Warren Zenna sits down with Michael Maimone, CRO at LucidLink, to unpack his journey from BDR to enterprise sales leader to CRO. Michael shares how his time at IBM, Marketo, Adobe, and ZoomInfo shaped a systems mindset, enabling him to translate big-company rigor into agile, early-stage execution without stifling momentum.
They dive into the first 30-60-90 days in the seat: observe, diagnose, implement. Michael explains how he sequenced quick wins—enablement, RevOps guardrails, hiring profiles, interview kits—before rolling out robust territory, account, and opportunity planning. He emphasizes credibility through results and the art of modulation when change-managing seasoned teams.
Michael details LucidLink’s category-defining approach to distributed cloud file access for massive media and design workflows, and how that expands into broader enterprise use cases. He outlines direct and channel motions, global team structure, and the zero-knowledge security model that unlocks collaboration without compromising control.
The conversation closes with pragmatic AI adoption across Gong, ZoomInfo, dialers, website conversion, and Gemini-driven planning. Michael shares early signal lifts, how to beat tool fatigue, why human analysts still matter, and advice to aspiring CROs: lead cross-functionally, stay humble, build lieutenants, and align every motion to predictable, scalable revenue.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with Andy Mowat, Founder of Whispered, to explore the challenges of landing the ideal Chief Revenue Officer role. Andy shares his journey from running revenue operations at multiple unicorns to building a platform that uncovers unposted executive opportunities. They discuss the ambiguities in CRO job descriptions and the importance of aligning personal strengths with company needs. Warren and Andy emphasize how aspiring and current CROs can evaluate roles by challenging perceptions and ensuring a strategic fit, drawing from real-world examples of successful transitions.
Andy delves into the critical differences between CRO and CSO positions, highlighting how CEOs' understanding of these roles impacts hiring decisions. The conversation covers the value of pushing back during interviews to clarify responsibilities, such as owning marketing, sales, and customer success under one leader. They explore why CROs should avoid fragmented reporting structures and seek environments where they can drive unified revenue strategies. For CEOs building teams, the discussion offers insights on recognizing when a company is ready for a CRO, typically around significant operational complexity.
The duo addresses common pitfalls, like accepting roles at mismatched company stages or overlooking red flags in CEO dynamics. Andy introduces practical tools, such as maintaining a personal user manual to foster better working relationships from day one. They stress the need for CROs to conduct thorough due diligence, including board conversations, to avoid short tenures that harm careers. This episode provides actionable advice for revenue leaders on positioning themselves effectively and building networks that open doors to high-potential opportunities.
Finally, Warren and Andy highlight Whispered's role in empowering executives through insights, connections, and community support. They encourage CROs to gain clarity on their unique value propositions before pursuing roles, whether through shared databases or collaborative networks. For CEOs aiming to hire or support top revenue talent, the talk underscores the benefits of mature leadership that values alignment over quick fixes. Tune in for an enlightening dialogue that equips listeners with strategies to thrive in the evolving world of revenue leadership.
Warren Zenna sits down with Amy Hsuan, Chief Customer & Revenue Officer at Mixpanel, to unpack what a truly unified revenue engine looks like. Amy shares how org design must follow strategy, why GTM is a core differentiator, and how aligning marketing, sales, success, and services creates consistent end‑to‑end customer experiences that actually win.
Amy traces her path from journalism to BCG to Mixpanel, revealing how curiosity, cross‑functional leadership, and a customer‑first mindset shaped her Chief Customer & Revenue Officer role. She explains the shift from “hard” product differentiation to human‑driven trust, and how relationships, not features, become defensible moats in crowded markets.
They dig into practical playbooks: orchestrating handoffs, clarifying tone across touchpoints, and reducing executive silos to move faster. Amy outlines a strategy‑to‑execution flywheel, her 80/20 time model for long‑ vs short‑term, and how consistent advisory through complex, multi‑stakeholder cycles sustains momentum and predictability.
Amy also shares a grounded view on AI: use it to accelerate research, analysis, and context so leaders increase decision velocity—while humans own listening, rapport, creative adaptation, and navigating org dynamics. If you’re a CRO, aspiring CRO, or CEO aiming to modernize revenue leadership, this conversation is a blueprint.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna welcomes back Dana Therrien, Vice President at Anaplan and a leading expert in sales compensation strategies. Dana shares his insights on designing simple yet effective comp plans that motivate sales teams while aligning with company goals and customer success. He emphasizes the importance of balancing short-term wins with long-term growth.
Dana dives into the pitfalls of overly complex compensation plans, explaining how they demotivate sales teams and create inefficiencies. He highlights the need for clear, straightforward incentives that salespeople can easily understand and act on. Dana also discusses how CROs can navigate the challenges of managing comp plans while ensuring alignment across finance, product, and customer success teams.
The conversation explores how compensation plans impact customer experience, with Dana sharing innovative strategies like tying payouts to customer adoption and retention. He explains how this approach not only drives better outcomes for customers but also fosters sustainable growth for the business.
Dana wraps up with actionable advice for CROs, including the importance of creating a compensation governance council, leveraging AI for smarter decision-making, and piloting changes before rolling them out. This episode is packed with practical tips for CROs and revenue leaders looking to optimize their comp plans and drive success.
Jaime Ruhl, CRO at Emergn, joins Warren Zenna to explore how a sales leader becomes a strategic revenue architect in a product‑centric consulting firm. She explains stepping into a broader remit that covers sales, go‑to‑market and marketing alignment across global teams. Jaime describes being a player‑coach who builds repeatable sales motion and champions measurable customer outcomes after delivery.
Jaime digs into practical moves she led: shifting from sporadic lead chasing to a disciplined target account approach, tightening qualification at the funnel entrance, and leveraging intent signals, account reports and smarter prospecting tools. She describes building persona‑led outreach, thought leadership assets, and repeatable playbooks that scale account expansion and shorten cycles. Jaime also tightened lead handoff timing and aligned content cadence with selling motions.
This episode contrasts consulting revenue with pure SaaS by unpacking stakeholder mapping, surrounding the customer with delivery, product and commercial teams, and balancing client intimacy with scalable processes. Jaime explains clearer handoffs, joint KPIs, role clarity and incentive design to reduce internal friction and drive sustainable expansion and retention. She stresses mapping buying centers and creating accountable cross‑functional teams.
Jaime closes with tactical advice for new CROs: surround yourself with people who raise your game, ask why to learn the rationale behind decisions, pilot changes and lead by example, and cultivate mentors. She urges CROs to balance staying in the trenches to learn with delegating, define a focused go‑to‑market, test AI capabilities before broad rollout, and communicate early wins to build momentum.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna speaks with Adam Crandall, CRO at Addtronics, about his journey from VP of Sales to Chief Revenue Officer in a private equity-backed environment. Adam shares how he developed a scalable go-to-market playbook for Addtronics, a platform acquiring robotics and automation companies focused on advancing human health and technology.
Adam discusses the critical distinction between simply hitting revenue targets and building truly scalable revenue systems. He explains his concept of "Revenue Generating Activities" (RGAs) and how he balances centralized strategy with decentralized execution across multiple operating companies. The conversation explores how a CRO must empower teams with tools and processes that function effectively without constant oversight.
The episode delves into the unique challenges of the CRO role in private equity, including managing expectations, forecasting accurately, and maintaining team energy through challenging periods. Adam emphasizes the importance of hiring people smarter than yourself, approaching new roles with humility, and maintaining close alignment with the CFO and CEO to navigate market headwinds.
Warren and Adam explore the balance between measurable and unmeasurable marketing activities, the importance of brand building, and the essential competencies for today's CROs. Adam shares valuable insights for aspiring and newly appointed CROs, making this a must-listen for revenue leaders looking to excel in complex business environments.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with Lindsay Guzowski, CEO at The Crucible, to explore the power of targeted competency assessments for chief revenue officers. They trace the origins of a bespoke CRO test built for private equity–backed companies, showing how tailored assessments can pinpoint the strengths and gaps that drive high-impact revenue leadership.
Many off-the-shelf tests fall short when evaluating executive readiness. Lindsay and Warren unpack pitfalls such as misaligned reference sets, cultural mismatches, and predictable question phrasing that candidates can game. They explain why tracking correlation coefficients and grounding assessments in rigorous validity studies is key to ensuring predictive accuracy.
Beyond individual metrics, they highlight the strategic value of team assessments for mapping leadership dynamics. Lindsay describes measuring urgency, resilience, pattern recognition and adaptability against a frozen reference cohort. She shows how private equity firms can configure custom CRO profiles and use nuanced data to optimize hiring, onboarding and development roadmaps.
In real-world case studies, they reveal how Crucible insights steer tough hiring choices and fuel candid candidate conversations. By also testing for “contaminants” like fragility or arrogance under pressure, organizations can align roles to specific growth stages. This episode delivers actionable guidance for current and aspiring CROs—and for CEOs seeking to elevate their revenue leadership team.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna sits down with Bobby Morrison, Chief Revenue Officer at Shopify, to explore how the CRO role has evolved beyond traditional sales leadership. Bobby shares his approach to unifying marketing, sales, customer success, and support under a single revenue organization focused on the complete customer journey rather than siloed handoffs.
Bobby reveals his philosophy of building revenue flywheels through aligned incentives and systems-first thinking, explaining how he restructured Shopify's go-to-market approach to eliminate friction. He discusses the importance of creating pods that bring together account executives, solution engineers, and customer success managers with shared objectives and territories to deliver better customer outcomes.
The conversation shifts to how AI is transforming revenue operations, with Bobby predicting that traditional CRMs will be replaced by AI-enabled systems within months. He emphasizes that tomorrow's successful CROs must become more technically proficient, understanding data structures and AI capabilities to build competitive advantages through technology while maintaining the human relationships that drive trust.
Warren and Bobby conclude by discussing the future of customer engagement, with Bobby sharing his belief that despite automation, human interaction remains essential in building trust. He emphasizes Shopify's commitment to helping customers navigate uncertain times through an anti-fragile platform that enables businesses to adapt quickly to changing market conditions.
On this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with lighting-rod revenue leader Jessica Robertson, Chief Revenue Officer at Orbb. After first connecting at a lively CRO roundtable, they unpack a conversation that could have lasted hours—touching on business philosophy, sales innovation, and the evolving role of relationships in growth. Tune in to discover why Jessica’s intelligence and empathy make her a standout leader in today’s noisy market.
Jessica traces her rise from a teenage sales development representative to spearheading revenue as Orbb’s CRO, reflecting on a decade spent mastering sales leadership across multiple industries. From navigating complex enterprise cycles to running thousands of monthly transactions, she explains how a puzzle-shaped mind fueled her creativity before sharpening it with data-driven rigor. Learn how empathetic listening, agile experimentation, and strategic analytics blended in her approach to drive authentic growth.
They dive into the nuts and bolts of designing scalable revenue operations: defining an ideal customer profile, segmenting ICP tiers, mapping clear funnel stages, and choosing a flexible CRM that grows with you. Jessica emphasizes starting with precise targeting over mass outreach, building functional pipelines grounded in relationship intelligence, and iterating relentlessly by capturing first-party email and calendar data to combat peak noise, maintain data hygiene, and prioritize real connections.
In the final segment, they explore the future of outbound outreach: leveraging email and calendar metadata to surface genuine champions and establish a relationship funnel that complements traditional channels. Jessica unpacks Orbb’s smart career overlap technology—how it uncovers verified networks to fuel warm introductions, reduce wasted touches, and unlock untapped pipelines. Host Warren Zenna closes with actionable insights to help current and aspiring CROs stay ahead in revenue intelligence.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna welcomes Emma Clayton, C-Suite Strategic & Commercial Leadership Consultant at Be Brilliant Consultancy. With 27 years in marketing, Emma reveals the origin of her provocative LinkedIn musing on B2B marketing’s fragmentation and leadership vacuum. She shares why she left a prominent community, how her spontaneous critique went viral, and its implications for today’s revenue leaders.
Emma dives into her ongoing “Who Shot Marketing?” narrative, personifying the profession’s decline through the suspects: VCs treating CMOs as disposable, CFOs overlooking marketing’s strategic role, and recruitment firms fueling tactical specialization. She argues that marketing’s erosion stems from professionals losing their strategic identity and defaulting to siloed, short-term tactics instead of holistic business leadership.
Warren and Emma explore the Chief Revenue Officer role as a remedy for fragmented revenue functions. They debate why CMOs often switch to CRO titles for prestige and survival, and how genuine CRO leadership demands a business-centric mindset that integrates marketing, sales, and customer success. Highlighting cross-functional alignment and strategic vision, they offer a blueprint for CROs to unify teams and develop the competencies needed for a coherent revenue engine.
In closing, Emma urges listeners to channel their expertise into shaping the next era of marketing and revenue leadership. She calls on CEOs and aspiring CROs to end silos and collaboratively redefine marketing’s role within the revenue engine. Listeners are encouraged to share insights and drive positive change. This episode equips leaders with fresh perspectives on strategic marketing, revenue alignment, and building resilient organizations ready for tomorrow’s challenges.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna sits down with Joe Gravino, Principal at Falcon Partners. They explore how private equity–backed firms identify and deploy revenue leaders. Joe explains Falcon’s boutique search approach focusing on aligning go-to-market teams with strategic objectives. Together, they pinpoint key markers of organizational readiness for a Chief Revenue Officer. They discuss timing hires to maximize growth.
Warren and Joe tackle confusion between the CRO role and sales leadership and why it should follow dedicated sales, marketing, and customer success structures. Joe outlines how to educate investors on sequencing leadership hires and building foundational infrastructure. They emphasize defining scope clearly and fostering cross-team collaboration to unite go-to-market functions under a cohesive revenue strategy.
Conversation turns to key competencies for standout CROs. Joe highlights revenue operations expertise and data fluency as essential. He illustrates how boardroom vision must pair with front-line execution to translate insights into results. They touch on leadership styles that balance strategy with hands-on coaching. Warren and Joe discuss traits of urgency and adaptability needed under investor-driven expectations.
Finally, Warren and Joe share best practices to prepare the organization and CRO for success. They explore establishing robust processes, integrating tech stacks, and building transparent reporting frameworks. They emphasize executive sponsorship and cross-functional alignment to empower a revenue leader. Listeners receive actionable advice for creating an environment where a CRO can diagnose gaps and drive sustainable growth.
Hiring the right Chief Revenue Officer can make or break a company's growth trajectory. In this episode, Warren Zenna and Wayne Starritt unpack the systemic issues behind CRO hiring failures—and why fixing the hiring process itself is critical to long-term success. They reveal how many companies unknowingly sabotage CROs before day one.
Wayne shares lessons from working with PE-backed SaaS firms, highlighting why hiring a CRO isn't like hiring a CFO or CMO. He and Warren dig into why short-term problem solving often trumps strategic vision—and how that dynamic must change if companies want sustainable revenue leadership.
The conversation dives deep into why misaligned expectations between CEOs, boards, and CROs create chaos, and how leaders can proactively design CRO roles that align with true business needs. Wayne also shares real-world stories of when bad hiring processes led to good CROs failing unnecessarily.
If you’re a CEO preparing to hire a CRO, a current CRO aiming to thrive, or an aspiring CRO planning your next move, this episode is packed with tactical advice. Learn how to recognize warning signs, ask the right questions during interviews, and structure your next CRO appointment for real impact.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna welcomes John E. Lepto IV for a deep dive into current revenue leadership challenges. Their insightful conversation unpacks the evolving CRO role amid aggressive market dynamics and PE pressures, revealing actionable strategies to balance growth ambitions with operational discipline.
John E. Lepto IV shares extensive experience navigating complex revenue landscapes by aligning sales, marketing, and customer success to achieve measurable outcomes. He highlights pitfalls in outdated growth tactics and misalignment within PE-backed organizations, offering clarity on practical steps that recalibrate revenue strategy for stronger performance and sustainable profitability.
Warren and John explore the nuances of the CRO role, stressing that clear authority, adequate resources, and strategic autonomy are essential for success. Their dialogue discusses how ambiguous job definitions and short-term pressures can hinder long-term growth. The conversation offers fresh insights on transforming revenue operations into lean, agile engines that drive innovation and secure customer retention.
Focusing on practical, data-driven solutions, the episode challenges traditional growth-at-all-costs models. The hosts advocate for disciplined pipeline efficiency and smart account expansion, rather than merely increasing volume. This engaging discussion equips CEOs, current CROs, and those aspiring to the role with the tools needed to build resilient, customer-centric organizations in today’s competitive, PE-influenced market.
On this engaging episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with Guy Rubin, Founder and CEO at Ebsta, to dissect the evolving CRO role. They explore the challenges companies face when hiring for growth—from misaligned expectations to premature role adoption. Their conversation sparks innovative ideas on how to recalibrate commercial strategies for lasting success.
Guy delves deep into the pitfalls of early CRO hires and the impact of a 17-month turnover trend. He shares insights on how misaligned sales processes can stunt growth and emphasizes the benefits of a 360 sales strategy. Backed by research, his analysis offers practical ways to realign roles within organizations for improved revenue consistency.
Throughout the discussion, Warren and Guy uncover the secret of achieving execution consistency that turns modest outcomes into breakthrough performance. They explore how synchronized teams, bolstered customer engagement, and the smart use of AI can drive revenue intelligence. Their dialogue provides a roadmap for leveraging data to transform commercial operations.
Wrapping up the episode, the conversation shifts to practical solutions that de-risk CRO hiring and capture emerging growth opportunities. Guy explains how Ebsta’s relationship intelligence platform offers clear insights on sales cycles, stakeholder engagement, and actionable benchmarks. Listeners leave with powerful strategies to accelerate revenue growth and secure long-term results.
Warren Zenna welcomes Elio Narciso on CRO Spotlight as they dive deep into the challenges of data overload in today’s sales environments. They explore how manual tasks and disjointed CRM systems drag down productivity while innovative integrations and AI-driven agents set the stage for a transformative approach that empowers CROs and their teams to focus on high-impact activities.
The conversation shifts to the impact of agent technology and automated research on routine tasks. Warren and Elio discuss how advanced integration and workflow systems can eliminate tedious data entry, enabling sales teams to spend more time building relationships and closing deals. This vision resonates strongly with CROs seeking actionable improvements across revenue operations.
In a candid exchange, the duo recounts their journey from traditional sales challenges to embracing disruptive data automation. They share firsthand experiences of overcoming manual inefficiencies that hindered performance and detail how clear, reliable data transforms decision-making for mid-market and larger companies, sparking optimism among revenue leaders.
Wrapping up their discussion, Warren and Elio highlight the urgency for CROs, aspiring leaders, and CEOs to adopt innovative solutions today. They emphasize that achieving streamlined revenue operations through precise, automated analytics is not just an upgrade—it’s a vital shift in competitive sales strategy that can unlock predictable and profitable growth.
In this episode of the CRO Spotlight podcast host Warren Zenna connects with Janis Zech, Co-Founder and CEO at Weflow. They explore the rising significance of the Chief Revenue Officer role amid evolving market challenges. The discussion sets the stage by addressing operational inefficiencies and the need for precise revenue intelligence in today’s competitive environment.
The conversation dives deep into aligning sales, marketing, and customer success for a unified revenue strategy. Janis shares insights from his extensive experience, emphasizing the impact of early CRO integration on business performance. Key topics include data automation, pipeline management, and the value of cross-functional collaboration.
Listeners gain real-world examples and actionable advice on overcoming common pain points. The dialogue reveals how strategic hiring and the smart use of technology boost efficiency and reduce non-selling activities. Janis and Warren discuss building a cohesive leadership architecture that minimizes silos and drives sustained growth.
As the episode unfolds, the focus shifts to the future of revenue operations and the transformative potential of AI-driven insights. Both experts challenge traditional models and inspire CROs, aspiring leaders, and CEOs to embrace innovation. Tune in to discover how targeted strategies and precise revenue intelligence can elevate your organization to new heights.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna welcomes Rich Sutton, Co-Founder at DM&RS Advisory, for a deep dive into the evolving CRO role. Rich shares his unconventional journey from rock and roll DJ to strategic revenue leader, setting the stage for a conversation that challenges traditional sales-focused perspectives in today’s dynamic market.
Rich explains how the fractional CRO role can transform startups by integrating sales, marketing, and customer success. He highlights that a CRO isn’t just about closing deals but also about aligning cross-functional teams to build a cohesive revenue engine that adapts swiftly to shifting market conditions.
The dialogue explores the differences in CRO role perspectives. While some see the position solely as a sales driver, Rich argues that modern CROs must balance direct sales execution with broader revenue strategy. This distinction becomes vital when companies scale, as revenue leaders must foster innovation while ensuring operational discipline.
Warren and Rich also discuss how leadership mindset influences these roles. They share insights on harnessing data, embracing change, and inspiring teams to evolve. The conversation bridges personal anecdotes from music to boardroom strategies, offering a fresh perspective on how diverse experiences can redefine the CRO function in an ever-changing business landscape.
In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna welcomes Alex Asianov and Jonathan Blessing of DOOR3 for a deep dive into their company’s 22-year journey through the ever-changing world of technology services. Alex shares how his early passion for programming led to the founding of DOOR3 and how that foundation evolved into a product-focused mindset serving real business outcomes.
Jonathan joins the conversation with reflections on his parallel path in the tech world and eventual return to DOOR3 as CEO. The two share candid stories of how their complementary skills, shared values, and a strong cultural foundation shaped a resilient and adaptable company structure. They open up about pivotal moments in DOOR3’s history and what it took to move from scrappy beginnings to operational excellence.
Warren guides the conversation into the challenges of differentiation in a crowded dev space. Alex and Jonathan discuss their strategy of embedding product thinking into service delivery and maintaining a disciplined focus on client business outcomes. They unpack how cultural alignment, internal evolution, and hiring for shared values have been key to DOOR3’s long-term success.
The episode wraps with a forward-looking discussion on emerging tech trends, particularly the impact of AI on the services landscape. Alex and Jonathan share insights into how DOOR3 is both adopting and advising on new technologies—balancing innovation with practicality—while staying true to their mission of delivering lasting business value.
In this engaging episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with seasoned executive Steve Kost to explore the intricate world of revenue leadership. Their conversation delves into the often-overlooked intangibles that drive success, drawing on experiences from Fortune 500 giants to nimble startups. The discussion sets a thoughtful tone for tackling today’s complex business challenges.
Warren and Steve share candid insights on how empathy and transparency redefine leadership. They examine the power of open communication with CEOs, executive teams, and board members, while discussing real-life scenarios that reveal the impact of active listening and honest feedback. Their dialogue provides listeners with practical advice for fostering trust and clarity in high-stakes environments.
The conversation highlights essential strategies for navigating the unique challenges of the CRO role. Steve outlines the importance of thorough due diligence, from the interview process to effective onboarding practices, while emphasizing the need to build credibility quickly. He shares personal experiences that illustrate how reflective leadership and strategic communication can drive revenue growth.
Listeners gain a fresh perspective on aligning with company culture and inspiring organizational change through servant leadership. The episode offers a roadmap for emerging revenue leaders by focusing on self-reflection, proactive problem-solving, and continuous communication. It is a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate their leadership approach and make a lasting impact.
