Warren Zenna sits down with Michael Maimone, CRO at LucidLink, to unpack his journey from BDR to enterprise sales leader to CRO. Michael shares how his time at IBM, Marketo, Adobe, and ZoomInfo shaped a systems mindset, enabling him to translate big-company rigor into agile, early-stage execution without stifling momentum.

They dive into the first 30-60-90 days in the seat: observe, diagnose, implement. Michael explains how he sequenced quick wins—enablement, RevOps guardrails, hiring profiles, interview kits—before rolling out robust territory, account, and opportunity planning. He emphasizes credibility through results and the art of modulation when change-managing seasoned teams.

Michael details LucidLink’s category-defining approach to distributed cloud file access for massive media and design workflows, and how that expands into broader enterprise use cases. He outlines direct and channel motions, global team structure, and the zero-knowledge security model that unlocks collaboration without compromising control.

The conversation closes with pragmatic AI adoption across Gong, ZoomInfo, dialers, website conversion, and Gemini-driven planning. Michael shares early signal lifts, how to beat tool fatigue, why human analysts still matter, and advice to aspiring CROs: lead cross-functionally, stay humble, build lieutenants, and align every motion to predictable, scalable revenue.

Warren Zenna hosts Ryan Staley, Founder and CEO at Whale Boss, to separate AI spectacle from strategic value for revenue leaders. They explore where the technology truly helps CROs versus where demos overpromise, and how practitioners can spot durable use cases. Ryan frames adoption as a pragmatic process focused on measurable outcomes rather than chasing every shiny new feature.

They map three practical stages of AI adoption—augmentation, targeted automation, and cross‑functional orchestration—and show how each raises team capacity. Ryan gives concrete examples like automated call scoring that produces next‑best actions, converting call transcripts into playbook inputs, and feeding live sales insights to marketing and product to guide priorities and messaging.

The conversation tackles workforce impact and essential skills: which roles are most exposed, where leaders should retool, and why structured prompting remains a competitive advantage. Ryan stresses validating outputs to reduce hallucinations and recommends methods—multiple source checks and reverse‑engineering high‑performing content—to ensure AI-driven recommendations are reliable before operationalizing them.

For CROs and CEOs ready to move, Ryan advises starting with daily personal use, identifying a few high‑value pilots, and scaling proven projects across teams. Warren and Ryan outline a practical rollout cadence that builds momentum without disruption. Listeners leave with a clear roadmap to integrate AI into revenue operations and pointers to connect with Ryan on LinkedIn for prompts and resources.

In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with Andy Mowat, Founder of Whispered, to explore the challenges of landing the ideal Chief Revenue Officer role. Andy shares his journey from running revenue operations at multiple unicorns to building a platform that uncovers unposted executive opportunities. They discuss the ambiguities in CRO job descriptions and the importance of aligning personal strengths with company needs. Warren and Andy emphasize how aspiring and current CROs can evaluate roles by challenging perceptions and ensuring a strategic fit, drawing from real-world examples of successful transitions.

Andy delves into the critical differences between CRO and CSO positions, highlighting how CEOs' understanding of these roles impacts hiring decisions. The conversation covers the value of pushing back during interviews to clarify responsibilities, such as owning marketing, sales, and customer success under one leader. They explore why CROs should avoid fragmented reporting structures and seek environments where they can drive unified revenue strategies. For CEOs building teams, the discussion offers insights on recognizing when a company is ready for a CRO, typically around significant operational complexity.

The duo addresses common pitfalls, like accepting roles at mismatched company stages or overlooking red flags in CEO dynamics. Andy introduces practical tools, such as maintaining a personal user manual to foster better working relationships from day one. They stress the need for CROs to conduct thorough due diligence, including board conversations, to avoid short tenures that harm careers. This episode provides actionable advice for revenue leaders on positioning themselves effectively and building networks that open doors to high-potential opportunities.

Finally, Warren and Andy highlight Whispered's role in empowering executives through insights, connections, and community support. They encourage CROs to gain clarity on their unique value propositions before pursuing roles, whether through shared databases or collaborative networks. For CEOs aiming to hire or support top revenue talent, the talk underscores the benefits of mature leadership that values alignment over quick fixes. Tune in for an enlightening dialogue that equips listeners with strategies to thrive in the evolving world of revenue leadership.

Warren Zenna sits down with Amy Hsuan, Chief Customer & Revenue Officer at Mixpanel, to unpack what a truly unified revenue engine looks like. Amy shares how org design must follow strategy, why GTM is a core differentiator, and how aligning marketing, sales, success, and services creates consistent end‑to‑end customer experiences that actually win.

Amy traces her path from journalism to BCG to Mixpanel, revealing how curiosity, cross‑functional leadership, and a customer‑first mindset shaped her Chief Customer & Revenue Officer role. She explains the shift from “hard” product differentiation to human‑driven trust, and how relationships, not features, become defensible moats in crowded markets.

They dig into practical playbooks: orchestrating handoffs, clarifying tone across touchpoints, and reducing executive silos to move faster. Amy outlines a strategy‑to‑execution flywheel, her 80/20 time model for long‑ vs short‑term, and how consistent advisory through complex, multi‑stakeholder cycles sustains momentum and predictability.

Amy also shares a grounded view on AI: use it to accelerate research, analysis, and context so leaders increase decision velocity—while humans own listening, rapport, creative adaptation, and navigating org dynamics. If you’re a CRO, aspiring CRO, or CEO aiming to modernize revenue leadership, this conversation is a blueprint.

In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna welcomes back Dana Therrien, Vice President at Anaplan and a leading expert in sales compensation strategies. Dana shares his insights on designing simple yet effective comp plans that motivate sales teams while aligning with company goals and customer success. He emphasizes the importance of balancing short-term wins with long-term growth.

Dana dives into the pitfalls of overly complex compensation plans, explaining how they demotivate sales teams and create inefficiencies. He highlights the need for clear, straightforward incentives that salespeople can easily understand and act on. Dana also discusses how CROs can navigate the challenges of managing comp plans while ensuring alignment across finance, product, and customer success teams.

The conversation explores how compensation plans impact customer experience, with Dana sharing innovative strategies like tying payouts to customer adoption and retention. He explains how this approach not only drives better outcomes for customers but also fosters sustainable growth for the business.

Dana wraps up with actionable advice for CROs, including the importance of creating a compensation governance council, leveraging AI for smarter decision-making, and piloting changes before rolling them out. This episode is packed with practical tips for CROs and revenue leaders looking to optimize their comp plans and drive success.

Jaime Ruhl, CRO at Emergn, joins Warren Zenna to explore how a sales leader becomes a strategic revenue architect in a product‑centric consulting firm. She explains stepping into a broader remit that covers sales, go‑to‑market and marketing alignment across global teams. Jaime describes being a player‑coach who builds repeatable sales motion and champions measurable customer outcomes after delivery.

Jaime digs into practical moves she led: shifting from sporadic lead chasing to a disciplined target account approach, tightening qualification at the funnel entrance, and leveraging intent signals, account reports and smarter prospecting tools. She describes building persona‑led outreach, thought leadership assets, and repeatable playbooks that scale account expansion and shorten cycles. Jaime also tightened lead handoff timing and aligned content cadence with selling motions.

This episode contrasts consulting revenue with pure SaaS by unpacking stakeholder mapping, surrounding the customer with delivery, product and commercial teams, and balancing client intimacy with scalable processes. Jaime explains clearer handoffs, joint KPIs, role clarity and incentive design to reduce internal friction and drive sustainable expansion and retention. She stresses mapping buying centers and creating accountable cross‑functional teams.

Jaime closes with tactical advice for new CROs: surround yourself with people who raise your game, ask why to learn the rationale behind decisions, pilot changes and lead by example, and cultivate mentors. She urges CROs to balance staying in the trenches to learn with delegating, define a focused go‑to‑market, test AI capabilities before broad rollout, and communicate early wins to build momentum.

In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna speaks with Adam Crandall, CRO at Addtronics, about his journey from VP of Sales to Chief Revenue Officer in a private equity-backed environment. Adam shares how he developed a scalable go-to-market playbook for Addtronics, a platform acquiring robotics and automation companies focused on advancing human health and technology.

Adam discusses the critical distinction between simply hitting revenue targets and building truly scalable revenue systems. He explains his concept of "Revenue Generating Activities" (RGAs) and how he balances centralized strategy with decentralized execution across multiple operating companies. The conversation explores how a CRO must empower teams with tools and processes that function effectively without constant oversight.

The episode delves into the unique challenges of the CRO role in private equity, including managing expectations, forecasting accurately, and maintaining team energy through challenging periods. Adam emphasizes the importance of hiring people smarter than yourself, approaching new roles with humility, and maintaining close alignment with the CFO and CEO to navigate market headwinds.

Warren and Adam explore the balance between measurable and unmeasurable marketing activities, the importance of brand building, and the essential competencies for today's CROs. Adam shares valuable insights for aspiring and newly appointed CROs, making this a must-listen for revenue leaders looking to excel in complex business environments.

In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with Lindsay Guzowski, CEO at The Crucible, to explore the power of targeted competency assessments for chief revenue officers. They trace the origins of a bespoke CRO test built for private equity–backed companies, showing how tailored assessments can pinpoint the strengths and gaps that drive high-impact revenue leadership.

Many off-the-shelf tests fall short when evaluating executive readiness. Lindsay and Warren unpack pitfalls such as misaligned reference sets, cultural mismatches, and predictable question phrasing that candidates can game. They explain why tracking correlation coefficients and grounding assessments in rigorous validity studies is key to ensuring predictive accuracy.

Beyond individual metrics, they highlight the strategic value of team assessments for mapping leadership dynamics. Lindsay describes measuring urgency, resilience, pattern recognition and adaptability against a frozen reference cohort. She shows how private equity firms can configure custom CRO profiles and use nuanced data to optimize hiring, onboarding and development roadmaps.

In real-world case studies, they reveal how Crucible insights steer tough hiring choices and fuel candid candidate conversations. By also testing for “contaminants” like fragility or arrogance under pressure, organizations can align roles to specific growth stages. This episode delivers actionable guidance for current and aspiring CROs—and for CEOs seeking to elevate their revenue leadership team.