APAC's B2B Growth Podcast

In this episode, Vinnie sits down with ABM marketing expert Melinda Stuart to tackle one of B2B marketing's most misunderstood concepts: go-to-market strategy.

What starts as a discussion about business language misuse quickly evolves into a deeper conversation about how marketers can remain strategically relevant in an AI-driven world.

Melinda breaks down why go-to-market has become a buzzword that's lost its true meaning, and shares practical advice for B2B marketers who want to move beyond tactics to drive real organisational alignment.

This episode is essential listening for anyone tired of seeing "go-to-market" slapped onto job titles without the strategic foundation to back it up.

Guest Introduction

Melinda Stuart is Enterprise Marketing Lead at Optus and a Marketing and Communications Leader with extensive experience in global and APAC markets.

With over two decades of international experience and more than ten years in the technology sector spanning cloud, communications, and software, Melinda has successfully shaped go-to-market strategies across various new territories and verticals.

She's worked in both agency and client-side roles, including previous positions at Macquarie Telecom and InterSystems, and serves as an advisor to organisations of varying sizes, particularly within the technology space.

Key Topics

• The real definition of go-to-market strategy – Why it's a cross-functional, organisational approach, not just a marketing function
• Why marketers are taking on GTM responsibility – The rise of growth marketers and how stakeholder fatigue leads to siloed decision-making
• The critical question every marketer should ask – "Who do I need to get in a room?" before taking on go-to-market responsibilities
• Strategy vs tactics in the age of AI – How the abundance of marketing tools is creating more tacticians than strategists
• Social selling as part of account-based marketing – Using executive branding and authentic content to demonstrate growth within target accounts
• Staying relevant in an AI world – Why human strategic thinking remains the competitive differentiator for the next decade
• The importance of cross-functional collaboration – Breaking out of the marketing corner to ask questions and align with other teams

Resources & Links

• Vinnie's article in Mediaweek: Stop selling tactics as strategy: The dangerous misuse of business language
• Adam Turinas – Healthcare ABM specialist and founder of Health Launchpad
• Dr Catherine Ball – Futurist, Associate Professor at Australian National University, and author of "Converge"
• Vinnie Romano on LinkedIn – Host and executive branding specialist
• Melinda Stuart on LinkedIn – Guest and Enterprise Marketing Lead at Optus

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: Melinda Stuart

Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell

Edited by: Alexander Hipwell

Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder

APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Join us for an insightful conversation with Jon Stona, who leads marketing at Airwallex, one of the fastest-growing fintechs in the world.

Operating across 130+ markets from their Singapore headquarters, Jon shares how they've built a modern marketing organisation that balances global consistency with local authenticity.

From the critical importance of product marketing to bold brand moves like their McLaren F1 partnership, this episode explores what it takes to scale marketing in the fintech space while challenging traditional B2B playbooks.

Key Topics Covered

Global Marketing Architecture

• Why Airwallex chose to build their marketing function from APAC rather than traditional hubs like Silicon Valley
• The strategic advantage of hiring talent familiar with fragmentation and global trade
• Managing distributed teams across multiple time zones and regions

Product Marketing as Foundation

• Why product marketing is the most under-invested function in marketing
• Jon's goal to grow product marketing to 10% of the marketing organisation
• The four-dimensional coverage model: product suites, geography, industry verticals, and competitive intelligence

Brand Building in Fintech

• The trust equation: reliability + credibility + intimacy - self-orientation
• How the McLaren F1 partnership addresses all four trust components
• Measuring brand impact through awareness surveys, pipeline metrics, and employee sentiment

AI and Marketing Evolution

• Practical AI implementations using tools like Writer and Profound
• The paradigm shift in SEO and content strategy
• Why AI advancement might make first-principles marketing even more important

Notable Quotes

"You're not marketing to business decision makers. You're marketing to humans who happen to make business decisions."

"If your core is strong, even as a human being, then the rest tends to get strength from that."

"Data is important, but data should not override common sense."

"Never lose sight of first principles... all good marketing starts with good insight."

Key Takeaways

1. Geography isn't destiny - Core marketing capabilities matter more than location when scaling globally
2. Product marketing is critical - It's the foundation that makes all other marketing efforts effective
3. Trust is multi-dimensional - Especially in fintech, building trust requires a strategic approach across multiple touchpoints
4. Human connection wins - Even in B2B, you're ultimately marketing to humans, not businesses
5. Bold moves differentiate - In a crowded market, calculated risks and creative approaches cut through the noise

Rapid Fire Insights

• Must-read resource: "Nudge" - behavioural economics and decision-making
• Key advice: Don't get trapped doing the same playbook everyone else uses
• What excites him most: The transformational potential of B2B marketing beyond marginal gains

Guest Bio

Jon Stona leads global marketing at Airwallex, a fintech unicorn that has grown from a Melbourne coffee shop startup to serving customers across 130+ markets.

Based in Singapore, Jon oversees marketing strategy for one of the world's fastest-growing financial infrastructure platforms, with a focus on building product marketing capabilities and bold brand initiatives that challenge traditional B2B conventions.

This episode is perfect for marketing leaders looking to scale globally, fintech professionals interested in brand building, and anyone curious about the future of B2B marketing in an AI-driven world.

In this conversation, Caleb Ralston discusses the intricacies of personal branding and content creation, emphasising the importance of sustainability and authenticity. 

He critiques the common advice of niching down, arguing that it can lead to creator burnout and audience fatigue. 

Instead, he advocates for a broader approach that allows for personal interests to be integrated into content. 

Caleb also shares insights on starting a personal brand, the significance of clarity in branding, and the importance of hiring strategically to address content creation bottlenecks. 

He highlights the need for data-driven strategies and the value of case studies in building trust with audiences. 

The discussion concludes with rapid-fire questions that encapsulate Caleb's philosophy on personal branding in the age of AI.

Takeaways:

• Niching down can lead to creator burnout.
• Sustainability in content creation is crucial.
• Be authentic to avoid losing trust with your audience.
• Hiring should address specific bottlenecks in content creation.
• Views are important, but conversions matter more.
• White papers can be effective if they contain relevant information.
• Building personal brands within organisations can enhance trust.
• Picking an ideology as an enemy can be more effective than targeting individuals.
• Clarity in branding helps guide content strategy.
• Integrating personal interests into content can keep creators engaged.

Caleb is a brand strategist, content producer, and creator mentor who’s worked with names like Gary Vaynerchuk, Leila & 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.

Follow Caleb on:

• YouTube: @calebralston
• LinkedIn: Caleb Ralston
• Instagram: @calebralston
• Twitter / X: @calebralston

Resources Mentioned:

• YouTube: How to build a brand - Full course
• Workbook download
• Gary Vaynerchuk – Crush It
• Patty Galloway

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

Tired of being seen as sales support?

David Heyworth reveals how marketing leaders can break free from the order-taking trap and own the entire go-to-market motion.

From building sales discovery teams that report to marketing to creating personalised experiences that win enterprise deals, David shares battle-tested strategies for transforming marketing from a cost centre into a revenue-driving growth engine.

Discover how shifting the focus from lead generation to revenue unlocks more strategic impact, strengthens alignment with sales, and drives meaningful growth through account-based selling.

Key Takeaways

• Stop talking leads, start talking revenue - Frame your impact as "$1M in pipeline opportunities" not "100 MQLs generated"
• Own the sales discovery process - Build SDR teams that report to marketing for full funnel control
• Be in the room where it happens - Get marketing into weekly sales meetings as strategic partners, not vendors
• Account-based selling beats ABM - Focus on "us" outcomes, not just marketing campaigns
• Listen with intention - Use "two ears, one mouth" to gather sales intelligence and customer insights
• Prove your model first - Start with sales champions, show results, then scale across the organisation
• Customer intimacy is your B2B superpower - Direct customer engagement beats digital analytics every time
• AI is your wingman, not your replacement - Use it to scale content creation and personalisation efforts

Memorable Moments

• The "crickets" story: How poor event execution taught valuable lessons about sales alignment
• The Defence Coin case study: Creating meaningful, personalised experiences that cement relationships
• The conversion breakthrough: How rapid response transformed lead quality

Who Should Listen: Marketing leaders frustrated with being seen as support functions, CMOs looking to drive revenue ownership, and anyone struggling with sales-marketing alignment in complex B2B environments.

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

Welcome to a special programming note! After taking a short break to refresh and refine our approach, we're excited to announce the relaunch of our podcast with some significant improvements.

What's New:

Brand clarity - We've simplified our name from "Growth Colony: APAC's B2B Growth Podcast" to "APAC's B2B Growth Podcast."

Streamlined format - We've tightened up our introductions and optimised our question structure to create a smoother conversation flow that gets straight to the valuable insights you're here for.

Enhanced production - You'll notice updates to our music, overall look and feel, and general production quality.

Deeper episodes - We're moving from weekly to fortnightly releases, allowing us to invest more time and effort into each conversation to deliver higher-quality content.

What Stays the Same: Our commitment to bringing you actionable B2B growth insights from leading voices across the Asia-Pacific region remains unchanged.

Got feedback? We'd love to hear your thoughts on the changes. Drop us a line at [email protected]

Thanks for being part of our journey - here's to the next chapter of APAC's B2B Growth Podcast!

We'll be going on a 4-week break!

For 5 years it's been go, go, go, so this break will allow us to take a step back and create more awesome content for you.

But whether you're an OG follower or new to the party, here are 3 episodes we think you should check out.

1. Unlocking Company Growth in the B2B Landscape with Sean Ellis
2. How to Think Remarkable in B2B Marketing with Guy Kawasaki
3. Strategies to Achieve More with Less

Is there someone you'd love for us to interview? Or, have a topic that you want us to cover? Reach out to Shahin Hoda on LinkedIn, or email us at [email protected].

Any other thoughts? Let us know!

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

Think you'd be a great guest? Fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Vinnie chats with a marketer who didn’t start her professional career in marketing but in hospitality. Now Marketing Manager at Logicalis, Morgan Wilkinson, shares with us her hospitality experiences that have shaped her entire approach to B2B.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We've got a link for you: https://youtu.be/iY1yaAORv-Y

From navigating customer complaints to helping a guest land a job (thanks to an emergency hotel tie!), this episode also covers...

• What fear has to do with campaign strategy
• How understanding the customer’s “worst possible outcome” can align marketing and sales
• Why stakeholder relationships (even one-on-one) can create powerful ripple effects

About Morgan...

Morgan is an accomplished marketing manager with a unique background that spans hospitality, office management, and marketing. Early in her career, Morgan developed a deep passion for creating memorable experiences. With a strong talent for building meaningful relationships and effective stakeholder management, she thrived in the hospitality industry, fostering connections that drove both customer satisfaction and positive business outcomes.

After taking on an Office Manager role during the 2020 lockdowns, Morgan jumped at an opportunity to assist the marketing team during office closures and quickly discovered a genuine love for marketing. This newfound passion allowed her to work closely with internal sales and delivery teams, as well as partners and customers, leading to a smooth transition into a full-time marketing role.  

Today, Morgan is dedicated to creating impactful campaigns that reflect her passion for delivering exceptional experiences. She leverages her background in hospitality to craft campaigns that not only engage customers but also foster positive interactions and support for her internal team, external partners, and customers alike.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Boundaries - Henry Cloud & John Townsend

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Vinnie Romano, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

How do you market to someone who doesn’t even know what they’re looking for yet?

That’s the challenge with the mining industry, and we’re unpacking it all in this episode with Alex Lloyd, Head of Marketing for Advanced Navigation.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We've got a link for you: https://youtu.be/bm3QGZPpfRc

From focusing on storytelling, to navigating complex stakeholder networks, and building account-level influence in one of the toughest B2B sectors out there, this episode also covers...

• Moving from product-led to value-led marketing
• Understanding the importance of Category Entry Points (CEPs)
• How to identify and speak to customer pain points that actually drive action
• Using content, humour, and empathy to win over mining giants like BHP and Rio Tinto
• And, why scoring accounts is critical in long-game industries (not just leads)

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🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

Shahin chats with Christine Law, Director & Head of ABM, Asia Pacific & Japan at ServiceNow, about bringing brand experience and ABM together.

The episode covers the following:

• What is brand experience?
• How to define ABM
• The mistakes marketers make
• Finding the balance between strategy and uplifting the strategy

Christine has worked at some of the world's most innovative and open companies, including ServiceNow, Google, Red Hat, and IBM. She and her team established and spearheaded marketing strategies and execution for these companies' top strategic accounts and fuelled multi-million pipeline and revenue growth for the Asia Pacific region.

When she isn’t thinking about marketing strategies for her portfolios, Christine loves exploring culinary treats in Singapore or around the world during her travels. She is fascinated with what the different cultures have on offer and appreciates the richness of diversity.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? - Louis Gerstner

_________________

🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth

"Innovation isn’t about shiny campaigns. It starts with people, process, and purpose."

Joining us for a second time on the podcast is Nicholas Kontopoulos, VP of Marketing APJ at Twilio. We explored what real innovation looks like, how to align marketing and sales in global teams, and how Nicholas uses AI.

🎥 Prefer to watch the conversation?

We've got a link for you: https://youtu.be/9btCAubJnT0

This episode covers...

• How Twilio’s APJ team is shaping their global strategy
• Nicholas’ formula: OP + NT = EOP
• What it means to be “AI Ready” 
• Why transparency is just as important in the industry today

About Nicholas...

'Customer Experience' is more than marketing fluff; “it's a core business ideology that needs to be at the heart of everything we do professionally”. 

Nicholas believes that both 'People' and the 'Promises' we make are at the very heart of a Brand - be that the Brand we work for or our very own Personal Brand.

He is passionate about challenging the 'status-quo' and 'management dogma' that stifles the creative thinking process that's paramount to delivering fantastic customer experiences.

Nicholas is continually striving to harness his 30+ years of professional experience, which he built across multiple industries and geographies, to develop innovative and viable business strategies for both the enterprise he works for and the great clients he gets to serve as VP of Marketing, APJ, at Twilio.

_________________

🗞 Join our newsletter: https://forms.gle/NaN6W8qj1qQsfpTe9

📚 Get your copy of the latest ABM in APAC Report here: https://xgrowth.com.au/abm-report/

Hosted & Produced by Shahin Hoda, Allysa Maywald & Alexander Hipwell, from xGrowth.

🚨 We would love to get your questions, ideas and feedback about Growth Colony, email [email protected]

Or fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/ybDTyjEreR1WiUg16

And for all our other socials visit: https://mtr.bio/xgrowth