In episode two of our CMO Stories podcast series, we take a look at the all-important role of the Growth CMO and what it takes to drive meaningful growth in today’s environment. We’re joined by Tom Butta, CMO at Kyriba. This is his latest role in a long line of CMO positions at fast-growing start-ups.  Listen to the full episode below.

Episode 2: The Growth CMO’s Playbook

Before stepping into his latest role as CMO at fintech SaaS company Kyriba, Tom Butta helped grow a number of companies — among them SignalFx, Sprinklr, and Red Hat —  to multi-million or billion-dollar valuations. SignalFx was recently acquired by Splunk for $1.1 billion, while Sprinklr went on to receive a $2.7-billion valuation. Under Tom’s reign as CMO, Red Hat went public as the second-highest IPO in NASDAQ history.

It’s safe to say that Tom knows a thing or two about growing a business, which is why Fortella co-founder and CEO Rahul Sachdev calls him “the granddaddy of Growth CMOs.” At this stage in his career, he has plenty of wisdom to offer up-and-coming CMOs hoping to grow their own businesses. For instance, according to Tom, the most important tool in the Growth CMO’s playbook is trust. As marketing evolves, board and CEO expectations are higher than ever, and Growth CMOs need a great team that trusts each other’s expertise. 

We caught up with Tom for the second episode of our CMO Stories podcast and chatted about his long career as a growth CMO. Moderated by Fortella’s own Rahul Sachdev, this episode contains insights on growth strategy, the importance of communication, and the problems Kyriba is solving for CFOs.

In this podcast, you’ll learn:

• What makes a Growth CMO different
• The relationship between sales and marketing at growth companies
• Managing board expectations
• How a CMO approaches the first 100 days at a new company
• Kyriba’s growing role in the fintech industry
• When to get in the weeds and when to step back
• What keeps a Growth CMO like Tom up at night
• And more!