Partner marketing isn’t a support function—it’s a leadership role. In this episode, Michelle Zhang shares how she approaches alliances marketing as the CMO of the partner business, owning everything from joint narrative and value creation to internal activation and execution.

Drawing from experience across large enterprises and fast-moving startups, Michelle breaks down what it really takes to build high-impact technology alliances: activating sales and product teams, prioritizing the right partners, and creating “one-plus-one-equals-four” value for customers. She explains why partner marketers can’t wait for permission, how to navigate internal politics, and how to scale programs without reinventing the wheel every time.

The conversation also tackles burnout, ownership, and why the best partner marketers succeed by inspiring the rest of the organization to move with them—proving that you’re never truly going to market alone when alliances are done right.

Partner marketers are heading into 2026 under more pressure than ever — tighter budgets, more partners, more programs, and still the same demand to prove ROI and pipeline impact.

In this episode of Never GTM Alone, Rick Currier sits down with Hondo Lateef Lewis of PartnerVista to break down the real partner marketing priorities emerging from AWS re:Invent and other hyperscaler events. They unpack what’s changing — and what isn’t — as AI moves from hype to operational reality.

The conversation covers why attribution is still holding teams back, how fragmentation and agency bloat are slowing execution, and why reusable GTM motions are becoming essential for scale. Hondo also shares why trust, feedback loops, and in-person community matter just as much as dashboards and automation when aligning sales, marketing, and partners.

This episode is for cloud alliance, ISV, and channel partner marketers who need to move faster in 2026 — without adding headcount or losing credibility with executives.

Product marketing often looks polished in a deck — but breaks down when it reaches partners, sales, and the field.

In this episode of Never GTM Alone, Rick Currier is joined by Rachel Roundy, Product Marketing Lead for AI at Snowflake, to explore what it takes to build product marketing that partners actually use in real-world GTM motions.

Drawing on her experience at Intel and Snowflake, Rachel shares practical insights on:

• Designing modular messaging that scales across partners and regions
• Creating feedback loops that keep product marketing grounded in execution
• Avoiding AI hype while staying aligned to real buyer needs
• Aligning product, sales, demand, and partner teams around a clear GTM North Star

Rather than theory, this conversation focuses on execution — where product marketing most often breaks down and how to fix it in partner-led environments.

This episode is for partner, alliance, and product marketers who need faster GTM execution, clearer handoffs, and messaging that drives adoption and pipeline.

AI is radically accelerating how tech marketers build, test, and scale go-to-market programs, yet the careers behind those campaigns are hitting limits humans were never designed for. In this episode, Patrick Goulet, partner marketing leader turned wellness practitioner and yoga teacher, talks with Rick about rebuilding personal systems in the age of automation.

They explore why B2B GTM strategy starts with protecting cognitive space, how AI co‑pilots change the rules for interactive content and lead qualification, and why cross-team partner alignment is the real unlock for smarter pipelines. There’s honest talk on setting boundaries, fueling creativity through healthier habits, and making sure ambition and well-being aren’t competing roadmap line items.

The result is a conversation about modern marketing leadership, evolving careers, and building smarter, without trading away the parts of life that matter most.

What does it take to rebuild a partner ecosystem from the ground up—across continents, partner types, and industries where failure isn’t an option? In this episode, Rick sits down with Lora Hampton, Director of Partner Marketing at Dragos, to unpack how she helped redefine the company’s global partner strategy in the high-stakes world of OT cybersecurity.

Lora shares what she’s learned from leading a multi-year rebuild—balancing global consistency with local flexibility, aligning systems and data, and earning trust across sales, marketing, and partnerships. We also dive into the human side of transformation: how to ask for help, learn from peers, and stay grounded in community when everything is changing.

Revenue marketing isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a complete mindset shift. In this episode, Rick sits down with Ryan Patel-Francis, Head of Revenue Marketing at Abnormal Security, to unpack how AI, channel strategy, and team design are reshaping how we go to market.

Ryan shares his evolution from field marketing to leading global revenue teams, his lessons from MongoDB and Abnormal, and why every marketer should think like a seller. They dive into sales-marketing alignment, AI-driven content automation, and how to make partner marketing actually drive pipeline instead of PowerPoints.

From AI tools that turn white papers into webinars to fitness-themed channel programs that win mindshare, this conversation is packed with insights for anyone building smarter, faster, more human GTM engines.

Partnerships don’t scale without trust—and trust doesn’t happen without listening. In this episode, Rick sits down with Tricia Olson, Senior Partner Marketing Manager at Posit, to talk about the art (and grind) of building meaningful alliances with cloud and data partners like AWS, Snowflake, and beyond.

Tricia shares why partner marketing is never “just marketing,” how showing up in the right meetings can change everything, and why being curious often beats being programmatic. They dive into relationship-building tips, executive alignment lessons, and what it takes to be bold early in a new role without losing sight of company culture.

From fitness-community partnerships in Denver to leading strategic alliances in tech, Tricia’s journey proves that great marketing starts with great partnerships—and that sometimes the best strategy is to speak up, listen harder, and take the risk anyway.

What happens when you hand the keys to AI to every marketer on your team? In this episode, Rick sits down with Carlos Roman, Global Head of Partner Marketing at Databricks, to talk about the evolution of partner marketing, why scale is always the holy grail, and how AI is reshaping go-to-market.

Carlos shares how Databricks is running AI hackathons to unlock new ideas, why partner enablement has to extend beyond corporate walls, and how AI is moving us from duct-tape DIY to repeatable scale. They dive into career lessons from the early days of partner marketing, the reality of limited resources, and why aligning sales, marketing, and partners is like getting a crew team rowing in sync.

If you’re in partner marketing, B2B growth, or exploring how AI can unlock scale, this conversation is equal parts tactical and inspiring—with plenty of takeaways you can put into play right now.