APAC's B2B Growth Podcast

Jeff Sauer has spent twenty years teaching marketers how to measure what matters. In this episode, he explains how AI has rewritten his marketing playbook, letting a lean team (often just himself and a stack of AI tools) produce work that used to take a copywriter, web designer, project manager, and paid ads specialist.

If you run a small marketing team and want a practical look at what AI can take off your plate today, this conversation is packed with real workflows, real numbers, and honest warnings about what still needs a human eye.

Guest Introduction

Jeff Sauer is the founder of MeasureU, a measurement training platform for agency owners and consultants, and previously ran an Inc 5000 agency for a decade before selling it. He has trained more than 50,000 marketers across over 100 countries and built a YouTube channel with more than 55,000 subscribers.

Key Topics

• How AI has shifted marketing staffing from “I need these people” to “what staff do I actually need”
• Jeff’s AI stack: Claude Code as his daily driver, plus ChatGPT, Gemini, Veo 3, Seedance, and Copy Coders for specialist tasks
• Building serversideblueprint.com end to end with AI, which sold $15,000 worth of workshops
• An automated LinkedIn workflow that drafts, schedules, and replies to comments, generating over 1,000 B2B leads this year
• Why long-form YouTube content anchors his content engine, feeding blog posts, newsletters, and social clips
• Building 40+ lead generating landing pages in minutes each with Claude Code, no WordPress plugins needed
• His anti-AI tuning rules and six-step skill framework for catching AI writing patterns before they go live
• Why email remains the highest ROI channel, and how voice dictation feeds his AI-assisted writing process

Resources & Links

Companies & Tools

• MeasureU, Jeff’s training company
• MeasureU AI Marketing Guide, free guide to this episode’s four workflows, plus an AI vs human task grid
• Claude and Claude Code, Jeff’s daily AI driver
• ChatGPT and Codex, for image generation and code checks
• Google Gemini, for image generation
• Google Veo 3 and ByteDance Seedance, for AI video generation
• Copy Coders, Genesis bots for email, script, and landing page copy
• Publer, Taplio, Apify, and n8n, earlier tools for LinkedIn scheduling, research, and automation, now folded into Claude
• MacWhisper, voice dictation for email drafts
• Z.ai GLM models, used to critique and bug check AI code
• Authority Hacker, source of Jeff’s skill framework
• Lovable, an early 2025 vibe coding tool
• WordPress, Gravity Forms, and Go High Level, the old site and lead capture tools Jeff no longer needs

Contact & Credits:

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Jeff Sauer

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell & Dave Somido

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

Podcast Co-ordinator: Jonah Igsie

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Shaun Thresher built his own AI powered second brain, using Claude Code, to run his marketing and copywriting work end to end. In this episode, Shaun walks through how he moved from bouncing between two separate AI chat windows to a single centralised system that reads his voice, his clients’ details and his workflows before it writes a word.

He explains why one well briefed agent with multiple skills beats a pile of specialised agents, how he trains AI to score new content against his best performing posts so it stops sounding repetitive, and how he uses AI to dig up prospect lists most competitors never find, including one built from a public FDA compliance database. Whether you’re just starting to explore Claude or ChatGPT, or you’re ready to build a proper system around your marketing operation, this conversation is full of practical, hard won lessons.

Guest Introduction

Shaun Thresher is a copywriter turned AI systems builder who spent eight years at Agora Financial, a top US direct-response shop, before becoming CMO of online assets at a publicly-traded company and later CEO of one of its e-commerce brands. He now runs BioRevGrowth, building AI powered “second brain” systems for marketers, and since January 2025 has led marketing and technical operations for a US-based long COVID doctor. 

Key Topics

• Moving from copying and pasting between ChatGPT and Claude to a single centralised second brain, built and stored in GitHub
• The difference between agents, skills and workflows, and why Shaun now favours one well briefed content agent with multiple skills over many separate agents
• How Shaun sources prospect lists from public databases, including an FDA compliance database, instead of relying solely on paid tools like Clay
• Building a “digital fingerprint” from a client’s best performing content so AI generated posts match their voice and tone
• Scoring new content against a curated pool of top performing past content to avoid repetitive, generic AI output (“AI slop”)
• Why Claude Code offers more flexibility than a standard chat interface, including API and MCP connections into tools like Google Ads and Meta Ads
• Common pitfalls: memory systems that quietly stop working, and installing unfamiliar agents without understanding how they operate
• Advice for marketers starting out: pick one problem to solve, invest in a higher tier AI plan, and find a community for support

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Ethan Mollick – Wharton professor and AI researcher
• Nate B. Jones – AI strategist and newsletter writer
• David Arnoux – runs the GenAI Circle community Shaun is part of

Companies & Tools

• BioRevGrowth – Shaun’s growth and revenue consultancy for biotech and nutraceutical companies 
• Clay – data enrichment and outreach platform
• GitHub
• Vercel
• ChatGPT and OpenAI Codex
• Claude Code / Claude Desktop
• Google Ads, Meta Ads
• Firecrawl
• Zernio -social media scheduling and publishing API
• Remotion – animation library used for content generation
• Second Brain 2.0 – the pre-built go-to-market agent system Shaun purchased and plugged into his own setup.

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Shaun Thresher

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell & Dave Somido

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

Podcast Co-ordinator: Jonah Igsie

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

AI isn’t just changing individual jobs, it’s changing the shape of the org chart itself. In this episode, Neal Woolrich, Director in Gartner’s Human Resources Advisory practice, joins Shahin to unpack whether the traditional “pyramid” structure is giving way to a “diamond” with fewer entry-level roles, and what that means for the next generation of managers.

Neal cuts through the noise around AI-driven layoffs (much of it, he argues, is “AI washing”) and shares Gartner’s projection that AI becomes a net job creator by 2030. He also walks through real governance models from Lloyd’s Bank, ServiceNow and Red Hat, and tackles the thorny question of what happens when AI agents start appearing on the org chart alongside humans.

Guest Introduction

Neal Woolrich is a Director in Gartner’s Human Resources Advisory practice, based in Melbourne, where he advises organisations on culture, employee experience and organisational design. He spent 13 years as a broadcast journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) before moving into HR consulting.

Key Topics

• Why the traditional “pyramid” org structure (many entry-level roles, fewer managers, fewer executives) is being challenged by a “diamond” shape with a shrinking entry point
• The shift from specialist workers to AI-complemented generalists, and what it means for how organisations build skills over time
• Why Neal believes many AI-attributed layoffs are actually “AI washing,” with financial or market pressures the real driver
• Gartner’s projection that AI becomes a net job creator by 2030, and what the next four years of labour market disruption might look like
• New roles emerging directly from AI adoption, including AI governance and AI ethics functions
• Three real-world governance models: Lloyd’s Bank’s “control tower” approach, ServiceNow’s AI council with supporting pods, and Red Hat’s three-tier framework based on degree of AI impact
• The emerging practice of placing AI agents on the org chart, and the open questions around ownership and accountability when things go wrong
• Differences in AI adoption pace between the US, UK and Australia, and why Neal doesn’t think Australia’s “behind” position is cause for panic
• How organisations can communicate AI rollouts to reduce the roughly 40% of the workforce that reacts negatively to major change

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Rick Beato – YouTube music educator and producer Neal cited as someone whose commentary on the shift from big studios to home recording has shaped his thinking about the AI “bubble” debate

Companies & Tools

• Gartner – Research and advisory firm where Neal works; source of the org-structure and net-job-creator research discussed throughout
• Ramp – Fintech company referenced for its hiring trends report, which found companies adopting AI kept similar junior hiring rates to before AI
• Lloyd’s Bank – UK bank cited for its “control tower” approach to AI governance
• ServiceNow – HR technology company cited for its two-tier AI council and pod governance model
• Red Hat – Open-source company cited for its three-tier framework grouping roles by degree of AI impact
• IBM – Red Hat’s parent company, referenced regarding a recent stock drop tied to AI strategy commentary
• Moderna – Referenced for merging its IT and HR functions in recognition that AI is a human experience as much as a technology one

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Neal Woolrich

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell & Dave Somido

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

Podcast Co-ordinator: Jonah Igsie

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is presented by xGrowth

What happens when a marketing leader goes all in on AI, not just for himself, but for his entire team? Ronan Bray, Head of Marketing & Growth at Cloud Assess, joins the podcast to unpack exactly that. From a two week Christmas break spent teaching himself to build apps, to rolling out a fully connected go to market platform that pulls live data from HubSpot, Google Search Console, and Notion, Ronan shares the real story of AI adoption inside a B2B marketing team, mess, momentum, and all.

This episode is a practical playbook for any marketing leader wondering how to move a team from AI curiosity to AI capability. Ronan gets specific about what worked (starting small with personal projects), what didn’t (announcing a team wide AI mandate with almost no context), and where he still won’t let AI near the steering wheel, like paid ad spend and image or video creation.

Guest Introduction

Ronan Bray is Head of Marketing & Growth at Cloud Assess, where he leads a global marketing team driving pipeline with over 85 percent of ARR from inbound. Over 16 years he has scaled B2B marketing for ASX listed companies and his own startups (three reaching acquisition or buyout), building on experience at HubSpot and Drift.

Key Topics

• Ronan’s personal path into AI, from everyday ChatGPT use to picking Claude as the team’s core tool to avoid spreading focus too thin
• How a two week Christmas break and a personal “vibe coding” project (a lawn care scheduler built in Lovable) became the spark for wider team adoption
• The simple three question framework Ronan uses with his team: where’s your time going, what’s repetitive, and what’s the ideal end state
• Building a go to market hub in Lovable that connects HubSpot, Google Search Console and Firecrawl to surface content gaps and sales insights automatically
• Why Ronan’s team keeps a human in the loop on all content, even though AI can draft it, because audiences and algorithms can both tell when something is fully AI generated
• The security guardrails Cloud Assess put in place around domain locking and vulnerability scanning when building internally with Lovable
• Why Ronan won’t hand over paid ad spend decisions to AI, even with tools connected to Google Ads
• What’s next for Ronan’s team: using AI for image and video generation to communicate fast moving product releases to sales and customers

Resources & Links

Companies & Tools

• Cloud Assess: Ronan’s company, an AI powered training and assessment platform, referenced throughout as the environment for his AI rollout
• Lovable: the AI app builder Ronan and his team use to build internal tools, including their go to market hub
• Claude: the AI assistant Ronan’s team standardised on for everyday tasks and custom team projects
• HubSpot: the CRM feeding deal and pipeline data into the go to market hub
• Firecrawl: the web scraping tool connected to their platform to analyse blog and competitor content
• ChatGPT: the tool Ronan first used for personal AI adoption before switching to Claude
• Notion: used by Cloud Assess’s product team to track features, later integrated into the go to market hub
• Higgsfield: an AI image and video tool Ronan tested via MCP, which he found fell short for a recent website rebuild

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Ronan Bray

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell & Dave Somido

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

Podcast Co-ordinator: Jonah Igsie

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Most B2B marketers treat partners like a sales channel. Jordana Sunderland says that’s the core mistake. In this episode, Jordana, Director of Integrated Marketing for the Pacific Zone at Schneider Electric, joins Shahin to unpack what genuine partner marketing looks like and why so many companies get it fundamentally wrong.

From her early career marketing pharmaceuticals to her current work navigating the energy transition, Jordana draws on cross-industry experience to reveal how insights, enablement, and real partnership beat price conversations every time. If your go-to-market relies on a channel or distribution network, this episode is essential listening.

Guest Introduction

Jordana Sunderland is Director of Integrated Marketing, Pacific Zone at Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technology. With over two decades of B2B marketing experience across the pharmaceutical and energy sectors, Jordana has built a reputation for turning partner relationships into genuine growth engines through enablement, insight, and advisory-led sales.

Key Topics

• Why leadership and sales teams default to price conversations with partners, and why that framing is detrimental to long-term growth
• How to win share of mind over share of shelf by understanding what partners are actually trying to achieve in their business
• The role of partner enablement, including loyalty programs, training, and data-driven insights, in driving preference for your product over competitors
• A real-world example from community pharmacy: how Jordana’s team became indispensable to partners by providing expert analysis on government pricing changes that directly affected their revenue
• How to balance end-user demand generation against partner-led selling, and why Jordana recommends a 70/30 partner-to-end-user investment split as a starting point
• The attitudinal segmentation approach to partner acquisition: why firmographic size is a poor proxy for partner quality and how to identify partners who share your values
• Co-marketing reality check: why logo placement and random promotions deliver nothing, and what genuine co-marketing amplification looks like
• MDF fund management: how to maintain brand alignment when marketing development funds are in play, and why sales and marketing must be tightly connected

Resources & Links 

Companies & Tools

• Schneider Electric -Jordana’s current employer; a global energy technology company
• Viatris -the generics pharmaceuticals company (formerly Mylan) where Jordana held a marketing role prior to Schneider Electric

Books & Resources

• The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson – recommended by Jordana as a foundational read that shaped her marketing approach

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Jordana Sunderland

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell & Dave Somido

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

Podcast Co-ordinator: Jonah Igsie

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

The CMO role has never been harder. Trust from leadership sits at around 30%, average tenure has dropped to 16–18 months, and budgets keep getting cut while pressure mounts to “bolt on AI” without any strategy in place. But is this a people problem, or a playbook problem?

Andrei Zinkevich, co-founder of Fullfunnel.io, argues it is firmly the latter. In this episode, he and host Shahin Hoda tear apart the demand waterfall model that has been quietly undermining B2B marketing functions for years, and map out a practical path to cross-functional go-to-market that actually drives revenue. Andrei also shares his change management playbook, his approach to building CFO buy-in, and why deploying AI into a broken process just accelerates the wrong outcomes.

Guest Introduction

Andrei Zinkevich is co-founder of Fullfunnel.io, a B2B marketing consultancy helping tech and service companies with high-value deals and long sales cycles build full-funnel, account-based go-to-market programs. He is co-author of the book Full-Funnel B2B Marketing alongside co-founder Vladimir Blagojevic, a systematic guide to fixing broken GTM playbooks and building an enterprise pipeline without organisational revolution.

Key Topics

• Why CMO trust and tenure are falling: the broken demand waterfall model, not individual performance, is the root cause, and why MQLs are no longer moving the needle with leadership
• The case for cross-functional go-to-market: why siloed marketing, sales, and customer success KPIs make revenue growth structurally impossible for companies with long sales cycles
• Flipping the measurement funnel: using revenue and sales-qualified opportunities from strategic accounts as North Star metrics, then decomposing to account engagement thresholds rather than arbitrary scoring models
• Driving organisational change without triggering a revolution: the two-stage approach of problem buy-in first and solution buy-in second, including how to collect evidence, find internal change agents, and connect the dots to strategic initiatives
• The “CFO quiz” playbook: reviewing closed-won deals across all touch points to reframe the attribution conversation with leadership and shift toward revenue-responsible marketing metrics
• Making existing programs account-based as the entry point for change: showing marketing’s impact on strategic accounts and pipeline without needing new technology or budget
• AI in B2B go-to-market: why AI accelerates whatever processes already exist (good or broken), the dangers of “doing more with less” without a strategy, and the POS framework (Pilot, Operationalisation, Scaling) for responsible implementation

Resources & Links

• Vladimir Blagojevic-Co-founder, Fullfunnel.io and co-author of Full-Funnel B2B Marketing
• Full-Funnel B2B Marketing by Andrei Zinkevich and Vladimir Blagojevic — also available on Amazon

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Andrei Zinkevich

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell and Dave Somido

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

What happens to all those leads marketing works so hard to generate? More often than not, they go cold. According to Nishi Seth, Industry & Solutions Marketing Lead for Google Cloud APAC, this isn’t a niche problem. It’s one of the most persistent challenges across B2B, regardless of company size or sophistication.

In this episode, Shahin sits down with Nishi to unpack the real reasons leads stall between marketing and sales, from qualification gaps to missing context, and what it actually takes to fix them. Nishi shares battle-tested lessons from scaling Google Cloud’s marketing-to-sales motion across APAC, including how AI is transforming BDR productivity right now.

Guest Introduction

Nishi Seth is the Industry & Solutions Marketing Lead for Google Cloud APAC at Google, with over 20 years of experience across cloud technology, financial services, and travel. She has held senior marketing roles at American Express and British Airways, and is a recognised B2B marketing leader across the Asia-Pacific region.

Key Topics

• Why leads go cold: the two root causes (qualification gaps and context gaps) and why even the most sophisticated B2B organisations struggle with them
• The three pillars of an optimised marketing-to-sales handover: lead quality, context, and a continuous review and feedback loop
• Why BDRs are the critical bridge between marketing and sales, and how to assess whether your BDR function is actually working
• How MQL definitions should evolve over time: Google Cloud’s journey from basic demographic scoring to 48+ real-time intent signals, including account-level qualification
• What providing context to BDRs really means: enablement calls, campaign-specific opening scripts, and cadences tailored to how each lead engaged
• The key metrics that reveal handover health: SAL acceptance rates, SAL-to-SQL conversion, number of outreach touches, and lead velocity
• How AI is changing BDR productivity: using automation for low-intent lead follow-up, real-time AI assistants during live sales calls, and AI-powered account research at scale
• Nishi’s rapid-fire take: “strong opinions, loosely held,” using AI to boost your own marketing productivity, and why simplifying complexity in B2B is what excites her most

Resources & Links

• Google Cloud — Nishi’s base for all real-world examples discussed, from MQL definition evolution to AI-powered BDR tooling
• Google Gemini — Nishi’s go-to research tool in place of following influencers; she also used it to prepare for this episode

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Nishi Seth

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Too many B2B marketing teams are still talking leads when they should be talking revenue. In this episode, Shahin sits down with David Heyworth, GTM advisor and former Head of Marketing at Vocus, to unpack what it really takes to drive commercial outcomes in the second half of 2025. From ditching MQL vanity metrics to building genuine alignment with sales, finance, and product, David brings hard-won lessons from complex B2B environments in Australia.

This is a conversation packed with practical frameworks and honest war stories, including one of the most creative ABM activations you’ll hear about: a commissioned coin ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, hosted by former Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, that cemented a 20-year defence sector partnership without a single sales pitch.

Guest Introduction

David Heyworth is a GTM advisor and CMO with deep experience leading marketing in complex B2B environments across Australia, including his tenure as Head of Marketing at Vocus, one of Australia’s leading fibre and network solutions providers. He specialises in go-to-market strategy, sales and marketing alignment, and account-based selling for enterprise and government markets.

Key Topics

• Why agility, balance, and growth are the non-negotiables for B2B marketing teams in the second half of 2025
• Shifting the conversation from lead generation to revenue opportunities and why talking in dollars gets marketing a seat at the table
• How marketing can own the full GTM motion: building interlocks with sales, finance, and product leadership rather than operating in isolation
• The case for an inside sales or sales discovery rep function that sits within marketing and how to prove the model before committing headcount
• Why ABM works better when reframed as account-based selling (ABS) and how to sequence one-to-many, one-to-few, and one-to-one engagement
• Battle-tested lessons from event marketing gone wrong and how champions and pre-agreed outreach schedules turned it around
• A standout defence sector ABM case study: creating a custom commemorative coin and hosting a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial to honour a 20-year partnership
• Go-to-market fundamentals that get skipped: market definition, value proposition, messaging frameworks by segment and buyer persona, and why these must come before the marketing plan

Resources & Links

People

• Peter Cosgrove-former Chief of the Defence Force and 26th Governor-General of Australia
• Seth Godin – Author and marketing thought leader; David recommends his book Purple Cow on differentiation.

Companies & Tools

• Vocus -Australian telco where David served as CMO.
• Akimbo -Seth Godin’s Podcast

Books

• Purple Cow by Seth Godin

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: David Heyworth

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

What does it actually look like to roll out AI at enterprise scale inside one of the world’s most recognisable technology companies? Craig Mills, APAC Head of Demand Generation and AI Marketing Transformation Lead at IBM, shares the real story: the internal lockdowns, the false starts, the springtime of ideas that fizzled, and the hard-won clarity that followed.

Craig walks through IBM’s shift from experimentation to intentional, use-case-driven execution in 2026, with a focus on email marketing as an underrated strategic weapon. He also shares a simple three-part navigation framework any B2B marketer can apply, regardless of the size of their organisation.

Guest Introduction

Craig Mills is the APAC Head of Demand Generation and AI Marketing Transformation Lead at IBM. With over two decades at IBM, Craig has led marketing transformation across Asia Pacific, focusing on data-driven demand generation and the practical adoption of AI across complex, multi-market enterprise environments.

Key Topics

• IBM’s AI adoption arc: from pre-GPT predictive analytics through the GPT moment, internal lockdowns on AI use, the launch of IBM watsonx in 2023, and the shift to focused execution in 2026
• The “client zero” experience: how IBM employees lived the AI transformation firsthand through changes to HR systems, well before the broader market caught up
• Why email marketing is Craig’s number one AI use case and how IBM is moving from successful pilots to systematic, micro-targeted execution at scale
• Micro-segmentation at enterprise scale: how AI enables hyper-personalised outreach to audience pockets that were previously too small to justify the investment
• The people-process-tools interconnectivity challenge: why enterprise AI is so difficult and why most organisations are still struggling to get it right
• Craig’s three navigation points for B2B marketers: get closer to customers and partners, get closer to your product, and go faster
• Building maximum mental flexibility: why clarity of mission is the prerequisite for individual speed and creative agility in an AI-driven environment
• The IBM Enterprise 2030 finding: 79% of executives expect AI to drive significant revenue by 2030, yet only 24% know where it will come from

Resources and Links

Tools

• IBM Enterprise 2030 Report -Craig’s North Star on AI strategy: 79% of executives expect AI to drive significant revenue by 2030, but only 24% know where it will come from.
• This Week in Startups -Podcast by Jason Calacanis. Craig recommends it for building a startup mindset inside large organisations.
• IBM watsonx -IBM’s enterprise AI platform, launched May 2023, central to IBM’s AI transformation story.
• Microsoft Copilot -AI productivity tool Craig uses to move faster through emails and meetings.
• Claude -Anthropic’s AI assistant, used by Craig for external customer research.

People Mentioned

• Jason Calacanis -Entrepreneur and host of This Week in Startups. Craig spent a year listening to build a startup mindset within IBM.
• Ray Dalio -Founder of Bridgewater Associates. Craig follows him for his geopolitical frameworks and historical perspective on the forces shaping the world.

Companies

• IBM -Global enterprise technology and consulting company.

Also mentioned 

• Diablo – The classic video game. Apparently the only thing more addictive than playing with AI tools at midnight. 

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Craig Mills

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

AI has made marketing easier to produce – but harder to win. That’s the sharp framing Cameron Partridge, Chief Growth Officer at Humanforce, brings to this conversation. Drawing on nearly a decade in the US, including a front-row seat to the AI boom at Invisible Technologies, working directly with OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Microsoft on AI training, Cameron delivers one of the most grounded takes on where marketing is heading.

From the collapse of specialist roles to why marketing must own revenue, this is the episode to send to every marketing leader sitting on the fence about what AI means for their team and career.

Guest Introduction

Cameron Partridge is Chief Growth Officer at Humanforce, an AI-driven human capital management platform serving frontline workforces globally. He spent nearly a decade in the US, most recently as CMO of Invisible Technologies, one of North America’s fastest-growing AI companies, where he helped grow revenue from $25-30M to close to $200M run rate while working directly with the world’s leading AI model providers. He previously held senior leadership roles at BBDO and Macquarie Group, and began his career at Medibank, Telstra, and GE Capital in Australia.

Key Topics

• Why AI has lowered the floor of marketing quality and what “AI slop” means for how you actually win in a crowded content landscape
• How the marketing function is collapsing from siloed specialists into generalists – and why that’s both an opportunity and a threat
• Why Cameron no longer hires for deep channel expertise, and what he looks for instead: cultural fit, outcomes focus, and “neural plasticity”
• Why marketing must stop reporting on activity and move toward shared revenue ownership with sales – and the rise of the Chief Growth Officer title
• The go-to-market engineer role: what it is, why it’s a critical hire, and why these people are rare in Australia
• Why AI boosts individual productivity but not organisational productivity, and how systems thinking closes the gap
• Cameron’s AI toolkit: Claude for deep work, ChatGPT for quick questions, Claude Code for vibe coding – and why courses are the wrong way to learn AI
• The job outlook for marketers: why middle managers face the most risk and why now is the time to act

Resources & Links

Tools

• Claude – Cameron’s go-to for deep work and complex tasks
• Claude Code – Used by Cameron for vibe coding projects
• ChatGPT – Cameron’s “new Google” for quick questions
• Manus – Meta owned AI agent platform Cameron is experimenting with
• NotebookLM – Recommended for knowledge work
• SEMrush – Part of Cameron’s cross-platform insights dashboard
• X (formerly Twitter) – Recommended for following AI researchers
• Substack – Recommended for action-oriented AI insights

People Mentioned

• Allie K. Miller – Top LinkedIn voice on AI; also on Instagram

Companies

• OpenAI – Worked with directly at Invisible Technologies; recommended for following researchers
• Anthropic – Makers of Claude; referenced as a foundational model provider worth following
• Google – Referenced in Cameron’s analytics dashboard and as a major AI model provider
• Invisible Technologies – Cameron’s former employer; recommended as a source for enterprise AI developments

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Cameron Partridge

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

See the results: https://xgrowth.com.au/reports/abm-pulse/

ABM is evolving fast in APAC, and xGrowth has the data to prove it. In this episode, Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell unpack the findings from xGrowth’s latest ABM Pulse benchmark, based on responses from 93 B2B marketers actively running ABM programs across the region.

From a dramatic shift away from one-to-few programs to AI quietly expanding the scale of what a single budget can cover, this episode cuts through the noise and tells you exactly what is actually happening with ABM in 2025. If you are making investment decisions or defending the ABM line item to your CFO, this one is for you.

Key Topics

• Why one-to-few ABM dropped from 72% adoption in 2024 to around 38% in 2025, and what that signals about market maturity in APAC
• How strategic (one-to-one) ABM has held steady at around 50% as organisations focus on protecting and expanding existing customer relationships
• The AI effect on program scale: why nearly a third of respondents are now running programs targeting 100 or more accounts on the same budgets they used for far fewer
• ABM investment sentiment in 2025: 57% of respondents are holding or growing their ABM budgets, with only 5.2% cutting
• Why inbound is under pressure from zero-click search and LLM-driven traffic drops, and how this is pushing more organisations toward ABM as a primary pipeline channel
• Budget planning paralysis: why a significant portion of APAC marketing leaders still had not confirmed their 2026 budgets well into Q1, and what that says about market uncertainty
• How to use benchmark data like this as social proof when making the case for ABM investment to a CFO or board

Resources & Links

• xGrowth ABM Pulse Report – download the full benchmark findings
• xGrowth – APAC’s B2B growth agency
• Shahin Hoda on LinkedIn
• Alexander Hipwell on LinkedIn

Contact & Credits

Hosts: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Running a global marketing function from APAC sounds like a logistical headache. For Jon Stona, VP of Global Marketing at Airwallex, it’s a deliberate competitive advantage. In this episode, Jon unpacks how one of the world’s fastest-growing fintechs has architected a marketing org that’s globally consistent yet locally authentic – spanning Singapore, San Francisco, London, and regional hubs across Asia, Europe, and Australia.

From making the case for product marketing before performance spend, to using an F1 sponsorship to systematically close a trust gap against legacy financial institutions, Jon brings rare clarity to the strategic decisions that most B2B marketing leaders only talk about in theory. If you want to think bigger about brand, team design, and what marketing can actually own in a scaling business, this episode is worth your time.

Guest Introduction

Jon Stona is VP of Global Marketing at Airwallex, the Australian-founded global payments and financial platform supporting over 150,000 businesses worldwide. Before joining Airwallex, Jon held senior marketing roles at Stripe, Google, and Nike – giving him deep experience scaling marketing across global technology platforms and challenger brands at every stage of growth.

Key Topics

• Why Airwallex built its global marketing org out of APAC, and why the APAC talent pool – wired for fragmentation and global trade from day one – is a genuine strategic asset
• How the team is structured across Singapore, San Francisco, London, and regional markets, and why a flat, matrix model is essential when you’re this geographically dispersed
• The case for investing in product marketing before growth marketing – and why getting your positioning, segmentation, and value prop right is the “root” everything else depends on
• The four truths Jon applies to any market expansion: brand truth, product truth, market truth, and user truth – and how product marketing is the function that calibrates where the variation sits
• How Airwallex uses its McLaren F1 partnership to build trust at scale, structured around the reliability-credibility-intimacy-low self-orientation framework – and how they actually measure the pipeline and employee sentiment impact
• Where AI is genuinely delivering efficiency gains in marketing (Writer, Jasper, Profound) and the paradox this creates: as AI levels the playing field on distribution, the non-technical facets of marketing – storytelling, positioning, insight – matter more than ever
• Jon’s advice for B2B marketers who want to take bolder moves: return to first principles, and remember you’re marketing to humans who happen to make business decisions

Resources & Links

Books

• Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
• Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

AI Tools

• Writer – AI content platform for brand voice consistency and marketing workflow efficiency
• Jasper – AI platform for end-to-end marketing content creation
• Profound – Tool for tracking how your brand appears across LLM platforms

Blogs & Publications

• HubSpot Blog

People Mentioned

• Reko Rennie – Internationally acclaimed Kamilaroi artist who collaborated with Airwallex and McLaren on the ‘Shifted Perspectives’ campaign at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix
• Dan Ariely – Behavioural economist and author

Companies & Platforms

• Airwallex
• McLaren Racing

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Jon Stona

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Events are one of the highest-effort, highest-impact levers in B2B marketing, but most teams run them on autopilot. In this episode, Shahin sits down with Jannat Dawra, Head of Marketing APAC at Dotdigital, to break down her commercial, revenue-first approach to field marketing and events.

Jannat runs 80 to 100 events a year and brings a rare blend of creative instinct and commercial rigour to the craft. From deciding which event type to run, to managing a thin attendance list two weeks out, this episode is packed with practical frameworks for senior B2B marketers.

Guest Introduction

Jannat Dawra is Head of Marketing APAC at Dotdigital, a leading customer experience and data platform. Based in Sydney, Jannat leads brand and demand generation across the region and has previously held senior marketing roles at Insider and LinkedIn.

Key Topics

• The three event buckets: sponsored industry conferences (brand and first-touch), strategic partner events (deepening executive relationships), and owned events (roundtables, community events, summits).
• A commercial approach to event prioritisation: reverse-engineering every event from revenue and pipeline goals. Does it add value to the ICP, accelerate existing pipeline, or strengthen retention and expansion?
• The opportunity cost framework: why a $10K event is never just $10K, and how to factor in team time and effort before committing.
• Planning across the funnel: quarterly check-ins with sales, CS, and partnerships to flex the event mix based on where pressure sits in the business.
• The individual event checklist: clear objective and KPI, stakeholder buy-in, a one-sentence audience definition, speakers matched to the audience profile, and a project plan with contingencies.
• Post-COVID attendee expectations: smaller rooms, curated guest lists, clearer themes, no buzzwords, and ROI scrutiny over vanity metrics.
• The 70/30 prospect-to-client split: why each audience needs different event design, and what happens when you blur the two objectives.
• The post-event playbook: individual follow-up, nurture automations, and treating events as one touchpoint in an 8 to 12-step buying journey.

Resources and Links

People Mentioned

• Simon Sinek, speaker and author referenced by Jannat

Companies and Platforms

• Dotdigital, Jannat’s company, cross-channel marketing automation platform

Books and Podcasts

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The Diary of a CEO, podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Jannat Dawra

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Getting your buyer’s attention has never been harder. In this episode, Shahin sits down with Scott Albro, serial entrepreneur and GTM advisor to early-stage AI founders, to unpack what modern go-to-market actually looks like. Scott reframes the most common answer to “what’s changed?” by showing how AI isn’t just a trend; it’s an accelerant for the three forces already making buyer attention scarce.

From founder brand to manufactured moments, tight customer feedback loops to strategic narrative, Scott shares the GTM pillars he works through with his founder clients. He breaks down why the new breed of AI startups is out-marketing incumbents, what Lovable’s live-streamed design competition can teach any B2B team, and why ServiceTitan’s origin story is the best strategic narrative he’s ever heard.

Guest Introduction

Scott Albro is a serial entrepreneur and go-to-market strategist who co-founded TOPO, a sales and marketing research and advisory firm acquired by Gartner, and advises early-stage AI founders on building their first go-to-market functions, drawing on 30 years of experience studying the GTM practices of the world’s fastest-growing companies.

Key Topics

• Why attention scarcity is the defining GTM challenge today, and how AI makes it worse across three fronts: information overload, professional busyness, and competitive noise
• What incumbent vendors like Salesforce and Workday need to do to defend their position as AI-native startups grow more innovative in both product and go-to-market
• Founder brand as a strategic GTM asset: why it goes far beyond LinkedIn posts, and how Nick Mehta made Gainsight synonymous with the customer success movement
• Growth experiments and the “Mr. Beast for SaaS” mindset: how Lovable drove 40,000 live viewers and 3 million replays with a zero-budget design competition
• Building tight customer feedback loops: why the company that iterates fastest wins, and how AI is finally making weekly feedback cycles achievable
• Manufacturing moments: how Mark Benioff staged a fake protest at Siebel’s user conference to launch the no-software movement and put Salesforce on the map
• Strategic narrative done right: why ServiceTitan’s “the trades stand frozen in time” story is the best B2B narrative Scott has ever encountered
• The danger of performative nihilism: why shock-value launches like Cluely’s generate page views but destroy brand equity

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Nick Mehta, former CEO of Gainsight
• Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO and Co-Founder of Salesforce

Companies & Tools

• TOPO / Gartner
• Gainsight
• ServiceTitan
• Lovable
• Evidenza – a synthetic customer research platform
• Salesforce
• G2

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Scott Albro

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

What does it take to build a brand from nothing in nine weeks, with no assets, no brand book, and a board breathing down your neck? Penny Elmslie did exactly that as the first Marketing Director Xero hired outside of New Zealand, turning a company most Australians confused with a certain photocopier brand into one of the world’s most recognised accounting software businesses.

Penny shares the story behind Xero’s early Australian growth: the scrappy “Hello, Xero with an X” campaign, guerrilla activations like Cloudstreet, the partner strategy that turned accountants into an army, and the event machine that scaled from 30 people in a winery to thousands globally. She also opens up about joining Affinda as CMO and why AI document processing today mirrors where the cloud was a decade ago.

Guest Introduction

Penny Elmslie is a CMO, Board Director, and marketing coach who spent over a decade at Xero, rising from Australia’s first Marketing Director to Global Director of Brand and Community. She is currently CMO at Affinda, a Melbourne-based AI document processing company named one of Australia’s fastest-growing tech companies by Deloitte.

Key Topics

• Building Xero’s brand in nine weeks: Launching a full campaign with no brand book, no assets, and a tiny budget, and why the insight was simply making people spell the name correctly.
• The accountant-as-channel strategy: How Xero built its go-to-market around accountants and bookkeepers, turning that partner network into the most efficient channel to market.
• From “Hello” to XeroCon: How brand experience evolved from small intro sessions to national roadshows and a flagship conference now running worldwide.
• Cloudstreet and guerrilla marketing: The pop-up activation that scaled from a city storefront into a shipping container touring Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
• B2C thinking in a B2B world: Why Penny approaches every B2B campaign as human-to-human, and how that philosophy shaped her work at Xero.
• Joining Affinda: What drew her to an AI-first scale-up and the brand-building opportunity still ahead.
• Reactive vs. responsive: Why responding to market opportunity beats forcing a proactive plan early in a CMO role.
• Content quality in an AI-flooded world: Why human expertise must stay on the levers, and why brands that commit to their ICP and tone will win.

Resources & Links

People

• Chris Ridd– Former MD, Xero Australia (2011–2016)
• Rod Drury– Co-founder, Xero

Companies & Tools

• Affinda– AI document processing platform; Penny’s current company
• Affinda Group– Parent company of Affinda, Draftable, Pathfindr, and Vesparum
• Draftable– Document comparison software for legal teams
• Xero– Cloud-based accounting software for small businesses
• MYOB– Accounting software competitor
• Leo Burnett Australia– Creative agency Penny briefed on day one at Xero
• Sputnik Agency– Melbourne agency Penny partnered with to launch Xero’s first Australian campaign

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Penny Elmslie

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

While everyone panics about ChatGPT stealing traffic and AI replacing jobs, the data tells a different story. For every search on ChatGPT, there are 373 searches on Google. AI’s disruption is far less dramatic than media hype suggests. Rand Fishkin challenges this prevailing wisdom about AI’s impact on B2B marketing.

In this conversation, Rand and Shahin explore why consensus views are usually wrong, how to build marketing strategies around actual audience behaviour, and what Rand learnt from building Moz versus SparkToro. From audience intelligence research to radical transparency about the venture capital trap, Rand delivers insights that help B2B marketers make smarter decisions.

Guest Introduction

Rand Fishkin is the co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, an audience research software company, and Snackbar Studio, an indie game development studio. Previously, he founded Moz, where he grew the company from debt to $50M+ in revenue over 17 years. He’s the author of Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World and is known for his radical transparency about startup life and his contrarian takes on marketing trends.

Key Topics

• AI’s real impact on search: Data shows ChatGPT handles one search for every 373 on Google, and AI hasn’t caused predicted job displacement (US unemployment remains historically low).
• Audience-specific research: Rather than following industry trends, marketers should investigate where their audience spends time using tools like SparkToro to discover relevant channels and influencers.
• Channel strategy and execution: Effective B2B marketing requires both overarching positioning strategy plus channel-specific tactical approaches for LinkedIn, email, and content platforms.
• Learning from hype cycles: From mobile apps to crypto, media creates fear-based narratives around technology that rarely match reality, and marketers who chase every trend waste resources.
• Building companies differently: Rand compares growing Moz with VC funding to building SparkToro through alternative funding, highlighting how serving investors rather than customers creates misaligned incentives.

Resources & Links

People:

• Amanda Natividad – VP of Marketing at SparkToro, referenced for her philosophy on social media algorithms and authentic engagement

Companies & Tools:

• SparkToro – Audience research software
• Moz – SEO software platform
• Snackbar Studio – Indie game development studio
• ChatGPT – Large language model by OpenAI
• DuckDuckGo – Privacy-focused search engine

Books & Resources:

• Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World by Rand Fishkin
• SparkToro Funding Documents – Open-sourced funding model and incorporation docs
• Snackbar Studio Funding Documents – Open-sourced funding model for indie game studio

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Rand Fishkin

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong and author of Courageous Marketing, explains why bold creativity is essential for startups competing in crowded B2B markets.

Udi shares the principle behind Gong’s rise from zero to hundreds of millions in revenue: “different is better than better.” From fuchsia branding and a bulldog mascot to running Super Bowl ads as a startup, he shows how courageous marketing helps companies punch above their weight.

The episode also explores practical ways to create standout content, foster experimentation, and turn customers into passionate fans, even on a limited budget.

Guest Introduction

Udi Ledergor is Chief Evangelist at Gong and author of the bestselling book Courageous Marketing. He served as Gong’s first CMO, helping grow the company from zero to hundreds of millions in revenue whilst achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation. Over his 20-year career, Udi has led marketing teams at successful companies, advised startups, served as a board member and angel investor, and mentored hundreds of marketers.

Key Topics

• Different is better than better: Why startups should stop trying to incrementally beat competitors at their own game and instead do something completely different to get noticed
• Punching above your weight: How small startups can use guerrilla marketing tactics like out-of-home advertising to appear much bigger than they are when selling to enterprises
• Creating raving fans as a company-wide operating principle: Why marketing can’t own brand alone, and how every employee at Gong works to create raving fan experiences for customers, candidates, and partners
• Building a culture of experimentation: The importance of fostering an environment where teams can take calculated risks, fail safely, and learn from both successes and flops
• Gong Labs content marketing: How Gong created original, data-driven content by analysing millions of sales calls to position themselves as the most informed voice in sales effectiveness
• Category creation strategy: When it makes sense to create a new category (and when it doesn’t), illustrated through the De Beers diamond engagement ring marketing campaign
• Bold visual identity choices: The decision to use fuchsia pink and purple with a bulldog mascot in 2018 when all B2B competitors were using corporate blue
• Startup advertising on a shoestring budget: Creative approaches to billboard advertising, Super Bowl commercials, and other typically expensive channels that small companies can leverage

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

Chris Orlob – First content hire at Gong who created most early Gong content independently.

Devin Reed – Former Gong sales rep who transitioned into leading Gong’s content marketing.

Kyle Lacy – CMO referenced for using AI to eliminate obvious ideas and push creative thinking.

Michael Lewis – Author and podcast host whose show drove inbound interest for Gong.

Francis Gerety– Copywriter behind the “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign, cited as a category creation example.

Companies & Platforms Mentioned

• Gong – Revenue intelligence platform
• Gong Labs – Data research and insights
• De Beers – Diamond company referenced for category creation example

Books & Resources

• Courageous Marketing – a practical playbook for B2B marketers to drive impact and accelerate career success.

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Udi Ledergor

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

What if a $28 Facebook ad could generate $20 million? Stu Heinecke, the father of contact marketing, reveals how micro-focused campaigns connect you with virtually anyone.

Stu shares stories of a sales rep who used a live pigeon to reach a famous CEO, a startup that landed Walmart with one targeted ad, and how Kris Kristofferson landed a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn to deliver a demo tape.

Guest Introduction

Stu Heinecke is a bestselling author, Hall of Fame-nominated marketer, and Wall Street Journal cartoonist who helps B2B sellers acquire million-dollar accounts. His campaigns have produced response rates as high as 300% and ROI in the millions of percent.

Key Topics

• Contact marketing defined: Targeted campaigns (as few as one person) marked by creativity, audacity, and relevance
• Pigeon campaign that closed a $250,000 deal with a famous tech CEO
• Orabrush’s $28 Facebook ad that landed a 735,000-unit Walmart order
• Deep personalisation through profile research and relevant gifts
• Why compelling campaigns exceed 100% response rates through viral sharing
• Getting started by reading foundational books and researching prospects

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Dan Waldschmidt – Turnaround specialist who sends swords, achieving 100% response rates
• Kris Kristofferson – Singer-songwriter who landed helicopter on Cash’s lawn for demo delivery
• Johnny Cash – Country legend who received Kristofferson’s helicopter delivery
• June Carter – Cash’s wife who received Kristofferson’s demo tapes
• Leonardo da Vinci – Renaissance artist who used creative approaches with the Count of Milan

Books

• How to Get a Meeting with Anyone – Foundational contact marketing book, top 65 sales books of all time
• Get the Meeting! – Follow-up with 60+ illustrated case studies

Companies & Organizations

• Orabrush – Tongue cleaner startup, $28 Facebook ad to Walmart
• Walmart – Retail giant targeted by Orabrush’s Bentonville ads
• American Marketing Association – Named Stu “father of contact marketing”

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Stu Heinecke

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Caleb Ralston challenges one of the most sacred rules in personal branding: niching down. While it’s technically the fastest path to growth, it’s also a fast track to burnout and quitting altogether. In this conversation with Shahin Hoda, Caleb shares hard-won insights from working with some of the biggest names in business (Gary Vaynerchuk, Alex and Leila Hormozi) and reveals the sustainable approach to building a personal brand that doesn’t make you hate what you’ve created.

From why you should inject your personality into everything you make, to how organisations can build loyalty by empowering team members to develop their own brands, this episode is packed with contrarian wisdom for anyone building content for the long term.

Guest Introduction

Caleb Ralston is a brand strategist, content producer, and creator mentor who has worked with Gary Vaynerchuk, Leila and Alex Hormozi, and other leading voices in entrepreneurship. He now helps founders and creators scale content in a way that’s sustainable, strategic, and honest through his company Ralston.

Key Topics

• Why niching down is overrated: The conventional wisdom on niching down works in theory but leads to creator burnout and audience fatigue in practice. Caleb explains why sustainability matters more than short-term growth hacks.
• The sustainability framework for content creation: Building a personal brand is like fitness: you get returns by doing it forever, not by sprinting for a year and quitting. Learn how to create systems that allow you to keep showing up.
• Lessons from working with Gary V and the Hormozis: What most people assume about these mega-brands is completely wrong. Caleb shares the behind-the-scenes reality of how these creators actually build their influence.
• Injecting personality without losing focus: How to integrate your interests and quirks into your content without confusing your audience or diluting your message.
• Building personal brands within organisations: The Barstool Sports approach to content: why Dave Portnoy isn’t in all the content, and how this creates a more scalable, sustainable media company. How this strategy applies to B2B companies.
• Strategic hiring for content bottlenecks: Why your first hire shouldn’t be another you, and how to identify the specific constraint that’s actually holding back your content production.
• Being 100% yourself in the age of AI: As everyone starts sounding the same on LinkedIn with ChatGPT-generated posts, authenticity becomes your competitive advantage. Caleb’s advice: lean into your insecurities and the things you’re terrified to share.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Gary Vaynerchuk – Entrepreneur and Chairman of VaynerX
• Alex Hormozi – Co-founder and Managing Partner at Acquisition.com
• Leila Hormozi – CEO of Acquisition.com
• Paddy Galloway – YouTube strategist and content optimization expert
• Dave Portnoy – Founder of Barstool Sports

Books & Resources:

• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk – The book that inspired Caleb to pursue his current path
• Caleb’s YouTube Channel
• Ralston – Caleb’s brand strategy and content company

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Caleb Ralston

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

What if your CEO asked you to double revenue without adding budget or headcount? Robert Chatwani, President and General Manager of Growth at DocuSign, believes not only is it possible – there’s never been a better time to make it happen.

In this conversation, Robert unpacks the frameworks and organisational changes required to achieve exponential growth with existing resources. From building agile growth squads that operate like engineering teams to leveraging AI agents for hyper-personalised prospecting, he reveals how DocuSign is transforming from an e-signature company into an AI-powered platform. If you’re facing budget cuts but still expected to deliver results, this episode offers a roadmap.

Guest Introduction

Robert Chatwani is President and General Manager, Growth at DocuSign, where he leads the Marketing & Growth organisation to scale its digital strategy across marketing, product, technology and sales. Before joining DocuSign, Robert was CMO of Atlassian, where he helped scale the business to nearly $3 billion in revenue. He also spent more than a decade at eBay, ending his tenure as Chief Marketing Officer for North America where his teams supported $35 billion in trading volume. Robert is the 2023 American Heart Association Bay Area Heart Walk Chair and serves as a West Coast Board Member at the American India Foundation.

Key Topics

• The 2x-10x challenge: Why companies expect exponential output increases without adding resources, and why Robert believes marketing teams can deliver.
• Thomas Barta’s V-Zone framework: Maximising the overlap between customer needs and company needs to drive business impact and secure executive support.
• The harsh realities facing B2B teams: CAC is up 60% since the pandemic, traditional channels show diminishing returns, and most GTM models are obsolete – creating opportunities for teams willing to rethink their approach.
• Operating principles over company values: DocuSign’s five core principles – “we before me,” “dreaming big,” “take action,” “ignite the way,” and “delivering customer delight” – that guide team behaviours and decisions.
• Growth squads and agile methodologies: Why effective GTM teams operate like engineering teams with two-week sprints, daily standups, and experiment backlogs instead of traditional campaign structures.
• Building a culture of experimentation: Robert’s framework for systematic testing – generating ideas, prioritising experiments, executing with discipline, and scaling what works.
• AI-powered prospecting in action: How DocuSign used AI agents to turn tens of thousands of exhausted leads into millions in the pipeline, generating 60 replies and 15 meetings within 72 hours.
• Designing for the future you want: Why leaders must ask whether their current team structure and capabilities match what they would design from scratch to achieve ambitious growth goals.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Thomas Barta-Marketing leadership expert and author of “The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader”
• Jeff Bezos-Founder of Amazon, referenced for the “two pizza team” principle

Companies & Platforms:

• DocuSign-Agreement management platform
• Atlassian-Collaboration software
• eBay-Online marketplace
• Amazon-Benchmark for experimentation culture
• Netflix-Benchmark for experimentation culture
• Airbnb-Benchmark for experimentation culture
• Uber-Benchmark for experimentation culture

Concepts & Frameworks:

• The V-Zone (Value Creation Zone)-Maximising overlap between customer and company needs
• The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader-Book by Thomas Barta and Patrick Barwise
• Two-Pizza Team-Amazon’s principle for keeping teams small (5-8 people)

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Robert Chatwani

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, Jon Lombardo, Co-Founder of Evidenza, unpacks the counterintuitive truth about B2B buying behaviour. Drawing on research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Jon reveals why most B2B marketers fundamentally misunderstand their audience. The 95-5 rule shows that 95% of potential buyers aren’t in the market right now, which means the traditional focus on short-term lead generation is missing the bigger picture. 

Jon also explains how AI-powered synthetic research is transforming market intelligence, why B2B needs more brand building than B2C, and what marketers should do about it. 

If you’re stuck chasing in-market buyers whilst your competitors build future demand, this conversation will change how you think about growth.

Guest Introduction

Jon Lombardo is Co-Founder of Evidenza, a synthetic AI market research platform that surveys AI-generated customer copies to build evidence-based marketing plans in hours rather than months. Previously, Jon was Head of Research at LinkedIn’s B2B Institute, where he helped establish the 95-5 rule and commissioned pioneering research on how B2B brands grow.

Key Topics

• The 95-5 rule: why 95% of B2B buyers are out of market at any given time, and why that matters more than the 5% who are ready to buy
• The 11X rule: how B2B buying cycles are 11 times longer than B2C, making brand building even more critical in B2B than consumer categories
• The evolution from the 60-40 rule to 95-5: how research with John Dawes from Ehrenberg-Bass Institute challenged conventional wisdom about marketing budget allocation
• Mental and physical availability in B2B: creating brand-relevant memories that activate when buyers eventually come into the market
• AI and synthetic research: how Evidenza uses AI to interview synthetic customers, delivering market research in hours that would traditionally take months
• Bootstrapped growth: how Evidenza launched with paying customers from day one without venture capital, growing to over 100 clients
• The future of AI in marketing: why AI is underrated and will transform marketing beyond what most people imagine
• Practical applications: how to use AI for execution whilst keeping strategic thinking human

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Mark Ritson – Marketing professor, columnist, and founder of Marketing Week Mini MBA
• John Dawes – Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Les Binet – Marketing effectiveness researcher and econometrician
• Peter Field – Marketing consultant and author
• Peter Weinberg – Co-Founder of Evidenza
• Brian Watroba – Co-Founder of Evidenza
• Jenny Romaniuk – Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Rachel Kennedy – Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Nicole Hartnett – Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Byron Sharp – Professor of Marketing Science at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Companies & Organisations:

• Evidenza – Synthetic AI market research platform
• Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science – The World’s largest centre for research into marketing
• LinkedIn B2B Institute – Marketing think tank (Jon’s former employer)

Key Frameworks:

• The 95-5 Rule – Research on B2B buying behaviour shows that only 5% of buyers are in market
• The 11X Rule – How B2B buying cycles differ from B2C
• The 60-40 Rule – Les Binet and Peter Field’s framework for balancing brand building and sales activation

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC:https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Hosts: Shahin Hoda and Vinnie Romano

Guest Jon Lombardo

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Leandro Perez joins to cut through the AI hype and share what’s actually working. With Agentforce handling 850,000 conversations and managing 85% of customer inquiries, Leandro reveals the reality behind the marketing claims and addresses the “SaaS is dead” narrative head-on.

From managing 30,000 weekly customer inquiries with AI agents to transforming his entire marketing team’s workflows, Leandro offers a brutally honest look at what it takes to lead through a technological revolution. This isn’t just theory: it’s a practitioner’s guide to implementing AI at scale, including the mistakes, the breakthroughs, and the systematic approach required to bring an entire organisation along for the journey.

Guest Introduction

Leandro Perez is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Australia and New Zealand at Salesforce, where he guides strategic direction and market positioning for the world’s leading AI-powered CRM. 

With a Computer Science degree from UNSW and an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, Leandro brings over 20 years of experience combining technical expertise with business acumen. 

He previously led global corporate messaging at Salesforce and partnered closely with CEO Marc Benioff. He’s a Fellow of The Marketing Academy, serves on the AANA Board, and is a recipient of the Salesforce Chairman & CEO Award.

Key Topics

• AI reality at Salesforce: Agent Force handles 850,000 conversations with 85% resolution
• “SaaS is dead” narrative: Why enterprise software needs governance, permissions, reliability, not just quick AI code
• Leading transformation: Year-long journey from lone voice to company-wide quarterly Agent Force Learning Days
• Process mapping first: Document crown jewel processes to identify pain points before introducing AI
• Systematic change: Company-wide learning days, mandatory training (100% Agent Blazer status), permission to experiment
• Practical AI adoption: Landing pages, social automation, Slack summaries, 80% email engagement, plus failed experiments
• Experimentation culture: Identifying early adopters, showcasing wins, balancing air cover with performance

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Marc Benioff – Salesforce CEO & Co-Founder
• Roby Sharon-Zipser – hipages CEO & Co-Founder

Companies & Tools:

• Salesforce – AI-powered CRM platform
• Agentforce – Salesforce AI agent platform
• Trailhead – Salesforce learning platform
• Fisher & Paykel – Appliance manufacturer
• Goodyear – Tire manufacturer
• Remarkable – Digital paper tablet
• hipages – Online tradie marketplace
• ChatGPT – AI chatbot
• Gemini – Google AI assistant
• Perplexity – AI search tool
• ElevenLabs – AI text-to-speech
• AANA – Association of National Advertisers

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Leandro Perez

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Marketing at the pace of AI innovation isn’t easy, but Rubina Carlson, Head of Marketing at 90 Seconds, has found a way to stay ahead without burning out. In this conversation with host Vinnie Romano, Rubina shares her honest journey from feeling late to the AI party to becoming an AI-first marketer who dedicates one hour per week to systematic experimentation.

This episode is packed with practical wisdom for B2B marketers who feel overwhelmed by the rapid pace of AI evolution. Rubina reveals how she carved out time to test tools like Opus Clip, custom GPTs, and Canva Magic, turning weekly pain points into opportunities for AI-powered solutions. She challenges the myth that prompt engineering requires specialists, arguing instead that it’s simply about learning to communicate with clarity.

Whether you’re struggling to justify AI experimentation to leadership or feeling paralysed by the sheer number of tools available, this episode will give you a clear framework to start testing, learning, and integrating AI into your everyday marketing workflow.

Guest Introduction

Rubina Carlson is a Certified Practising Marketer and Head of Marketing at 90 Seconds, the global platform empowering enterprise brands to create video content at scale. With over 15 years of experience driving growth across tech, tourism, higher education, and agency sectors, Rubina leads data-driven, growth-focused strategies that fuel brand visibility and revenue. Known for her early adoption of social media platforms and now AI, she’s at the forefront of marketing innovation, having built internal GPTs and tested a wide range of AI tools to push marketing performance further. Beyond her corporate role, Rubina serves as Director of Digital Adelaide (South Australia’s largest marketing conference) and is a key driver of Adelaide’s emerging AI events.

Key Topics

• Overcoming “late to the AI party” fears: Transform anxiety into systematic learning
• One-hour-per-week AI testing: Friday afternoon framework for testing solutions
• Building custom GPTs: Achieve 80% first-draft quality with brand voice
• Strategic AI tool testing: Compare tools for real problem-solving vs trends
• Opus Clip for video repurposing: Transform long videos into social clips
• Rebecca Webber’s AI success: Cut assessment time from 60 min to 30 sec
• Prompt engineering demystified: Clear communication, not specialist role
• Navigating AI restrictions: Build business cases when IT blocks tools

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Stephen Mayall – Growth marketer focusing on AI and agentic workflows
• Tim Lillyman – Marketing leader at XPON Technologies Group, active in AI and automation
• Axel Sukianto – B2B SaaS marketer and growth marketing advisor
• Christopher Chow – Head of Growth Marketing at Smokeball, LinkedIn video creator
• Rebecca Webber – Literacy leader at the Department of Education, South Australia, developed an award-winning AI assessment tool
• Simon Sinek – Author of “Start with Why”

Companies & Tools

• 90 Seconds – Rubina’s company, a global video creation platform
• Opus Clip – AI video clipping tool for creating viral shorts from long videos
• Canva Magic – AI features within Canva for design and content creation
• Custom GPTs – OpenAI’s customisable AI assistants
• Department for Education, South Australia – Organisation where Rebecca Webber developed an award-winning AI assessment tool
• Social Media Club Adelaide – Early adopter community mentioned by Rubina

Books & Resources

• “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Vinnie Romano

Guest: Rubina Carlson

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Marcus Sheridan reveals why most businesses are failing to win trust in an AI-disrupted world, and exactly what to do about it. The bestselling author of They Ask You Answer and Endless Customers breaks down the four pillars of becoming the best-known and trusted brand in your market: saying what others won’t say, showing what others won’t show, selling differently, and being more human than your competition.

From publishing service call data that manufacturers begged his client to hide, generating over $35 million from a single pricing article, Marcus shares real-world case studies that prove radical transparency isn’t just good ethics, it’s exceptional business. This episode is essential for listening for any founder or marketer who refuses to play it safe.

Guest Introduction

Marcus Sheridan is a world-renowned communication expert, author, and keynote speaker who has delivered over 750 transformational presentations across dozens of countries. Called a “web marketing guru” by The New York Times and named by Forbes as “1 of 20 Speakers You Don’t Want to Miss”, Marcus is the author of They Ask You Answer (named “One of the 5 Best Marketing Books of All Time” by BookAuthority) and Endless Customers (a USA Today national bestseller). He saved his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the 2008 crash through radical content marketing, transforming it into the most-visited swimming pool website globally. With over $1 billion in economic impact generated for companies worldwide, Marcus is also the co-founder of PriceGuide.ai, IMPACT, Marcus Sheridan International, and Question First Group.

Key Topics

• The four pillars of trust and why almost no companies consistently say, show, sell, and act more human than their competitors
• The Yale Appliance case study: How CEO Steve Sheinkopf became the most trusted voice in his industry by publishing service call data that threw major manufacturers under the bus
• The Big Five content topics: Why cost content is the number one traffic and sales generator, and the five levels of pricing transparency
• The pricing estimator revolution: Why companies see 300-500% increases in qualified leads overnight, including the Scottish shed company that saw 500% more leads in one weekend
• AI’s massive impact on search: How over 60% of Google searches don’t result in clicks, and why YouTube will become more important than your website
• Building a personal brand: Why trying to look smart destroys credibility, and why knowing who you are is not more important than knowing who you are

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Steve Sheinkopf, CEO at Yale Appliance
• Rory Vaden, Speaker, Author, Co-founder of Brand Builders Group
• Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee), Entrepreneur, Chairman of VaynerX
• Seth Godin, Author, Entrepreneur, Marketing expert

Companies & Tools:

• River Pools, Marcus’ fiberglass pool manufacturing company
• PriceGuide.ai, Pricing estimator platform
• IMPACT, Marketing agency and training company
• Marcus Sheridan International, Speaking and consulting
• Question First Group, Sales and leadership training company

Books & Resources:

• Endless Customers by Marcus Sheridan
• They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Marcus Sheridan

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this insightful conversation, Kitty Zhao, Head of Marketing for Adhesive Technologies at Henkel ANZ, shares her proven strategies for putting Australia and New Zealand on the global marketing map. 

Working for a global organisation with headquarters far from the region, Kitty reveals how she’s successfully gained executive visibility, built internal advocates, and implemented innovative marketing approaches that have been adopted across the Asia-Pacific region.

This episode is essential listening for any B2B marketer working in a regional market who wants to move beyond execution mode and become a strategic contributor whose voice is heard at the highest levels of their organisation.

Guest Introduction

Kitty Zhao is a seasoned B2B marketing leader with over 14 years of experience across the manufacturing, mining, automotive aftermarket, and scientific sectors. Kitty brings a strategic lens to every initiative, combining deep expertise in OEM and distribution models with a collaborative leadership style that empowers teams to deliver marketing programs that resonate with customers and drive meaningful business results.

Key Topics

• Why Australian and New Zealand markets risk being overlooked in global decision-making, and how raising your profile ensures local needs are considered proactively.
• Common mistakes regional marketers make and why you should treat new initiatives like a sales pitch with evidence-based proposals.
• Pioneering account-based marketing in the mining sector and how this Australian initiative became the pilot program for the entire APAC region.
• Building internal advocates across technical teams and sales forces, and developing co-branded campaigns with customers.
• Creating strategic alliances with global colleagues across marketing functions to ensure two-way communication.
• Leveraging the Australian Institute of Packaging partnership that led to speaking opportunities across Asia-Pacific conferences.
• How locally-developed initiatives expanded from Australia to Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia.
• Building trust, demonstrating small wins, and confidently proposing innovative approaches.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Mark Ritson– Marketing professor and founder of Mini MBA in Marketing
• Natalie Truong– Ex-CMO, Oceania at EY

Companies & Organisations:

• Henkel-Global adhesive technologies company
• Australian Institute of Packaging-Peak professional body for packaging education in Australasia

Courses:

• MiniMBA in Marketing-MBA-level marketing course

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Kitty Zhao

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Ever wondered if you might already be a product marketer without knowing it? This episode breaks down one of B2B’s most misunderstood roles with someone who literally wrote the book on it. Kayla Medica, Australia’s leading product marketing advocate and author of The Mehdeeka Method, sits down with host Vinnie Romano to demystify what product marketers actually do and why they’re crucial for proving product-market fit.

If you’re a marketer feeling stuck between sales enablement and strategic growth, or a founder struggling to translate your brilliant product into clear value propositions that resonate, this conversation will change how you think about marketing’s role in driving revenue. Kayla reveals why product marketing might be the missing piece in your marketing strategy—and why understanding it could be the key to unlocking sustainable business growth.

Guest Introduction

Kayla Medica is the author of The Mehdeeka Method, a book all about establishing product marketing in an organisation including all the tricky bits like wrangling big personalities, as well as a fractional product marketer working with B2B SaaS businesses and startups. Having worked in B2B SaaS for over a decade, she’s established product marketing functions at companies like Willow, serves as Head of Programming for Generate Summit, and writes the weekly Mehdeeka newsletter.

Key Topics

• Defining product marketing beyond the buzzwords – Why product marketing isn’t just another marketing role and how it bridges the gap between what you build and what customers actually need
• The product marketer as the “buddy system” to your product – How product marketers change roles throughout a product’s lifecycle from concept to sunset, acting as whatever the product needs at each stage
• Why sales enablement isn’t “just” sales enablement – How internal education and getting everyone on the same page about what your product actually does forms the foundation for all other marketing efforts
• The granular work behind product-market fit – Real examples of how product marketers identify new use cases, expand into new markets, and help businesses understand not just who their customers are, but how they actually use the product
• Career transition advice for aspiring product marketers – How to identify if you’re already doing product marketing work and what skills transfer from traditional marketing roles
• The collaboration imperative – Why product marketing success depends on working across teams (sales, product, customer success) and being the person who brings solutions, not just problems
• Product marketing as a business growth lever – How understanding and maintaining product-market fit becomes crucial for sustainable business growth and why business leaders should care about this function
• The Australian product marketing landscape – Why the role is newer in Australia compared to the US and how the local market is evolving

Resources & Links

Books Mentioned:

• The Mehdeeka Method by Kayla Medica – A step-by-step guide to establishing product marketing within organisations
• Listen Like You Mean It by Ximena Vengoechea – About conducting interviews and listening skills for product marketers
• Talk to Me by Dean Nelson – A journalist’s guide to asking better questions

Communities & Resources:

• Generate Summit – Australia and New Zealand’s leading B2B marketing community
• Mehdeeka Newsletter – Kayla’s seasonal newsletter on B2B SaaS marketing

People Mentioned:

• Axel Sukianto – Co-founder of Generate
• Lara Vandersluis – Generate community organiser
• Kaylee Liu Generate community organiser

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Vinnie Romano

Guest: Kayla Medica

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, we dive deep into the complexities of building growth strategies across APAC with Victoria, who leads marketing for Thomson Reuters across an enormous remit spanning from Africa and the Middle East through to Japan and New Zealand.

Victoria shares why expanding into APAC is fundamentally different from other regions, dispels common myths about APAC markets, and reveals how sophisticated buyers in these geographies are driving the future of B2B technology adoption.

The conversation explores everything from the nuanced approach needed for different markets like Japan’s trust-building requirements versus the rapid innovation appetite in Southeast Asia, to how geopolitical shifts create both opportunities and challenges.

Victoria also shares her approach to creating bespoke research that serves as both thought leadership and demand generation, demonstrating how to move beyond traditional marketing tactics to become a true business growth driver.

Guest Introduction

Victoria Sampson (McCafferty) is a seasoned marketing leader with over 15 years of experience driving growth across Asia-Pacific.

As CMO APAC at Thomson Reuters, she leads a diverse regional team, combining data, technology, and customer insight to design demand generation programs that deliver measurable impact.

Passionate about understanding buyer behavior, she believes the best marketing comes from truly knowing the customer—what they value, how they operate, and when to reach them.

Throughout her career, she has been proud to build inclusive teams, champion an ethical, people-first culture, and position marketing as a precision growth engine that bridges business goals with customer needs in meaningful ways.

Key Topics

• Why APAC expansion is different: Cultural practices, timing (e.g., Eid in Middle East), and diverse innovation drivers require long-term commitment (6–24 months depending on market).
• APAC myths debunked: Markets are often more advanced than US/EU in tech adoption, with larger buying groups and 70% of the journey completed digitally before first contact.
• The “gateway market” trap: Limiting operations to Singapore and Australia misses growth in China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia.
• Content as advantage: Bespoke research and executive interviews drive both client retention and sophisticated demand generation.
• The 70-30 localisation rule: 70% of marketing scales regionally; 30% needs localisation around culture, channels, and geography.
• Channel diversification: WeChat dominates China, Naver in Korea, WhatsApp is rising in B2B, while Japan’s B2B sees low social media impact and declining email effectiveness.
• Marketing as advisory: Shift from traditional roles to driving business growth with analytics, strategy, and client-centric positioning.
• Future of B2B marketing: AI handles execution; human skills in messaging, buyer understanding, and connection become key — a return to the “art” of marketing.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Professor Scott Galloway – Recommended resource for business insights and content
• Shahin Hoda LinkedIn Profile
• Alexander Hipwell LinkedIn Profile

Companies & Tools Discussed

• Thomson Reuters – Victoria’s employer
• Bombora – Intent data platform mentioned
• 6Sense – ABM software platform
• Canva AI – Content creation tool
• Tableau – Data analytics and reporting

Events & Programs

• Synergy – Thomson Reuters’ flagship client event series (Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo)

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Victoria Sampson (McCafferty)

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, we delve into the world of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) with Stuart Matthewman, who shares the hard-won lessons from IR’s six-year journey with ABM.

From early failures and misalignment issues to achieving an incredible 80X return on marketing spend, Stuart reveals the critical importance of sales and marketing alignment. He provides a detailed blueprint for implementing a successful ABM program. This episode is packed with actionable insights for B2B marketers looking to move beyond traditional lead generation tactics and build sustainable revenue growth through strategic account targeting.

Guest Introduction

Stuart Matthewman joined IR in 2014 and was promoted to CMO in 2022, having risen through the ranks and strengthened the marketing function. Under his leadership as CMO, he has been a key contributor to IR’s remarkable growth, driving a 132% increase in revenue, a 289% growth in EBITDA, and a complete overhaul of the global marketing team. Stuart is a B2B CMO of the Year Finalist for 2025 and brings extensive experience leading global marketing teams across ASX-listed technology companies.

Key Topics

• The early ABM struggles: Why IR’s initial attempts at account-based marketing failed over six years, including issues with sales alignment and over-personalisation too early
• The turning point: How bringing in new sales leadership and rebranding ABM as “Account Based Everything” (ABE) transformed their approach and results
• The 12-16 week ABM process: A detailed breakdown of IR’s structured approach, from pre-warming accounts to SDR activation and sales follow-up sequences
• Sales and marketing alignment: Practical strategies for getting sales teams fully bought into ABM programs and maintaining consistent execution
• SDRs under marketing: Why IR moved their SDR function from sales to marketing and the benefits this structure provides for ABM execution
• Measuring ABM success: How IR tracks progress without traditional MQL metrics and focuses on account engagement and pipeline generation
• AI integration: Current experiments with AI to automate and scale ABM activities while maintaining personalisation
• Branding evolution: IR’s journey from “Integrated Research” to “IR” and the market research that guided their brand consolidation strategy

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Stuart Matthewman – CMO, IR
• Byron Sharp – Director, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute
• Professor Jenni Romaniuk – Associate Director, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute
• Mark Ritson – Marketing Professor and Mini MBA Founder
• Kerry Cunningham – 6Sense ABM Expert
• Kim Scott – Author of “Radical Candor”
• John Lombardo – B2B Institute (LinkedIn)

Companies & Tools:

• IR (Integrated Research) – Performance monitoring software for critical IT infrastructure
• Ehrenberg-Bass Institute – World’s largest centre for marketing research
• 6Sense
• DemandBase

Books & Resources:

• “How Brands Grow” – Byron Sharp
• “How Brands Grow Part 2” – Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk
• “Radical Candor” – Kim Scott
• “Better Brand Health” – Jenni Romaniuk
• “Building Distinctive Brand Assets” – Jenni Romaniuk
• Women in Product Marketing Podcast

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Stuart Matthewman

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, Vinnie sits down with ABM marketing expert Melinda Stuart to tackle one of B2B marketing’s most misunderstood concepts: go-to-market strategy.

What starts as a discussion about business language misuse quickly evolves into a deeper conversation about how marketers can remain strategically relevant in an AI-driven world.

Melinda breaks down why go-to-market has become a buzzword that’s lost its true meaning, and shares practical advice for B2B marketers who want to move beyond tactics to drive real organisational alignment.

This episode is essential listening for anyone tired of seeing “go-to-market” slapped onto job titles without the strategic foundation to back it up.

Guest Introduction

Melinda Stuart is Enterprise Marketing Lead at Optus and a Marketing and Communications Leader with extensive experience in global and APAC markets.

With over two decades of international experience and more than ten years in the technology sector spanning cloud, communications, and software, Melinda has successfully shaped go-to-market strategies across various new territories and verticals.

She’s worked in both agency and client-side roles, including previous positions at Macquarie Telecom and InterSystems, and serves as an advisor to organisations of varying sizes, particularly within the technology space.

Key Topics

• The real definition of go-to-market strategy – Why it’s a cross-functional, organisational approach, not just a marketing function
• Why marketers are taking on GTM responsibility – The rise of growth marketers and how stakeholder fatigue leads to siloed decision-making
• The critical question every marketer should ask – “Who do I need to get in a room?” before taking on go-to-market responsibilities
• Strategy vs tactics in the age of AI – How the abundance of marketing tools is creating more tacticians than strategists
• Social selling as part of account-based marketing – Using executive branding and authentic content to demonstrate growth within target accounts
• Staying relevant in an AI world – Why human strategic thinking remains the competitive differentiator for the next decade
• The importance of cross-functional collaboration – Breaking out of the marketing corner to ask questions and align with other teams

Resources & Links

• Vinnie’s article in Mediaweek: Stop selling tactics as strategy: The dangerous misuse of business language
• Adam Turinas – Healthcare ABM specialist and founder of Health Launchpad
• Dr Catherine Ball – Futurist, Associate Professor at Australian National University, and author of “Converge”
• Vinnie Romano on LinkedIn – Host and executive branding specialist
• Melinda Stuart on LinkedIn – Guest and Enterprise Marketing Lead at Optus

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Vinnie Romano

Guest: Melinda Stuart

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Join us for an insightful conversation with Jon Stona, who leads marketing at Airwallex, one of the fastest-growing fintechs in the world.

Operating across 130+ markets from their Singapore headquarters, Jon shares how they’ve built a modern marketing organisation that balances global consistency with local authenticity.

From the critical importance of product marketing to bold brand moves like their McLaren F1 partnership, this episode explores what it takes to scale marketing in the fintech space while challenging traditional B2B playbooks.

Key Topics Covered

Global Marketing Architecture

• Why Airwallex chose to build their marketing function from APAC rather than traditional hubs like Silicon Valley
• The strategic advantage of hiring talent familiar with fragmentation and global trade
• Managing distributed teams across multiple time zones and regions

Product Marketing as Foundation

• Why product marketing is the most under-invested function in marketing
• Jon’s goal to grow product marketing to 10% of the marketing organisation
• The four-dimensional coverage model: product suites, geography, industry verticals, and competitive intelligence

Brand Building in Fintech

• The trust equation: reliability + credibility + intimacy – self-orientation
• How the McLaren F1 partnership addresses all four trust components
• Measuring brand impact through awareness surveys, pipeline metrics, and employee sentiment

AI and Marketing Evolution

• Practical AI implementations using tools like Writer and Profound
• The paradigm shift in SEO and content strategy
• Why AI advancement might make first-principles marketing even more important

Notable Quotes

“You’re not marketing to business decision makers. You’re marketing to humans who happen to make business decisions.”

“If your core is strong, even as a human being, then the rest tends to get strength from that.”

“Data is important, but data should not override common sense.”

“Never lose sight of first principles… all good marketing starts with good insight.”

Key Takeaways

1. Geography isn’t destiny – Core marketing capabilities matter more than location when scaling globally
2. Product marketing is critical – It’s the foundation that makes all other marketing efforts effective
3. Trust is multi-dimensional – Especially in fintech, building trust requires a strategic approach across multiple touchpoints
4. Human connection wins – Even in B2B, you’re ultimately marketing to humans, not businesses
5. Bold moves differentiate – In a crowded market, calculated risks and creative approaches cut through the noise

Rapid Fire Insights

• Must-read resource: “Nudge” – behavioural economics and decision-making
• Key advice: Don’t get trapped doing the same playbook everyone else uses
• What excites him most: The transformational potential of B2B marketing beyond marginal gains

Guest Bio

Jon Stona leads global marketing at Airwallex, a fintech unicorn that has grown from a Melbourne coffee shop startup to serving customers across 130+ markets.

Based in Singapore, Jon oversees marketing strategy for one of the world’s fastest-growing financial infrastructure platforms, with a focus on building product marketing capabilities and bold brand initiatives that challenge traditional B2B conventions.

This episode is perfect for marketing leaders looking to scale globally, fintech professionals interested in brand building, and anyone curious about the future of B2B marketing in an AI-driven world.

In this conversation, Caleb Ralston discusses the intricacies of personal branding and content creation, emphasising the importance of sustainability and authenticity. 

He critiques the common advice of niching down, arguing that it can lead to creator burnout and audience fatigue. 

Instead, he advocates for a broader approach that allows for personal interests to be integrated into content. 

Caleb also shares insights on starting a personal brand, the significance of clarity in branding, and the importance of hiring strategically to address content creation bottlenecks. 

He highlights the need for data-driven strategies and the value of case studies in building trust with audiences. 

The discussion concludes with rapid-fire questions that encapsulate Caleb’s philosophy on personal branding in the age of AI.

Takeaways:

• Niching down can lead to creator burnout.
• Sustainability in content creation is crucial.
• Be authentic to avoid losing trust with your audience.
• Hiring should address specific bottlenecks in content creation.
• Views are important, but conversions matter more.
• White papers can be effective if they contain relevant information.
• Building personal brands within organisations can enhance trust.
• Picking an ideology as an enemy can be more effective than targeting individuals.
• Clarity in branding helps guide content strategy.
• Integrating personal interests into content can keep creators engaged.

Caleb is a brand strategist, content producer, and creator mentor who’s worked with names like Gary Vaynerchuk, Leila & Alex Hormozi, and other leading voices in entrepreneurship. He now helps founders and creators scale content in a way that’s sustainable, strategic, and honest.

Follow Caleb on:

• YouTube: @calebralston
• LinkedIn: Caleb Ralston
• Instagram: @calebralston
• Twitter / X: @calebralston

Resources Mentioned:

• YouTube: How to build a brand – Full course
• Workbook download
• Gary Vaynerchuk – Crush It
• Patty Galloway

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Tired of being seen as sales support?

David Heyworth reveals how marketing leaders can break free from the order-taking trap and own the entire go-to-market motion.

From building sales discovery teams that report to marketing to creating personalised experiences that win enterprise deals, David shares battle-tested strategies for transforming marketing from a cost centre into a revenue-driving growth engine.

Discover how shifting the focus from lead generation to revenue unlocks more strategic impact, strengthens alignment with sales, and drives meaningful growth through account-based selling.

Key Takeaways

• Stop talking leads, start talking revenue – Frame your impact as “$1M in pipeline opportunities” not “100 MQLs generated”
• Own the sales discovery process – Build SDR teams that report to marketing for full funnel control
• Be in the room where it happens – Get marketing into weekly sales meetings as strategic partners, not vendors
• Account-based selling beats ABM – Focus on “us” outcomes, not just marketing campaigns
• Listen with intention – Use “two ears, one mouth” to gather sales intelligence and customer insights
• Prove your model first – Start with sales champions, show results, then scale across the organisation
• Customer intimacy is your B2B superpower – Direct customer engagement beats digital analytics every time
• AI is your wingman, not your replacement – Use it to scale content creation and personalisation efforts

Memorable Moments

• The “crickets” story: How poor event execution taught valuable lessons about sales alignment
• The Defence Coin case study: Creating meaningful, personalised experiences that cement relationships
• The conversion breakthrough: How rapid response transformed lead quality

Who Should Listen: Marketing leaders frustrated with being seen as support functions, CMOs looking to drive revenue ownership, and anyone struggling with sales-marketing alignment in complex B2B environments.

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Welcome to a special programming note! After taking a short break to refresh and refine our approach, we’re excited to announce the relaunch of our podcast with some significant improvements.

What’s New:

Brand clarity – We’ve simplified our name from “Growth Colony: APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast” to “APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast.”

Streamlined format – We’ve tightened up our introductions and optimised our question structure to create a smoother conversation flow that gets straight to the valuable insights you’re here for.

Enhanced production – You’ll notice updates to our music, overall look and feel, and general production quality.

Deeper episodes – We’re moving from weekly to fortnightly releases, allowing us to invest more time and effort into each conversation to deliver higher-quality content.

What Stays the Same: Our commitment to bringing you actionable B2B growth insights from leading voices across the Asia-Pacific region remains unchanged.

Got feedback? We’d love to hear your thoughts on the changes. Drop us a line at po*****@*********om.au

Thanks for being part of our journey – here’s to the next chapter of APAC’s B2B Growth Podcast!

We’ll be going on a 4-week break!

For 5 years it’s been go, go, go, so this break will allow us to take a step back and create more awesome content for you.

But whether you’re an OG follower or new to the party, here are 3 episodes we think you should check out.

1. Unlocking Company Growth in the B2B Landscape with Sean Ellis
2. How to Think Remarkable in B2B Marketing with Guy Kawasaki
3. Strategies to Achieve More with Less

Is there someone you’d love for us to interview? Or, have a topic that you want us to cover? Reach out to Shahin Hoda on LinkedIn, or email us at po*****@*********om.au.

Any other thoughts? Let us know!

_________________

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📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

Think you’d be a great guest? Fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Vinnie chats with a marketer who didn’t start her professional career in marketing but in hospitality. Now Marketing Manager at Logicalis, Morgan Wilkinson, shares with us her hospitality experiences that have shaped her entire approach to B2B.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/iY1yaAORv-Y

From navigating customer complaints to helping a guest land a job (thanks to an emergency hotel tie!), this episode also covers…

• What fear has to do with campaign strategy
• How understanding the customer’s “worst possible outcome” can align marketing and sales
• Why stakeholder relationships (even one-on-one) can create powerful ripple effects

About Morgan…

Morgan is an accomplished marketing manager with a unique background that spans hospitality, office management, and marketing. Early in her career, Morgan developed a deep passion for creating memorable experiences. With a strong talent for building meaningful relationships and effective stakeholder management, she thrived in the hospitality industry, fostering connections that drove both customer satisfaction and positive business outcomes.

After taking on an Office Manager role during the 2020 lockdowns, Morgan jumped at an opportunity to assist the marketing team during office closures and quickly discovered a genuine love for marketing. This newfound passion allowed her to work closely with internal sales and delivery teams, as well as partners and customers, leading to a smooth transition into a full-time marketing role.  

Today, Morgan is dedicated to creating impactful campaigns that reflect her passion for delivering exceptional experiences. She leverages her background in hospitality to craft campaigns that not only engage customers but also foster positive interactions and support for her internal team, external partners, and customers alike.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Boundaries – Henry Cloud & John Townsend

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Hosted & Produced by Vinnie Romano, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

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How do you market to someone who doesn’t even know what they’re looking for yet?

That’s the challenge with the mining industry, and we’re unpacking it all in this episode with Alex Lloyd, Head of Marketing for Advanced Navigation.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/bm3QGZPpfRc

From focusing on storytelling, to navigating complex stakeholder networks, and building account-level influence in one of the toughest B2B sectors out there, this episode also covers…

• Moving from product-led to value-led marketing
• Understanding the importance of Category Entry Points (CEPs)
• How to identify and speak to customer pain points that actually drive action
• Using content, humour, and empathy to win over mining giants like BHP and Rio Tinto
• And, why scoring accounts is critical in long-game industries (not just leads)

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin chats with Christine Law, Director & Head of ABM, Asia Pacific & Japan at ServiceNow, about bringing brand experience and ABM together.

The episode covers the following:

• What is brand experience?
• How to define ABM
• The mistakes marketers make
• Finding the balance between strategy and uplifting the strategy

Christine has worked at some of the world’s most innovative and open companies, including ServiceNow, Google, Red Hat, and IBM. She and her team established and spearheaded marketing strategies and execution for these companies’ top strategic accounts and fuelled multi-million pipeline and revenue growth for the Asia Pacific region.

When she isn’t thinking about marketing strategies for her portfolios, Christine loves exploring culinary treats in Singapore or around the world during her travels. She is fascinated with what the different cultures have on offer and appreciates the richness of diversity.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? – Louis Gerstner

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

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“Innovation isn’t about shiny campaigns. It starts with people, process, and purpose.”

Joining us for a second time on the podcast is Nicholas Kontopoulos, VP of Marketing APJ at Twilio. We explored what real innovation looks like, how to align marketing and sales in global teams, and how Nicholas uses AI.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/9btCAubJnT0

This episode covers…

• How Twilio’s APJ team is shaping their global strategy
• Nicholas’ formula: OP + NT = EOP
• What it means to be “AI Ready” 
• Why transparency is just as important in the industry today

About Nicholas…

‘Customer Experience’ is more than marketing fluff; “it’s a core business ideology that needs to be at the heart of everything we do professionally”. 

Nicholas believes that both ‘People’ and the ‘Promises’ we make are at the very heart of a Brand – be that the Brand we work for or our very own Personal Brand.

He is passionate about challenging the ‘status-quo’ and ‘management dogma’ that stifles the creative thinking process that’s paramount to delivering fantastic customer experiences.

Nicholas is continually striving to harness his 30+ years of professional experience, which he built across multiple industries and geographies, to develop innovative and viable business strategies for both the enterprise he works for and the great clients he gets to serve as VP of Marketing, APJ, at Twilio.

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

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Joining Shahin and Vinnie is marketing legend, Mark Ritson, Founder of the Mini MBA.

From almost buying Kylie Minogue’s house, to consulting, and building a global brand, Mark shares with us the journey of his Mini MBA.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/FEVkez18g44

This episode also covers…

• Why small brands struggle
• Why “trust” doesn’t actually matter for strong branding
• How pricing is the real key to profit (not revenue)
• The 95-5 rule
• Why salespeople should not create content (and who should)
• Mark’s take on personal branding

About Mark…

Mark has a PhD in Marketing and spent 25 years working as a marketing professor. He was an Assistant Professor at London Business School and the University of Minnesota, an Associate Professor and then Adjunct Professor at Melbourne Business School, and Visiting Professor at MIT and SMU.

He’s also worked as a global brand consultant for clients that include Baxter, Loewe, McKinsey, Subaru, Donna Karan, Westpac, Shiseido, Flight Centre, Johnson & Johnson, De Beers, Sephora, Benefit, Amgen, Ericsson, Penfolds, Jurlique, Cloudy Bay and WD40. 

For thirteen years, Mark served as the in-house brand consultant for LVMH – the world’s largest luxury group – working in Paris with senior executives from brands like Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon and Hennessy. 

He’s been a columnist for 20 years, writing a weekly column for Marketing Week. On five occasions, he’s been voted Columnist of the Year at the PPA Press Awards, the highest award for magazine journalism in the UK. Mark’s also been the British Society of Magazine Editors Business Columnist of the Year in 2018, 2022 and 2023. More scholarly publications include articles in the Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, the Journal of Advertising and the Journal of Consumer Research. 

These days, Mark focuses on his Mini MBA courses at his home base in Tasmania.

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Vinnie Romano, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Every day, the macro environment continues to shift. Geopolitical conflicts disrupt supply chains, economic shifts shake industries, and new business pressures emerge overnight. 

So we spoke with General Manager of Factiva, Traci Mabrey, who shared how AI is transforming risk management.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/9gwL9GMrqKI

This episode covers…

• The biggest risks businesses should be tracking right now
• How predictive AI is helping companies see risk before it happens
• A real-world example of how an oil company avoided massive losses
• Why tariffs, supply chains & compliance are the next big things you should keep an eye on
• How financial services shaped modern risk management
• The practical steps businesses must take now to protect their future

About Traci…

Traci Mabrey is General Manager of Factiva, a business intelligence platform owned by Dow Jones. She has commercial oversight for the Factiva portfolio and since joining Dow Jones has led the strategic reimagination of the Factiva experience for the next generation of decision-makers. She is also tasked with infusing AI into the entire Dow Jones portfolio, starting with financial products.

Traci has deep expertise in financial services technology and wealth management. Previously, she was the head of wealth solutions, global technology and operations for Broadridge Financial Solutions, where she governed a suite of top-tier wealth management and market data solutions.

As a recognised thought leader and content contributor, Traci is a frequent speaker at industry events and an author of several articles and white papers. She lives in New York and is active in professional women’s organisations, as well as nonprofits committed to financial coaching and skill-building for the next generation.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Letters to a Young Poet
• Satya Nadella
• Christina Brady

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

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And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

What does a brand crisis look like? In an ever-changing industry, anything can happen, so it helps to be prepared for whatever, whenever. So that’s why we sat down with CMO of Packserv Australia, Julia Casey, to chat about how businesses can effectively manage their brand to prepare for, and rise from, a brand crisis.

This episode covers…

• What can cause a brand crisis?
• What businesses have risen from a brand crisis, and how did they do it?
• What does proactive crisis management look like?
• Marketing’s role in crisis management

About Julia…

Julia brings over 20 years of experience in senior marketing roles, leading global teams across manufacturing, data management, and logistics. As the CMO of Packserv, she specialises in brand differentiation and positioning in highly competitive markets. Her expertise in driving business growth has earned her multiple marketing awards.

Julia is currently completing a PhD at Macquarie University and holds a Master of Research (High Distinction), a Bachelor of Business Studies (Marketing), and a Bachelor of Health Science. She is also a published author in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• 18 Minutes – Peter Bregman
• Greg Kihlstrom
• Seth Godin

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

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“What buyer actually wants to talk to a salesperson?” That’s what Amanda Kahlow, CEO & Founder of 1mind, asked Shahin in this AI versus Sales chat. Find out how Amanda closed a $200,000 deal with the help of AI and why she thinks AI can completely take over the sales cycles with no human involved.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/WflyXGLcjz0

This episode covers…

• Why AI Agents that do the small, simple tasks don’t move the needle.
• What jobs will be obsolete and what new jobs will emerge?
• What will happen to the human relationship during the buying cycle?
• The next wave of AI (fully autonomous buying and selling)

About Amanda…

Amanda Kahlow is a visionary entrepreneur and a pioneer in AI-driven sales transformation. As the CEO and Founder of 1mind, she is redefining the future of B2B go-to-market strategies by replacing and enhancing sales teams with AI superhumans—intelligent, human-like AI agents that engage prospects, qualify leads, and close deals with unparalleled efficiency. 

A seasoned leader in the AI and SaaS space, Amanda has a track record of building category-defining companies. Prior to 1Mind, she was the founder and CEO of 6sense, where she spearheaded the account-based marketing (ABM) movement, leveraging AI to revolutionise B2B demand generation and predictive sales. Under her leadership, 6sense became an industry leader, fundamentally changing how enterprises identify, engage, and convert high-value accounts.

Amanda’s leadership is fueled by a mission to create technology that drives efficiency and innovation while elevating the human experience. She continues to push the boundaries of AI and go-to-market strategy, helping enterprises navigate the new era of intelligent revenue growth.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Greatest Salesman in the World – Og Mandino
• Y Combinator Podcast
• Lenny’s Podcast

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Standing out isn’t just about being “the best” – it’s about being different. And no one knows how to “Get Different” than no other than bestselling author and marketing guru, Mike Michalowicz.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/4zPDm1f4gVE

This episode covers…

From finding out why he wrote his book, Get Different, to tactics on how you can stand out, we also dived into…

• How to use his DAD framework for marketing – Different, Attractive, and Direct
• The challenges small businesses face when trying to get noticed
• Building an Attention Plan over a Marketing Plan
• What the ideation process looks like

About Mike…

Mike Michalowicz is the entrepreneur behind three multimillion-dollar companies and is the author of several business books, including Profit First, Clockwork, The Pumpkin Plan and his newest book, All In. Mike is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and business makeover expert for MSNBC. He regularly travels the globe as an entrepreneurial advocate

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Mike’s Website
• The World Almanac and Book of Facts
• The Go-Giver – Bob Burg
• Brainfluence – Roger Dooley
• FRICTION – Roger Dooley
• The One Thing – Jay Papasan & Gary Keller
• Malcolm Gladwell

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

What’s it like to chat with the Ad Contrarian, Bob Hoffman? You’re about to find out, as we get down to business discussing hypocrisy and the fundamentals in the marketing and advertising industry.

🚨 This episode uses explicit language 🚨

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We’ve got a link for you: https://youtu.be/OAHVU-MWFDg

This episode covers…

• Making an impression
• The importance of being skeptical
• Building your brand
• and His book, The Three Word Brief 

About Bob…

Bob is a writer and speaker. He has written seven books about advertising, each of which has been an Amazon #1 seller.

Before leaving the advertising business, Bob had been the chief executive of two independent ad agencies, and the US operation of an international agency.

Bob’s blog, The Ad Contrarian, was named one of the world’s most influential marketing and advertising blogs by Business Insider.

His commentary has appeared in the BBC World Service, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Financial Times, The Australian, New Zealand Public Broadcastng, Fox News, Sky News, Forbes, Canadian Public Broadcasting, and many other news outlets throughout the world.

Bob has served on the boards of the Advertising and Marketing International Network, the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education, and the PGA Foundation of Northern California. He spent one year as Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Ad Contrarian Newsletter
• The Three Word Brief – Bob Hoffman
• The Long and Short of It – Les Binet & Peter Field
• A Complete Unknown – Film

People to watch in the space:

• Dave Trott
• Mark Ritson
• Byron Sharp
• Karen Nelson-Field
• Orlando Wood
• Brian Jacobs

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Join Vinnie and his chat with Head of Marketing for ANZ, and ESG Specialist of OneAdvanced, Brynne Beetge, to uncover how ABM can bridge the gap between Sales and Marketing.

This episode also covers…

• The importance of relationship building in all roles
• How to deal with rejection as a salesperson and marketer
• Why Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) is important

About Brynn…

Brynn Beetge is the Head of Marketing for Australia and New Zealand and an ESG Specialist, with over a decade of leading marketing across consulting services, SaaS, financial services, commercial real estate, and renewable energy.

He specialises in driving brand growth, partnerships, and ESG integration through ABM, channel partnerships, brand management, and PR.

Holding a diploma in ESG, Brynn is passionate about leading teams and using data-driven insights to optimise growth and brand positioning. With extensive experience in stakeholder management and leadership, he drives strategic relationships to support sustainable growth.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Produce Marketing Alliance
• Fiona Tipping
• Serena Leith

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Hosted & Produced by Vinnie Romano, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by CEO of VOLTAGE, Corey Morris, to discuss his book, The Digital Marketing Success Plan and the creation of Corey’s START framework.

This episode covers…

• How to avoid misalignments
• Large Language Models (LLM) and SEO
• How to build a solid strategy for your tactics to actually work
• Impostor syndrome and the future of AI

About Corey…

Corey is author and founder of Digital Marketing Success Plan™ and the President/CEO of VOLTAGE digital agency. He has spent 20 years working in strategic and leadership roles focused on growing national and local client brands with award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies. His industry leadership, client success, and community-focused work made him recipient of the KCDMA 2019 Marketer of the Year award.

In addition to leading VOLTAGE, he has served as an officer on the global trade association board. He also previously led a local initiative in Kansas City founding the KC Search Marketing Conference and prior to that co-hosted a local marketing and tech radio show.

He is currently a contributor to Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land and Forbes, among other publications. He speaks throughout North America on SEO and digital marketing topics including at SMX and Digital Summit events.

Corey has created the START Planning process featured in his new Amazon best-seller book, the Digital Marketing Success Plan which you can find at thedmsp.com.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sell with Authority Podcast
• Rand Fishkin
• Wil Reynolds

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and the man behind the MarTech 5000 supergraphic, the Godfather of MarTech, Scott Brinker.

This episode covers…

• Composable tech stacks
• The role of AI Agents in workflows
• ‘Service as a Software’ (not your usual SaaS model)
• And the future for marketers in this space

About Scott…

Scott Brinker, dubbed the “Godfather of MarTech” by AdAge, has been analysing marketing technology and its impact on marketing organisations for more than 16 years as the editor of the chiefmartec.com blog.

He serves as VP Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, helping to grow and nurture the company’s community of technology partners. He also authored the best-selling book Hacking Marketing and co-authored the recent best-seller The New Automation Mindset.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ethan Mollick
• OfferFit

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by ANZ Regional VP of LogicMonitor, Caerl Murray, to chat about the nuances of developing a go-to-market strategy in ANZ as well as how to approach building a strong, successful team.

This episode also covers…

• How to achieve messaging alignment between marketing and sales teams
• How to stand out to your customers
• And how team sport can help you approach business resilience and motivation

About Caerl…

Caerl Murray is an accomplished technology leader with over 20 years of experience in IT operations, cloud computing, and sales management across various industry verticals. Currently serving as the ANZ Regional Vice President at LogicMonitor, he is responsible for driving business operations and strategic growth in the region. Under his leadership, LogicMonitor’s observability platform empowers organisations to enhance visibility across their technological landscapes, enabling them to focus on innovation rather than troubleshooting.

Prior to this role, Caerl was the ANZ Sales Director at Alibaba Cloud, where he led a team dedicated to helping customers navigate the cloud ecosystem, particularly in Asia and China. His extensive experience also includes serving as National Sales Manager at Ricoh IT Services, where he managed a team of 16 sales professionals, focusing on strategic planning and business growth.

With a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate of Management from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Caerl combines academic expertise with practical experience. His career is marked by a commitment to customer success and a passion for leveraging technology to drive business results.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Mindset – Carol Dweck
• The Brutal Truth – Brian Burns

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

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Legendary author of The Time to Win, and business growth advisor, Jay Baer, joins Shahin in this chat about how speed sells.

People value their time more than ever which means that there is value to being fast in this industry. Whether it’s replying to a client or even getting a project completed earlier than expected, every effort that can be completed sooner rather than later will always prevail. Learn all the tips and tricks on accelerating your B2B success in this 50-minute episode.

About Jay

A 7th-generation entrepreneur, Jay has written 7 bestselling business books, and created 6 multi-million dollar companies. He has consulted for more than 700 brands, including Nike, Oracle, IBM, and the United Nations.

An inductee into the professional speakers hall of fame, Jay was voted the world’s #1 Global Guru for online marketing, and #2 Global Guru for customer experience.

In his spare time, he is the second most-popular tequila influencer and educator on the planet.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Procrastinate on Purpose – Rory Vaden
• The Time to Win – Jay Baer
• Tequila

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Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email po*****@*********om.au

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin is joined by CEO of ReadyTech, Marc Washbourne, as they chat about the origins of ReadyTech and how you can move up your market too!

What to expect in the episode…

• The challenges you face when you grow
• The transition strategies you can implement
• The team dynamics to make it in the enterprise market
• ReadyTech’s brand evolution

Marc Washbourne is the Co-Founder and CEO of ReadyTech (ASX:RDY), a global vertical SaaS powerhouse that has achieved remarkable growth since its inception in 1999.

With over 25 years of leadership in business and technology, Marc is responsible for shaping ReadyTech’s strategy and vision for excellence – guiding a team of 500+ ReadyTechers, delivering mission-critical technology solutions to 4,600+ customers.

Recognised for his expertise, in 2020 Marc also joined the board of the Federal Government’s Digital Skills Organisation, with a focus on advocating for digital skills in Australia and contributing to Australia’s Skills Reform agenda.

Outside of work, Marc enjoys spending time with his wife and teenage children, and staying (very) active. He’s completed the 100km Trailwalker event five times and helped to raise over $100,000 for Oxfam, and in 2023 he also led an expedition to Mount Everest Base Camp to raise funds for Pankind, the pancreatic cancer foundation.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• 20VC Podcast
• All-In Podcast
• The Rest Is Politics
• Drive – Daniel Pink
• Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson
• Going Infinite – Michael Lewis

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