Why Some SaaS CMOs Flourish in PE-Backed Orgs, and Others Flame Out

The Get: Finding And Keeping The Best Marketing Leaders in B2B SaaS

How are PE-backed environments unique for SaaS CMOs? And what's the difference between the CMOs who flourish in PE-backed companies and those who flounder? This episode is required listening for any current or prospective CMO in a PE-backed company.

This week on The Get, Erica Seidel dives into the nuances of marketing leadership in PE-backed B2B SaaS orgs with guest Julie Zadow, Growth Marketing Leader at The Riverside Company. They explore Julie's role in private equity as a marketing operating partner, insights into aligning marketing strategies with investment firm goals, and the impact of AI on marketing roles and operations.

You will learn about:

• What it's like to be a marketing operating partner in a PE shop: As Julie describes it, she offers "battle scars for hire" and brings a mix of empathy, speed, and practicality
• How to speak marketing in a way that aligns with the investor's lens
• How to talk about brand in a way that doesn't make your investors run screaming
• How the different phases of the hold period matter for marketing – and how conversations with investors should evolve as the end of the hold period approaches
• Coaching junior employees in an AI+ environment, and a shortcut for contextualizing things for your most junior employees so they don't just 'do' with AI but 'learn' as well: Julie asks her interns: "Where did you feel you were parroting AI without understanding what it was saying?" and "What do you recommend that AI didn't think of?"
• The role that is hardest to disintermediate with AI
• The line of questioning CEOs are likely to pose to CMO candidates about their AI fluency
• Advice to CEOs who have failed at hiring marketing leaders

00:00 Welcome to The Get: Introduction and Overview

00:58 Introducing Julie Zadow: A Marketing Leader's Journey

02:10 The Role of a Marketing Operating Partner in Private Equity

03:58 Aligning Marketing Strategies with Investor Expectations

14:30 The Impact of AI on SaaS Marketing Organizations

26:18 Advice for CMOs in Private Equity-Backed Companies

34:21 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is how SaaS marketing organizations are changing — in both seismic and subtle ways.

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS.

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com.

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy