Co-founder & CEO @ Ritmoo | Growth Advisor | Leadership Catalyst | GTM Strategist | Led growth in startups from €1 to 100m

I've spent my career helping businesses scale with purpose, transforming ambition into execution and building teams that don't just grow, but thrive.

With a track record of taking companies from €1M to €100M+ in revenue and scaling teams from 10 to 700 people, I've learned that sustainable growth comes down to clarity, trust, and relentless focus. 

Most notably at EVBox, where I served as Chief Growth Officer from 2015 to 2022, I helped lead the business from a small industry player into a global category leader, building a scalable go-to-market engine and a culture of growth.

Today, I'm a fractional growth operator, partnering with high-growth scaleups to architect their go-to-market, sharpen their narrative, and build resilient, high-performing teams. 

I work with companies like SIG, CLEVR, Frends, Dott, vaylens, and more, bringing clarity to chaos and focus to scale.

I'm also the founder of Ritmoo (recently acquired), where we combined expert-led strategy services with lightweight goal management software for fast-moving teams. I'll continue as an advisor through 2026 as Ritmoo enters its next chapter under new leadership.

And I'm the author of Teams in Hell – How to End Bad Management, a practical playbook for building trust, clarity, and adaptability inside modern teams. Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Teams-Hell-How-End-Management/dp/9090401318/

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🚀 Highlights
• Fractional Growth Operator | Supporting scaleups like SIG, CLEVR, Frends, Dott, vaylens, and more
• 1x Exited Founder | Co-founded Ritmoo (acquired 2025), continuing as advisor through 2026
• Former Chief Growth Officer, EVBox | €5M → €100M+ revenue, 10 → 700 people
• Head of Product Growth, Talentsquare | Built growth strategy through to exit in 2015
• Former Global President, AIESEC | Leading the world's largest youth-led organization
• Angel Investor & LP | Backing early-stage founders via StayingBee, Pal, and Shilling VC
• Author | Teams in Hell (2025), a book on fixing modern leadership from the inside out

🏓 Fun Facts
• Former pro table tennis player with several championships in Portugal
• Proud dad to two daughters with Duracell-level energy

Hugo Pereira

AI won't replace you if you're great at what you do.
𝗕𝗨𝗧... 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
 
I'm seeing this play out in real time with my fractional clients.
 
Most of the time they confuse motion with progress.

Instead of shipping 10 things, to focus on the 2 things that could actually drive revenue and retention.
 
The pace increased with AI. 
We're building faster than ever. 
But now we're selective about what we build.
 
Think about it: 
AI can write 10 blog posts in a week. 
Build three email sequences overnight. 
Generate dozens of social posts in an hour.
 
But volume without impact is just noise.
 
AI automates the busy work. 
What's left is either real value creation or nothing.
 
---

Here's what AI won't replace:

→ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
Deciding which 2 things matter more than the other 10 

→ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
The insight that shifts how people see the problem.

→ 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The trust that makes deals happen. I just tried out an AI-video SDR, horrible experience. Felt mechanic.

Teams that evolve these skills become unstoppable. 
AI just becomes their lever.
 
Teams hiding behind activity metrics and endless output get exposed fast.
 
Use AI to focus on what actually matters. 
Everything else is just noise.

---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Fractional Growth (CMO/CGO) | Author “Teams in Hell – How to End Bad Management” | 1x exited founder (Ritmoo)

I'm not the biggest fan of tradeshows, but damn... do I miss attending CES in Las Vegas! 😅

I went 3 times in a row for EVBox between 2017 and 2020, and it was always such a blast. The reason why it worked so is because a lot came together:

1. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀
Even if we were feeling a bit of that new year vibe and not ready to get to work, that event would just get tons of us pumped up. 

2. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵
Sales, marketing, product all in one place. Dry runs, pitch practice, late-night dinners debating the future of our industry. You can't replicate this kind of sync easily.

3. 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 
CES is massive. You barely see 1/3 of it as an exhibitor. Most of us got about half-day off to explore it and it was always worth it. 

4. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽
2-3 days before the show, a few of us would fly in early. Road trips, deep conversations, inside jokes. This wasn't just team building, we were forming culture.

5. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿
Our messaging, product positioning, objections were all tested live in the first week of January. We'd adjust campaigns and priorities on the fly. There wasn't a need to wait for Q2 data.

---

Now, was it expensive? Hell yes!

Hundreds of thousands of euros. 
The stress of shipping hardware from Europe months in advance.
 
But some of our biggest deals started there. 
Context mattered. 
Timing mattered. 

Being present when the industry was exploding... mattered.

---
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘀:
 
We try too often to calculate ROI on everything we do. 
 
But some of the most critical investments can't be measured in advance.
 
𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵? 
Can't forecast that.  

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 200 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 4 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴? 
Not in the model.  

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬? 
Priceless.
 
A lot of CEOs/CFOs l hate this. 
They want proof before investment.
 
But growth doesn't work that way.
 
You can't A/B test belief. 
You can't pilot commitment. 
You can't run a controlled experiment on culture.
 
The companies that win understand this. 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿. 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁.

---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

The 1M to 10M ARR journey is not a straight line.
 
A lot of times you read about scaling from 1M to 10M like it's a smooth climb. It isn't.

I've seen companies spike to 5M on momentum, then spend two years stuck there because they never stopped to figure out their actual ICP. 

I've seen others grind through the early millions, then explode once they cracked distribution.

Growth happens in bursts, not steady increments. And those bursts depend entirely on which GTM motion you've mastered.

-

Here's what the journey actually looks like:
 
𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. 
Early on, you're having deep conversations. Every customer is a case study. 

You're learning who actually needs what you're building. 
Speed doesn't matter (yet) as much as insights do.
 
I made this mistake with my own startup. 

I was obsessing over conversion rates at 80 demos. 

Completely wrong focus. 

I should have been on calls with the 10 best-fit customers, not optimizing funnels.

-
 
𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵. 
This is where you commit to one channel, one ICP, one repeatable motion. 

Most companies get stuck here because they refuse to walk away from revenue that doesn't fit.
 
You have five use cases. Seven personas. Three markets. 

The board loves the growth. 

But your CAC is climbing and churn is creeping up. 

Nobody wants to make the tough call to say no.

-
 
𝟯. 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. 
Once you crack repeatability, growth compounds fast. 

But only if you built the right foundation. 

This is where community, partners, and deep customer relationships become your flywheel.
 
The companies that made it here didn't get there by doing more. 

They got there by doing less—but doing it better.

---
 
Your GTM motion changes at each stage too:
 
→ At $5K ACV, it's all about velocity and content 
→ At $50K ACV, it's thought leadership and events 
→ At $500K ACV, it's brand and expertise of your people 
→ At $1M+ ACV, it's pure relationships and CxO referrals
 
Trying to run a high-touch motion at low ACV kills your margins. 

Running a low-touch motion at high ACV kills your close rates.
 
Most founders try to scale what got them to 1M. 

That's the mistake. 
What got you here won't get you there.
 
The jump from 1M to 10M isn't about working harder. 

It's about knowing when to pause, when to pivot your motion, and when to stop chasing every deal that comes your way.
 
Growth isn't linear. 
Momentum is.

---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+). 

Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

If B2B marketing advice feels comforting, be worried.
 
Comforting usually means it wasn't written for you, it was written for everyone. 

And what works for everyone works for no one.
 
Last week, I joined Dreamdata with Casper (agency founder, 100+ B2B SaaS clients) and Francesca (demand gen director at Legora, legal AI scaleup) to discuss what worked in Marketing in 2025 and will 2026 be about.

Agency view, fractional view, operator view. 

Here're my main highlights summarized 👇
 
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
• Francesca nailed the current context: "everything, everywhere, all at once." 
• AI let teams ship faster, however standout teams do it without sacrificing quality. 
• The luxury problem for some is when your entire market is in-buying mode, it's about demand capture, not generation.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸
• Big trade shows. Done. 
• We all moved budget to owned events where you control the narrative, the audience, and the ROI. 
• Side events next to big conferences can be a good place to test out guerrilla marketing, which still works.
• Traditional paid search is declining hard. Google Ads spend down 70% for some of us. LinkedIn up 120%. The shift is real.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄
• Thought leader ads on LinkedIn, but evolved. Not just employee posts anymore. Get customers and prospects to post about you.
• Reddit is undervalued, even if tough to make it work.
• YouTube is massive but no one talks about it. 
• TikTok works if you can stomach the creative investment.
• Influencer marketing in B2B. Yes, really. Some of us are paying B2B creators to post about products. It's not cheap, but it works.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴
• 90% of AI talk is about content workflows. The real win seems more around proactive insights and signals.
• Simple wins in AI can be practical agents (we built a bunch at Frends) that research prospects before meetings, auto-fill lead context when they come in, and push win-wire analysis into Slack. Simple, yet effective
 
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
• Personalization beats volume. 
• The companies stuck between PLG and enterprise are struggling. Pick a lane.
 
Full conversation on Dreamdata's Attributed podcast, link in comments.

Worth the listen.

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I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+). 

Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Your content team produced 247 pieces last year.
Your best prospects read 3.

That's not a content problem. 
That's a strategy problem.
 
Most GTM teams are stuck in a volume trap. 
More blogs. 
More case studies. 
More webinars. 
More LinkedIn carousels. 

The machine keeps running because stopping feels like quitting.
 
Chances are that your buyer or ideal customer scrolls past 90% of what you publish. 

Not because it's bad. 
Because it's not for them.
Not right now. 
Not precise enough to stop their scroll.
 
𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 
𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.
 
Not another "5 trends in [your industry]" post. 

The one answer to the specific problem keeping them up at night. From someone who's solved it before.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻:
→ Kill half your content calendar  
→ Talk to 10 customers about their actual questions  
→ Answer those questions with brutal precision  
→ Publish when it matters, not because it's Tuesday
 
Volume is a vanity metric disguised as discipline.
 
Precision is how you build trust.
 
This year, publish less. 
Matter more.
 
---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

I've seen three types of horrible managers in my career:
1) the Controller, 2) the Ghost, 3) the Firefighter.
 
You've probably worked for at least one of them.
 
- 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 is the micromanager. 

Wants updates constantly. 

Reviews every PPT slide down to the font size.
 
He doesn't come from a bad place, he likes being in the details. 

But he confuses being in the details with controlling the output.
 
That makes people anxious. 

They stop thinking for themselves because everything gets second-guessed anyway.
 
He simply doesn't know when to let go.

-
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 disappears when you need him most. 

Only shows up to take credit.
 
The team works on a big project for months. 

When it's time to present to leadership, he pops up: "I'll handle this one."
 
He might think he's giving freedom. 

But what he's actually doing is abandoning the team without guidance or direction.

-
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 treats everything like an emergency. 
Every deadline is yesterday. 
Every task is urgent.
 
He's the one driving burnout. 

Always pushing, pushing, pushing, and never setting the right pace.
 
Sometimes you need high speed. 

But you also need space to rest, step back, and see if what you're doing actually matters.
 
These three managers show up everywhere. 

I've worked with all of them. 

I've coached leaders who were all of them without realizing it.

---
 
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲:
 
→ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳: Ask for clear decision-making authority in specific areas so you can own outcomes, not just tasks. 

→ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵: Create regular check-ins and document decisions, make visibility a system, not a favor. 

→ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳: Push back on urgency by asking, "What's the cost if this waits 24 hours?". Most fires aren't real fires.

Bad management isn't about bad people. 
It's about unexamined patterns that destroy teams. 
Recognize the pattern, break the cycle.

---
 
I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

There’s no shortage of B2B marketing advice for 2026. Clarity is the scarce resource, and tomorrow you might get some.
 
Tomorrow I'm joining Dreamdata for a live session on what's actually working in B2B marketing, and what's quietly dying.
 
An honest conversation with Francesca (Legora), Casper (SparkForce), and Steffen (Dreamdata) on what worked in 2025 and what B2B marketing trends, tactics, and bets to place for 2026.
 
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Here’s a preview of the takes I’ll be bringing up 👇
  
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 
Teams complain about MQL quality or focus, yet keep hiding value behind forms. I’ll share when to gate (rarely) and why value-first beats friction every time.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 Frends 
Industry-specific content, owned events, and employee/expert-led thought leadership, backed by targeted sponsored ads to ICP. Executed by buyer, region, and context. (Case here, thanks TGS: https://lnkd.in/efCuChDq)
 
𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 
Most content won’t matter, and you’ll still produce it. Accept that. The real question: will you bet on 1–2 pieces with enough care that people actually want to read?
 
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 
AI doesn’t win by mass-producing listicles or scaling lazy outbound. AI wins when it 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, not when it replaces it.  When it helps teams spot patterns faster, pressure-test ideas, sharpen POVs, and move from insight to execution with less friction. 
 
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 
Partner ecosystems, customer communities, and expert visibility are the backbone of pipeline creation. In any B2B SaaS model. Now, more than ever.
 
If you're a GTM or marketing leader tired of recycled takes and want to hear what's breaking, what's working, and what to bet on in 2026, join us.
 
Link in comments.

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I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+). 

I write about leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

VP of People at Gorilla | In the pursuit of employee significance | Leadership & Career Coach | Illustrator | Corporate Hippy - views expressed here are my own

I’m a tech executive who believes the future belongs to companies that combine AI capability with human intelligence.

Not AI as a silver bullet.
Not people strategy as soft culture work.
Not simplistic “do more, faster” productivity narratives.
But practical systems that help organisations make better decisions as they scale.

I’ve spent my career building and operating those systems across people, performance, operating models, and now AI. 

The work only matters if it shows up in reality; how leaders lead, how teams decide, and how companies change without losing trust.

Most recently, I led the global People function at a Series B energy tech company and co-led our early AI rollout across governance, ethics, enablement, tooling, and experimentation. 

Alongside this, I work with founders, executives, and investors as a fractional leader and advisor. I help organisations roll out AI responsibly, navigate change, and build people systems that compound growth rather than create drag.

If you’re a founder, COO, CPO or leader trying to:
- adopt AI without breaking trust or momentum
- lead change without drowning managers in process
- scale people and operating systems that actually work in the real world.

I write and speak for you.

Things I write about:

- Practical AI adoption without hype or harm
- Where human judgment still matters in everyday AI decisions
- Leading change that creates clarity and engagement, not chaos
- People systems that support growth instead of getting in the way
- Why culture breaks during scale-ups, and how to fix it

Vanessa Monsequeira

May this be your 2026 reminder for everytime you get feedback. 

That a Frankenstein pizza is what happens when you try to implement ALL the feedback.

8 years ago, I got a performance review back.

It was good.

But different leaders wanted different things from my 360 and some of those things contradicted each other.

I was ready to become that Frankenstein pizza.

Then I talked to my mentor, a senior badass leader at the firm.

She said something that changed how I operate:

"Ness, you don't have to take all the feedback just because it's given to you."

It seems obvious now.

But back then, as a middle manager finding my footing, in a system that rewarded listening and implementation ....

Those words felt foreign ....but liberating.

Because trying to create a pizza with ALL the toppings is exhausting.

And it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and often for others too. 

The hard part was figuring  which feedback to listen to.

Here's what I started asking myself:

→ Was this given with good intention?
→ Deep down, is this what's actually holding me back?
→ Do I have capacity to implement this right now?
→ How will I close the comms loop on the feedback I don't take on now / ever?

It's taken me years of practice. I don't always get it right. 

But when I do, the outcomes are:

— Better use of my time.
— Better discernment of who I trust.
— Not running around like a headless self improvement chicken
— And growth in the direction that actually serves my goals as a leader.

So here's your 2026 reminder:
Not all feedback counts equally.
Not all feedback deserves action.

Choose your toppings wisely.

Vanessa Monsequeira - चित्रलेखा

VP of People at Gorilla | Building Employee Experience as a Product | In pursuit of making work suck less | Leadership & Career Coach | Corporate Hippy - views expressed here are my own

Meme showing a pizza topped with an entire roasted chicken, pepperoni slices, chocolate sprinkles, and colorful candy pieces. Caption reads: 'When you incorporate all the feedback from every critique.

Name the person who helped you step into your light and your power as a leader.

For me that person over the last two years has been Ruth Penfold

As a female leader in tech, the waters we swim in are different.

Through working with Ruth I:
🌱 Grew taller in moments where I felt like shrinking
🌱 Had mirror moments where I had to look at the person staring back at me and make decisions in line with my courage and integrity
🌱 Connected mind back to body - essential for every leader who wants to lead a team and workforce with engagement and integrity
🌱 Learned how to balance strength and softness as a woman of color in leadership
🌱 Navigated tough decisions and self-doubt with someone who's been there - Ruth is a former VP and CPO in tech

Importantly, growing happens together and I was part of one of the first the Women Who Lead cohort.

💜 Women Who Lead is a 12-week, high-touch leadership accelerator for women who are done playing small at work and ready to feel like themselves again - grounded, confident, powerful, whole. 

Superb for moments of transition and reinvention. It blends somatic work, identity work, and real leadership strategy so change actually sticks - in the body, not just the head.

The in-person and online catch-ups helped me breathe and realize phew it's not just me.

There were moments of shared joy, laughter, commiserations, consoling.
Women help other women rise.

And I can wholeheartedly recommend working with Ruth and the program. 

She has an incredible way of combining rational, emotional, and somatic practices in an integrated way.

🗓 If this is speaking to you run don't walk to the next cohort.
FREE taster workshop next week - Jan 12-22
https://lnkd.in/ecY4Ew62

And if you already know in your mind and your body this is for you - check out more info in the comments.

Thank you Ruth Penfold 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

Two women taking a selfie on a city street, both smiling warmly at the camera. The woman on the left has long gray-blonde hair and wears gold hoop earrings with a beige top and crossbody bag. The woman on the right has dark curly hair and wears a black jacket. Behind them is a European-style street with outdoor café seating and storefronts. The photo captures a moment of genuine connection and joy between the two friends.

I have high idea productivity. But not all of my ideas are good.

And it’s probably driven my teams, friends, and family a little crazy over the years.

Yesterday, I shared that 2026 is my Year of Creating Space.

That’s hard to do when ideas fire at 100mph
 …and my personality says: yes, chase it, build it, implement it. NOW!!!!

My ideas don’t wait for quiet moments. They show up in meetings on walks, mid-conversations, reading, listening to podcasts, and during dinner.

If I don’t capture them, my brain keeps holding onto them loudly.

I’ve learned this from from teams I’ve led (and gentle nudges from my husband): 

👉🏾 Not every idea deserves action.
👉🏾 But most ideas do deserve to be captured.

I borrowed the Ideas Bin concept from listening to Nathan Barry, founder of Kit.

He often talks about how his “high idea productivity” can drive his team a little crazy.

Every time I hear it, I smile and think: "yep, that’s me".

So this year, I’m implementing it too.

Here’s how I’m using an Ideas Bin:
→ Capture ideas the moment they appear
→ Plan a date to revisit them
→ Then step away

Come back with fresh eyes and decide:
 → Keep in bin
 → Move to discovery
 → Time for action

The goal isn’t speed.
It’s creating space for better thinking.

If you’re smiling because you do this also generate ideas at the speed of light…
....you’re my people.

📌 I created a Notion Ideas Bin template. Feel free to use and make it your own!

Thanks again to Nathan Barry for the inspiration.

A screenshot of a Notion page titled “Ideas Bin.” At the top is a green call-out box with a lightbulb icon titled “Use this as a mental parking lot.” The text explains that people with high idea productivity should capture ideas without acting on them immediately, revisit them later, and decide whether to keep, explore, or act. Below the call-out is a table-style database listing ideas with columns for idea name, category (people, process, technology), date ideated, date to revisit, and status such as “Keep in bin,” “Move to discovery,” or “Time for action.”

I pre-order books the same way some folks invest in startups.

Because early support compounds.

Pre-orders help publishers gauge demand, secure better distribution, and give authors the momentum they need in those critical first weeks.

Since 2023, I've actively sought out and championed business books by women authors. I noticed that prior to this, women authors barely featured in my top 5 reads for the year.

So I started examining the supply and visibility of business books by women authors, the shelf space in bookshops, the top 10 lists recommended by apps, and thought leaders. 

The pattern was clear; women authors were barely featured.

Some of the sharpest thinking in leadership and organizational design is coming from women who deserve a bigger platform.

I've just pre-ordered three books I'm genuinely excited about:

📘 Purpose and Work by Jessica Zwaan - Jessica's framework around organizational archetypes of purpose (which I first saw at PX Immersive last year) is refreshingly non-performative. It's reframed how I think about purpose at work in a way that feels both fresh and obvious once you hear it.

📙 Exceptionals by Ingrid Tappin 🏳️‍🌈 -  I saw Ingrid present at the Valencia Digital Summit and again in a recent webinar. She's created an entirely new category of thinking about leadership and inclusion, one that's actually pragmatic rather than theoretical. Exceptional work in every sense.

📗 The Manager Method by Ashley Herd - Ashley's bite-sized videos and manager posts are gold. Having led people teams across several organizations, I've seen firsthand how little we talk about the day-to-day, practical side of management. Ashley fills that gap beautifully.

I track all the business books by women authors I'm reading in a Notion database. 

If you're building your 2025 reading list, these three deserve a spot.

And if you can, pre-order. It makes a real difference.


#womenauthors #leadership #culture

Three business book covers with arrows pointing to circular headshots of their authors: Purpose and Work by Jessica Zwaan, Exceptionals by Ingrid Tappin, and The Manager Method by Ashley Herd

When was the last time you trusted a leader or colleague who wasn't truthful with you?

I'm guessing never.

Every time I've seen trust erode, it's due to the usual suspects:

→ Someone held back feedback but told someone else behind the person's back. 
→ Or shared a half-truth because they didn't have the courage for a crunchy conversation. 
→ Or outright lied.

Cowardice - it's an ugly word we don't talk about enough at work and in leadership.

I don't say this to throw shade. 
We all have moments where we shy away from courage.

But as a leader? It's costing you the most valuable thing you have =  Trust.

What actually happens when trust breaks down:
→ Your team members stop trusting feedback that is useful.
→ Innovation dies because people play it safe or quite frankly because they can't be bothered.
→ Your engagement scores tank.
→ People show up but check out.
→ And eventually they leave.

Not because the work is hard.
But because they don't trust you.

There's a simple model that explains this: The Truth-Trust Cycle.

When you give a bit of truth → it creates trust
That trust makes you ready to give more truth → which creates more trust
And the cycle continues

The opposite is also true.
The moment trust is breached, people recoil and stop having real conversations.
And everyone's just performing their job, not actually doing it.

So here's your January challenge:
→ Have ONE hard conversation on a topic you've been avoiding.
→ Don't soften it.
→ Don't delay or delegate it.
→ Have it.

Because without the courage to tell the truth, you'll never build the trust your team actually needs.

And these are the actions that make work suck less.

#leadership #crunchyconversations

The Truth-Trust Cycle diagram showing a purple spiral on a light purple background. The spiral moves clockwise from the center outward, labeled: truth → trust → more truth → even more trust → even more truth → more trust, illustrating how truth and trust build upon each other in an expanding cycle. By Vanessa Monsequeira, Leadership that makes work suck less

There is a man riding a horse. 

The horse is galloping quickly, and it appears that the man on the horse is going somewhere important.

Another man, standing alongside the road, shouts, "Where are you going?" and the first man replies, "I don't know! Ask the horse!"

The late Thích Nhất Hạnh used to teach this zen story and says:

"This is also our story. We are riding a horse, we don't know where we are going, and we can't stop. The horse is our habit energy pulling us along, and we are powerless. We are always running, and it has become a habit."

--

Three weeks into January, I vowed to create space and to actually ride the horse instead of being dragged.

In past years, I've noticed a pattern:
→ The top 3 priorities become 5. Then 7.
→ "Heartbeat work" is often underestimated i.e. the essential keeping-the-lights-on stuff
→ Add generative AI to the mix, and suddenly the expectation is "more, faster."

The horse starts sprinting in multiple directions at once, and my December-to-January fresh ideas glow fades fast.

--

I've found two things that actually help me hold the reins:

1. Bi-weekly reflection (15-30 minutes)
A pause where I ask myself: "Did I choose this direction, or did the horse?"
It's the only way I've found to go slow so I can go fast again—in a direction I actually choose.

2. A Top 5 Priorities doc
A simple Notion doc with:
• 1 table for the top 5 priorities (not 7, not 10)
• 1 table for all the heartbeat work
For each priority:
• Who's the primary/secondary driver
• What is initially in and out of scope
• What "good" looks like

Then I socialize it with leadership and key stakeholders outside my area, so there are no surprises and a better way to discuss scope creep and new "quick wins." 🤮

--

Yesterday, I spent half a day offline planning H1.

Within an hour, I caught myself in classic Ness mode; front-loading way too much. The horse was already starting to bolt.

So I paused. Used my own frameworks: the Priorities doc and the Ideas Bin (the one I shared last week).

I can't promise the horse won't gallop away at different times this year. But I know I have the tools to tame it.

🐴 What helps you tame your horse? I'd love to hear what's working for you.

Black-and-white cartoon of a man clinging to a galloping horse while shouting, ‘I don’t know! Ask the horse!’ as another man on the roadside asks, ‘Where are you going?’”

Change doesn't fail because people are tired.

It fails because leaders stop leading when it matters most.

I just wrapped a discussion with a CEO who told me their organisation was "suffering from change fatigue."

I asked them: "How many times have you explained why this change matters?"

Them: "Maybe twice in the all-hands?"

Me: "There's likely your problem."

__

Over the years, I've consulted with dozens of organizations. And "change fatigue" comes up constantly. 

It's become the convenient excuse for why transformations stall. John Kotter found: 70% of change initiatives fail.I'd bet that with the acceleration of AI, it's higher now.

Multiple changes have been constant for decades.
Freeze, Change, Unfreeze change model rarely exits anymore. 

So why are we still so terrible at it?

Because most leaders don't understand (or don't want to understand) the basic building blocks of leading change.

Here's where it actually falls apart:

→ Leaders mention it once or twice in all-hands meetings, then wonder why nothing sticks
→ Leaders get defensive when feedback surfaces instead of listening and adapting
→ There's no consistent communication—just sporadic updates that create more confusion
→ The "why" disappears after the initial announcement, leaving people to fill in the blanks
→ Middle managers aren't equipped or empowered to champion the change on the ground

Meanwhile, their teams are left confused, disengaged, and exhausted.
Not from the change itself, but from the chaos around it.

Not everyone needs to love the change. 
But everyone needs to understand it.

People can handle change. 
They can't handle uncertainty, mixed messages, and confused timelines.

The fix is simpler than you think:
→ Make the process crystal clear from day one
→ Repeat the mission until you're sick of hearing yourself say it (then repeat it 10 more times)
→ Create feedback loops and actually listen without defensiveness
→ Equip your middle managers—they're your change champions, not your messengers

The gap between wanting change and leading it is where most transformations die.

Don't be the leader who announces change and disappears.
Be the one who stays in the arena until it sticks.

What's one change initiative you've seen fail—and what could leadership have done differently?

#changeleadership #leadership

Diagram titled "The surface area of change" showing three nested rectangles representing decreasing willingness to engage with change: largest section "Who wants change", medium section "Who wants to change", smallest section "Who wants to lead the change"

If we want to succeed as leaders, we have to realise that effective communication feels like overkill.

How you navigate...

→ Sharing Q1 priorities and watching blank faces nod
→ Saying "like I mentioned last week" for the third time
→ Realizing your teams are working on the wrong thing
→ Biting your tongue because you feel like a broken record
→ Getting asked a question you know you already answered

...determines whether your team actually executes, or an idea just exists.

And nobody warns you that the part of leadership that feels the most annoying, is repeating yourself endlessly. 

Yet it is actually the part that matters most.

We act like clarity is a one-time event. 

Like if you said it well enough the first time, it should stick.

The message isn't the problem. The lack of repetition is.

Communication is something you do until you're sick of hearing yourself - because that's roughly when your team is starting to actually internalize it.

When you stop too early:
→ Your team drifts off priority
→ The organisation looks disengaged
→ Your engagement scores for 'meaningful work' drop off

Not because they don't care, but because you thought 3 times was enough.

It wasn't.

I'll say it again: if we want to succeed as leaders, we have to realise that effective communication feels like overkill.

You need to say something at least 7+ times, in 7+ different ways before it actually sticks.

Here's one method and free resource to help: https://lnkd.in/e2aVW69u

Keen to hear from other leaders: how do you make your comms repetitive enough to actually land?


#leadership  #development #communicationtraining

My team doesn't listen" contrasted with "Your comms: 404 Page Not Found" - highlighting communication gaps in leadership

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The Battle

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