Warren Zenna

Founder of The CRO Collective—the first company built exclusively around the Chief Revenue Officer role. As a former CRO myself, I bring real-world experience to the work I do with revenue leaders and growth-stage companies. I created the concept of CRO Readiness—a framework that separates individual CRO competency from an organization’s ability to support and enable the role effectively. I also built the first executive development program designed to create successful CROs from the ground up.

I’m known for a no-BS approach to revenue strategy. I challenge outdated thinking, ask hard questions, and help companies stop guessing and start aligning—across people, process, and go-to-market execution.

I advise Founders, CEOs, Chief Revenue Officers and Aspiring CROs on CRO readiness, career decisions, and high-stakes leadership challenges.

Over the past three decades, I’ve worked closely with CROs, founders, boards, and investors—seeing firsthand why some CRO roles succeed and many fail.

Because of inbound volume, advisory conversations are conducted through structured, paid sessions. This allows me to go deep, be direct, and deliver real value rather than surface-level advice.

If you’re navigating a CRO role, evaluating an opportunity, or pressure-testing a decision, you can book time directly via my website.

Founder 

The CRO Collective helps B2B companies succeed by Ensuring the Success of Chief Revenue Officers.

We help CROs win and help CEOs mitigate the risks that come with hiring one.

CEOs must first understand why they really need a CRO, and how to structure their company properly to ensure the CRO succeeds. 

CROs cannot afford to walk in without a clear understanding of the role and a defined roadmap for success.

I've been fired 5 times.

Yup. 5. 

Two of them I was the CRO. 

Both times, I owned "revenue." Both times, I didn't control marketing, product roadmap, or pricing.

The first time, I thought it was my fault. I replayed every decision. What could I have done differently?

The second time, I realized something: The role itself is structurally broken.

You're accountable for everything. You control almost nothing.

That's not a talent problem. It's an architecture problem.

It's why average CRO tenure is 17 months. It's why we built The CRO Collective.

Not to blame the system. But to fix it.

Founder, The CRO Collective—the only GTM consultancy exclusively built for Chief Revenue Officers. We help growth-stage companies become ‘CRO-Ready’—and turn high-potential revenue leaders into high-performing CROs.

25 CROs in San Francisco. 

January 21st. 

No pitches, no panels—just honest conversation about what's actually broken in our role -

and what to do about it.  

We're discussing:

- Why CROs get fired faster than any other C-suite role
- The revenue responsibility/authority mismatch nobody talks about
- How to stop being the scapegoat when the product isn't ready

The CRO Roundtables aren't just networking events. 

We curate a room full of peers who understand why this role is so damn hard.

and have constructed a dialogue framework that goes deep and delivers actionable value. 

Limited to 25 people. Invite-only. 

For currently appointed GTM Operator/Leaders at companies above $25m in ARR. 

Comment or DM if you want in.

CROs: 

Remember - 

Revenue is a system.

Not a department. Not a slide. Not a single leader’s force of will.

Revenue is the output of:

- customer selection and positioning
- pipeline creation and conversion
- pricing and value articulation
- onboarding and time-to-value
- expansion and retention mechanics
- talent density and management standards
- decision rights, incentives, and operational cadence

You are a builder - an architect - of a machine. 

Not the fixer of the transmission. 

Your Leadership will ask you to lead a vision - and close a deal. 

You will be torn between the pull of quarterly revenue targets and vital long term foundation building. 

And you will fall back on your comfort zone when things get ugly.

Don't. 

Build. Build trust to gain the Authority, Autonomy, Resources and Runway you need to serve your customers the value that they have entrusted you to deliver. 

We are building the single best organization in the world for CROs. 

Partake in our offerings. 

And win.

London, the 2026 Revenue Roadmap is under pressure. 

Let’s re-architect it before it hits the 50th floor.

Yesterday in San Francisco, we conducted a forensic audit of the CRO role. 

The results were unvarnished and unanimous: the modern Revenue Leader is trapped in a Prisoner’s Dilemma.

We saw 25 of the brightest minds in the US admit to a structural conflict that is breaking the C-suite: the impossible task of surviving the immediate, short-term board pressure while trying to architect a long-term strategy that actually lasts.

On February 24, we are bringing this conversation to London.

Set at 22 Bishopsgate, the London CRO Roundtable is not a conference. 

There are no keynotes. There are no pitch decks. There is zero branding clutter.

We are gathering 25 operating leaders to look at the "de-evolution" of the CRO role in the US as a cautionary tale for the UK market. 

While London is rapidly installing the CRO title, many are unintentionally installing the same flawed architecture that leads to burnout and structural failure.

What to expect at the Roundtable: 

The Anti-Resume: We lead with our unresolved failures, not our highlight reels.

The Stealth Breakouts: High-intensity, closed-door sessions focused on the existential threats to the 2026 revenue model.

The CRO Role in 2027: A provocative, high-heat debate on the future of the human CRO in an automated world.

The 30-Day Ghost: A physical commitment to structural change that follows you home.

This is a sanctuary for those who are tired of the "performance" and ready for the "truth."

The Criteria: This event is exclusively for currently operating Chief Revenue Officers, CEOs, and Founders at companies with over $20M in annual revenue.

The view from the 50th floor is clear. The future of your role should be, too.

Apply for a Seat in the London Collective: https://luma.com/CROLondon

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Bringing on a CRO is the most critical appointment that you will make as a CEO. Do you know how?  
 
If your CRO succeeds, your company succeeds. 
If your CRO fails, your company fails.
 
This is the one position that CEOs cannot afford to select lightly. 
 
CROs can’t afford to fail either. Too much is on the line not only for their current appointment but their reputation and future opportunities are at stake. 
 
As a CRO, the expectations are enormous. The CEO expects you to bring down the rain but does not know how to best support you. 
 
The role of CRO is still relatively new, having been around for less than 8 years. Hence, there is no roadmap for appointing one. CEOs need to better understand what CROs really do and what organizational structure needs to be in place for them to succeed. Without this critical knowledge, CEOs risk potential failure –wondering what they could have done differently before appointing one.
 
As a result, CROs frequently find themselves in a tough spot; feeling they have taken on a role much more complex than they had anticipated. 
 
The CRO Collective helps ensure that CROs succeed - and helps CEOs who appoint them do so in a way that maximizes success and mitigates the enormous risks. 
 
I’ve been there - with 20+ years of experience in the B2B sales and marketing industry as a top B2B seller, sales leader, and Executive PL buyer of B2B services. 

Under Zenna Consulting Group, I practice as a Fractional CRO and sales / marketing advisor for B2B companies like Semcasting, FreckleIoT, Spectrum, AdParlor, Digital Element, NinthDecimal, Location Sciences, DailyPay and Equinox. 

I’ve leveraged this knowledge and experience to create The CRO Collective.  
 
If you are:  a CEO, a CRO or an aspiring CRO, fill out the appropriate questionnaire (link below) to see if our program suits you. 

https://thecrocollective.com

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Sales Force Europe

Newfound

Thomas Hughes Ellis

CROs want to meet live.

This is the #1 thing they ask of me. 

"I really want to develop a network of other CROs". 

Thats why we built the CRO Roundtable Series.

Our San Francisco event on January 21st still has a few remaining open seats.

These events are unique deep discussions and investigations into the role, what makes it so complex, how it's evolving and whats needed to keep pace with its trajectory. 

If you are a currently operator at a growth stage company with a CRO or Revenue Leadership role - this is the place for you. 

Fullcast GTM Leader Society

The Revenue Disease.   

Marketing blames sales for not closing leads.

Sales blames marketing for garbage pipeline.

Customer success blames both for overpromising.

Sound familiar?

Congrats. You’ve got the Three-Org Disease.

It’s not a people problem. It’s an architecture problem.

Each team runs on its own logic. Uses its own definitions. Optimizes for its own metrics.  Even though they’re supposedly working toward the same goal.

Marketing celebrates MQL volume while sales struggles with quality.

Sales hits quotas but churn spikes three months later.

Success metrics don’t connect to revenue outcomes.

The cure isn’t another “alignment workshop.”

It’s appointing one leader who builds and owns the entire revenue system. 

Creating one playbook with shared definitions. 

Installing operating rhythms that make coordination automatic.

Developing automation agents to run key operations. 

Your revenue teams want to work together. 

They just need a system that makes coordination possible instead of optional.

If you want to participate in the single greatest CRO architecture discussion available right now - join us at the next CRO Roundtable. 

It’s in San Francisco on Jan 21.

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I get about 5 inbound emails a day from PR People people asking to have their clients be guests on my podcast. 

I got 6 today alone. 

I say no to 99% of them.  

Not necessarily because the people that they propose are bad people. Or necessarily undesirable.  

It’s because these PR firms are completely clueless how to make this request in a persuasive way. 

PR people: Here are a few tips for how to effectively recommend someone to be on my podcast: 

1) Actually listen to my podcast. 
It’s insane.  Most of these people clearly never even listened to the damn thing.  I get requests to interview (which by the way will be discussed in #2) who have absolutely nothing to do with revenue or cros. Like I get requests from people who offer franchise deals or help people manage stock picks. I interview CROs, Founders, business builders, makers, creators, leaders - about business. And leading and managing people. And how they handle change and challenges. 

2) I don’t do “interviews”.  I have conversations.  Those are a lot different.  It’s not an interview show.  Send them to Larry King. 

3) when you tout your clients,  do not mention their product or service. If you do, it’s explicitly clear that you want me to talk about a product or service. I only do this under 2 conditions: 1) I use the product or service and really love it and think people should know about it.   2) I was paid by someone who’s product I use and love and want people to know about it.  Other than that I won’t talk about a product or service.  

4) when you suggest your guest, I want to know about their ideas.  I want to learn how and what they think about business and people and leadership and building things. I like really interesting people who are smarter than me (a low bar anyone can hit) who will intrigue and educate my audience.  I don’t care about the fact that they had 5 exits and grew acme toilet consulting from $100 to $50m in two trips to the loo. I am far more interested in how and what they learned along the way. And how they have developed their skills and themselves.  

5) if I do accept a request, don’t offer to “join the prep call and sit in on the video to observe”.  I don’t want a lurker in the room when I’m talking to your client and I am quite sure your client does not need a babysitter holding his or her hand while we converse.  It’s really annoying- and it’s really weird. Stop this. Please.  

Remember that the most important thing to me is my listening audience.  That’s all that matters.  So think about them and not your clients product or service.  Ask yourself how your client would best be presented in a manner that would make them irresistible to my audience.  

And listen to my podcast. Like at least 20 episodes.

Revenue is not a department. It's a system.

And like any system, it has constraints, feedback loops, and failure points that most revenue leaders never see

because they're too busy playing hero.

The old model was simple: hire a VP of Sales, give them a quota, and hope they figure it out. 

And when they miss?  Just fire and repeat.

We reject this.

Revenue is an interconnected system where sales, marketing, and customer success are one engine.

Not three competing departments. 

Your missed number isn't because your team didn't want it enough. It's because your architecture is producing exactly what it was designed to produce.

The unit of progress isn't heroics. It's automated variable reduction.

When 80% of your team can hit 90% of quota, you have a system.
When 20% of your team delivers 80% of revenue, you have a prayer.

What percentage of your revenue comes from your top 3 reps?

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