APAC's B2B Growth Podcast

Caleb Ralston challenges one of the most sacred rules in personal branding: niching down. While it's technically the fastest path to growth, it's also a fast track to burnout and quitting altogether. In this conversation with Shahin Hoda, Caleb shares hard-won insights from working with some of the biggest names in business (Gary Vaynerchuk, Alex and Leila Hormozi) and reveals the sustainable approach to building a personal brand that doesn't make you hate what you've created.

From why you should inject your personality into everything you make, to how organisations can build loyalty by empowering team members to develop their own brands, this episode is packed with contrarian wisdom for anyone building content for the long term.

Guest Introduction

Caleb Ralston is a brand strategist, content producer, and creator mentor who has worked with Gary Vaynerchuk, Leila and Alex Hormozi, and other leading voices in entrepreneurship. He now helps founders and creators scale content in a way that's sustainable, strategic, and honest through his company Ralston.

Key Topics

• Why niching down is overrated: The conventional wisdom on niching down works in theory but leads to creator burnout and audience fatigue in practice. Caleb explains why sustainability matters more than short-term growth hacks.
• The sustainability framework for content creation: Building a personal brand is like fitness: you get returns by doing it forever, not by sprinting for a year and quitting. Learn how to create systems that allow you to keep showing up.
• Lessons from working with Gary V and the Hormozis: What most people assume about these mega-brands is completely wrong. Caleb shares the behind-the-scenes reality of how these creators actually build their influence.
• Injecting personality without losing focus: How to integrate your interests and quirks into your content without confusing your audience or diluting your message.
• Building personal brands within organisations: The Barstool Sports approach to content: why Dave Portnoy isn't in all the content, and how this creates a more scalable, sustainable media company. How this strategy applies to B2B companies.
• Strategic hiring for content bottlenecks: Why your first hire shouldn't be another you, and how to identify the specific constraint that's actually holding back your content production.
• Being 100% yourself in the age of AI: As everyone starts sounding the same on LinkedIn with ChatGPT-generated posts, authenticity becomes your competitive advantage. Caleb's advice: lean into your insecurities and the things you're terrified to share.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Gary Vaynerchuk - Entrepreneur and Chairman of VaynerX
• Alex Hormozi - Co-founder and Managing Partner at Acquisition.com
• Leila Hormozi - CEO of Acquisition.com
• Paddy Galloway - YouTube strategist and content optimization expert
• Dave Portnoy - Founder of Barstool Sports

Books & Resources:

• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk - The book that inspired Caleb to pursue his current path
• Caleb's YouTube Channel
• Ralston - Caleb's brand strategy and content company

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Caleb Ralston

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

What if your CEO asked you to double revenue without adding budget or headcount? Robert Chatwani, President and General Manager of Growth at DocuSign, believes not only is it possible - there's never been a better time to make it happen.

In this conversation, Robert unpacks the frameworks and organisational changes required to achieve exponential growth with existing resources. From building agile growth squads that operate like engineering teams to leveraging AI agents for hyper-personalised prospecting, he reveals how DocuSign is transforming from an e-signature company into an AI-powered platform. If you're facing budget cuts but still expected to deliver results, this episode offers a roadmap.

Guest Introduction

Robert Chatwani is President and General Manager, Growth at DocuSign, where he leads the Marketing & Growth organisation to scale its digital strategy across marketing, product, technology and sales. Before joining DocuSign, Robert was CMO of Atlassian, where he helped scale the business to nearly $3 billion in revenue. He also spent more than a decade at eBay, ending his tenure as Chief Marketing Officer for North America where his teams supported $35 billion in trading volume. Robert is the 2023 American Heart Association Bay Area Heart Walk Chair and serves as a West Coast Board Member at the American India Foundation.

Key Topics

• The 2x-10x challenge: Why companies expect exponential output increases without adding resources, and why Robert believes marketing teams can deliver.
• Thomas Barta's V-Zone framework: Maximising the overlap between customer needs and company needs to drive business impact and secure executive support.
• The harsh realities facing B2B teams: CAC is up 60% since the pandemic, traditional channels show diminishing returns, and most GTM models are obsolete - creating opportunities for teams willing to rethink their approach.
• Operating principles over company values: DocuSign's five core principles - "we before me," "dreaming big," "take action," "ignite the way," and "delivering customer delight" - that guide team behaviours and decisions.
• Growth squads and agile methodologies: Why effective GTM teams operate like engineering teams with two-week sprints, daily standups, and experiment backlogs instead of traditional campaign structures.
• Building a culture of experimentation: Robert's framework for systematic testing - generating ideas, prioritising experiments, executing with discipline, and scaling what works.
• AI-powered prospecting in action: How DocuSign used AI agents to turn tens of thousands of exhausted leads into millions in the pipeline, generating 60 replies and 15 meetings within 72 hours.
• Designing for the future you want: Why leaders must ask whether their current team structure and capabilities match what they would design from scratch to achieve ambitious growth goals.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Thomas Barta-Marketing leadership expert and author of "The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader"
• Jeff Bezos-Founder of Amazon, referenced for the "two pizza team" principle

Companies & Platforms:

• DocuSign-Agreement management platform
• Atlassian-Collaboration software
• eBay-Online marketplace
• Amazon-Benchmark for experimentation culture
• Netflix-Benchmark for experimentation culture
• Airbnb-Benchmark for experimentation culture
• Uber-Benchmark for experimentation culture

Concepts & Frameworks:

• The V-Zone (Value Creation Zone)-Maximising overlap between customer and company needs
• The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader-Book by Thomas Barta and Patrick Barwise
• Two-Pizza Team-Amazon's principle for keeping teams small (5-8 people)

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Robert Chatwani

Produced by:  Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, Jon Lombardo, Co-Founder of Evidenza, unpacks the counterintuitive truth about B2B buying behaviour. Drawing on research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Jon reveals why most B2B marketers fundamentally misunderstand their audience. The 95-5 rule shows that 95% of potential buyers aren't in the market right now, which means the traditional focus on short-term lead generation is missing the bigger picture. 

Jon also explains how AI-powered synthetic research is transforming market intelligence, why B2B needs more brand building than B2C, and what marketers should do about it. 

If you're stuck chasing in-market buyers whilst your competitors build future demand, this conversation will change how you think about growth.

Guest Introduction

Jon Lombardo is Co-Founder of Evidenza, a synthetic AI market research platform that surveys AI-generated customer copies to build evidence-based marketing plans in hours rather than months. Previously, Jon was Head of Research at LinkedIn's B2B Institute, where he helped establish the 95-5 rule and commissioned pioneering research on how B2B brands grow.

Key Topics

• The 95-5 rule: why 95% of B2B buyers are out of market at any given time, and why that matters more than the 5% who are ready to buy
• The 11X rule: how B2B buying cycles are 11 times longer than B2C, making brand building even more critical in B2B than consumer categories
• The evolution from the 60-40 rule to 95-5: how research with John Dawes from Ehrenberg-Bass Institute challenged conventional wisdom about marketing budget allocation
• Mental and physical availability in B2B: creating brand-relevant memories that activate when buyers eventually come into the market
• AI and synthetic research: how Evidenza uses AI to interview synthetic customers, delivering market research in hours that would traditionally take months
• Bootstrapped growth: how Evidenza launched with paying customers from day one without venture capital, growing to over 100 clients
• The future of AI in marketing: why AI is underrated and will transform marketing beyond what most people imagine
• Practical applications: how to use AI for execution whilst keeping strategic thinking human

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Mark Ritson - Marketing professor, columnist, and founder of Marketing Week Mini MBA
• John Dawes - Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Les Binet - Marketing effectiveness researcher and econometrician
• Peter Field - Marketing consultant and author
• Peter Weinberg - Co-Founder of Evidenza
• Brian Watroba - Co-Founder of Evidenza
• Jenny Romaniuk - Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Rachel Kennedy - Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Nicole Hartnett - Professor at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science
• Byron Sharp - Professor of Marketing Science at Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Companies & Organisations:

• Evidenza - Synthetic AI market research platform
• Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science - The World's largest centre for research into marketing
• LinkedIn B2B Institute - Marketing think tank (Jon's former employer)

Key Frameworks:

• The 95-5 Rule - Research on B2B buying behaviour shows that only 5% of buyers are in market
• The 11X Rule - How B2B buying cycles differ from B2C
• The 60-40 Rule - Les Binet and Peter Field's framework for balancing brand building and sales activation

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC:https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Hosts: Shahin Hoda and Vinnie Romano

Guest Jon Lombardo

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Leandro Perez joins to cut through the AI hype and share what's actually working. With Agentforce handling 850,000 conversations and managing 85% of customer inquiries, Leandro reveals the reality behind the marketing claims and addresses the "SaaS is dead" narrative head-on.

From managing 30,000 weekly customer inquiries with AI agents to transforming his entire marketing team's workflows, Leandro offers a brutally honest look at what it takes to lead through a technological revolution. This isn't just theory: it's a practitioner's guide to implementing AI at scale, including the mistakes, the breakthroughs, and the systematic approach required to bring an entire organisation along for the journey.

Guest Introduction

Leandro Perez is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Australia and New Zealand at Salesforce, where he guides strategic direction and market positioning for the world's leading AI-powered CRM. 

With a Computer Science degree from UNSW and an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, Leandro brings over 20 years of experience combining technical expertise with business acumen. 

He previously led global corporate messaging at Salesforce and partnered closely with CEO Marc Benioff. He's a Fellow of The Marketing Academy, serves on the AANA Board, and is a recipient of the Salesforce Chairman & CEO Award.

Key Topics

• AI reality at Salesforce: Agent Force handles 850,000 conversations with 85% resolution
• "SaaS is dead" narrative: Why enterprise software needs governance, permissions, reliability, not just quick AI code
• Leading transformation: Year-long journey from lone voice to company-wide quarterly Agent Force Learning Days
• Process mapping first: Document crown jewel processes to identify pain points before introducing AI
• Systematic change: Company-wide learning days, mandatory training (100% Agent Blazer status), permission to experiment
• Practical AI adoption: Landing pages, social automation, Slack summaries, 80% email engagement, plus failed experiments
• Experimentation culture: Identifying early adopters, showcasing wins, balancing air cover with performance

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Marc Benioff - Salesforce CEO & Co-Founder
• Roby Sharon-Zipser - hipages CEO & Co-Founder

Companies & Tools:

• Salesforce - AI-powered CRM platform
• Agentforce - Salesforce AI agent platform
• Trailhead - Salesforce learning platform
• Fisher & Paykel - Appliance manufacturer
• Goodyear - Tire manufacturer
• Remarkable - Digital paper tablet
• hipages - Online tradie marketplace
• ChatGPT - AI chatbot
• Gemini - Google AI assistant
• Perplexity - AI search tool
• ElevenLabs - AI text-to-speech
• AANA - Association of National Advertisers

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Leandro Perez

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Marketing at the pace of AI innovation isn't easy, but Rubina Carlson, Head of Marketing at 90 Seconds, has found a way to stay ahead without burning out. In this conversation with host Vinnie Romano, Rubina shares her honest journey from feeling late to the AI party to becoming an AI-first marketer who dedicates one hour per week to systematic experimentation.

This episode is packed with practical wisdom for B2B marketers who feel overwhelmed by the rapid pace of AI evolution. Rubina reveals how she carved out time to test tools like Opus Clip, custom GPTs, and Canva Magic, turning weekly pain points into opportunities for AI-powered solutions. She challenges the myth that prompt engineering requires specialists, arguing instead that it's simply about learning to communicate with clarity.

Whether you're struggling to justify AI experimentation to leadership or feeling paralysed by the sheer number of tools available, this episode will give you a clear framework to start testing, learning, and integrating AI into your everyday marketing workflow.

Guest Introduction

Rubina Carlson is a Certified Practising Marketer and Head of Marketing at 90 Seconds, the global platform empowering enterprise brands to create video content at scale. With over 15 years of experience driving growth across tech, tourism, higher education, and agency sectors, Rubina leads data-driven, growth-focused strategies that fuel brand visibility and revenue. Known for her early adoption of social media platforms and now AI, she's at the forefront of marketing innovation, having built internal GPTs and tested a wide range of AI tools to push marketing performance further. Beyond her corporate role, Rubina serves as Director of Digital Adelaide (South Australia's largest marketing conference) and is a key driver of Adelaide's emerging AI events.

Key Topics

• Overcoming "late to the AI party" fears: Transform anxiety into systematic learning
• One-hour-per-week AI testing: Friday afternoon framework for testing solutions
• Building custom GPTs: Achieve 80% first-draft quality with brand voice
• Strategic AI tool testing: Compare tools for real problem-solving vs trends
• Opus Clip for video repurposing: Transform long videos into social clips
• Rebecca Webber's AI success: Cut assessment time from 60 min to 30 sec
• Prompt engineering demystified: Clear communication, not specialist role
• Navigating AI restrictions: Build business cases when IT blocks tools

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Stephen Mayall - Growth marketer focusing on AI and agentic workflows
• Tim Lillyman - Marketing leader at XPON Technologies Group, active in AI and automation
• Axel Sukianto - B2B SaaS marketer and growth marketing advisor
• Christopher Chow - Head of Growth Marketing at Smokeball, LinkedIn video creator
• Rebecca Webber - Literacy leader at the Department of Education, South Australia, developed an award-winning AI assessment tool
• Simon Sinek - Author of "Start with Why"

Companies & Tools

• 90 Seconds - Rubina's company, a global video creation platform
• Opus Clip - AI video clipping tool for creating viral shorts from long videos
• Canva Magic - AI features within Canva for design and content creation
• Custom GPTs - OpenAI's customisable AI assistants
• Department for Education, South Australia - Organisation where Rebecca Webber developed an award-winning AI assessment tool
• Social Media Club Adelaide - Early adopter community mentioned by Rubina

Books & Resources

• "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Vinnie Romano

Guest: Rubina Carlson

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Marcus Sheridan reveals why most businesses are failing to win trust in an AI-disrupted world, and exactly what to do about it. The bestselling author of They Ask You Answer and Endless Customers breaks down the four pillars of becoming the best-known and trusted brand in your market: saying what others won't say, showing what others won't show, selling differently, and being more human than your competition.

From publishing service call data that manufacturers begged his client to hide, generating over $35 million from a single pricing article, Marcus shares real-world case studies that prove radical transparency isn't just good ethics, it's exceptional business. This episode is essential for listening for any founder or marketer who refuses to play it safe.

Guest Introduction

Marcus Sheridan is a world-renowned communication expert, author, and keynote speaker who has delivered over 750 transformational presentations across dozens of countries. Called a "web marketing guru" by The New York Times and named by Forbes as "1 of 20 Speakers You Don't Want to Miss", Marcus is the author of They Ask You Answer (named "One of the 5 Best Marketing Books of All Time" by BookAuthority) and Endless Customers (a USA Today national bestseller). He saved his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the 2008 crash through radical content marketing, transforming it into the most-visited swimming pool website globally. With over $1 billion in economic impact generated for companies worldwide, Marcus is also the co-founder of PriceGuide.ai, IMPACT, Marcus Sheridan International, and Question First Group.

Key Topics

• The four pillars of trust and why almost no companies consistently say, show, sell, and act more human than their competitors
• The Yale Appliance case study: How CEO Steve Sheinkopf became the most trusted voice in his industry by publishing service call data that threw major manufacturers under the bus
• The Big Five content topics: Why cost content is the number one traffic and sales generator, and the five levels of pricing transparency
• The pricing estimator revolution: Why companies see 300-500% increases in qualified leads overnight, including the Scottish shed company that saw 500% more leads in one weekend
• AI's massive impact on search: How over 60% of Google searches don't result in clicks, and why YouTube will become more important than your website
• Building a personal brand: Why trying to look smart destroys credibility, and why knowing who you are is not more important than knowing who you are

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Steve Sheinkopf, CEO at Yale Appliance
• Rory Vaden, Speaker, Author, Co-founder of Brand Builders Group
• Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee), Entrepreneur, Chairman of VaynerX
• Seth Godin, Author, Entrepreneur, Marketing expert

Companies & Tools:

• River Pools, Marcus' fiberglass pool manufacturing company
• PriceGuide.ai, Pricing estimator platform
• IMPACT, Marketing agency and training company
• Marcus Sheridan International, Speaking and consulting
• Question First Group, Sales and leadership training company

Books & Resources:

• Endless Customers by Marcus Sheridan
• They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Marcus Sheridan

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this insightful conversation, Kitty Zhao, Head of Marketing for Adhesive Technologies at Henkel ANZ, shares her proven strategies for putting Australia and New Zealand on the global marketing map. 

Working for a global organisation with headquarters far from the region, Kitty reveals how she's successfully gained executive visibility, built internal advocates, and implemented innovative marketing approaches that have been adopted across the Asia-Pacific region.

This episode is essential listening for any B2B marketer working in a regional market who wants to move beyond execution mode and become a strategic contributor whose voice is heard at the highest levels of their organisation.

Guest Introduction

Kitty Zhao is a seasoned B2B marketing leader with over 14 years of experience across the manufacturing, mining, automotive aftermarket, and scientific sectors. Kitty brings a strategic lens to every initiative, combining deep expertise in OEM and distribution models with a collaborative leadership style that empowers teams to deliver marketing programs that resonate with customers and drive meaningful business results.

Key Topics

• Why Australian and New Zealand markets risk being overlooked in global decision-making, and how raising your profile ensures local needs are considered proactively.
• Common mistakes regional marketers make and why you should treat new initiatives like a sales pitch with evidence-based proposals.
• Pioneering account-based marketing in the mining sector and how this Australian initiative became the pilot program for the entire APAC region.
• Building internal advocates across technical teams and sales forces, and developing co-branded campaigns with customers.
• Creating strategic alliances with global colleagues across marketing functions to ensure two-way communication.
• Leveraging the Australian Institute of Packaging partnership that led to speaking opportunities across Asia-Pacific conferences.
• How locally-developed initiatives expanded from Australia to Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia.
• Building trust, demonstrating small wins, and confidently proposing innovative approaches.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Mark Ritson- Marketing professor and founder of Mini MBA in Marketing
• Natalie Truong- Ex-CMO, Oceania at EY

Companies & Organisations:

• Henkel-Global adhesive technologies company
• Australian Institute of Packaging-Peak professional body for packaging education in Australasia

Courses:

• MiniMBA in Marketing-MBA-level marketing course

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Kitty Zhao

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Ever wondered if you might already be a product marketer without knowing it? This episode breaks down one of B2B's most misunderstood roles with someone who literally wrote the book on it. Kayla Medica, Australia's leading product marketing advocate and author of The Mehdeeka Method, sits down with host Vinnie Romano to demystify what product marketers actually do and why they're crucial for proving product-market fit.

If you're a marketer feeling stuck between sales enablement and strategic growth, or a founder struggling to translate your brilliant product into clear value propositions that resonate, this conversation will change how you think about marketing's role in driving revenue. Kayla reveals why product marketing might be the missing piece in your marketing strategy—and why understanding it could be the key to unlocking sustainable business growth.

Guest Introduction

Kayla Medica is the author of The Mehdeeka Method, a book all about establishing product marketing in an organisation including all the tricky bits like wrangling big personalities, as well as a fractional product marketer working with B2B SaaS businesses and startups. Having worked in B2B SaaS for over a decade, she's established product marketing functions at companies like Willow, serves as Head of Programming for Generate Summit, and writes the weekly Mehdeeka newsletter.

Key Topics

• Defining product marketing beyond the buzzwords - Why product marketing isn't just another marketing role and how it bridges the gap between what you build and what customers actually need
• The product marketer as the "buddy system" to your product - How product marketers change roles throughout a product's lifecycle from concept to sunset, acting as whatever the product needs at each stage
• Why sales enablement isn't "just" sales enablement - How internal education and getting everyone on the same page about what your product actually does forms the foundation for all other marketing efforts
• The granular work behind product-market fit - Real examples of how product marketers identify new use cases, expand into new markets, and help businesses understand not just who their customers are, but how they actually use the product
• Career transition advice for aspiring product marketers - How to identify if you're already doing product marketing work and what skills transfer from traditional marketing roles
• The collaboration imperative - Why product marketing success depends on working across teams (sales, product, customer success) and being the person who brings solutions, not just problems
• Product marketing as a business growth lever - How understanding and maintaining product-market fit becomes crucial for sustainable business growth and why business leaders should care about this function
• The Australian product marketing landscape - Why the role is newer in Australia compared to the US and how the local market is evolving

Resources & Links

Books Mentioned:

• The Mehdeeka Method by Kayla Medica - A step-by-step guide to establishing product marketing within organisations
• Listen Like You Mean It by Ximena Vengoechea - About conducting interviews and listening skills for product marketers
• Talk to Me by Dean Nelson - A journalist's guide to asking better questions

Communities & Resources:

• Generate Summit - Australia and New Zealand's leading B2B marketing community
• Mehdeeka Newsletter - Kayla's seasonal newsletter on B2B SaaS marketing

People Mentioned:

• Axel Sukianto - Co-founder of Generate
• Lara Vandersluis - Generate community organiser
• Kaylee Liu Generate community organiser

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Vinnie Romano

Guest: Kayla Medica

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, we dive deep into the complexities of building growth strategies across APAC with Victoria, who leads marketing for Thomson Reuters across an enormous remit spanning from Africa and the Middle East through to Japan and New Zealand.

Victoria shares why expanding into APAC is fundamentally different from other regions, dispels common myths about APAC markets, and reveals how sophisticated buyers in these geographies are driving the future of B2B technology adoption.

The conversation explores everything from the nuanced approach needed for different markets like Japan's trust-building requirements versus the rapid innovation appetite in Southeast Asia, to how geopolitical shifts create both opportunities and challenges.

Victoria also shares her approach to creating bespoke research that serves as both thought leadership and demand generation, demonstrating how to move beyond traditional marketing tactics to become a true business growth driver.

Guest Introduction

Victoria Sampson (McCafferty) is a seasoned marketing leader with over 15 years of experience driving growth across Asia-Pacific.

As CMO APAC at Thomson Reuters, she leads a diverse regional team, combining data, technology, and customer insight to design demand generation programs that deliver measurable impact.

Passionate about understanding buyer behavior, she believes the best marketing comes from truly knowing the customer—what they value, how they operate, and when to reach them.

Throughout her career, she has been proud to build inclusive teams, champion an ethical, people-first culture, and position marketing as a precision growth engine that bridges business goals with customer needs in meaningful ways.

Key Topics

• Why APAC expansion is different: Cultural practices, timing (e.g., Eid in Middle East), and diverse innovation drivers require long-term commitment (6–24 months depending on market).
• APAC myths debunked: Markets are often more advanced than US/EU in tech adoption, with larger buying groups and 70% of the journey completed digitally before first contact.
• The “gateway market” trap: Limiting operations to Singapore and Australia misses growth in China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia.
• Content as advantage: Bespoke research and executive interviews drive both client retention and sophisticated demand generation.
• The 70-30 localisation rule: 70% of marketing scales regionally; 30% needs localisation around culture, channels, and geography.
• Channel diversification: WeChat dominates China, Naver in Korea, WhatsApp is rising in B2B, while Japan’s B2B sees low social media impact and declining email effectiveness.
• Marketing as advisory: Shift from traditional roles to driving business growth with analytics, strategy, and client-centric positioning.
• Future of B2B marketing: AI handles execution; human skills in messaging, buyer understanding, and connection become key — a return to the “art” of marketing.

Resources & Links

People Mentioned

• Professor Scott Galloway - Recommended resource for business insights and content
• Shahin Hoda LinkedIn Profile
• Alexander Hipwell LinkedIn Profile

Companies & Tools Discussed

• Thomson Reuters - Victoria's employer
• Bombora - Intent data platform mentioned
• 6Sense - ABM software platform
• Canva AI - Content creation tool
• Tableau - Data analytics and reporting

Events & Programs

• Synergy - Thomson Reuters' flagship client event series (Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo)

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Victoria Sampson (McCafferty)

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

In this episode, we delve into the world of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) with Stuart Matthewman, who shares the hard-won lessons from IR’s six-year journey with ABM.

From early failures and misalignment issues to achieving an incredible 80X return on marketing spend, Stuart reveals the critical importance of sales and marketing alignment. He provides a detailed blueprint for implementing a successful ABM program. This episode is packed with actionable insights for B2B marketers looking to move beyond traditional lead generation tactics and build sustainable revenue growth through strategic account targeting.

Guest Introduction

Stuart Matthewman joined IR in 2014 and was promoted to CMO in 2022, having risen through the ranks and strengthened the marketing function. Under his leadership as CMO, he has been a key contributor to IR's remarkable growth, driving a 132% increase in revenue, a 289% growth in EBITDA, and a complete overhaul of the global marketing team. Stuart is a B2B CMO of the Year Finalist for 2025 and brings extensive experience leading global marketing teams across ASX-listed technology companies.

Key Topics

• The early ABM struggles: Why IR's initial attempts at account-based marketing failed over six years, including issues with sales alignment and over-personalisation too early
• The turning point: How bringing in new sales leadership and rebranding ABM as "Account Based Everything" (ABE) transformed their approach and results
• The 12-16 week ABM process: A detailed breakdown of IR's structured approach, from pre-warming accounts to SDR activation and sales follow-up sequences
• Sales and marketing alignment: Practical strategies for getting sales teams fully bought into ABM programs and maintaining consistent execution
• SDRs under marketing: Why IR moved their SDR function from sales to marketing and the benefits this structure provides for ABM execution
• Measuring ABM success: How IR tracks progress without traditional MQL metrics and focuses on account engagement and pipeline generation
• AI integration: Current experiments with AI to automate and scale ABM activities while maintaining personalisation
• Branding evolution: IR's journey from "Integrated Research" to "IR" and the market research that guided their brand consolidation strategy

Resources & Links

People Mentioned:

• Stuart Matthewman - CMO, IR
• Byron Sharp - Director, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute
• Professor Jenni Romaniuk - Associate Director, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute
• Mark Ritson - Marketing Professor and Mini MBA Founder
• Kerry Cunningham - 6Sense ABM Expert
• Kim Scott - Author of "Radical Candor"
• John Lombardo - B2B Institute (LinkedIn)

Companies & Tools:

• IR (Integrated Research) - Performance monitoring software for critical IT infrastructure
• Ehrenberg-Bass Institute - World's largest centre for marketing research
• 6Sense
• DemandBase

Books & Resources:

• "How Brands Grow" - Byron Sharp
• "How Brands Grow Part 2" - Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk
• "Radical Candor" - Kim Scott
• "Better Brand Health" - Jenni Romaniuk
• "Building Distinctive Brand Assets" - Jenni Romaniuk
• Women in Product Marketing Podcast

Subscribe to the xG Weekly Newsletter for weekly insights on B2B growth across

APAC: https://xgrowth.com.au/newsletter

Contact & Credits

Host: Shahin Hoda

Guest: Stuart Matthewman

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth