Evan Patterson 💅🏻

Hire Me & Win In The Attention Economy💥 I Help Founders & Startups Grow Audiences 🔥 Ghostwriting • Personal Branding • Social Selling • Community Marketing • Content Strategy • B2B Influencers • Affiliate Programs

👋🏻 You should really click the "...see more" button over there. 👉🏻

😉

I’m Evan Patterson.

Fractional CMO. Personal CMO.
LGBTQ+. AuDHD. Two cats who have main-character energy and paperwork opinions.
Metro Detroit-raised, Chicago-thriving, seeking a EU-husband for dual citizenship (kind of not joking...)

A small but vocal group of humans — plus my mother — call me the Joan Rivers of Marketing. I didn’t ask for that title, but I also didn’t give it back.

My work focuses on helping founders, CEOs, and operators stop sounding like they were assembled by committee. When people understand you quickly, everything gets easier: sales, hiring, partnerships, even that awkward moment when someone pretends they’ve heard of your company before.

My entire approach runs on feral specificity.
Egregiously unique. Audaciously effective.
Ideas with teeth. Narratives with posture. Writing that doesn’t need a spotlight to command attention.

I work in two lanes.

Evan Patterson Consulting
The Fractional CMO lane.

This is where companies finally get a marketing function that isn’t held together by vibes, hope, and a Google Doc last updated during the pandemic. I rebuild the structure, the sequencing, and the decisions that keep revenue steady instead of seasonal.

The second lane
The executive identity work.

Voice extraction. Narrative architecture. Brand presence that doesn’t wobble when the market does. There’s more coming in this lane; something I’m building quietly; and it’s shaping the way I help leaders show up with clarity and actual gravitational pull.

I build systems with staying power.
I build brands people remember without squinting.
I build marketing that earns attention because it deserves attention.

People who work well with me tend to appreciate speed, accuracy, and a sense of humor about the chaos they built before I arrived. People who want a polite museum tour of marketing usually exit early.

My goal is consistent: make you unmistakable.

Fractional Content & Community Marketing Leader

Ditch the gift cards, scrap the underutilized benefits package, and focus on the individuals in your organization instead.

Companies looking to improve performance and retention should care about helping people get further faster towards what matters most in their life. We make this easy with tools to create personalized incentives, meaningful recognition & self-defined benefits that help their people unlock "sacred funds" towards their personal life goals.

Employee Motivation Simplified.

Evan Patterson

Accidentally stumbling upon a prospect on Grindr is recurring nightmare of mine.

Marketing for Fractional Execs & Founder-led Companies 🔥 Fractional CMO for Founder-led Startups 🚀 Personal CMO for the Self-Employed ❤️ Freelance Marketer For Hire! 🤩 “He’s the Joan Rivers of Marketing” - my ex boss

Can we talk about how we're systematically destroying the SDR role? $45K base salary. In San Francisco. In 2025.

That's not a job. That's economic violence with a LinkedIn title.

And then we wonder why SDR turnover is 35% annually. Why quality is declining. Why nobody wants to do outbound anymore.

We treat SDRs like disposable batteries instead of future revenue leaders.

I've been that SDR. 80 calls a day. Rejected 79 times. Making less than a Target manager while being told I'm "lucky to have a foot in the door."

The door to what? Poverty?

The math is broken:

Average SDR generates $1M+ in pipeline
Gets paid $65K if they're lucky
Has 18-month average tenure
Leaves with zero equity

Meanwhile, that Series B founder's raising another round based on the pipeline SDRS built.

Here's my radical proposal:

Minimum $70K base (yes, everywhere)
Actual career pathing beyond "maybe AE someday"
Equity. Real equity. Not 0.001% that vests over 47 years.
Training budget that isn't just "shadow Dave for a week"

"But Evan, we can't afford—"

Stop. If you can't afford to pay the people generating your revenue a living wage, you don't have a business. You have a exploitation scheme with a pitch deck.

The companies getting this right are stealing all the talent. And they should.

Time to choose: Evolution or extinction.

What's the minimum you think SDRs should make? Let's get spicy in the comments 🌶️

I hit 30,000 followers on LinkedIn today. 

I have been posting on LinkedIn since I was 24 years old. I’m 31 now. 

In that time, I met amazing people whom have become some of my closest friends, been mentored by amazingly talented professionals, grew as a person, became happier, more confident, explored various career paths, and made the move to self employment.

Here’s to another 30! Let’s see what happens next. 😎

graphical user interface, text, application

If you refer a founder, hiring manager, or executive who signs, I’ll pay you $3,000 USD.

For context, here are some top achievements for specific clients:

- 20–40 qualified inbound conversations per month generated from LinkedIn alone after installing founder-led GTM systems
- Over $750,000 in pipeline created within 90–120 days from organic content and positioning shifts
- $1,200,000+ in attributed pipeline tied directly to narrative architecture and messaging alignment
- Increased closed-won ratio by 50% due to improved lead quality and tighter positioning
- Implemented a content system that took a startup from generating $1,000 per day on average over a quarter to $250,000 in one month
- 10,000–20,000 follower growth in under 12 months for executive accounts
- 3x–5x increase in profile views within 60–90 days after repositioning
- $25,000–$60,000 retainers closed directly from inbound conversations
- Sales cycles shortened by weeks because buyers arrived already aligned on value

I operate as a fractional senior marketing leader and specialist.

That means stepping in and owning the strategy layer while also executing where needed:

• Ghostwriting and executive thought leadership
• Content marketing systems
• GTM strategy
• Social media marketing
• Executive personal branding
• Newsletter management
• Email marketing
• Search Visibility Optimization (SVO)
• Sales and marketing alignment
• Influencer marketing
• Community marketing
• Channel partnership strategy and implementation

I also have 50+ testimonials you can review directly on my profile. Right now I’m in conversations with:

- Seed-stage through Series C startups in SaaS, AI, edtech, martech, govtech, legal tech, salestech, etc.
- Venture studios
- Software and web developer agencies, marketing service providers, and professional services organizations
- Bootstrapped startups in growth mode

If someone comes to mind who needs senior marketing ownership in any of those categories and sharper strategic direction, introduce me.

I'm open to freelance, fractional, part-time roles, or whatever buzzword we're going with these days.

If it turns into a real partnership and lasts 90+ days, you get $3,000.

Simple. #opentowork

Looking for Head of Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer, CMO, VP of Marketing and Marketing Advisor roles

I’ll pay you $3,000 USD if you refer me to someone who becomes a client and stays for 90+ days.

I work as a fractional senior marketing leader and specialist, which means I step in when a company needs real marketing ownership, sharper strategy, better positioning, and someone who can actually execute without turning everything into a 47-slide "feelings" deck.

A few outcomes from client work:

• 20-40 qualified inbound conversations per month generated from LinkedIn alone after installing founder-led GTM systems
• Over $750,000 in pipeline created within 120 days from organic content and positioning shifts
• $1,200,000+ in attributed pipeline tied to narrative architecture and messaging alignment
• Increased closed-won ratio by 50% with improved lead quality and tighter positioning
• Implemented a content system that took a startup from generating $1,000 per day on average over a quarter to $250,000 in one month
• 10,000-20,000 follower growth in under 12 months for executive accounts
• 3x to 5x increase in profile views within 60 to 90 days after repositioning
• $25,000 to $60,000 retainers closed directly from inbound conversations
• Sales cycles shortened by weeks because buyers arrived already aligned on value

I also have 50+ testimonials on my profile and 30,000+ followers on LinkedIn, so there’s plenty of proof that I know how to build visibility, trust, and commercial momentum without making people sound like they were ghostwritten by a laminated webinar.

What I usually help with:

• GTM strategy
• Ghostwriting and executive personal branding
• Content marketing
• Social media
• Newsletters
• Email marketing
• SEO, AEO/GEO
• Sales and marketing alignment
• UGC, Influencer, & Community marketing
• Channel partnerships

The best referrals are usually companies or leaders who are dealing with one or more of these:

• The founder is still acting as the head of marketing and everyone is tired
• Marketing exists, but it lacks direction, consistency, or senior ownership
• Positioning is fuzzy and sales is compensating for it in real time
• Content is happening, but it is not translating into pipeline, trust, or traction
• They need someone senior enough to lead, but flexible enough to execute
• They want stronger visibility, clearer narrative, and a clearer path from attention to revenue

Right now I’m in chats with:

• Seed-Series C startups across SaaS, AI, edtech, martech, govtech, legal tech, salestech, and related categories
• Venture studios
• Software and web development agencies, marketing service providers, and professional services firms
• Bootstrapped orgs in growth mode
• Gaming developers in online virtual world and mobile game spaces

I’m open to freelance, fractional, part-time, advisory, and project-based work if the scope makes sense.

So if someone comes to mind, send them my way.

Tag them.
DM me.
Text me like a gossip columnist with a lead.

If they sign and stay for 90+ days, I’ll pay you $3,000 USD.

Simple. #OpenToWork

Looking for CMO, Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Marketing, Head of Content and Head of Community roles

“Want to make $1,000? Stop scrolling and read. I’ve got space for new clients and I want to pay YOU.”

I can start 2 clients this month.  
I can start 4 more in March.

If you’ve got friends who’d like to make $1,000, tag them here too.  
Maybe they know someone. Maybe they want in. Maybe this gets interesting.

Here’s who I actually work with, and why people hire me.

Fractional CMO  
For founders and revenue leaders who feel like they’re doing a lot, but not moving much.

You come to me when:
- Your GTM feels like a pile of good intentions.
- Marketing is loud, pipeline is quiet.
- Everyone is working hard, nobody is sure on what.
- You want judgment, not another checklist.

I help you:
- Get a position that has a spine.
- Turn chaos into a simple operating system.
- Sequence demand so effort turns into revenue.
- Build content that compounds instead of exhausting you.

Personal CMO  
For executives, solopreneurs, and fractional leaders who know their presence is money, but hate playing content factory.

You come to me when:
- You know you should be visible, but you freeze.
- Your brand feels generic, polite, or diluted.
- You’re stuck in tactics when you should be thinking.
- You want demand to find you.

I help you:
- Clarify your narrative until it’s sharp.
- Create a repeatable content engine.
- Strengthen your executive presence.
- Make your public voice feel unmistakably yours.

---

If you refer someone who becomes a paying client between now and June 30, 2026, I’ll pay you $1,000.

Tag them in the comments.  
I’ll take it from there.

Learn more about me @ www.evanpatterson.io

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Two years ago, I was posting about community marketing roles. 

Today, I operate as a fractional marketing leader for SaaS and AI companies that need senior direction without full-time overhead.

The work has evolved.

It’s less about growing LinkedIn followers 700%.

More about this:

• $1.3M+ pipeline in 12 months for a 6-person AI sales platform
• $500K+ in 90 days from a structured 20-operator ecosystem
• 35% lift in partner-sourced revenue after rebuilding a stagnant channel program
• 3x increase in qualified meetings after clarifying ICP + positioning
• 120% lift in retention and 65% lift in conversion after narrative overhaul
• $900K+ enterprise pipeline across US + UK markets

Same underlying strengths: content, partnerships, influence, social selling.

Different lens: revenue and infrastructure.

I’m opening space for 1–2 new engagements.

Founder-led SaaS or AI.
Past early traction.
Marketing feels busy but not compounding.
Sales team strong.
Positioning unclear.

Part-time. Embedded. Remote.

If that’s you, or someone in your network, let’s talk.

And if you’ve been following my work since the “community marketing” era, appreciate you.

Stop using LinkedIn DMs like a drive-thru window. If your first message contains a calendar link, you’re not efficient. You’re skipping consent.

There’s this strange belief that senior people want to be “optimized.” That is not what these folks want.

They want context, relevance, and a reason this conversation exists beyond your quota.

A cold calendar link says:
“I have decided this is valuable. You’ll catch up.”

A good message says:
“I’ve thought about where you sit. This might matter.”

One builds friction while the other builds signal.

If your marketer isn’t telling collaborators on LinkedIn to toggle this on, then you need to fire them. 

It means they’re entirely unqualified for the job.

It’s a liability that can get folks and companies alike banned or fined. 

It’s also the creator’s responsibility to know the rules of the platform to protect themselves from unqualified influencer marketing managers.

You need to know the rules of each platform, not just the laws, to be a responsible marketer and/or creator. 

For Americans, the FTC has its own set of rules. 

LinkedIn has its own set of rules. 

You have to follow both.

If you’re still the best salesperson in your company, marketing hasn’t caught up yet.

That’s normal.

Founder-led startups often rely on:

Charisma > positioning
Energy > infrastructure
Momentum > structure

It works… until it doesn’t.

Recent outcomes from stepping in at that stage:

$1.3M pipeline in 12 months
$500K in 90 days from structured partner ecosystem
35% increase in referral revenue
3x meetings post-ICP clarification

You don’t need more marketing activity.

You need alignment.

I’m opening capacity for 1–2 founder-led SaaS/AI startups that want marketing to operate like infrastructure instead of a side project.

DMs open.

You can tell when a company doesn’t agree with itself. Here's how:

Sales says one thing, website says another, product has a different definition, and founders tell a story from two years ago.

Buyers feel that mismatch immediately. Internal narrative alignment is a growth lever because it reduces friction everywhere:

1. sales cycles
2. onboarding
3. retention
4. referrals
5. content production
6. hiring

It’s operational coherence that you need, not just "messaging."

Most founders fail with CMOs because they hired too early or for the wrong reason. Here's how to get it right:

A Chief Marketing Officer is not a growth accessory or demand generation specialist with a fancier title.. It’s a redistribution of authority; and that’s where things get uncomfortable for some founders.

Founders who built the early motion are used to being the signal. The closer you are to the customer, the product, the revenue, the more natural it feels to control the narrative. However, growth eventually stops being about effort and becomes more about identity.

Questions like these become increasingly important:
- What do we actually stand for?
- What do we want to be known for?
- What are we willing to say no to?

They’re infrastructure questions often confused with campaign questions.

A real CMO doesn’t just “do marketing.” They build identity infrastructure, define the brand spine, decide what the company amplifies, and what it stops tolerating.

That means re-sequencing priorities, reallocating capital, reframing positioning, and sunsetting work that once felt productive.

It also means pushing back on the founder; not because they’re difficult, but rather because they’re close.

When marketing is treated solely as a service layer, like something that supports sales, supports product, supports founder ego, it can never shape the company; it can only decorate it. 

If every message still requires approval, you don’t have a CMO. You have a senior executor with a bigger title. If alignment is expected without change, you’re not asking for leadership; you’re asking for reinforcement. And more noticeably, if growth is still defined as “more activity,” you’re not ready for strategy. Strategy is filled with subtracton and tradeoffs. Good strategy involves saying no to good ideas so great ones can compound.

This is why most CMO hires disappoint; the founder hasn’t transitioned from operator to CEO. Operators optimize output and CEOs architect systems. Hiring a CMO is less about revenue acceleration and more about emotional maturity. It requires the willingness to let someone else hold the narrative weight of the business.

Most founders don’t need better writing. They need their edge back.

I just published a new article: “Why You Should Fire Your LinkedIn Ghostwriter.”

It starts with a real moment. A founder I was working with looked at his content and said: “In person, people get it immediately. Online, it’s… fine.”

Fine.

Just… fine.

The problem wasn’t grammar, cadence, or engagement. It was signal.

In sales calls, he was surgical: clear tradeoffs, sharp disagreements, and decisions made out loud.

On LinkedIn? The edges that made him "him" were gone. 

- Conviction had been translated into “perspective.”
- Specificity into general insight.
- Tension into comfort.

Nothing was broken, but nothing was building either.

That dissonance between how strong you are in the room and how diluted you appear online quietly reduces revenue potential. In the article, I break down:

- The structural reason signal gets softened
- The difference between sounding smart and being recognized
- Why “random acts of marketing” create the illusion of traction
 -What actually compounds in 2026 and beyond

AI has made polish cheap.
Identity is now infrastructure.

If you’ve ever felt like your visibility doesn’t match your capability, this will likely resonate.

Read the full piece below.

If it sharpens something for you, a like, repost, or follow meaningfully supports the work I do via Evan Patterson Consulting helping founders and fractional executives turn expertise into structured authority that drives real revenue.

A founder once told me, halfway through a sales call review, “I don’t understand it. In person, people get it immediately. Online, it’s… fine.” Fine. 

Open article: Why You Should Fire Your LinkedIn Ghostwriter by Evan Patterson • 4 min read

Why You Should Fire Your LinkedIn Ghostwriter

You don’t need another productivity hack, a posting schedule template, or another AI marketing tool. Here's what to do to double your income this year instead:

Get you someone who owns the narrative while you own the work.

Fractional executives, founder-led operators, senior-level freelancers: you’re paid for judgment.

You’re paid to make decisions, solve hard problems, and sit in rooms where outcomes matter. Every hour you spend trying to “keep up” with marketing is an hour you’re not operating at your highest value.

Most of you have tried something like a ghostwriter who needed too much direction, a junior marketer who required babysitting, or an agency that executed tasks but never really understood the business.

These attempts didn’t fail because marketing doesn’t work. They failed because no one owned it at your level.

A Personal CMO is someone that truly handles that nuance for you. Giving a non-marketer a tool like a ghostwriter or another piece of marketing technology and expecting it to yield good results is like handing me a hammer and expecting me to magicaly become a world class carpenter. That's just not happening.

A Personal CMO isn’t there to pump out content. They architect positioning, tighten the story, connect the channels, protect your voice, and make sure your presence compounds instead of resets every 90 days.

This allows fractional executives and leaders of founder-led startups stay in their zone of genius while folks like me build the system that turns that genius into signal.

That’s the difference. The goal is to make sure the market understands what you already are.

If you’re a fractional exec, founder, or senior operator who’s tired of marketing feeling like a side job… this is the layer you’ve probably been missing.

Now excuse me while I get back to doing mine.

Cold email has developed a stand-up comedy problem. Somewhere along the way, “pattern interrupt” turned into “open mic night.” That's coming from me, someone who loves to crack a joke.

I was just talking to my friend Leanne Dow-Weimer, MBA about this on one of her posts earlier this week.

Every inbox now has:

– The fake breakup line
– The sarcastic subject line
– The self-aware “this is a cold email lol” bit

We're even seeing people tastelessly using the "Epstein" files a marketing gimmick. 

You can feel the writer hoping for applause, but the goal isn’t a chuckle.

The goal is and always has been to get a conversation. But these folks are writing a lot of cold email right now that reads like someone trying to win a retweet, not a meeting.

This is what I would call miscalibrated relevance.

If the joke is doing more work than the insight, it’s theater. The best cold emails I’ve seen don’t have zingers, they have specificity. They demonstrate an understanding of a real constraint the recipient is dealing with. Something operational, political, emotional, or timing-related.

No punchline required. Comedy works because of tension and sales works because of alignment.

When you mix the two without taste, you get neither laughter nor replies. If you want attention, show me you understand the pressure I’m under. That’s funnier than any subject line trick.

Your brand should feel inevitable.

Not trendy.
Not clever.
Not loud.

Inevitable.

Like it couldn’t have been anything else.
Like it makes sense the moment someone encounters it.

That feeling doesn’t come from aesthetics.
It comes from alignment, restraint, and knowing exactly who you are building for.

Marketing for Fractional Execs & Founder-led Companies | Fractional CMO for Founder-led Startups | Personal CMO for the Self-Employed | “He’s the Joan Rivers of Marketing” - my ex boss

Looking for a fractional or contract-to-hire job? I found some job postings for you. Repost if you think someone you're connected with wants to see these.

P.S. I share job postings daily, so follow for more. 

Fractional Technical Recruiter
$80-150 per hour, 10-30 hours per week
https://buff.ly/TzJYB5H 

Fractional Facilitator, Software Engineering
$66-100 per hour, 6-9 hours per week
https://buff.ly/r6kK0Db 

Fractional Talent Acquisition Sourcer
$60-80 per hour, 35-40 hours per week
https://buff.ly/im8o4Da 

Fractional VP, People & Culture
$170-275 per hour, 24 hours per week
https://buff.ly/fLZbZzQ

For the work-from-home cat parents in my network, get you one of these floating desk-mounted cat beds.

Keyboard stepping via the cat has been reduced to near zero. 

(Thank you Hardy, one of my two cats, for being the model in today's content)

Most content calendars are a symptom of indecision. Teams keep asking what to post because they don’t know what they’re building. If you decide what you want to be known for, content becomes selection, not invention.

You’re choosing repetitions of a core idea:

- a few beliefs
- a few problems
- a few proof points
- a consistent tone over time

Fewer topics married to depth and memory.

That’s how brands compound.

Helen Yu

CEO @Tigon Advisory Corp. | Host of CXO Spice | Board Director |Top 50 Women in Tech | AI, Cybersecurity, FinTech, Insurance, Industry40, Growth Acceleration

I'm passionate about human-AI amplification rather than replacement.As the founder &amp; CEO of Tigon Advisory, I help tech companies multiply growth through responsible AI, cybersecurity, IoT, supply chain, and CX strategies. Offering CXO-as-a-service in digital transformation, risk management, GTM, and thought leadership. Clients include NVIDIA, Salesforce, Microsoft, Cisco and innovative startups in Cybersecurity, SaaS, Fintech, etc. Also serve as board director and VC advisor on ethical tech and governance. Credentials include cybersecurity certification from MIT Sloan, MBA from Loyola University Chicago, WSJ/Amazon bestselling author ("Ascend Your Start-Up"), keynote speaker, and host of CXO Spice podcast where I explore leadership in emerging tech.On LinkedIn, my daily posts (300+ in 2025, 136k+ reactions, 38k+ comments) share practical insights on ethical AI scaling, voice agents, bias mitigation, and building trust in human-AI teams.I'm passionate about mentoring the next generation, especially women and underrepresented leaders in tech.If you're shaping responsible AI strategies, navigating cyber risks in AI, or debating amplification vs. automation, let's connect. Comment below, share your take, or reach out. Excited to amplify together.#ResponsibleAI #HumanAI #AIEthics #Cybersecurity #DigitalTransformation

Director Board of Directors

CEC is a security service integrator with focus markets in manufacturing, healthcare, SLED and Corporate Campus.  Customers with complicated organizations and physical plants rely on CEC as extensions of their teams in making strategic investment and management decisions related to their technology and infrastructure. I serve as Culture and Compensation Committee Chair. 

What does it look like to see the same city with fresh eyes in the age of AI?

It starts with the familiar. The rush of footsteps, the glow of corner bodegas, the skyline you think you already know. But somewhere between the morning coffee steam and the late-night city lights, the ordinary shifts.

A saxophone echoing in a subway tunnel.
A sunset turning glass towers into gold.
Strangers becoming part of your story for a moment.

I spent so much of my career here covering financial services and tech, watching the city through the lens of innovation, disruption, and data. Coming back now with time to simply experience it, I am reminded that not everything meaningful can be optimized or automated.

That is the magic of New York. Even in the digital era, in the age of AI, it does not just impress you, it transforms you. From wonderful sights to moments that make you stop, look up, and feel the wonder.

This video captures a few of the human moments that still define the city behind the algorithms.

When was the last time you experienced a familiar place in a completely new way?

#NewYork #Innovation #AgeOfAI #FinancialServices #Tech

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg 
or 👉 #CXOSpiceYouTube here https://lnkd.in/gnMc-Vpj

CEO of Tigon Advisory Corp. | Host of CXO Spice | Board Director |Top 50 Women in Tech | AI, Cybersecurity, FinTech, Insurance, Industry40, Growth Acceleration

What the #WomenInTech stage taught me at Acumatica Summit?

Have you ever walked into a room and felt momentum happening in real time?
Speaking at Acumatica Summit this year was one of those moments.

I left thinking less about the stage and more about the people. Leaders choosing courage over comfort. Learning out loud. Lifting each other higher.

A few lessons that stayed with me
✨ Confidence starts with the story we tell ourselves
✨ Preparation creates clarity when pressure rises
✨ Leadership means sending the ladder down

I shared a few deeper reflections in my latest newsletter. Check out the full story: https://lnkd.in/e2Ad_BXf

What is one lesson that has changed how you show up this year?

#WomenInTech #Leadership #Technology #Innovation

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg 
or 👉 #CXOSpiceYouTube here https://lnkd.in/gnMc-Vpj

Bridging Responsible AI Innovation | Advisor to Tech Leaders | Host, CXO Spice | Human-AI Amplification Advocate

A FIRST TIMER’S PERSPECTIVE I didn’t know what to expect walking into my first Acumatica Summit. I knew the event was significant, and I felt honored 

Open article: What the Women in Tech Stage at Acumatica Summit Taught Me? by Helen Yu • 7 min read

What the Women in Tech Stage at Acumatica Summit Taught Me?

What would the world look like if we truly accelerated action for women?

Right now, full gender parity won't arrive until 2158 according to the World Economic Forum.

That’s 132 years away.

We have the power to move that date forward.

In this special #IWD2026 newsletter edition, I reflect on the progress we’ve made, highlight the women who inspire me, and share actions we can take to accelerate change.

Inside you’ll find:
✅ Highlights from a powerful Women in Technology panel at the Acumatica Summit
✅ Books and podcasts that expand perspective
✅ Simple actions anyone can take to move the needle

Over the past year, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from many inspiring women leaders across technology, financial services, manufacturing and communications.

Now I want to hear from you 👇
Tag one woman who inspired you and tell us why.

Let's amplify women’s voices together. 
Happy International Women’s Day 🌸

#IWD2026 #AccelerateAction #WomenInLeadership #GenderEquity

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation,
Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg
or 👉 #CXOSpiceYouTube here https://lnkd.in/gnMc-Vpj

Every March 8th, the world pauses to honor the achievements, resilience, and brilliance of women. But this year’s theme, Accelerate Action, reminds us

Open article: Accelerating Change: Celebrating Women and the Work Still Ahead by Helen Yu • 4 min read

Accelerating Change: Celebrating Women and the Work Still Ahead

What did I learn from the OECD - OCDE Responsible AI Due Diligence Guidance?

Responsible AI is shifting from principles to accountability; clarifying who is responsible, at what point, and across the value chain.

👉 The real shift is from “Do we use AI responsibly?” to “Can we prove it — continuously?”

AI governance is becoming a core business capability rather than a compliance exercise.

I’ve broken down the insights that stood out to me me most in the carousel including where responsibility escalates, when scrutiny should be deeper, and why disengagement is sometimes the responsible choice.

Let me know what stood out to you 👇

#ResponsibleAI #AIGovernance #RiskManagement #BoardDirectors #CEOs

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg 
or 👉 #CXOSpiceYouTube here https://lnkd.in/gnMc-Vpj

5 Key Learnings from OECD Responsible AI Due Diligence

What's the biggest challenge facing #manufacturers today?

Following up on my #CES2026 newsletter...
I rediscovered this moment from my conversation with Steve Dertien, EVP of Customer and Technology Partnership at PTC that answers this question.

In just 60 seconds, Steve outlines the full spectrum of complexity manufacturers must navigate:
✅ Consumer demand for choice and customization
✅ Aesthetic design and material trade-offs
✅ Global supply chain decisions
✅ Manufacturing scalability
✅ Multi-country regulatory compliance

As I explored in my newsletter, AI is transforming how companies manage this complexity; freeing up the half of engineering time currently spent on change management to focus on actual innovation.

This clip explains WHY intelligent product lifecycle management matters before we dive into HOW AI solves it.

Here is the CXO Spice newsletter - https://lnkd.in/gJqXJM_5

Full conversation where Steve shares specific examples of AI saving manufacturers hundreds of millions: https://lnkd.in/gMk9wNHY

#Manufacturing #AI #ProductLifecycle #Innovation #PTCPartner

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg 
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What if your voice agent sounded human and could help any customer, anywhere, instantly?

At the ElevenLabs Summit in London, Co-Founder Mati Staniszewski delivered a live demo; showcasing how ElevenAgents can power voice and chat agents for customer operations with near-instant responses, seamless multilingual support, and the ability to serve users anytime, anywhere.

What made it compelling was seeing how the platform’s modular components can be applied to virtually any organization. The example of a national government agent painted a clear picture of what the future of citizen support could look like: accessible, responsive, and global by default.

Moments like this show where customer operations is going next: AI-first, always-on, and built for global scale.

👉 If you’re curious about what this means in practice, Lauren Rothwell (Head of Agent Growth at ElevenLabs) and I will be talking about Voice and Chat Agents for Customer Operations on the upcoming CXO Spice.

#ElevenLabsPartner #VoiceAgents 

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg 
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Are you modernizing your systems fast and wondering if you’re doing it securely?

In this short CXO Spice trailer, John Picinich and I touch on the real tension leaders are facing right now; moving quickly to innovate while making sure security, risk, and trust don’t fall behind. It’s a conversation about what works in the real world.

This builds on the themes from the #CXOSpice newsletter I shared three weeks ago on breaking down data silos in financial services, where we explored why governance, secure data movement, and a strong foundation are essential before layering on automation and AI.

I had the chance to host John Picinich at Progress Software to unpack:
✅ Where most organizations misjudge modernization risk
✅ How security teams can become enablers, not blockers
✅ What “secure by design” looks like in practice

🎥 Watch the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gPq8B8Tg

And stay tuned. I’ll be hosting Progress Software’ Chief AI Officer Ed Keisling on agent orchestration soon.

#FinancialServices #AI #Agents

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Why are companies still using 8 platforms to move money?

I just saw a CFO’s finance stack:
Stripe. Wise. Ramp. Mercury. Chargebee.
Plus 3 international bank accounts.
Eight logins. Eight reconciliations.
And they’re still losing 4–6% on every international transaction.

Here’s the hidden tax 👇
You get paid €100K → converted to USD (≈3% gone)
You pay a European supplier → USD back to EUR (≈3% gone)
That’s 6% lost moving the same money in a circle.
On a $10M business? $600K/year.

This is why Airwallex exists.
One platform to:
✅ Accept global payments
✅ Hold 20+ currencies (no forced FX)
✅ Pay suppliers same-day
✅ Issue cards globally (zero FX fees)
✅ Open accounts in minutes
One integration. One dashboard.
Companies doing $10M+ internationally save $400K–$600K/year just by consolidating.

Airwallex just opened their second HQ in San Francisco. They're bringing global-first infrastructure to companies tired of fragmented stacks and hidden fees.

So Why are you still using 8 platforms to move money?

#AirwallexPartner #CFOs

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How many of your #security alerts matter?

Last quarter, my team reviewed 14,000 alerts. Only eleven led to investigation.
That's not a security program. That's noise with a compliance checkbox on it.

As a Board Director, the question I keep bringing back to leadership is simple: would we catch it before it happens?

Most organizations can't answer that with confidence. Not because they lack tools. But because they're measuring the wrong things. Volume of alerts. Hours logged. Endpoints covered. 

None of it tells you what the board needs to know: where is the human risk, and is it escalating?

The shift I've been advocating for is moving from reactive reporting to predictive intelligence. Not just flagging what already happened, but understanding behavioral patterns early enough to intervene before damage is done.

When I look at what predictive risk scoring is doing now, platforms like Teramind being able to detect behavioral shifts weeks before an incident occurs, that's the kind of intelligence that belongs in a board briefing.

Rule-based systems catch what you anticipated. Behavioral AI catches what you didn't. In insider risk, what you didn't anticipate is almost always what gets you.

Stop counting alerts. Start asking: what does this pattern mean?

#PredictiveIntelligence #Workforce #AIGovernance #TeramindPartner

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg 
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What lights you up about the work you do?

For me, it's this.
Fresh off Conga Connect in Orlando and straight into Enterprise Connect in Vegas, I hosted "Hot Takes & Cold Drinks" with two women who are redefining what leadership looks like in communications and technology.
⭐️ Millicent McIntyre, MSOB — 2026 Spotlight Award Winner, Senior Director, Buyer Services IAA
⭐️ Lori Wodrich — 2025 Winner & this year's judge, Senior Systems Engineer Amerisure Insurance

What resonated with me most was HOW they got there.
🔥Millie started in a contact center after cosmetology school.
No title. No roadmap.
She became the person everyone came to through curiosity, consistency, and caring deeply about people.
"Culture is the foundation of everything we do."
She meant every word.

🔥Lori's defining moment was A hackathon.
Surrounded by engineers far more technical than her, she almost changed her answer to fit in.
She didn't.
She held her ground. Shared her reasoning. And the entire panel shifted to her choice.
That's confidence backed by data.

Lori's Three S's I'm taking with me:
✅ Speak Up
✅ Say Yes — to growth, not every task
✅ Share Results

And here is Millie's closing wisdom:
Don't try to be like every other leader.
Be authentically, unapologetically YOU.

These are two women who didn't wait for a title to lead.
They showed up. Over-delivered. Built trust.
And the title eventually followed.

My biggest takeaway: Leadership is earned, not assigned.
Here is my personal hot take:
Sometimes you need to put down your to-do list and focus on your to-be list.
Who do you want to BE? Let that guide everything else.

Thank you, Millie and Lori, for being so open, so real, and so generous with your stories. You reminded all of us of what's possible. 🙌

And a heartfelt thank you to Erica Marois and Cheryl Kahan-Radhuber at Informa and Enterprise Connect for creating this space for women in communications. This is exactly the kind of platform our community needs. 💜

▶️ Watch the full 15-minute conversation below!

#EnterpriseConnect #WomenInTech #Leadership #EC2026 #Communications 

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg
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What does a connected, intelligent Commerce Chain look like in action?

At Conga’s 5th Annual Inspire Awards, we celebrated real, measurable business impact with CRO Lisa Martin.

When pricing, quoting, contracting, and revenue operate as one connected system, companies move faster, price smarter, and scale growth.

Here’s what that looked like this year:
✅ Commercial Excellence — IBM
Unified quoting and renewals for 3,000+ sellers and partners worldwide, accelerating deal cycles while improving seller productivity and global customer experience.
 
✅ Future of Commerce — Electronics Digikey
2× market outperformance in 2025 by unifying e-commerce with customer-specific pricing through neural networks and real-time pricing execution.
 
✅ Momentum Leader — Pediatrics Plus
Automated ~50% of monthly billing and reduced DSO from 84 → 54 days.
 
✅ Buyer Experience — Jack Henry 
Eliminated manual pricing errors, unified siloed sales processes, and accelerated time-to-revenue for financial institutions nationwide.
 
✅ Judges’ Choice — Southwest Airlines
Reduced contract creation time to just 5 minutes, delivering enterprise-grade governance with startup speed.
 
✅ Community Champion — Natalie Myers
Amplified peer voices and strengthened knowledge sharing across the entire Conga community.

A connected Commerce Chain unlocks measurable revenue performance across the entire lifecycle.

Stay tuned for my conversation with Conga CRO Lisa Martin with a deeper dive into what the Commerce Chain means for the future of revenue leadership.

#CongaConnect #InspireAwards #CommerceChain #CustomerSuccess #CongaPartner

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation, Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg
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When was the last time an AI investment delivered what it promised?

I've sat in enough boardrooms to know that question lands differently depending on who's in the room.

For most enterprises, the pattern is the same; a promising pilot, a growing consulting retainer, and a strategy deck that never quite becomes a production system.

That's the cycle Klika Tech built VELOCITY™ to break.

It's a 16-month, fixed-price program that takes organizations from AI uncertainty to a fully operational, self-sustaining AI capability. One contract. Five structured phases. And your team owns everything they build including the models, the infrastructure and the IP.

Team don't get paid for hours. They get paid for outcomes.

ROI validation begins at Month 8 so you get proof mid-journey
If AI is on your roadmap this year, reach out to see what it looks like in practice.

Drop a “Yes” comment if you want to learn more. 👇

#AI #EnterpriseAI #KlikaTech #VELOCITY #DigitalTransformation

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What are the two things that define a world-class data center?

Here's what I learned from Equinix team at last year's NVIDIA GTC 
(watch the 1-minute clip below)
→ Environment - power, space, and cooling
→ Interconnectivity - dense access to public clouds and GPU-as-a-service

Equinix operates 280 data centers across 77 global markets. The London facility Aaron showcased was built with his in mind: 170,000 sq ft, 100% renewable energy, 99.999% availability, and 200+ cloud interconnection points all water-cooled.

Equinix also announced they'll be the first to offer the NVIDIA Instant AI Factory; fully provisioned AI infrastructure powered by DGX GB300 and B300 systems, across 45 global markets.

This year, I'm going deeper on the #sustainability side of all of this.
I look forward to speaking with Christopher Wellise, Global VP of Sustainability at Equinix to talk about what it takes to build and operate AI infrastructure responsibly; from closing the gap between pledges and results, to whether the industry is measuring the right things.

Tune in to our upcoming CXO Spice from #NVIDAGTC. What would YOU ask Chris? Drop it below 👇

To stay current with the latest trends in #Technology and #Innovation,
Subscribe to 👉 #CXOSpiceNewsletter here https://lnkd.in/gy2RJ9xg
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Where are the real conversations about the future of revenue lifecycle happening right now?

At Conga Connect.

Just arrived at the venue and the energy is already building. This quick clip gives a glimpse of the space and a great catch-up with Amy Williams from the Conga team as things get underway.

Looking ahead to a packed agenda for Day 1:
✅ The future of commerce keynote from David Osborne CEO of Conga
✅ Accelerating Innovation across the commerce chain from Rohit Chhabra, CPO
✅ My 1:1 with Lisa Martin, CRO, diving into Commerce Chain
✅ Tonight’s customer panel and awards
✅ And wrapping the evening with the VIP dinner with Conga executives, select customers and fellow analysts Shelly DeMotte Kramer, Roy Atkinson, Eric Kavanagh.

Events like this are where product vision, customer experience, and strategy come together. I’m interested in hearing how organizations are approaching revenue lifecycle transformation and connected commerce.

Let's connect if you're here at Conga Connect. Or follow #CXOSpice to get the latest updates.

#CongaConnect #RevenueLifecycle #CPQ #CommerceChain #Analysts #CongaPartner

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What does responsible AI governance look like when the infrastructure at stake is an entire city?

It's a question that I'm proud to have helped answer along with an exceptional group of experts in collaboration with AI & Partners.

In this whitepaper, Digital Public Services: Governance Challenges in AI-Enabled Smart Cities, we explore how we can build trustworthy, interoperable urban infrastructure as AI becomes central to transport, energy, health, and public administration.

Key takeaways:
✅ Interconnected systems create cascading risks - resilience must be built in by design
✅ Interoperability and open standards are governance tools rather than just technical ones
✅ Privacy-by-design is essential as sensor networks and data fusion expand across cities
✅ The EU AI Act creates real obligations for municipalities deploying high-risk AI

Thank you to my fellow contributors for making this such a rigorous and timely piece of work:
Sean Musch, Michael Charles Borrelli, Dr. Don Liyanage, Dr. Benedikt Kohn, Harvey Castro, Lisa Ventura MBE FCIIS MBCS, Mariia Shcherbakova, Patrick Orsos, Shreyas Karanjkar, Edward Cole, Mitko Karushkov, Vibhav Mithal, FHCA, Mateo Jarrin Cuvi, Michael Boevink, Ina Schöne, Richard Chiumento, and Carolyn Harrison.

If you work in urban policy, AI regulation, or digital public services, this one is for you. 

#SmartCities #AIGovernance #EUAIAct #DigitalTransformation #AI

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Digital Public Services Whitepaper

When was the last time a single week changed how you think about technology? For me, it happens every time I attend NVIDIA GTC.

There's something about #GTC that's hard to replicate. No matter how many times you've attended, you never run out of things to learn. This year, I'm focusing on three areas that I believe are reshaping the foundation of our industry: Robotics, Networking & Communications, and Data Center & Cloud.

Last year, two moments stayed with me long after I left: shaking hands with Neo and meeting Blue. Those genuine interaction with robots makes you realize the future is already here.

Sessions on my radar this year:
✅ Jensen Huang's Keynote - There's no other way to put it: Jensen's keynotes are in a league of their own in tech. I always walk away inspired.
✅ S81573 - Building the Future of Manufacturing (Tuesday, 11am)
✅ S81667 - How Open Models Are Powering the Next Breakthroughs in Physical AI (Tuesday, 3PM)
✅ S81501 - Industrial Virtual Twins with Dassault Systèmes (Tuesday, 2pm)

I'll also be hosting two very special guests for conversations on Secure AI Factory and Data Center Sustainability.  Stay tuned.

Beyond the sessions, the Hands-On Training Labs, Physical AI developer meetup, and the Inception Pavilion tour are experiences I look forward to every year. Nothing compares to seeing what's being built at the frontier up close.

If you're attending, I'd love to connect. Register here if you haven't yet: https://nvda.ws/4kfWXS8

Catch the keynote live stream or follow #CXOSpice for the latest updates from the floor.

See you in San Jose on March 16-19.

#NVIDIAGTC #GTC2026 #PhysicalAI #DataCenter #Robotics #AI #NVIDIAPartner

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taplio

The Battle

Evan Patterson

Helen Yu

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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);}Evan Patterson's LinkedIn Performance

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