Pavilion

Today’s marketing leaders are navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. Short-term pipeline pressure often overshadows long-term brand building. The CMO’s influence is being challenged, and proving marketing’s true impact is more complex than ever. Yet the best CMOs are redefining what it means to drive growth. They balance brand and demand, elevate marketing beyond sales enablement, and prove that real marketing isn’t just about generating leads. When executed effectively, marketing becomes the driving force behind sustainable success. That’s why we’re proud to unveil Pavilion’s list of 50 CMOs to Watch in 2025. This list celebrates the revolutionary marketing leaders who are pushing boundaries, driving change, and proving that marketing is so much more than just pipeline generation. #Marketing #Leadership

Nominations for Pavilion's 2025 CROs to Watch list are now open.   CROs are under increasing pressure to deliver short-term revenue while building long-term, sustainable growth. Pavilion is looking to recognize CROs who are: 👉 Driving sustainable growth amid economic uncertainty 👉 Unlocking the full potential of AI to deliver measurable ROI 👉 Aligning cross-functional teams around a unified strategy To qualify, nominees must hold the Chief Revenue Officer title at a company with 15 or more employees. Pavilion membership is not required. Submit your nominations below 🗳️⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eGk8d8Z2

Kathleen Booth here 👋 rounding out my week of taking over Pavilion's corporate LinkedIn account while Cullen M. Denny is away on sabbatical. Today I want to talk about Salon Dinners. This past Wednesday night, I had the honor of hosting a Pavilion Salon Dinner in Phoenix during the Forrester B2B Summit (but forgot to take a pic - so the photo below is of the dinner I hosted at our CRO Summit last year). Salon dinners aren't just another event - they’re literally how Pavilion got its start. Back in 2016, Pavilion founder Sam Jacobs needed a safe space to talk through professional challenges with peers. He gathered a small group over dinner and set three simple yet powerful ground rules: ✅ Confidentiality: What’s said at dinner stays at dinner. ✅ Participation: Everyone’s voice matters - no single person dominates. ✅ No Crosstalk: One conversation at a time, ensuring everyone can engage meaningfully. The format struck a chord, and sales and marketing leaders returned repeatedly for the authentic conversations and peer-to-peer learning. Those initial dinners evolved into Revenue Collective, which then became Pavilion. Today, Pavilion is a global community of 10,000+ members across 450+ cities with 50 chapters worldwide. And yes, we still host over 150 Salon Dinners annually, following Sam’s original rules. But here's the magic: 👉 It's not just about dinner Pavilion’s dinners thrive because the community is built on genuine values of kindness and reciprocity. It’s about showing up with the mindset: “What can I do for you?” rather than "What can I get?" When done right, attendees leave Pavilion dinners with deepened bonds, meaningful relationships, and a renewed sense of community. It’s truly the heart of Pavilion ❤️ To Pavilion members: I hope to see you at another dinner soon. If you're not yet part of Pavilion, DM me - I’d love to share more about what makes these dinners, and the entirety of a Pavilion membership, special. #Community #ForresterB2BSummit

I get messages like this every day. In 2020, Rachel Krug joined Pavilion at the height of COVID. Over the past 5 years, she’s sent 2,465 different messages to Members, referred 8 people who ended up joining, and taken 37 different courses to help up-level her career. All while being an active and engaged Member of our amazing Boston Chapter. In the process, she landed her first CRO role in 2021. Then two years later, her first CEO gig. This is what’s possible when you connect 10,000 like-minded GTM executives around the world and support them with tools, resources, education, and opportunity. And when all 10,000 members share a common set of values: - Give before you get - Build relationships not transactions - Play a big long game vs a short small game We couldn’t be prouder and more humbled to support incredible executives like Rachel on their journey and we hope to be with her every step of the way. Through growth. Through exits. Through new jobs. Through mentorship and paving the way for the next generation of leaders. Thanks for 5 years of Membership and here’s to many more! If you're a GTM executive, join us here: https://lnkd.in/evSJ9d6X

Join us in congratulating Pavilion Executive member Colby Proffitt on his new role as Chief Marketing Officer at Carbyne 👏 Colby brings a wealth of experience building and scaling high-performing GTM teams, driving revenue growth, and transforming the customer experience in some of the most mission-critical sectors. With a career devoted to helping public sector organizations—from national security and civilian agencies to public safety and critical infrastructure—adopt technology that advances vital missions, Colby’s leadership is a perfect match for Carbyne’s global ambitions. At Carbyne, the mission is urgent and deeply human. Every second saved, every smarter decision made by an emergency call taker, can change or even save a life. That kind of real, measurable impact was an immediate yes for Colby. From automatic call translation to real-time caller location and enhanced situational awareness for first responders, Carbyne is bringing powerful, modern tech to the people and systems that need it most. Colby put it best: "We’re eliminating barriers to emergency response and empowering communities to act when it matters most. That’s why I joined Carbyne." We’re excited to see what he accomplishes in this next chapter. Congratulations Colby!

Kathleen Booth here again, continuing my takeover of Pavilion's LinkedIn account. Yesterday, I sat down with Karen Budell, CMO of Totango, at the Forrester B2B Summit in Phoenix, and our conversation left me thinking deeply about customer success, AI, and the evolving role of post-sale teams in growth strategies. Here are Karen’s top insights from her time at Forrester: 1️⃣ Human touch is still essential in Customer Success: Teams that over-invested in digital and scaled experiences post-sale are now realizing the human element can’t be replaced entirely. Digital interactions (emails, in-app notifications) handle routine tasks effectively, but strategic conversations about business goals and adapting to changes require a human CSM. 2️⃣ Digital CSMs are gaining momentum: AI-powered Digital Customer Success Managers can efficiently handle simpler inquiries using knowledge bases and internal documentation, freeing human CSMs to focus on more strategic customer engagements. 3️⃣ The post-sale funnel deserves more attention from GTM leaders: Historically, go-to-market teams have overly prioritized acquisition, but Karen argues that reliable growth comes from investing deeply in your existing customer base. Understanding and nurturing your current customers reduces churn and significantly boosts expansion revenue. 4️⃣ Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) drive strategic insights and community: Totango invests significantly in its CAB, using carefully curated quarterly sessions to gather insights directly from senior customer leaders. This helps shape product roadmaps and business strategies, while also fostering peer-to-peer community among decision-makers. 5️⃣ AI adoption lags in Customer Success (but shouldn't): Customer Success teams are often slower to adopt AI due to concerns about diluting human relationships. However, Karen emphasizes that AI isn't about replacing people—it’s about augmenting their work. Automating routine tasks empowers CSMs to focus on high-value, strategic activities. Thanks Karen for the fantastic conversation and valuable insights! Great reminder that successful growth isn't just about new logos - it's deeply rooted in understanding and optimizing the full customer lifecycle. Who else was at the Forrester Summit this week? What were your top takeaways? #CustomerSuccess #AI #GTMStrategy #ForresterB2BSummit

Want to beat the CXO tenure curse? 👀 👉 Build trust with your CEO It's me again 👋 Kathleen Booth here continuing my takeover of Pavilion's corporate LinkedIn account from Phoenix AZ where Forrester's B2B Summit is happening. The statistic is well-known and grim: The average CXO at a B2B tech company lasts just about 18 months. But here’s the good news - some CXOs are shattering this stat, staying (and thriving) in their roles for up to eight years or more. I spent the past few days at Forrester’s B2B Summit talking with several of these long-tenured CXOs. They had diverse roles and career paths, from VP of Marketing to CMO to Chief Revenue Officer, first sales hire to CRO, and even from CMO to Chief Evangelist. They all shared one essential quality: A deep, trust-based relationship with their CEO. Yes, they're hitting their targets—but that's table stakes. The secret to their longevity is much deeper than that. CEOs trust these leaders inherently, believing they're aligned to the broader business goals. So even when organizational changes occur, their CEO proactively finds new opportunities for them within the company. That’s longevity in action 💥 Here's the takeaway for every ambitious CXO: ✅ Mastering your discipline is necessary, but not sufficient ✅ Consistently delivering results is expected, but still not enough ✅ Longevity requires strong emotional intelligence, exceptional communication, and leadership skills - all geared toward building deep trust at the CEO level and across your executive peers (the "first team"). If you're a CXO hoping to thrive (and stick around) in your role, prioritize trust-building as intentionally as you prioritize hitting your targets. Sounds simple, but from all of my conversations here this week, it's much harder to put into practice.

Meet Kate DiLeo: Pavilion Minneapolis/St. Paul Co-Chapter Head As the CEO of Kate DiLeo Branding, Kate helps B2B tech and SaaS companies craft messaging that drives revenue. Through her Brand Trifecta methodology, she partners with CEOs, heads of marketing, and sales leaders to reverse-engineer messaging and positioning that compels prospects to say, "Oh my gosh, you get me!" But Kate isn’t just building brands. She’s building a community. For the past six months, she has led the Minneapolis/St. Paul Pavilion Chapter alongside Walter Pape, Director of Sales at Snappt, fostering a vibrant and growing community of nearly 70 go-to-market leaders within the larger Pavilion community who are passionate about personal and professional growth. From walk-and-talk networking hours around Minnesota’s scenic lakes to leadership breakfasts where members dive into real business challenges, Kate has helped create a chapter where relationships fuel transformation. Her approach to leadership is the same as her approach to branding: clear, intentional, and impact-driven. If you're interested in joining the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter or discussing brand messaging, positioning, or the future of branding, connect with Kate or visit www.katedileo.com.

Are Executive Lounges the new "Third Place" in B2B marketing? Kathleen Booth here 👋 continuing my takeover of Pavilion's corporate LinkedIn account from Phoenix, where I'm on the road at Forrester's B2B Summit. There's an emerging trend I'm loving lately - brands creating executive lounge-style activations alongside major industry events. The best marketers have figured out how to leverage the concept of the "third place" - a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg which refers to public spaces outside of home and work where people can gather, socialize, and build community. Starbucks famously leveraged the concept of the "third place" to fuel its growth by creating a welcoming environment that fostered community and connection, attracting customers and encouraging repeat visits Now I'm seeing B2B marketers convene their communities and extend their presence beyond traditional sponsorship. There are several great examples of this concept this week at Forrester's B2B Summit here in Phoenix. These photos are from the 6sense Club6 Lounge right across from the main conference. People are networking, working, and meeting up, all in a branded space intentionally designed to be a hub for community and conversation. These lounges - when done well - aren't about aggressively selling products or gathering leads. Instead, they're focused on positioning the brand as the center of meaningful industry conversations and giving their community a home away from home. 6sense didn't do it alone - they partnered with Qualified, Gong, Integrate, Sendoso, INFUSE, 2X, Superside, Cvent, G2, and Informa to host this experience, amplifying their collective reach and impact without even stepping foot inside the official event. Some attendees even traveled to Phoenix just for lounges and activations like this one, skipping the main conference altogether. Community-led growth doesn't always mean you have to build your own community. Lounges like Club6 are a great example of how using innovative event strategies to create a "third place" experience could be a game-changer. Have you experienced or hosted something similar? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this approach. #B2BMarketing #EventMarketing #CommunityLedGrowth

CROs are job hunting differently in 2025. And Nealesh Patel, CRO at Crunchbase, thinks they should be thinking like investors. In his conversation with Kyle Norton on the Revenue Leadership Podcast, Neal shares what smart revenue leaders look for before saying yes to a new role—how to assess product-market fit, sniff out red flags, and find real alignment with the exec team. They also dig into how AI is changing go-to-market models, why most tools will be replaced by agents, and how Crunchbase is betting big on predictive data. Tune in to hear the full conversation. Available now on all major podcasting platforms: Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e_3tzysb Apple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/ekgi_ufK YouTube: https://lnkd.in/e2bXctX3