Explore every episode of the podcast Never GTM Alone

Partner marketing transformation is about much more than implementing new technology. It's about creating a simpler, more connected experience for partners while building the systems that turn relationships into measurable business growth. In this episode, Maisa Fernandez shares lessons from leading global partner marketing transformations at two of the industry's largest technology companies.

Maisa explains how modern partner marketing leaders should evaluate technology investments, build modular tech stacks, simplify partner engagement, and create lead-to-revenue ecosystems that help partners demonstrate their value. She also discusses why alignment across marketing, sales, alliances, and executive leadership is essential for scaling partner programs, and why the best transformations always begin with business priorities instead of technology.

The conversation also explores the reality of AI in partner marketing, where automation accelerates execution but authentic relationships, thoughtful storytelling, and human connection remain the true differentiators. It's a practical discussion on leading change, embracing experimentation, and building partner organizations that can adapt as quickly as the market evolves.

Partner marketing is entering a new era, and AI is changing much more than workflow efficiency. In this episode, Matt Langie, co-founder and CMO of Personize, explains how AI memory, governance, and personalization are helping partner marketers build always-on programs that learn and improve over time.

Matt shares why traditional nurture campaigns treat people like segments instead of individuals, how persistent AI memory creates compounding improvements across campaigns, and why governance is essential for protecting brand standards while scaling personalization. The conversation explores practical applications for partner marketers, including CRM intelligence, personalized email nurtures, dynamic landing pages, and AI-powered lead qualification that adapts to every buyer.

The result is a look at how AI can move partner marketing beyond automation and toward truly intelligent, personalized go-to-market programs.

Partner marketing is no longer measured by campaigns alone. It's becoming one of the most important growth functions inside modern go-to-market organizations. In this episode, Kathy Bui reflects on more than two decades in partner marketing, sharing how the role has evolved from managing MDF programs to driving pipeline, revenue, enablement, and cross-functional strategy.

Kathy explains why today's partner marketers must think beyond marketing activities and instead operate like the CMO of their partnerships. The conversation explores building stronger relationships with partners and sales teams, aligning around business outcomes, measuring impact, and navigating AI without losing the human element that makes partnerships successful. Rick and Kathy also discuss why the best partner marketers combine strategic thinking with curiosity, communication, and relentless execution.

Whether you're new to partner marketing or leading a mature partner ecosystem, Kathy offers practical insights into where the discipline is headed and the skills that will define the next generation of partner marketing leaders.

What does it take to turn a Global System Integrator into a true growth partner? In this episode, Vivek Venkatesh shares lessons learned from years leading partner marketing initiatives at Intel, Dell, and AWS, where partnerships with firms like Accenture, Deloitte, and Capgemini helped drive large-scale growth and customer adoption.

Vivek explains why GSI partner marketing is fundamentally different from other partner motions, how to identify and activate internal champions, and why the best partner marketers often operate like the CMO of the relationship. The conversation explores the role of storytelling, customer-focused case studies, ABM strategies, sales enablement, and the operational discipline required to track influence across long sales cycles and multi-million-dollar opportunities.

From startup products seeking credibility to enterprise-scale alliance programs, Vivek offers a practical framework for building partner momentum, earning internal advocacy, and creating go-to-market motions that scale far beyond your own sales team.

What happens when you’re asked to build a partner motion for a company nobody’s heard of—inside one of the fastest-moving markets in tech? In this episode, Jurija Metovic from SurePath AI breaks down what startup partner marketing actually looks like when there’s no inherited brand credibility, no repeatable playbook, and no time to wait for perfect.

Jurija shares why early-stage partner marketing is less about scale and more about signal: getting into the right conversations, placing smart bets on a handful of strategic partners, and building trust before pipeline even exists. The conversation dives into how AI is reshaping modern marketing teams, why partner incentives have shifted away from flashy rewards toward true collaboration, and what startup operators get wrong when they try to “build the whole program” too early.

There’s also an honest discussion about mentorship, community, startup pressure, and the very human side of building in public while AI changes the rules in real time.

Too many partner marketers are still treated as the team that runs the events, builds the co-branded one-pager, and executes the MDF spend. Nicole Steele wants that definition retired. A marketer who's worked at the intersection of field, digital, and partner at Sage, SAP, Aryaka, and F5 — where 95% of the business ran through partners — Nicole joins Rick to make the case that customers aren't buying products anymore, they're buying platforms, and platforms only deliver when there's an ecosystem behind them. That changes the job. 

In this conversation, Nicole breaks down why field, digital, and partner can't keep running as silos, why the quarterly QBR cadence is killing partner relationships, and the business acumen skills that separate operators from strategists. The closing challenge: stop showing up as a support function and start operating as the ecosystem strategist your GTM motion actually needs.

Transformation sounds exciting—until you’re in the middle of it. In this episode, Mercedes Villanueva shares what it actually takes to rebuild a global partner marketing function while the entire company is rebranding, restructuring, and redefining how it goes to market.

From prioritizing just three high-impact initiatives to reshaping partner programs around real customer outcomes, Mercedes explains how to cut through complexity and focus on what drives value. She also shares why flexibility matters more than perfection, how to let go of ideas that don’t work, and what resilience really looks like when nothing is fully under your control.

A practical and honest look at building, leading, and adapting when everything is changing at once. 

Big partner events are fading—and the teams seeing real pipeline impact are doing the opposite. In this episode, Austin Burningham from Atlassian breaks down the shift from high-volume events to smaller, highly targeted experiences that actually move deals forward.

He shares why webinars still play a critical mid-funnel role, how executive roundtables and one-to-one experiences are driving bottom-funnel conversion, and what it takes to get the right customers—and sales teams—into the room. The conversation also gets practical on event strategy: securing customer speakers, aligning partners and sellers, and attributing real pipeline impact across multiple touches.

The takeaway is clear: the best partner marketers aren’t choosing between digital and in-person—they’re designing both to work together, with precision.

Partner marketing only works when it stops acting like a side function. In this episode, Amyn Jivani, Senior Director of Partner Marketing at Contentful, breaks down how the best teams turn partnerships into the connective tissue of their entire go-to-market strategy.

Amyn shares why most partner programs fall into “random acts of marketing,” and what it actually takes to align partners to pipeline generation, product adoption, and market expansion. He explains how to map the right partners to the right stages of the customer journey, why data alone isn’t enough to drive partner decisions, and how to measure real impact beyond partner-sourced pipeline.

The conversation also dives into the practical side of alignment—showing up in the right rooms, tying work to company goals, and knowing when to say no. The takeaway is clear: the most effective partner marketers don’t just run programs—they make sure every motion across marketing, sales, and partnerships is pulling in the same direction.

Most partner teams don’t have a demand problem — they have a reporting and attribution problem.

In this episode, Rick sits down with Michael Venman, Founder of The Sales Nerd, to unpack why partner revenue so often gets lost inside CRM systems, conflicting definitions, and undefined SLAs.

Michael shares practical insight on:
 • Why deal registration architecture determines whether you can prove ROI
 • How misaligned sales and partner teams create attribution chaos
 • Where partner data should actually live inside your CRM
 • What private equity firms and executives expect when they ask for clean funnel reporting

If you’ve ever struggled to defend partner-sourced revenue, align on who gets credit, or produce reporting leadership actually trusts, this conversation will give you a clearer framework.

This episode is for partner marketing leaders who want attribution that holds up, reporting that’s defensible, and a partner motion that drives measurable pipeline.

Partner collaboration doesn’t fail because partners aren’t willing—it fails because internal teams aren’t aligned. In this episode of Never GTM Alone, veteran partner marketing leaders Christine White and Angela Heenan break down what it actually takes to build collaboration that scales, inside the company and across the ecosystem.

They unpack why internal collaboration with sales, ops, and content teams is often harder than working with partners—and why it’s the foundation for external success. From leading without authority to setting clear cadences, accountability, and expectations, this conversation moves beyond theory into real, repeatable execution.

Listeners will learn how to assess partner maturity, run collaboration like a program (not a one-off), and create trust-driven relationships that drive pipeline, ROI, and long-term impact. This episode is a practical guide for partner marketers who need collaboration to move faster, prove value, and scale without burning out.

Partner marketing isn’t a support function—it’s a leadership role. In this episode, Michelle Zhang shares how she approaches alliances marketing as the CMO of the partner business, owning everything from joint narrative and value creation to internal activation and execution.

Drawing from experience across large enterprises and fast-moving startups, Michelle breaks down what it really takes to build high-impact technology alliances: activating sales and product teams, prioritizing the right partners, and creating “one-plus-one-equals-four” value for customers. She explains why partner marketers can’t wait for permission, how to navigate internal politics, and how to scale programs without reinventing the wheel every time.

The conversation also tackles burnout, ownership, and why the best partner marketers succeed by inspiring the rest of the organization to move with them—proving that you’re never truly going to market alone when alliances are done right.

Partner marketers are heading into 2026 under more pressure than ever — tighter budgets, more partners, more programs, and still the same demand to prove ROI and pipeline impact.

In this episode of Never GTM Alone, Rick Currier sits down with Hondo Lateef Lewis of PartnerVista to break down the real partner marketing priorities emerging from AWS re:Invent and other hyperscaler events. They unpack what’s changing — and what isn’t — as AI moves from hype to operational reality.

The conversation covers why attribution is still holding teams back, how fragmentation and agency bloat are slowing execution, and why reusable GTM motions are becoming essential for scale. Hondo also shares why trust, feedback loops, and in-person community matter just as much as dashboards and automation when aligning sales, marketing, and partners.

This episode is for cloud alliance, ISV, and channel partner marketers who need to move faster in 2026 — without adding headcount or losing credibility with executives.

Product marketing often looks polished in a deck — but breaks down when it reaches partners, sales, and the field.

In this episode of Never GTM Alone, Rick Currier is joined by Rachel Roundy, Product Marketing Lead for AI at Snowflake, to explore what it takes to build product marketing that partners actually use in real-world GTM motions.

Drawing on her experience at Intel and Snowflake, Rachel shares practical insights on:

• Designing modular messaging that scales across partners and regions
• Creating feedback loops that keep product marketing grounded in execution
• Avoiding AI hype while staying aligned to real buyer needs
• Aligning product, sales, demand, and partner teams around a clear GTM North Star

Rather than theory, this conversation focuses on execution — where product marketing most often breaks down and how to fix it in partner-led environments.

This episode is for partner, alliance, and product marketers who need faster GTM execution, clearer handoffs, and messaging that drives adoption and pipeline.

AI is radically accelerating how tech marketers build, test, and scale go-to-market programs, yet the careers behind those campaigns are hitting limits humans were never designed for. In this episode, Patrick Goulet, partner marketing leader turned wellness practitioner and yoga teacher, talks with Rick about rebuilding personal systems in the age of automation.

They explore why B2B GTM strategy starts with protecting cognitive space, how AI co‑pilots change the rules for interactive content and lead qualification, and why cross-team partner alignment is the real unlock for smarter pipelines. There’s honest talk on setting boundaries, fueling creativity through healthier habits, and making sure ambition and well-being aren’t competing roadmap line items.

The result is a conversation about modern marketing leadership, evolving careers, and building smarter, without trading away the parts of life that matter most.

What does it take to rebuild a partner ecosystem from the ground up—across continents, partner types, and industries where failure isn’t an option? In this episode, Rick sits down with Lora Hampton, Director of Partner Marketing at Dragos, to unpack how she helped redefine the company’s global partner strategy in the high-stakes world of OT cybersecurity.

Lora shares what she’s learned from leading a multi-year rebuild—balancing global consistency with local flexibility, aligning systems and data, and earning trust across sales, marketing, and partnerships. We also dive into the human side of transformation: how to ask for help, learn from peers, and stay grounded in community when everything is changing.

Revenue marketing isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a complete mindset shift. In this episode, Rick sits down with Ryan Patel-Francis, Head of Revenue Marketing at Abnormal Security, to unpack how AI, channel strategy, and team design are reshaping how we go to market.

Ryan shares his evolution from field marketing to leading global revenue teams, his lessons from MongoDB and Abnormal, and why every marketer should think like a seller. They dive into sales-marketing alignment, AI-driven content automation, and how to make partner marketing actually drive pipeline instead of PowerPoints.

From AI tools that turn white papers into webinars to fitness-themed channel programs that win mindshare, this conversation is packed with insights for anyone building smarter, faster, more human GTM engines.

Partnerships don’t scale without trust—and trust doesn’t happen without listening. In this episode, Rick sits down with Tricia Olson, Senior Partner Marketing Manager at Posit, to talk about the art (and grind) of building meaningful alliances with cloud and data partners like AWS, Snowflake, and beyond.

Tricia shares why partner marketing is never “just marketing,” how showing up in the right meetings can change everything, and why being curious often beats being programmatic. They dive into relationship-building tips, executive alignment lessons, and what it takes to be bold early in a new role without losing sight of company culture.

From fitness-community partnerships in Denver to leading strategic alliances in tech, Tricia’s journey proves that great marketing starts with great partnerships—and that sometimes the best strategy is to speak up, listen harder, and take the risk anyway.

What happens when you hand the keys to AI to every marketer on your team? In this episode, Rick sits down with Carlos Roman, Global Head of Partner Marketing at Databricks, to talk about the evolution of partner marketing, why scale is always the holy grail, and how AI is reshaping go-to-market.

Carlos shares how Databricks is running AI hackathons to unlock new ideas, why partner enablement has to extend beyond corporate walls, and how AI is moving us from duct-tape DIY to repeatable scale. They dive into career lessons from the early days of partner marketing, the reality of limited resources, and why aligning sales, marketing, and partners is like getting a crew team rowing in sync.

If you’re in partner marketing, B2B growth, or exploring how AI can unlock scale, this conversation is equal parts tactical and inspiring—with plenty of takeaways you can put into play right now.

Every partner marketer is under the same pressure: prove ROI fast, or risk losing budget. In this conversation, host Rick Currier sits down with Ryan De La Parra, Head of Global Partner Marketing at Nasuni, to unpack how AI actually accelerates joint GTM—without adding headcount. Ryan shares how he evolved from reseller to ISV marketer, then digs into the tactical AI workflows he uses today: auto-generating campaign follow-up from transcripts tied to ICP pain points, structuring prompts to scale consistent assets across alliances, and creating micro-content that enables sellers faster. Ryan also reveals how he built a full partner sales academy in under two months, without drowning people in slides, and why building feedback communities matters more than tool sprawl. For cloud alliance, ISV, and channel marketers tasked with tying MDF and co-op spend to pipeline, this episode is a playbook for speed-to-execution and measurable impact. Listen + Watch for real workflows you can lift into your next partner motion.

Most B2B executive dinners fall flat: a dark steakhouse, a long PowerPoint, a few polite handshakes, and little to show for it. But what if you could turn those same dinners into memorable experiences that actually drive pipeline for B2B marketers?

In this episode of Never GTM Alone, Rick Currier sits down with Ami Arad of 6sense, who’s reinventing how executive dinners deliver ROI. Drawing from his background in retail, hospitality, and SaaS, Ami shares how to transform standard events into experiences that prospects talk about for months.

From champagne sabering and creative icebreakers to immersive demonstrations of 6Sense’s dark funnel insights, Ami proves that creative, well-crafted experiences lead to stronger connections, faster pipeline impact, and events that partners actually want to co-fund.

If you’re a partner marketing leader under pressure to show ROI from every MDF dollar, you’ll walk away with practical ideas to elevate your next executive event.

What happens when half your customers start their shopping journey with ChatGPT instead of Google? In this episode, Rick sits down with Ekapat Chareonlarp, SVP of Global Client Strategy at Criteo, to talk about the massive shake-up happening in marketing, commerce, and partnerships.

Ekapat breaks down why we’re moving from search engines to answers engines, why your first customer might now be a bot, and how partner marketers can use AI-powered insights without losing the human touch. They cover everything from data storytelling and consumer trust to the future of alliances when AI is driving the first click.

It’s fast-paced, full of wild ideas, and a must-listen for digital marketers who want to stay ahead in the AI era without losing their creative edge.

When sales, marketing, and partnerships pull in different directions, GTM programs stall before they start. In this episode, Rick sits down with Greg Portnoy, CEO and founder of Euler, to explore how partner-led marketing can work in lockstep with sales—and how AI is making it easier to get there.

They unpack why so many joint GTM campaigns fail in the sales handoff, the importance of account-based targeting, and how AI tools can help identify the right accounts faster, surface actionable insights, and keep every partner program laser-focused on conversion. Greg also shares how Euler blends human strategy with AI-powered intelligence to cut the fluff, focus on the right buyers, and tie every campaign to real pipeline.

If you want to build partnership programs that sellers run with, customers respond to, and AI helps scale, this episode has the blueprint.

What makes a great partner marketer? It's not your tech stack. It's not your campaign calendar. It's how well you build trust, how fast you adapt, and whether you actually have a plan—or are just throwing tactics at the wall.

In this episode of Never GTM Alone, Microsoft’s Mo’Shai Gibbs cuts through the noise. She shares how she navigates silos, plans ahead when others scramble, and uses tools like Copilot and GPT agents to free up her time for what actually moves the needle: relationships and results. From managing pipeline pressure to creating clarity when everything feels urgent, Mo’Shai brings the kind of operational wisdom most teams are missing.

We also get personal: how she built custom AI agents to support her caregiving responsibilities and how that same thinking is shaping her professional edge.

If you're stuck in endless execution mode or chasing attribution ghosts, this episode will reset your mindset.

Listen and subscribe: PartnerVista.co/podcast

In this episode of Never Go To Market Alone, Rick sits down with Ben Henson—B2B lead gen veteran and founder of Peel—to explore how AI is transforming the way we convert leads, deliver content, and engage buyers. From his early days at TechTarget and Integrate to launching Peel’s AI-powered content tools, Ben shares what’s broken in traditional lead gen—and how to fix it.

They dive into how asynchronous AI conversations are replacing static PDFs, how marketers can finally track actual buyer intent, and how AI can help sellers skip the slow discovery process and get to meaningful conversations faster.

If you’re in B2B marketing, sales, or partnerships and you’re trying to do more with less—while still delivering a personalized, high-converting experience—this one’s packed with practical ideas and a sharp look at the future of go-to-market.

What happens when a seasoned startup founder builds his second company not in Silicon Valley, but in Halifax, Nova Scotia? You get a fresh perspective on growth, grit, and community-first business. In this episode, Rick Currier sits down with Tukan Das, founder of Gia and former CEO of LeadSift, to explore the real-world challenges of scaling a SaaS startup, building an engaged community, and using AI tools to supercharge marketing and go-to-market strategy.

From hosting sold-out AI meetups to launching a platform designed for professional services firms, Tukan shares hard-earned lessons on early-stage product-market fit, recruiting top tech talent, and leveraging prompt engineering and no-code AI to accelerate execution.

Whether you're a tech marketer, startup founder, or just trying to stay ahead in the evolving world of AI-driven marketing, this episode is packed with practical advice, bold takes, and inspiring stories from the front lines of modern go-to-market.

Kathryn Rose didn’t set out to build a movement—she just wanted to help her friends in channel marketing survive the chaos. Fast forward a year and the Channel Marketing Association is one of the fastest-growing, most energized communities in the space. In this episode, Kathryn dishes with Rick about how it all came together: the scrappy beginnings, the “holy crap” webinar moment, and what it really takes to build a community that works.

You’ll hear behind-the-scenes stories from their intimate events, how they’re tackling channel marketing’s biggest headaches (hello, MDF!), and why they built custom AI tools for marketers, not instead of them. It’s tactical, honest, and packed with the kind of wisdom you only get from people who’ve done the work.

In this energizing episode, Rick Currier welcomes Hondo Lewis—newly minted President and Co-founder of PartnerVista—for a raw and inspiring conversation about risk, reinvention, and building for impact in the world of partner marketing. From his early days hustling in local print advertising to leading sales at IDG and launching his own consultancy, Hondo shares the winding road that led him to co-create a partner marketing startup with soul.

Together, they dive into why partner marketers are the unsung heroes of B2B tech, how AI can bring leads closer to close, and what most publishers still get wrong about ecosystems. Hondo opens up about betting on himself, modeling courage for his kids, and why community—not just conversion—is at the core of PartnerVista’s mission.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to leave a cushy corporate gig to chase purpose—or how to actually support sales with AI and strategic partnerships—this one’s for you.

Mud water, Mos Def lyrics, and a little startup adrenaline included.

Christina Carstensen—founder of AEGA and longtime partner marketing pro—joins Rick from a sweltering London to talk content that works, campaigns that scale, and why most agencies still don’t get partner marketing. They unpack what makes this space so different, how to turn a single white paper into an ecosystem of pipeline-driving assets, and why a quarterly budget doesn’t have to mean tactical chaos. If you're tired of logo swaps and one-and-done webinars, this episode is your blueprint for building smarter, more strategic GTM with your partners. 

What do BANT, Brussels sprouts, and broken nurture streams have in common? According to Matt Levine of LeadScale, they’ve all gotten a bad rap—but the real problem isn’t the ingredients, it’s the recipe. In this lively episode recorded in Santa Cruz, Rick Currier and Matt dive into the evolving world of B2B lead gen: what’s broken, what’s working, and why transparency, data fluency, and a little back-to-basics thinking might just save us all. From fighting black-hole lead handoffs to spotting shady syndication, this is a must-listen for any marketer trying to make demand gen less murky—and more magical.

Mike Mahoney of Tanium joins Rick to break down the art (and grind) of partner marketing at scale. From co-building GTM plans that don’t gather dust, to aligning sales teams that usually just toss leads over the fence, Mike shares how he juggles product, partner, and field enablement—while still finding time to unplug on his sailboat. Plus, a real talk on AI, content budgets, and why your next big partnership probably won’t scale without serious structure. This one’s for the overworked marketer doing too much… across too many teams. 

In this heartfelt and high-impact episode, Rick Currier sits down with Carilu Contreras-Melander, Senior Director of Americas Partner Marketing at Zscaler, to explore what it really means to lead with authenticity, courage, and empathy in today’s tech world. From Buenos Aires during political unrest to the boardrooms of AppDynamics, AWS, and Zscaler, Carilu shares her remarkable journey through partner marketing, leadership challenges, and breaking barriers as a Latina in tech.
Together, they dive into the uncomfortable truths around workplace bias, mentorship gaps, and what it takes to build a truly equitable team culture. Expect real stories, honest insights, and practical advice for anyone looking to advocate for others, lead with empathy, or simply find the right room where they can thrive.
Oh - and a dog named Winston may or may not make his podcast debut.

AI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the next frontier of business transformation. In this episode, Rick Currier welcomes Shawn Mills, CEO of Pisteo, for a refreshingly real and deeply insightful conversation on how AI is actually being adopted inside today’s organizations.
Shawn shares war stories from the field—how he’s helping companies cut decision cycles from days to minutes, why leadership buy-in is finally catching up to grassroots AI experiments, and what it takes to get marketers closer to close in a lead-to-revenue world. From personal productivity hacks and low-code automation to one-to-one personalization at scale, this episode breaks down how to move fast without boiling the ocean.
Whether you're AI-curious or already automating your workflows, you'll walk away with strategic frameworks, practical advice, and some hard-earned lessons from the trenches. Plus, hear why saying “please” to AI might just save your future robot life.

What happens when a seasoned partner marketer leaves the safety of full-time roles to dive into the wild world of fractional leadership? In this candid, zero-prep conversation, we catch up with Angela Salerno over a glass of Chardonnay to unpack the mindset, motivation, and meaning behind her leap into consulting. From partner-first philosophies to the magic of community, from networking secrets to embracing the unknown—this episode is a masterclass in navigating career pivots with humor, heart, and hard-earned insight. Whether you're thinking about freelancing, leading with purpose, or just want to feel less alone in your GTM journey, this one’s for you.