Asher Mathew

CEO at Partnership Leaders | Helping partnership and business leaders build modern businesses through partnerships

Join Partnership Leaders at www.partnershipleaders.com

Co-Founder & CEO

Joined full time in Feb 2023

Partnership Leaders is a private network built to elevate the role of partner teams in their companies. Partnership Leaders is the only organization designed exclusively to enable the success of 1,500+ of the world’s top partner professionals.

Apply at www.partnershipleaders.com

Another new high for Chief Partner Officer roles.

1187 on Feb 1.
1220 today.

The title is rising fast.

But a title does not create a Chief Partner Officer. Mandate does.

Two things determine whether the role is real or symbolic:

Budget.

You need direct ownership of capital.
Not borrowed dollars.
Not discretionary scraps.
Not marketing leftovers.

If you do not control budget, you do not control outcomes.

Authority.

Authority means the power to prioritize.
The power to decline.
The power to protect focus.

If you cannot say no, you are not leading. You are reacting.

Without budget and authority, the CPO is a coordinator with executive branding.

With them, the CPO becomes a growth operator.

The role rests on four pillars.

Build.
Market.
Sell.
Serve.

If partnerships do not drive all four, they are not embedded in the business model.

Titles are expanding.
Mandate must follow.

Something interesting is happening in deals right now.

In the past week I spoke with four services companies.

Each told me the same thing.

Customers are asking for the partner manager to join deal calls.

Why?

Because the deal no longer involves just one vendor.

There are multiple companies delivering the outcome:
• The platform
• The services partner
• The software (think app) partner
• Sometimes even the data or AI provider

Customers want someone coordinating the ecosystem.

Not just selling the product.

That role is increasingly falling to the partnerships team.

If this trend continues, it changes how we think about partnerships.

Partner managers are no longer behind the scenes.

They are becoming the orchestrators of multi-party deals. (I know James Hodgkinson will love this one). 

I am curious if others are seeing this too.

Are customers asking for partnerships teams to be present in complex deals? Pre-Close? Post-Sale?

Am I the only one thinking when will Anthropic launch Claude for #Partnerships?

anyone else?

Hire a Chief Partner Officer...Demo to Satya!

Way to go Marcel!

A new marketplace player enters the market!

Something interesting is happening.

Events are back.

Our London Summit is already at capacity, and NYC and SF are close behind.

What is different this year is who is showing up.

Catalyst is expanding beyond software to include leaders from services and hardware companies.

The conversations around ecosystems and partnerships are getting bigger.

If you plan to attend one of our Summits or the Catalyst Conference, register soon.

More info: join catalyst dot com

One way I think about Catalyst is this:

It’s the premier conference to recruit, re-engage, and retain partners.

Not just network.
Not just content.
Actual ecosystem building.

This year, we’re leaning into Services companies that unlock the enterprise.

Think SIs, agencies, and management consulting firms.
The partners you need in your mix if you want to tap into the $6.15T global IT spend.

We’ll still have strong content for early and mid career partnership leaders. That foundation matters.

But the next unlock is CPO readiness.

What does it take to move from running motions to owning ecosystem strategy?
From supporting revenue to shaping company direction?

That’s the conversation.

Catalyst is for the companies and leaders preparing to shape the next wave of tech through partnerships.

If you’re serious about building a modern partner ecosystem, this is where you should be.

Grab your ticket, early bird ends tomorrow!

Build. Market. Sell. Serve.

Partnerships summed up in 4 words.

Enterprise growth does not break because you lack features.

It breaks because you are not invited into the room where decisions get made.

And those rooms are crowded.

CIOs do not wake up looking for new vendors.
They listen to the firms already embedded in their transformation.

The SI running the cloud migration.
The consultancy redesigning the operating model.
The agency modernizing digital experience.

If you are not inside that orbit, you are fighting uphill.

That is the real partnership conversation.

Not badges.
Not tiers.
Not “ecosystem” as a buzzword.

Access.

Catalyst this year is centered on the companies that control that access.

Services firms that influence how the $6.15T in global IT spend actually gets deployed.

Because here is the uncomfortable truth:

You can build a great product and still lose
if the people shaping the enterprise narrative are not aligned with you.

We will still invest in rising partner leaders. Craft matters.

But the next unlock is bigger.

How do you move from running partner plays
to understanding enterprise power structures?

How do you stop thinking about partner sourced revenue
and start thinking about who shapes demand before the RFP exists?

That is the conversation.

Catalyst is not about partnerships as a department.

It is about partnerships as leverage.

If you want to play inside the enterprise,
you need to understand who already owns the room.

See you in NYC!

Preparing CROs & CEOs for the future of B2B SaaS | GTMshift | CRO Functional Head @ Pavilion | Former CRO | Co-Founder @ PreSales Collective (Acquired) | Breaking The GTM Playbook |

I’ve always been fascinated by what makes a great customer experience—not just good, but truly memorable. My interest piqued while working in hospitality at Hyatt, where I learned how small details could turn a routine interaction into something special. 

That same obsession led me to tech, where I learned to scale exceptional experiences across sales and GTM teams at Showpad and Salesforce.

Then in 2020, I saw an even bigger opportunity—the need for a real community in PreSales. So I built one.

The PreSales Collective started as a simple idea and grew into a global movement with 35,000+ members, four business lines, and a full-time team dedicated to elevating the profession. In 2021, it was acquired, a milestone that cemented just how powerful community can be in shaping an industry.

Now, at TestBox, I’m taking that same passion for innovation and connection and applying it to how businesses evaluate software. The B2B buying experience is broken: endless sales cycles, generic demos, and a lack of real hands-on experience before making a decision. TestBox is changing that by enabling buyers to test-drive software in live, pre-configured environments before they buy, leading to better, faster, and more confident decisions. 

We’re redefining the way companies purchase technology, making the process easier, more transparent, and built for today’s fast-moving GTM teams.

Outside of work, you’ll find me traveling, hunting for the best new restaurant, or diving into a new challenge—whether it’s fitness, an unfamiliar experience, or a tough problem that needs solving. I believe the best insights come from staying curious and never getting too comfortable, and that’s how I approach everything I do.

James Kaikis

Over the past 7 days, I’ve used Claude Code to build two meaningful apps that are saving my business at least a dozen hours a week.

A week ago, I thought I was fairly well-versed in what these models could do.

I’ve done the research.
I routinely speak with builders.
I was hands-on six months ago in my last role.

Like many people, I understood the story around this AI shift.

What I didn’t understand was what it feels like to actually build something yourself that would have cost $15,000 and taken three months, and instead turn it around in 10 hours for $100 in credits.

I haven’t run a SQL query in 10 years.

The biggest realization wasn’t the cost or even the time savings. It was that I didn’t need engineers to do it.

I didn’t need to translate what I wanted, and hope it came back correctly.

I could build it myself.

And the quality is real. The team is already using it.

That shift changed how I see my own capability. I realized I am capable of far more than I was operating at. As a result, my business is immediately stronger and more dangerous because of that new leverage.

The gap between idea and execution just collapsed.

If you’re a CEO, an operator, or early in your career, you need to block time and get hands-on with this to understand what is possible.

There are leaders quietly building right now.

The playing field is level for the moment.

It won’t stay that way.

This week has been one of THOSE WEEKS! The highs are so high with the official launch of SolutionExec, the announcement of our Off the Record conference, and face to face interactions with some of my favorite people. 

After our Virtual Kickoff, I jumped on a plane to Atlanta to work with David Maloof on our newest Enablement programs. 

But what started out as just a working session turned into an action packed day. 

Thanks to Justin McDonald and Melissa Mandel for meeting us at lunch AND giving us a tour of the Saleo office. It was about time I was able to take a picture in front of that logo at the entrance! We appreciate your partnership and dedication to moving the profession forward. 

What are the chances that Yuji Higashi and Mattie Stremic are also in Atlanta to host a dinner?! Thank you to Better Career for allowing me to join the dinner to have great conversations, see old friends, and make new friends. 

It was great to see Akash Ganapathi of Opine and meet Alec Wnuk of Navattic. Also, thank you for sponsoring the Better Career dinner and allowing me to join!  

As I wait to board my plane back to Chicago, I’m ending the week on a very high note. 

✌️ 🤙 

PS - We’re bringing 100 SolutionExecs together for an Executive-only conference, 'Off the Record,' in NYC on April 15th. If you’re interested in being part of the conversation, let’s talk!

No alternative text description for this image

Working with the next generation of professionals is both humbling and rewarding; I am constantly in awe at what these 18-22-year-olds are capable of.

I am no stranger to intern and collegiate programs; I worked as a Graduate Assistant for both of my master's degree programs, ran summer intern programs while at Showpad, and am back at it again with GTMshift and SolutionExec.

Thanks to an introduction from my friend George Kuruvilla, I am working with the CUBE program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

We have a team of business and technical consultants collaborating to develop a product that will serve as the foundation for how we build personalized experiences; for instance, the team is designing an adaptive platform that leverages user data to tailor content and recommendations to individual preferences.

After just a few meetings, I am super impressed by this team and even more thrilled to see the business folks leaning into the technical side.

This tells me that the future of business is more technical than it is today, as the next generation will have the savvy to work in ways we never knew how to.

We are excited to share more about our product over the coming months.

Thank you, CUBE!

I've been asked several times: What is SolutionExec, and how do I get value out of it?

To answer that question, we have to acknowledge that the Solutions profession is changing faster than most leaders are prepared for.

Longer sales cycles.
Tighter budgets.
More accountability for revenue and retention.
Decreased headcount.
Blurred lines between Sales, Solutions, and Customer Success.

This is a structural shift, and SolutionExec is our response. We exist to equip SolutionExecs with the private network, resourcing, and executive programming to lead the next era of go-to-market.

On March 4th, we are hosting our Virtual Kickoff (https://lnkd.in/gA72RCJe). 

After months and months of working behind the scenes, we are looking forward to sharing our roadmap.

You’ll hear directly from CROs, Chief Solutions Officers, and Global VPs of Solutions who are navigating this market right now.

We’ll walk through what we are building, why it matters, and how it applies to you and your team.

If you are leading in this profession today, be in the room.

Register now.

Alright LinkedIn - I’d like to open a discussion on a hot topic: the distinction between Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) and Solutions Consultants (SCs).

If your business utilizes both roles, I am interested in understanding where you define the boundaries for each.

Specifically, I want to hear your perspectives on the following:

- Collaboration: In what areas do these roles complement each other, and where do you typically see them conflict?
- Career progression: How do these roles evolve? Are FDEs promoted into SC positions (or vice versa), or are they entirely separate career tracks? 
- Hiring and skill requirements: When you're recruiting for these roles, what are the non-negotiable skills or backgrounds for each?

From the many private conversations I’ve had, it seems there is a lack of industry consistency on this subject. I could ask another 20 questions but we can start here. 

Let's talk.

Are you as tired as I am of the surface level event playbook where you walk away with no actionable takeaways? 

Good. 

Craig Rosenberg, Matt Amundson, and Jorge Soto are tired of it too.

So we are teaming up for "Engineering Tailwinds - The GTM Playbook for Winning in Hard Markets", an in-person one-day event with top operators who are building and living in this today. 

🗓 When: March 26th from 1-6p PT
📍 Where: San Francisco LinkedIn HQ 
👥 Who: Founders, CROs, CMOs, & Head of GTM for Series A-D companies

Oh, and more speakers to be announced soon too.

Apply to attend on Lu.ma: https://luma.com/w6x2lgd9

See you there 🔥 😎

What Does SaaS Crash Actually Mean for Solutions Leaders? The GTM org is being redrawn. Here's why Solutions leaders who move now will define what comes next.

View newsletter: The SolutionExec Newsletter

This edition of the SolutionExec newsletter is brought to you by Reprise. Reprise surveyed 500+ Solutions Engineers for the State of Demos 2026 Report

Open article: Everybody’s Talking About the SaaS Crash. Here’s What It Means for Solutions Leaders by James Kaikis • 8 min read

Everybody’s Talking About the SaaS Crash. Here’s What It Means for Solutions Leaders

taplio

The Battle

Asher Mathew

James Kaikis

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreAsher Mathew's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJames Kaikis's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Asher Mathew

James Kaikis

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Asher Mathew's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJames Kaikis's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreAsher Mathew's LinkedIn Performance