneur sets goals and strategies to meet changes in technology. But for strategies like marketing, human resource, supply chain, financial and legal strategies, etc. connection with people is important. Entrepreneurs define the formal relationships among people and specify both their roles and responsibilities. Because the end product is an integrated system of people & technology and to administer these systems, entrepreneur is required.

Technology is good for bringing the change not forcing it. It cannot make employees more efficient. Yes, the right technology can help to make the work easier, but if an employee is truly falling behind or is just inefficient, all the technology in the world will not solve this situation. The truth is such employees can be sometimes inefficient due

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Entrepreneur Echo System to either inexperience or laziness. An entrepreneur can identify this problem by improving communication in such departments. This explains why human interference is important to address this situation, where technology is just a bandage, fix the problem for a short time. Adding new and faster technology will not fix the problem. While a better solution is sitting the departments down together and talking about the problem with the entrepreneur will be a real solution.

their creativity to ensure every customer experience is memorable. Entrepreneur's human interaction adds the value to the company and maintains loyal customers.

Communication In virtual workplaces, employees can interact and develop ideas by connecting through the use of video conferencing.

This may include training and important meetings from far places to the employees. Technology can also be used as real-time feedback from the employees which allows the entrepreneur to improve the needs of the employees.

Entrepreneur’s good communication is necessary to allow efficient flow both internally (among employees) and externally (using technology). Ÿ

Retail Technology allows retailers to be available day and night interacting with customers how, when and where they are ready to shop. Retailers depend on technology to manage inventory, track customer-purchasing habits, predict trends and deliver goods and services. Wireless communication, QR codes and Augmented Reality are some of the changes in technology to the retail industry.

Ultimately, the entrepreneurship element remains central even if it is embedded within AI, advanced analytics, etc.

Because a customer’s shopping experience is more i m p o r t a n t t h a n p r i c e a n d p r o d u c t q u a l i t y.

Entrepreneur encourages employees to use Ÿ

Automation The robots are coming and can actually help us, to be more productive, freeing us from most of the time-consuming and repetitive tasks. One of the most important areas of application of automation is computer-aided manufacturing. Today CAD/CAM technology has been applied in many industries including machine components, electronics products, and equipment design. Even banking Ÿ

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and financial institutions have embraced automation technology in financial transactions. But just because technology is advancing it does not mean it will replace human. Technology can do an adequate job, but we still need humans. It is certain that people to people communication remains fundamental where the entrepreneur’s contact in the various stages is required.

to trust these technologies and build a strong trust among internal management of the company.

Overall Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain technology, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, 3D printing, etc. today are helping entrepreneurs to use this technology in every field to grow their businesses. But technology alone cannot create a company culture, where human interactions are valued. Because it is people who are assigned to work on this technology and to encourage them the entrepreneurs keeps their spirit alive. By creating an interested working environment, interactive dialogues among employees, support and motivation to the employees, reward system, etc. reflects the culture of the company. It is an entrepreneur who understands what the needs of the company are, by creating a connection with all the stages of management that brings the desired output. Hence, entrepreneurial spirit and technology should go hand in hand. Therefore we need evolving technology as well as intelligent humans. We need guided missiles as well as guided men to create the better world.

Security Technology becomes even more critical when operating the business online. It is important to protect the businesses from cybercriminals who could steal data or lead to website downtime. Encryption and decryption protect information from being accessed by a third party or cybercriminals. It takes only about a minute without slowing down any file or document. Ÿ

Storage Technology has led to the development of cloud computing to store business information and has been accepted by many in the world of business. Cloud Computing is cost effective and convenient to the company management and employees can access data from anywhere by just using a device that can access the internet. It helps entrepreneurs Ÿ

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Scott Gainey CMO Cherwell

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Cherwell

Scott Gainey A Leader of Opportunities

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urrently holding the position of Chief Marketing Officer at Cherwell, Scott Gainey earned his first leadership opportunity while working at NetApp in a combination product management/solutions marketing role. At the time, Scott was working within a small incubation team tasked with navigating NetApp’s entrance into a new market adjacency around data protection. Like many new leaders, he entered the role with little formal leadership training. That came a few years later at Cisco, which backed Scott’s desire to attend the executive education

program at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

It was at Cisco, where he was given his first significant opportunity to lead a marketing organization, responsible for Cisco’s new cloud computing and data center networking portfolio.

Scott took on that role prerevenue and remained with the team until they achieved a billiondollar revenue run rate, that fastest growing portfolio in Cisco’s history. Later he moved over to take on Cisco’s multibillion-dollar security business and played a vital role in the $2.7 billion acquisition of SourceFire.

“

Hire smart, give your team space to innovate, be bold.

“

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After the integration, Scott decided to take on a new leadership challenge at Palo Alto Networks where they were evolving the marketing organization to support explosive 55-60 percent year over year growth demands. His first CMO role came at SentinelOne then continued on to Cherwell Software.

Expanding Focus Scott asserts that Cherwell has developed a unique service management architecture that allows the company to deliver broad service experiences for both employees and customers of mid to large enterprises. Since its early history, however, Cherwell primarily focused its go to market efforts strictly on IT operations, delivering IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions. Under marketing’s leadership, it has since expanded that position and extended Cherwell’s focus to include the much larger enterprise service management market, a market estimated to be four times the size of ITSM. These efforts resulted in a strong acknowledgment from Forrester who named Cherwell, a leader in its 2018 Wave for Enterprise Service Management. | JULY 2019 |

What Defines a CMO? According to Scott, the role of CMO has expanded dramatically over the last 6-7 years. Today more than ever, CMOs must deliver on a comprehensive, investor-visible, strategy that defines and builds the company’s brand, creates efficient and qualified demand, and drives high productivity across the field. He states, “To succeed a CMO must have command of its target market, key buyers, and influencers. She/he must have command of what makes the company genuinely unique.” These capabilities must inform every decision CMOs make. Today’s CMO must have a thirst for intelligence. She/he must have the means to organize data across different team and system sources into meaningful information so she/he can use unobstructed retrospective views to drive sound, forward-looking decisions.

As a CMO if you’re also responsible for the Business Development Representative organization, sales are also looking to you for highly qualified discovery meetings, which further increase the expectations.

Having a command of the business goals and aligned expectation of marketing’s contribution to those goals goes a long way in overcoming that challenge.

Knowing the Competition Scott asserts that he wouldn’t characterize the competition as cutting-edge. According to him, they are larger than Cherwell by orders of magnitude; they are well entrenched in the market; and have a marketing budget that he could only dream of having right now. Despite this, Cherwell secured a strong #2 position in the market by staying true to its strengths. It holds its values closely – heart, hunger, humility, and honesty. It keeps these values central to its game plan and believes actively these values are changing the rules of the game for its competitor and will allow the company to continue to break market share away despite their size.

Moreover, CMOs must be inherently curious about technology, but also have the capability to look at choices through an architectural level lens. Like CIOs at a company level, they must think more holistically about building a marketing technology platform and how that platform must come together to deliver connected experiences for the broader marketing team and ultimately, their customers. The technology available to CMOs today is incredibly vast. Hence, a CMO must be able to navigate through sound decisions so as not to compromise the continuity of their technology platform.

Future Endeavors Scott asserts that there is a massive opportunity for continued growth within Cherwell. Last year the company took on a $172 million investment from KKR who have proven to be an incredibly valuable partner. Recently it launched partnerships with AWS and HCL. Cherwell has more exciting go to market partnerships that it will be announcing soon. Future endeavors for the overall marketing team and Scott is to continue to be a significant part of the company’s ongoing success, including contributing in excess of 50 percent of the overall pipeline. Scott has confidently agreed to loft stretch goals with the board knowing he has one of the best marketing organizations behind him.

Alignment of Expectations Scott believes that the most common challenge is the alignment of expectations. As a CMO, one is beholden to the expectations of the board, her/his CEO, and the needs of the field as she/he aligns closely with her/his company’s CRO. Among fellow CMOs, Scott often laments over the short tenures of his peers, typically the shortest within the executive leadership team. He believes the primary reason for these short tenures is a misalignment of expectations. In many regards, marketing serves as the tip of the spear for the business. The first contact before sales engages one to one with a prospective customer.

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