People Changing Enterprises

Whether you're new to the C-Suite or looking to get there soon, there will inevitably be communication challenges along the way - and possibly none as thorny as "sales vs marketing". Contentstack CMO Susan Beermann and Chief Revenue Officer Todd Rathje offer their perspective on how marketing and sales can play as one team, plus some all-around communication tips and tricks you need to know as a C...

Today we talk to a Director of Engineering who went from IT to retail sales and back about what he's learned. From taking a career leap of faith, to CX lessons learned on the retail floor, this episode is a must-listen for anyone in a customer experience oriented industry... or anyone looking to make a career change. Timestamps: 1:11 Keith's backstory - how he got from computer programming to reta...

Moving to composable technology almost never happens all at once. There is a transition period. How do you help teams make the most of the composable technology, while easing the transition between old and new? Keith Mazanec, Director of Software Engineering at Brad’s Deals shares how they used a composable content technology with automation capabilities (Contentstack) to create an easy transition...

How do you create a successful transformation when markets are unstable and business changes are inevitable? Brad's Deals re-imagined their content technology and created a new world that the content teams had to adapt to... And then the market conditions turned and the whole company had to adapt again. In this episode, hear from Director of Software Engineering Keith Mazanec about the lessons he'...

Every company pays lip service to building a great culture where people trust each other, feel free to challenge each other, and openness and transparency are the name of the game. But building that kind of culture doesn't happen without work - and more importantly, a set of principles against which to work. Andreas Westendörpf (CTO, Emma Sleep) has transformed several organizations from slow and...

Andreas Westendörpf (CTO) brought the concept of composable commerce to Emma Sleep. But that wasn't his agenda from the outset. In this episode, he shares how to know if your organization is ready for composable; why e-Commerce organizations can be surprisingly outdated in their technology; how to challenge vendors and commercial models in parts of the enterprise technology landscape that have not...

If you're on the "business" side of your company and don't think too much about the workings of the IT department, Emma Sleep CTO Andreas Westendörpf has some news for you: it's time to start paying attention.  In this episode, Andreas uncovers common misconceptions about the IT department and shares why it's essential to close the gaps between IT, marketing, and everything in between.  Timestamps...

You know that something inside your business needs to change. What do you do next? In this episode, we asked Todd Harris (SVP, Global Alliances, Valtech ) and Gordana (G) Vuckovic (Chief Revenue Officer, Vue Storefront ) about strategies to effect change inside your enterprise. We cover: Why change is hard Strategies to be seen as a positive driver of change (instead of a naysasyer or detractor) H...

Mindy Montgomery (Sr. Technical Product Manager at ASICS) is a true disruptor. As a serial product manager and consultant, she has instigated change in a variety of industries - like democratizing patient data in healthcare. In this episode, Mindy shares her perspective on creating change, what it takes to make changes you put in motion stick -- plus, hear her surprising advice for what to look fo...

Mindy Montgomery , Sr. Technical Product Manager at ASICS, describes the brand's journey from monolithic technology to a composable customer experience ecosystem. She describes how their eCommerce, omnichannel, and partnerships brand experiences are underpinned by composable technology, and how all of that stems from their brand mission - "A sound mind in a sound body". Learn about: - The ASICS vi...

Mindy Montgomery has led change from without, from within, as a leader and as an individual contributor - and in this episode, she shares tips learned from years guiding businesses through major technological shifts.  - How to work towards a vision, even if leadership hasn't provided one  - The killer question that disrupts the attitude "that's the way we've always done things" - How to build your...

Jasmin Guthmann is Head of Corporate Communications at Contentstack and Vice President & Executive Board Member of the MACH Alliance . She's also an author, ironman triathlete, and host of People Changing Enterprises podcast. We cover: - How to reframe 'workplace politics' for yourself and play the long game, to get what you want - The art and value of self-promotion - How to ask questions wit...

Zach Crittendon has a background as a marketer, software developer, and now software architect at Levi Strauss & Co. And when we asked him what he's most proud of, he said it's that the tools he builds for the marketing team help them to work autonomously, and make their lives easier.  In this episode, he shares: - Why one of his proudest achievements is the content technology set-up at Levi's...

You'll hear: - The brand's risk-reducing method to transition to a best-of-breed architecture - How Zach Crittendon built inventory-aware shoppable videos for Levi's in two days of coding -And why going composable has allowed Levi's marketers to do things they only dreamed of for many years Timestamps: 01:43 Levi's e-commerce journey 02:57 Why go composable? 04:53 What going composable has made po...

Host of Dreammakers, Neha Sampat, is a three-time tech founder and CEO known for building successful companies that are great places to work - and a sommelier, so the show is recorded sipping a hand-selected wine. Jasmin Guthmann is VP and Executive Board Member of the MACH Alliance, Contentstack's Head of Corporate Communications, and host of People Changing Enterprises. She wrote the book (liter...

Bob shares how he steered Dawn Foods from zero to launch, including:  - Hiring the right people  - Crucial conversations with stakeholders & the board - 3 foundational truths for thinking about their technology  - What decisions had to be made first  - How the company had to transform along with the technology - Five lessons learned for a successful transformation 

In this episode, Jon, Head of Digital at Golfbreaks, shares what motivated him, how it went, and what he believes are the key values that help you to become a change agent even if you're not exactly confrontational. Timestamps: 0:55 Jon's journey from the Daily Telegraph to Golfbreaks 2:37 Why the Golfbreaks website relaunch was one of the biggest wins of his career 3:41 People need to buy into wh...

In this episode, learn how leisure travel company Golfbreaks went from outdated to composable technology, what a Digital Center of Excellence can do for your company, and how to sustain innovation across the business with technology, people, and processes.  Timestamps: 1:13 What is a Digital Center of Excellence? 2:54 Golfbreaks' messy technology landscape "before" 5:09 Why the company stopped usi...

Learn how this industry leader maintains their standard of "excellence" across the entire organization - including what metrics they measure, how they empower their teams, and what they do when things go wrong. Timestamps: 0:53 What is Golfbreaks? 1:37 How Golfbreaks retained 80% of business during the pandemic 2:20 A customer-centric technology buying strategy 4:51 How to demand & maintain ex...

Learn how to have better feedback conversations that won't result in ruffled feathers - but instead, better creative, better processes, and better relationships with your designers. This episode features executive creative consultant Kenn MacRae , product designer Sietse Koopmans , and Paul Watson , Head of Brand and Design at Golfbreaks . 02:02 Sietse's best worst feedback story 03:20 Kenn's glob...

Learn the surprisingly simple values and tactics that you can employ as a mid-level employee to create meaningful change. For senior leaders, the team also drops some suggestions for how to create an environment where change-makers can thrive. This is a short and sweet round-robin on the best ticks and tricks three mid-level change-makers inside Icelandair have learned about what makes making chan...

That's right, the Icelandair content team doesn't just write content. They are guardians of their headless content management stack, working upstream with developers to make the system - and its output (digital products) - better for employees and customers alike. And they feel strongly that this should be the case in more companies out there. Learn from their example in today's episode, and you m...

Icelandair's content (all of it - from flight destinations to marketing campaigns) was scattered across business teams and third-party agencies. Then this power trio took the reins and brought the process in-house, under control, and to a level of efficiency that allowed them to stay operational through all the chaos during Covid shutdowns and beyond. In the process they became the brand's "conten...

In this episode, Danielle shares her toolkit: How to make a game plan, get buy-in for that plan, and implement it effectively. She also shares the personal values that have made her successful, pitfalls to avoid when trying to change an enterprise, and advice for executives aiming for hyper-growth. Timestamps:  1:10 Danielle's story - How she went from accountant to investor, CTO, and founder/CEO...

In this episode, Danielle gives a masterclass on tech selection: how to set a technology strategy for something that's never been done before, how to "diagnose" failure points in a customer experience, and how a flexible architecture approach allowed The St. James to thrive during the pandemic - and become an industry leader in the meantime.   Timestamps: 1:14 What is The St James - and why its te...