David LaCombe

Imperatives Delivered

Providing strategic marketing leadership to early-stage companies in medical device and healthcare services sectors, including multiple stealth-mode startups and venture-backed growth-stage companies. 

Signature Accomplishments:

Accelerated revenue growth across multiple early-stage healthcare companies, contributing to a combined $7M+ in new revenue within the past 2+ years.

Advised startup leadership teams on product-market fit, GTM strategy, and marketing metrics, influencing $3.3M+ in Seed and pre-Series A fundraising.

Defined ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and segmented target markets for a new SaaS platform, leading to faster adoption in hospital systems and an 18% lift in deal velocity.

Developed a customer experience playbook in collaboration with CS and product teams, reducing onboarding friction and improving NPS from 45 to 72 in nine months.

Led go-to-market workshops with founders, sales, and product teams, ensuring marketing strategies aligned with revenue goals and increasing launch efficiency by 50%.

Chief Marketing Officer

Yeshiva University

Teaching marketing and communications classes at the graduate level within the Digital Marketing and Media program for the Katz School of Science and Health.

Adjunct Faculty

GTM Partners

As a Certified GTM Partner, I license a proprietary GTM Operating System (O.S.), designed to build and guide a Go-to-Market strategy for B2B teams.

The GTM Operating System is an integral component of my fractional GTM Officer services.

I use the O.S. to evaluate:

1. Where can you grow the most?

2. Which product(s) create the highest customer value?

3. How will you engage your customer with a differentiated POV?

4. Which GTM motions get you to your revenue go faster?

5. How do customers experience your ROI?

6. How else can you exceed your customers' expectations?

7. Which GTM metrics drive the health of your business?

8. How do you give your team clarity, alignment, and trust?

Certified GTM Partner

RQI Partners, LLC

Led a cross-functional go-to-market team from Zero to One in an expansion market.

●  Sales/Marketing Leadership: Led the launch, implementation, and scaling of educational services programs to 70+ cities and municipalities, enrolling 40,000+ healthcare providers and generating millions of dollars in ARR within three years of program launch.  Achieved greater than 100% growth year over year.
●  Customer Experience Leadership: Implemented a customer success program that resulted in zero churn during the three-year period.
●  Spearheaded sales process improvement, leveraging Lean Six Sigma methodologies to shorten sales cycle by 20%.
●  P&L Accountability: Analyzed customer acquisition costs and lifetime value.  Worked closely with Finance to forecast and measure the ROI of growth investments.
●  Cross-Functional Leadership: Established and led a startup team of marketers, sellers, and customer success managers.
●  Strategic Partnership: Developed and matured partner-led growth strategy with public and private organizations, including city and county municipalities.

Vice President (Sales, Marketing, and Customer Experience)

Selected to serve on executive leadership team for launch and oversight of account-based marketing arm of partnership between American Heart Association (AHA) and Laerdal Medical. Analyzed local communities across globe and collaborated with thought leaders to aggregate evidence-based best practices for replication and commercialization. Managed and harmonized diverse, matrixed, cross-functional group of subject matter experts (SMEs) in program development, marketing, and sales. 

●	Designed portfolio of services standardizing life-saving intervention, building reproducible service model focused on quality improvement to boost positive healthcare outcomes and generate cost and time savings for municipalities.

●	Served as industry change agent to introduce ability to measure clinical performance and resuscitation effectiveness, providing insights into KPIs to impact diverse clinical entities

Director (Prehospital Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience)

Laerdal Medical

Led strategic direction of prehospital programs to define user requirements, market trends, and KPIs for best practices. Selected to collaborate with executive leadership team to ideate and establish resuscitation partnership organization for Laerdal and AHA.

Director of Prehospital Programs

Managed 28-member team in comprehensive marketing strategies, branding, and operations across US, Canada, and LATAM. Steered product development, events, social media, internal and external marketing communications and public relations, brand positioning, and downstream marketing. Ensured delivery of MQLs to salesforce through predictive analysis of customer behavior and market trends.

●	Developed business case, garnered buy-in from stakeholders, and rolled out organization’s first marketing automation technology stack to create customized buying systems and provide enhanced data insights on qualified sales leads.

●	Enhanced lead generation and nurturing processes to boost growth of MQLs by 8%.

Director of Marketing – The Americas

Selected to define new role, serving as strategic advisor to product development and executive leadership teams in Norway to facilitate evaluation of US market, drive clear communication strategies, and translate consumer needs into service and product requirements for impactful ROI. Identified key industry organizations for acquisition or partnership opportunities and assessed potential business value. 

●	Played instrumental role in developing partnerships and negotiating agreements with software developers and programmers to package bundled solutions for healthcare markets within Laerdal infrastructure.

Regional Portfolio Director – Emergency Care

Responsible for the design, development, implementation and evaluation of blended learning solutions for our customers.

Blended Learning Development Manager

Launched and scaled organization’s first educational services team providing coursework on Laerdal simulators. Designed curricula, created business model, implemented infrastructures, and coached and mentored workforce in training capabilities.

●	Scaled business model across 26 global organizations and grew curricula to broad portfolio of consumer courses, establishing new vertical service offering that generated double-digit, multimillion-dollar revenue.

●	Completed year-long stretch assignment designing customer blended learning strategy for release to market.

Blended Learning Department Manager (2011–2012) | Senior Manager – Educational Services (2006–2012)

Fractional Chief Marketing Officer | Helping CEOs Eliminate GTM Waste & Accelerate B2B Growth | Healthcare & Purpose Driven Brands | Startups to Mid-Market Expertise | Adjunct Marketing Instructor

Your GPS for B2B Growth

I started my first career as a paramedic, where I learned that survival isn’t random—it’s causal. The communities that aligned people, processes, and systems turned near-zero survival rates into world-leading results.

I bring that same discipline to business. For 20+ years, I’ve helped CEOs and leadership teams cut wasted GTM spend, align marketing, sales, and customer success, and drive measurable growth with confidence.

The results speak for themselves:

2x pipeline growth in 9–12 months

13% lower CAC with better-fit leads

22% increase in qualified pipeline valuation

Clearer alignment across founders, product, marketing, sales & customer success.

I work with mission-driven B2B brands—especially those navigating complex ecosystems like healthcare and multi-stakeholder enterprises. Along the way, I’ve partnered with GTM Partners to shape modern go-to-market strategies and with Proof Analytics to apply causal AI that pinpoints what truly drives revenue.

Even if we never work together, I’ll add value—whether it’s a second opinion, a sparring session, or a new lens to help you break through friction.

If you’re a CEO tired of “random marketing” and want a clear path to growth, let’s talk. No pitch. Just perspective.

Founder | Fractional Chief Marketing Officer

Established and built a successful fractional CMO practice, offering strategic marketing guidance and leadership to companies seeking to accelerate growth.

Client Highlights:
- Developed and implemented an Account-Based Marketing program. Increased funnel growth by 116%.
- Completed business process review. Reduced sales cycle by 28%.
- Conducted market feasibility studies for pre-startups in the concept phase.

Partnered with a range of clients, including startups, small businesses, and established organizations across various industries.

Developed customized marketing strategies aligned with each client's unique goals, target audience, and market dynamics.

Led cross-functional teams and collaborated with executives to implement marketing initiatives, resulting in increased brand visibility, customer acquisition, and revenue growth.

Provided expert guidance in voice of the customer, customer experience, digital marketing, content marketing, social media, and account based marketing.

Leveraged data-driven insights and industry best practices to optimize marketing efforts and deliver measurable results.

"You have to be the CEO of your personal brand."

I offered that advice and more to the marketing students in Professor John O'Malley's branding class at NYU.

Over twenty future marketers teleported with me to the future, to when they have earned their first job in marketing.

For those who know me, this was my Merlin exercise.

I asked the students to tell me what they did to stand out from other applicants.

Their answers were remarkably grounded.

They grasp concepts like differentiation, consistency, value, and grit.

We talked about crafting their brand image, networking, and using LinkedIn to demonstrate the problems they are learning to solve in their program.

I also explained the concept of being T-shaped and emphasized that employers want marketers who can think and operate like business owners — not just marketing specialists.

Later, I watched Professor O'Malley "flip the classroom" in an exercise that empowered the students to practice their networking and communication skills.

Honestly, I'd hire any of these students as interns. They are motivated, hungry, and open to feedback.

Thanks to Professor O'Malley for the invitation and to the students for our time together to practice our craft.

David LaCombe, M.S.

It’s not enough to be known. 

You have to be audacious to stand out in a world where AI elevates everyone’s potential.

For me, it’s starts with intentionality and confidence knowing that few people have my experience and point of view.

I usually lean towards humble.  The majority of my posts are in service to others.

I don’t talk about myself much because i genuinely enjoy being a person of substance. 

Hubris annoys me.

So, on this rare occasion I’ll mention a few things about me that you might find interesting.

I was a paramedic before I pivoted to product management, marketing, and GTM.

My EMS experiences taught me to act decisively and I based my decisions on the best available evidence.

Also, I’ve delivered premature triplets.  

I’ve brought dozens of products to market, have led GTM transformations, and have been privileged to work in eight countries.

I am building a fractional GTM leadership service that combines causal AI and the leading GTM Operating System.

I work with no more than three clients at a time so that I can also teach marketing students.

Does that make me audacious? Maybe not, yet. But, I can see it on the horizon.

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Failing to plan is planning to fail.

As a CMO, I’m surprised to find many mid-market companies without a crisis communication plan.

Today I’m facilitating a simulation with marketing graduate students at Yeshiva University  about the United Airlines flight 3411 incident.

Shares of UAL stock fell 4.3% two days after public outrage spiked online.  Their initial loss was $950 million.

This situation was both predictable and preventable.

Most CMO related posts are about growth.  This is your invitation to think about maketing and communication role in risk prevention and management.

Advice to ponder: “In crisis management, be quick with the facts and slow with the blame.” Leonard Saffir

𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁.
 
That line came to mind as I stood in Grand Central Terminal the day before Thanksgiving—one of the busiest days of the year. 

Crowds rushing. Signals everywhere. Noise layered on noise.
 
And yet, the leaders who win aren’t the ones who move the fastest.  They’re the ones who 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 to see the truth inside the chaos.
 
Slow enough to notice the real customer signals.  Slow enough to ask whether the team is aligned.  Slow enough to separate effort from impact.
 
Because when you get clear on what matters, everything speeds up—decision-making, execution, and growth. That’s the paradox: clarity reduces drag.
 
As we head into the holiday, I’m grateful for the leaders who choose clarity over frenzy. The ones who make room for stillness so their teams can move with confidence.
 
Here’s to clear signals, intentional choices, and a smoother path forward.
 
Happy Thanksgiving.

𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.
 
As a fractional CMO, I work with companies where the growth path isn't clear. The market shifted. The old playbook stopped working. Nobody knows what's next.
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱:
The teams that win aren't the ones with all the answers.
They're the ones comfortable not knowing.
They are the ones who are unafraid to ask better questions.
 
When you're solving problems where the answer is unknown, you can't map the entire route from day one. You can only see the next curve. And that's okay—that's actually how breakthroughs happen.

My approach with teams:

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. What do we 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 know? What are we assuming? What would need to be true for our current strategy to work? The best first step is admitting we don't have all the answers yet.
 
𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀—𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲. I tell teams: "Poke holes in this. What could go wrong?" When everyone feels safe challenging assumptions, we find the blind spots before they become expensive mistakes.
 
𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘀. We don't make $500K decisions on hunches. We make $5K tests. Launch a landing page. Try a new message with 100 customers. Learn. Adjust. Move forward.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀. When the data tells us we're headed in the wrong direction, we pivot. Fast. Some of our biggest wins came from noticing what customers actually did—not what we planned for them to do.
 
𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲—𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀.
 
When you embrace the uncertainty, you stop asking small questions like "How do we get 10% more leads?" and start asking bigger ones like "Are we even targeting the right customer?"
 
You can't see the destination from the starting line. But if you navigate one curve at a time, question your assumptions, and let data guide your turns, you end up somewhere better than you imagined.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 "𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱" 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

One of the biggest breakdowns in marketing teams isn't about strategy or creativity.
 
It's about invisible inference.
 
A marketer sees declining engagement rates and concludes "the audience is tired of our messaging."
 
A CEO sees the same data and concludes "marketing isn't delivering results."
 
Same numbers. Completely different 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
 
Here's what Chris Argyris, creator of the Ladder of Inference, discovered: 
-------------------------------------------------------
We don't make decisions based on data. We make 
them based on what we do to data—and we do 
it so fast, we don't realize we're doing it.
-------------------------------------------------------
 
The Ladder of Inference shows exactly how:
 
𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 → Everything that could be seen or measured (the full dataset)
 
𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 → What you actually noticed (engagement dropped, but did you notice the algorithm change?)
 
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → The meaning you added ("tired of our messaging" vs. "not working")
 
𝗔𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 → What you assumed was true ("audiences want novelty" vs. "marketing should be measurable")
 
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 → Where you landed ("change the creative" vs. "cut the budget")
 
𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 → What you did next—based on a chain of inferences you never examined
 
The problem? Both people think they're reacting to facts. They're actually reacting to conclusions they constructed in milliseconds.
 
This is why I teach the Ladder of Inference to both marketing students and my fractional CMO clients.
 
Because once you see your own ladder, everything changes:

• You catch yourself selecting certain data and ignoring the rest.
  
• You recognize when you're adding meaning vs. observing facts.
  
• You test your assumptions before defending your conclusions.
  
• You make your reasoning visible so others can help you check it.
  
The best marketers don't just make decisions—they show their work.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘆: "Here's what I observed, 
here's the meaning I'm adding, here's 
what I'm assuming. What am I missing?"

When teams learn to climb down their ladders together, they stop arguing about conclusions and start learning from reality.

#CMO #marketing #decisionmaking  

Image Credit: David LaCombe with Gallery Design Studio NYC

Your board asks: "What's marketing's ROI?"

You show them your attribution model. Every touch. Every channel. Every interaction.

Now ask yourself: What question did you actually answer?

You showed them where marketing was present. But is that the same as where marketing mattered?

Here's the test: If your CFO cut Marketing's budget 40% tomorrow, could you tell them what happens to revenue in the first half of 2026? Not what you 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 will happen—what the data says will happen.

If you can't answer that, what are you actually measuring?

Look at your "marketing-influenced" pipeline by channel. Add it up. Is marketing somehow responsible for 200% of revenue? If so, what does that number actually mean?

One more: The things that matter most—brand, community, word of mouth—do they show up in your model at all? If they don't, are you measuring impact or just measuring what's easy to measure?

Your board doesn't want to know where you touched deals.

They want to know what would have happened without you.

Can your attribution model answer that?

#marketing  #attribution #causation

The "Full-Stack Marketer" is a lie we're all telling ourselves.

Here's an uncomfortable truth: formal learning hours for employees have collapsed 60% since 2018. The average employee now gets less than 14 hours of training per year.

That's less than two workdays.

Meanwhile, marketing job descriptions ask for expertise in paid media, content strategy, marketing ops, analytics, ABM, SEO, automation platforms, and data visualization.

We're asking people to be experts in everything while investing almost nothing in their development.

I'm a CMO, author, and marketing professor. I believe in T-shaped marketers—deep in one or two areas, fluent in others. But there's a rational limit to what one person can master across a dozen specialized domains.

And fluency without depth won't deliver standout results.

The math is brutal: CPAs get 40 hours of annual continuing education. Pilots undergo recurrent training twice a year. Nurses complete more CE in one quarter than most marketers get all year.

Yet we expect marketers to stay current across constantly evolving platforms, privacy regulations, attribution models, and AI tools on 14 hours annually.

It's not working.

If organizations want versatile, high-performing marketers, they need to invest in three things: education, mentoring, and feedback. Not learning libraries no one has time for. Real investment.

I wrote about why the full-stack marketer expectation has become a broken promise—and what employers must do differently.

What's your experience with training investment at your organization?

#CMO #Marketing #talentdevelopment

As a CMO and marketing professor, I'm increasingly troubled by a pattern I'm seeing across B2B organizations: the glorification of the "full-stack mar

Open article: The Full-Stack Marketer Mirage: Why Versatility Without Investment Is a Broken Promise by David LaCombe, M.S. • 4 min read

The Full-Stack Marketer Mirage: Why Versatility Without Investment Is a Broken Promise

𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 $𝟵𝟬𝟬 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.
 
When I transitioned from emergency medicine to product management, I received zero formal training.
 
No mentor. No role-specific orientation. Just mandatory HR compliance modules a desk, and a lot of responsibility.
 
I survived through trial and error, and by being fortunate enough to find experienced colleagues willing to give advice when I asked.
 
Twenty-something years later, I've watched this same pattern damage countless early-career professionals.
 
Here's what most leaders miss: 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼.
 
Patricia Benner's research on skill acquisition is unequivocal: novices need concrete rules, structured feedback, and clear direction. They can't learn through pattern recognition because they don't yet have patterns to recognize.
 
Throwing them into "trial and error" isn't building resilience. It's organizational malpractice.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀:
• 22% turnover in the first 45 days (mostly preventable)
  
• 8-12 months to reach productivity without mentoring vs. 3-4 months with it
  
• Employees with mentors have 50% higher retention rates
  
• Replacement costs: 1.5x to 3x annual salary
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺:
 
In law and accounting, firms invest heavily in early talent development. It's structural. Expected. Mandatory.
 
In marketing? We've abandoned mentorship entirely. We hire new grads and wonder why they struggle to meet expectations.
 
The 35% of marketers citing "lack of advancement opportunities" aren't lazy. They're novices who were never taught how to become experts.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:
Not expensive programs. Just experienced professionals who give novices clear rules to follow, provide regular feedback, and show them how to think—not just what to do.
 
This is why I'm writing my book. Not to sell another framework, but because I wish someone had handed me this 20 years ago when I was drowning in trial and error.
Every early-career marketer deserves better than I got.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 
If you're senior, when's the last time you explained your decision-making to someone junior? 

If you're early-career, what's the one thing you wish someone would just explain?

#novice #marketer  #mentoring #marketing2aT

When Your Founder Shows Up for Your Fans
 
Once a quarter, I hold 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 with my fractional CMO clients.
 
We look at campaigns from across industries. B2B. B2C. Tech. Healthcare. Retail. The good. The bad. The ones that make us think.
 
The goal isn't to copy. It's to spark ideas we can personalize for our brands.
 
Most campaigns we review follow the same playbook. Big budget. Slick production. Professional talent. Carefully scripted messages.
 
They're fine. Some are even good.
 
But Virgin Mobile UAE's SuperFan campaign? It rose to the top of the pile.
 
Here's why.
 
They threw out the script.
 
No actors. No fake testimonials. No polished brand ambassadors.
 
Instead, they found real customers. People like Adina, Neelam, and Hekmat, who were already engaging with their social content. Already loving the brand. Already telling their stories.
 
Then Virgin put them on billboards across the UAE.
 
Think about that for a second. Your phone company turns YOU into a local hero. 
 
But here's the part I loved...
 
Sir Richard Branson himself recorded a personal video message. Thanking these customers. By name. For their loyalty.
 
That's not marketing automation. That's not scalable. That's not efficient.
It's human.
 
Now more than ever, when AI can generate perfect-looking people and write flawless copy, Virgin Mobile went the opposite direction. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. The authentic. The real.
 
The campaign reminded everyone of something we forget too easily: people connect with people, not algorithms.
 
When your founder takes time to personally thank customers, you're not running a campaign. 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.
 
That's the difference between brand awareness and brand love.
 
And that's why this one's going in next Creative Rounds.

#fractionalcmo #marketingrounds #superfans

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: I want to speak with someone who uses projects and case studies on their LinkedIn profile to demonstrate their skill set.

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: The interview will inform my writing "Marketing2aT: The Formula for Breaking Into Marketing and Standing Out. 

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 30-minute Zoom interview. 

Send me a DM if you're interested.

#marketing2aT #portfolio #projects

The 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝘅 is costing your company millions.
 
Marketing optimizes for MQLs. Sales optimizes for bookings. Customer Success optimizes for retention.

You should be optimizing for the unit economics of acquiring the right customers profitably.
 
Here's why this persists: Each function measures correlated activity rather than actual impact. Marketing claims credit for every deal that touched their content. Sales claims credit for every deal they closed. CS claims credit for every renewal.
 
Everyone claims victory. Nobody knows what actually moved the needle.
 
The result? 10% of revenue—gone (Demandbase, 2024). Not to competitors. To yourselves.
 
Companies with strong alignment grow 20% annually. Companies without it decline 4% (LXA, 2023). That's a 24-point swing between winning and winding down.
 
The fix isn't an off-site retreat. It's measuring what actually drives GTM effectiveness, not what just happened at the same time.
 
When everyone can see their proven contribution to the same outcome, alignment isn't a meeting. It's a natural consequence of clear feedback.
 
Stop optimizing for what you can control. Start optimizing for what actually matters.

Building the Fiduciary Mindset: 
From Campaign Manager to Business Steward
 
Most marketing leaders believe they earn a strategic seat through great campaigns, strong brand metrics, or pipeline results.
 
They're missing something bigger.
 
𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀.
 
Here's what surprised me when I started researching corporate officer responsibilities:
 
Under Delaware law (where most U.S. companies are legally incorporated), marketing executives have the same legal duties as board directors. 

You must act in the company's best interests based on complete information. This is called 𝗳𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆—the legal responsibility to put your company's interests first.
 
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 
 
All businesses, but especially private equity sponsors (investment firms that buy companies), demand clear results. They expect you to know:
 
• 𝗖𝗔𝗖 (Customer Acquisition Cost): What you spend to get each customer
• 𝗟𝗧𝗩 (Lifetime Value): How much revenue each customer generates over time
• 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱𝘀: How long it takes to earn back what you spent acquiring customers
 
These numbers are basic requirements for board meetings.
 
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺
 
Knowing these numbers isn't enough. As my colleague Mark Stouse from Proof Analytics points out, traditional measurement tools confuse correlation with causation and miss important factors, such as the time lag between marketing activities and business results.
 
Just because sales went up after you launched a campaign doesn't prove the campaign caused the increase. Other factors might be at work.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
 
Don't abandon the basic metrics. Instead, add causal thinking on top of them.
 
Learn to separate what's actually working from what just happened to be there. This rigor is what fiduciary-level thinking looks like.
 
𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴'𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲
 
Marketing isn't a cost center. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿.
 
What does this mean? Sales teams close more deals when marketing:
 
• Creates brand recognition that opens doors
• Generates qualified leads
• Educates buyers before the first sales call
 
But proving this requires two things:
 
1. The operational metrics (CAC, LTV) that boards expect
2. The causal thinking that identifies what truly drives performance
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲
 
Building this fiduciary mindset is uncomfortable. You'll need to learn financial concepts. You'll take responsibility for outcomes you don't fully control. You'll challenge assumptions—including your own.
 
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿?

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗤𝟰 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗹'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆.
 
You increased marketing spend in Q4. Revenue jumps 30%. Your board loves it. You try scaling the same playbook in Q1... and get half the results.
 
What happened?
 
Most GTM dashboards show you 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, not 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. They can't tell you what actually drove results versus what happened by coincidence. These false patterns are called 𝘀𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.
 
This matters more than you think.
 
𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀:
 
𝟭. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 (your GTM strategy, pricing, messaging, team alignment) These are your levers. But here's the catch—they don't have fixed effects.
 
𝟮. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 (market conditions, economic shifts, competitor moves, regulatory changes). These externalities create three problems:
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽 - When market conditions improve, you increase spend AND revenue rises. You see correlation and call it success. But the rising tide lifted all boats. Scale that "winning" strategy when conditions change? It fails.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 - External factors influence both your decisions and your outcomes. You can't see that your competitor's exit—not your brilliant campaign—drove the surge in the pipeline.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 - Your strategies don't have a fixed ROI. The same pricing approach works brilliantly in one quarter, bombs in another. Why? External conditions changed how effective your levers are.
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂:
 
That underperforming campaign last quarter? It might have been excellent execution in bad conditions. That "winning" strategy you're scaling? It might have been mediocre execution during favorable winds.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮—𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀.
 
Control for externalities. Test in varied conditions. Separate signal from noise. Understand what actually works versus what coincidentally happened.
 
Because the worst business decision isn't trying something that fails, it's scaling something that worked for the wrong reasons.
 
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

Someone recently asked me how I became a LinkedIn Top Voice.

I gave them the wrong answer at first. I talked about consistency, about showing up, about adding value.

All true. But not the real answer.

The real answer is that I changed the question I was asking myself.

I stopped asking "Who should I be on LinkedIn?" and started asking "How can I support others with what I know?"

That shift changed everything. It freed me to stop performing a role and start practicing a discipline.

I'm joining Michael Lopez on #topvoicetuesday today to talk about identity—on LinkedIn and beyond. We're exploring how you decide which version of yourself to bring to the platform.

My answer: Stop curating. Start contributing.

Transformation Consultant to the Fortune 500 | Ex Big Four Managing Director | Former US Intelligence Officer | Host of the Top Voice Tuesday Podcast | Author - CHANGE.

Every post, every comment, every connection on LinkedIn carries a question behind it: Who am I supposed to be here?

In this episode, I’m joined by David LaCombe, M.S. to explore how we decide what version of ourselves we bring to the platform. David’s journey, from working as a paramedic to building a career in business, has shaped not only the way he shows up online, but the way he thinks about identity and leadership.

We’ll talk about the tension between authenticity and professionalism, how to find your voice without losing yourself, and why the story you tell matters just as much as the skills you bring.

Because on LinkedIn, and in life, the real question isn’t just what you share. It’s who you are.

#topvoicetuesday

Anyone can be taught to give an effective presentation.

It's not easy, but it's learnable.

It is a whole other thing to deeply connect with others 
in a way that benefits both you and them long term.

Michael Lopez and I unpacked a bit of what it takes to 
show up in ways that build affinity and trust.

I hope you listen to this clip and add to our conversation.

The decision to show up authentically, as yourself, is one that many people struggle with. 

On yesterday's Top Voice Tuesday, David LaCombe, M.S. gave us tips on how we might build the confidence to take the step. Showing up for others. Leaning on your expertise. And, quite simply, not taking yourself too seriously are starting points. Your journey is unique and somebody, somewhere, will gain value from it.

What the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gT7ZVajX

Subscribe to Top Voice Tuesday on your favorite podcast platform.

Apple: https://lnkd.in/ghEeVjfJ

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g_ih9kpa

#topvoicetuesday

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