Fernando Academia Jr., CDMP, PCM

C&S Cabinets

Full Stack Marketer

Concertina Team

CIIT College of Arts and Technology Inc.

Instructor

Netcore Cloud

Customer Success Manager

TL;DR Digital Marketing

President & CEO

Brand30

Member

BorderBuddy

MoEngage Inc.

Autogrow

Marketing Strategist

Growth Blazers

Full Stack Marketer | Digital Marketing Instructor | Speaker/Trainer

Over the last decade, I’ve worked across FinTech, E-commerce, and SaaS, helping businesses unlock the power of digital marketing and MarTech.

In 2020, I realized that the strategies and successes I’ve helped others achieve could be applied to my own ventures, allowing me to assist even more businesses in my own way.

I took action.

I joined masterminds and business groups, executed campaigns firsthand, and consulted as a marketing strategist and customer success expert. Through these experiences, I’ve built a growing community of professionals eager to learn and apply the strategies I’ve developed.

Now, I’m preparing to launch my newsletter, Future-Forward Marketing, where I’ll be sharing actionable insights that have fueled my success.

My mission: To help you master the complexities of MarTech and digital marketing, turning them into powerful growth engines.

My results:

→ 10+ years of experience driving growth in FinTech, E-commerce, and SaaS
→ Managed multimillion-dollar portfolios, ensuring high retention and growth
→ Educator at CIIT Philippines, empowering the next generation of digital marketers
→ Preparing to launch Future-Forward Marketing, a newsletter packed with actionable insights and strategies

If you’re looking to build a robust, data-driven marketing strategy, I’m here to help.

Fernando Academia Jr., CDMP, PCM, CSSWB

Last year, I watched an enterprise burn through a massive budget on a platform their organization couldn't digest.

The technology was perfect.
World-class vendor.
Proven at scale.
Executive champion.
Unlimited budget.
External consultants.
Everything textbooks say you need.

Six months later? Dead.

Not because the platform failed. Because the organization couldn't absorb it.

After 15 years implementing marketing technology across Southeast Asia, I've seen this pattern destroy more transformations than any technical failure:

Organizations have an absorption capacity. Exceed it, and everything fails.

Think of your organization as having a digestive system for change. Feed it too much, too fast, and it rejects everything. Even the good stuff.

I learned this lesson repeatedly across enterprises serving millions of customers.

Major platform implementations failed not because the technology was wrong. 

They failed because they required:
- Workflows that didn't exist
- Skills nobody had developed
- Cultural shifts nobody prepared for
- Integration patterns that weren't documented
- Governance models that weren't designed

This painful education led me to develop a MarTech Maturity Framework that measures absorption capacity across four dimensions:

*Integration Debt: How many manual handoffs exist between systems?
*Data Debt: How fragmented is your customer information?
*Process Debt: How many workflows still run on spreadsheets?
*Vendor Debt: How much overlap exists between tools?

The rule is simple: Score below 60% on any dimension, and new technology multiplies problems instead of solving them.

One client scored 85% on technical capability but 35% on process maturity. We spent six months fixing processes before touching technology. Result? 22x ROI improvement using mostly existing tools.

Vendors will never tell you this.
Consultants won't admit it.

But here's reality:
Most organizations can successfully absorb about 30% of what vendors promise.

Not because vendors lie.
Because organizations overestimate their readiness.

You wouldn't run a marathon without training. Yet companies attempt digital transformation without building organizational fitness first.

The solution isn't moving slower. It's building absorption capacity systematically. Strengthen your foundation before adding weight.

Your Absorption Reality Check:
- How many transformation initiatives has your organization "completed" versus actually adopted?
- What percentage of your tech stack features do teams actually use?
- How many platforms solved one problem but created three new ones?

If you're uncomfortable with the answers, you're not alone.

Want to dive deeper? I've just published below a comprehensive analysis combining insights from Oxford Saïd Business School's latest research with real-world implementation patterns across telecommunications, fintech, and digital platforms.

#DigitalTransformation #MarTech #AITransformation #ChangeManagement #OrganizationalChange

Fernando Academia Jr, EMBA, CDMP, PCM

Marketing Technology | Building SukiNomics | 15+ Years helping eCommerce/SaaS/FinTech scale with MarTech & Strategy

View newsletter: Future-Forward Marketing

Insights from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford's latest webinar on intelligent systems, validated through 15+ years implementing enterprise 

Open article: From Oxford to Operations: 10 Critical Lessons on Leading AI Transformation That Actually Works by Fernando Academia Jr, EMBA, CDMP, PCM • 9 min read

From Oxford to Operations: 10 Critical Lessons on Leading AI Transformation That Actually Works

Your marketing team has more tools than ever. They're using less than a third of them.

Every modern marketing organization runs on four foundational systems:

→ CDP (Customer Data Platform): Your single source of truth for customer data. Unifies profiles across every touchpoint.
→ DAM (Digital Asset Management): Your single source of truth for brand content. Eliminates hours wasted searching for the right assets.
→ MAP (Marketing Automation Platform): Your engine for scalable engagement. Delivers the right message at the right time.
→ CXM (Customer Experience Management): Your orchestration layer for the entire customer journey. Connects acquisition to advocacy.

Together these four markets exceed $50 billion.

The growth trajectory is strong. 
The utilization rate is not.

McKinsey found not one of 50+ senior marketing leaders could clearly articulate their martech ROI. The problem is not the technology. It is how we buy and deploy it.

Three insights that separate winners from laggards:

→ First-party data readiness is now a competitive moat. Those without unified customer data are scrambling as third-party cookies disappear.

→ AI integration is table stakes, not differentiation. The real advantage comes from AI working across all four pillars, not in isolated point solutions.

→ Fewer tools with deeper integration beats more tools with shallow adoption. Organizations with composable architectures deploy new capabilities 80% faster.

The winners in 2026 are not the ones with the biggest martech budgets. They are the ones who can actually measure what that budget delivers.

Full analysis with 2025 market data and strategic recommendations below:

TLDR The Core Four martech stack (CDP, DAM, MAP, CXM) now exceeds $50 billion in combined market value, with CXM and CDP showing the fastest growth th

Open article: The Core Four martech stack in 2025: A $50B+ ecosystem reshaping customer engagement by Fernando Academia Jr, EMBA, CDMP, PCM • 10 min read

The Core Four martech stack in 2025: A $50B+ ecosystem reshaping customer engagement

Enterprise tools do not fail because of bad technology. Hear me out…

I’ve seen dozens of enterprise tool implementations fail or fall way behind schedule.

Same pattern every time.

Marketing buys a CDP. IT refuses to integrate it. Analytics team never gets access. Finace never brought in to understand brand & longterm ROI.

Years later, the platform sits unused while everyone blames each other.

The real problem was simpler.

Nobody wanted to collaborate.

#Digitaltransformations require co-ownership. The tools do not care about your org chart.

They require integrated data flows, unified governance, and cross-functional decision-making.

When you purchase an enterprise tool, you are not buying software. You are buying an org-wide commitment to work differently.

That means:

#Marketing must explain business outcomes in technical terms IT understands.

IT must translate infrastructure constraints into business impact.

Analytics must make data actionable for both teams.

Finance must understand ROI beyond immediate cost reduction.

Every successful implementation I have seen had one thing in common. Teams who treated the tool as a shared asset requiring shared accountability.

Every failure had people who wanted results without collaboration.

You cannot #lead transformation initiatives alone. Not because you lack the skills. But because enterprise tools touch multiple systems, multiple teams, and multiple workflows.

The question is not whether you can drive the project. The question is whether you can get everyone to own the outcome together.

#Stakeholdermanagement is not politics.

It is the actual work of making technology deliver business value.

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The expectations of executive leadership are shifting. In #digitaltransformation, the C-suite can no longer lead through decks, dashboards, and delegation alone.

I saw this firsthand during a week-long executive program at UCD Smurfit in Dublin. We analyzed why GE Digital failed while Airbnb succeeded. We visited Pinterest, HubSpot, and Google.

One pattern emerged across every case: the gap between technology capability and organizational capability. That gap closes only when executives get close to the work.

The Magazine Luiza transformation in Brazil shows what this looks like.

When Frederico Trajano became CEO in 2016, he faced a choice. Follow the Silicon Valley playbook of burning cash for growth, or find another way.

He chose neither separation nor delegation. He personally incubated a technology unit of 55 engineers, eventually growing to 850. He housed them in a secluded corner of headquarters with one instruction: build digital tools for both online and offline businesses with total focus on the end user.

The result was a 7,900% stock price increase over four years. The company transformed from a traditional retailer into a tech company.

The Thinkers50 Transformation Playbook captures the key insight. If a technology unit is left to fend for itself inside a larger organization, it will get rejected.

It needs to be separated and incubated by the CSuite, who should give it opportunities to get initial credibility through small wins.

This is why executive sponsorship is the connective tissue in digital transformation.

Harvard Business School research calls this the “use of self.” Leaders model future behaviors early in the process. They visibly tackle new challenges outside their comfort zone. This serves as a template for others to follow.

In #MarTech, the same principle applies. You cannot lead a CDP implementation from a quarterly business review. You cannot transform customer experience through filtered reports.

HubSpot  CEO Yamini Rangan  recently shared what works instead:

Do gemba walks. Sit with your team. Watch how the work happens. See where the friction is.

Triangulate feedback. Listen directly to customers, partners, and employees.

Experiment with #AI yourself. Write prompts. Share what you learn. You cannot #lead transformation if you are not learning the tools shaping it.

Communicate relentlessly. Share what is known, what is unknown, and how decisions are made.

As Rangan puts it, the best C-suite leaders today lead by doing. They provide clear direction and then protect the space for teams to execute.

Sources: 
- Thales Teixeira, Leandro Guissoni, and Frederico Trajano, An Unlikely Case of Successful Digital Transformation, The Transformation Playbook, Brightline Initiative/Thinkers50.
- Ryan L. Raffaelli, Leading Organizational Change, Harvard Business School Core Curriculum, 2017.
- UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Digital Transformation Executive Program, Dublin, 2025.

A candid, documentary-style photograph from the side of a conductor's podium. A single hand, cufflink visible on a suit sleeve, holds a baton steady in mid-air, commanding attention. The conductor’s body is partially visible but anonymous. The background orchestra is a wash of indistinct shapes and warm stage lights, representing diverse, fragmented elements waiting to be aligned. Shallow depth of field. The mood is authoritative and singular.

I’ve watched the same pattern destroy implementations across fintech, government, ecommerce, healthtech, and SMEs—and it’s not what you think.

Over the past 15 years working with enterprise clients on martech implementations, member management systems, and #digitaltransformation projects, I’ve reviewed my notes and found one consistent thread:

80% of #martech implementations fail to deliver their promised value—and the failure point is almost never the technology.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

The data backs this up:
• 97% of mid-sized enterprises reported a martech failure that negatively affected customer relationships in the last 12 months .
• 72% fail from lack of post-launch monitoring .

Across every sector I’ve worked in—from government agencies managing constituent data to healthtech companies orchestrating patient journeys—the pattern is identical.

The Core Four stack (CDP, DAM, MAP, CXM) gets approved at the executive level, then delegated to mid-level leaders who lack the authority to make it work.

Here’s what I’ve observed goes missing:
→ No one mandates data sharing between Sales and #Marketing.
→ No one resolves the turf war between Acquisition and Retention teams.
→ No one reallocates headcount from legacy system maintenance.
→ No one absorbs the political cost of standardizing processes across business units.
→ No one owns the compliance risk of unified customer data.
→ No one protects the 18-36 month transformation timeline against quarterly pressure.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬—𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.

When Gartner surveyed marketing leaders, they found that successful implementations have one thing in common: active C-suite involvement in vendor selection, change management, and continuous oversight.

This isn’t about blame.

It’s about recognizing that the Core Four requires a different kind of leadership engagement than traditional software purchases.

Read on below to understand what real executive sponsorship requires—and why the gap between leaders and laggards widens every quarter you wait.

The Core Four martech stack is not a technology decision. It is an organizational design decision. And that is why it keeps failing without executive 

Open article: The Core Four: Why your Martech Stack is an Organizational Problem by Fernando Academia Jr, EMBA, CDMP, PCM • 4 min read

The Core Four: Why your Martech Stack is an Organizational Problem

Vortx.ai

Leading a dual-use AI + space intelligence company redefining data authenticity and model grounding.
• Building the Grounded AI platform connecting satellite, drone, and sensor data to AI truth verification.
• Overseeing satellite and planetary AI (LBVM) R&D.
• Managing global teams and strategic partnerships with NVIDIA, Cerebras, and Seraphim Space.
• Driving capital strategy and the 2026 launch of the first VORTX satellite cluster.

Co-Founder, Co-CEO

AIRONCLAD STRATEGIC ADVISORS

Designing enterprise-grade AI solutions for CIOs and tech leaders.
- SpendIQ – Predictive AI for SaaS & infrastructure cost optimization.
- ResearchIQ – AI-powered, personalized insight platform.
Tech stack: OpenAI, Google Gemini, Firebase, BigQuery, Python, Node.js.

Product Builder & AI Technologist

CIOs For CIOs

Building an invite-only peer advisory platform for senior technology executives.
- Host CIO briefings focused on AI, cyber resilience, and transformation.
- Facilitate vendor strategy workshops and confidential peer roundtables.
- Publish executive briefs on emerging enterprise technology trends.

CoFounder | CIOs for CIOs

Goya Foods

• Developed and executed the IT vision and roadmap, aligning technology with business objectives.  
• Ensured robust enterprise cybersecurity measures, safeguarding organizational data and infrastructure.  
• Directed IT projects, optimizing internal operations through strategic technology implementations.

CIO, Head of Information Technology

Lead Enterprise Digital Transformation,  help Modernize IT.

Advisor/Consultant

SB3 Inc

Proven track record in IT leadership, and ability to solve complex business challenges through technology; 

We are CIO consultants with focus on aligning IT strategy with overall business goals. 

* Strategic IT planning: Develop long-term technology roadmaps aligned with business goals. 
* Digital transformation consulting: Guide companies through digital transformation initiatives. 
* Cloud migration strategy: Assess and implement cloud migration plans. 
* Cybersecurity assessment: Evaluate and improve cybersecurity posture. 
* IT cost optimization: Analyze and reduce IT spending. 

We have been focused on Transformation, Selection and Implementation of Supply Chain systems for the CPG, Food & Beverage and Cable TV vertical markets.

Our secret is our deep domain knowledge, industry contacts & hands on experience.

Managing Director

CAM Systems

Managed Software Development and Product Management for the Cable Network products. Helped with Business Development, Sales & Marketing.

Vice President

MiTRA Technologies

Built and developed the flagship product. Ultimately grew Mitra Tech into an industry leading multi million dollar business with blue chip clients like ESPN Classic, MSNBC, Oxygen, Fox News, FoodTV, HGTV etc.

President & Founder

Worked on engineering several high performance computing, high performance web, extreme graphics and big data systems for SGI clients in Media & Entertainment, Finance, Commercial, Education verticals in the New York City area.

Systems Engineer

NCR Teradata

Member of the Professional Services Group. Developed and engineered software systems in the Rapid Application Development space using VLDB's like Oracle Parallel Server, Sybase Nav Server, Teradata. Incredible experience with great professionals and structured sales teams.

Consultant-Systems Engineer

I build things that connect the dots — between technology and truth, systems and people, curiosity and impact.

For more than 15 years, I led technology for a billion-dollar global enterprise, modernizing ERP, AI, and supply chains that fed millions of customers every day. It was equal parts engineering and empathy — translating business ambition into digital transformation that actually worked.

That experience taught me something important: technology isn’t powerful because it’s complex — it’s powerful because it’s real. Grounded. Useful. Human.

That belief drives everything I do now.

At VORTX.AI, I’m leading a team that’s redefining how AI learns from the world around it. We’re building the world’s first Grounded AI platform, combining satellite intelligence, geospatial data, and anti-spoofing systems to make AI more trustworthy — for industries that can’t afford to be wrong. From New York to Bengaluru, we’re building truth at planetary scale through partnerships with NVIDIA and Seraphim Space.

With AIRONCLAD Technology & Advisors, I help enterprises bring the promise of AI down to earth — with tools like SpendIQ for predictive cost optimization and ResearchIQ for personalized executive insight. And through CIOs for CIOs, I’ve helped create a global peer network where technology leaders share playbooks, not pitches.

I’ve always believed innovation should feel as natural as curiosity. That’s why I still code, prototype, and experiment — whether it’s training AI models, exploring the chemistry of food molecules, or mapping patterns between leadership, sport, and design.

Travel keeps me curious. Sports keep me honest. Food keeps me grounded.
Together, they remind me that creativity isn’t a discipline — it’s a habit.

🏆 Recognition & Media
New York Enterprise CIO of the Year (ORBIE Awards) • BT150 Global Transformation Leader • Top 5 Digital Transformation Leader (Manufacturing Leadership Council) • Featured in WSJ CIO Journal, Cloud Wars, and Acceleration Economy


Suvajit Basu

The internet lies! 
Here’s an experiment: go to http://perplexity.in.

What do you see? Were you fooled?

When one of the largest and most trusted companies in the world—Google—can mislead you, it makes you wonder: Who else can you trust online?

In the age of AI, minimizing hallucinations and misinformation is more critical than ever. Always verify, question, and think critically.

#Misinformation #CriticalThinking #AIethics #DigitalTrust

🛰 Co-Founder & Co-CEO, VORTX.AI | Building Grounded AI & Space Intelligence Systems | Former CIO of a Billion-Plus Global Enterprise | Exited Founder | NY CIO of the Year

graphical user interface, text, application

Intuition - When not sure, “sloooow” things down. When this “sloooow” happens, athletes call it the “zone”. 

With practice great people, great players, great minds can almost turn this “in the zone” on and off on-demand. 

And that my friend is all about “practice”. 

How many reps did you take today?

CEO, Chairman & Co-Founder at Rubrik (NYSE: RBRK), The Security and AI Operations Company | Maximal Thinker

A global force for good. “Shows where our world is today and how people need help…” - Mel

Thank you Mel & your team.

#1 NYT Best Selling Author of The Let Them Theory | Host of Award-Winning The Mel Robbins Podcast | CEO, 143 Studios | “Mel gives millions of people a reason to believe in themselves” - TIME

I need to tell you something absolutely unbelievable that happened today. Apple Podcasts released their 2025 charts... and The Mel Robbins Podcast walked away with:

#1 Most Followed Show on Apple in 2025
#1 Most Shared Episode of 2025 for our episode with Dr. Stacy Sims
Best of 2025 Editorial Award
#2 Most Shared Show in 2025
#3 Top Show of the Year in 2025

I’m insanely proud and blown away by each of these awards.

But let me be clear about what matters most:

It’s the shares.

Because you don’t share something unless it helped you or moved you or made your life better. That’s the real endorsement. That’s the vote of confidence. That’s what really blows me away.

As I told my team, the growth of this show happened one recommendation at a time.

And three years later, this amazing community of people who listen to the show exists because you keep showing up for yourself - to feel better, to think better, and to create a better life. Because you’re willing to do that work in your own life and then turn around and help someone else do the same. THAT is the coolest, most rewarding part of making this show.

One more thing: I get all the credit, but there’s a big team of hardworking people behind The Mel Robbins Podcast. Production, marketing, social media, press… They make all this possible.

Thank you for trusting me, for inviting me into your earbuds, your morning walks, your commutes, your messy moments, your breakthroughs, and your life.

This is our win.

And we’re just getting started.

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