June 11, 2025

Mastering Market Transitions Through Partnerships with Michelle Chiantera

37 minutes

Gaining strategic alignment between sales and marketing is imperative to success. In this episode, I’m speaking with Michelle Chiantera, who is in a great position to ensure that alignment. She holds the titles of both the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Parallels (part of Alludo).

We take a deep dive into the trends and personal factors influencing her strategic decisions and leadership style. Michelle discusses her career journey from Cisco to Parallels, the evolving role of CMO and CRO, and the partnering strategies driving Parallels’ impressive growth during a significant market transition.

Key Takeaways

Michelle identifies three significant trends impacting her strategy:

Market Transition: The ongoing evolution of remote work and the need for virtualization solutions spurred by COVID-19 continue to shape demand. Parallels benefits from these transitions as companies look for agile and cost-effective virtualization solutions.

Strategic Choices by Competitors: Strategic decisions by major players like Citrix and VMware to focus on higher-end markets have opened up opportunities for Parallels to capture mid-market and smaller business segments. The shifting focus of competitors allows Parallels to expand its Total Addressable Market (TAM) and secure larger deals.

Technological Simplification: Trends towards simpler, infrastructure-light solutions such as browser isolation are reshaping how companies approach their IT needs, influencing Parallels to innovate and simplify their product offerings.

Michelle’s true north, or guiding principle, is the impact on partnerships. She consistently emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong, flexible, and mutually beneficial partnerships. Her decision-making compass revolves around:

Understanding Partner Needs: Continuously ensuring that actions benefit and do not conflict with partner interests.

Building Relationships: Investing time and resources in nurturing robust partner relationships.

Customer and Partner Success: Prioritizing customer and partner satisfaction and success above transactional benefits, ensuring long-term growth and loyalty.

Ultimately, Michelle balances these strategic trends and her focus on partnerships to drive sustainable and impactful growth for Parallels.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

Listen to Partnering Smartly: A CEO’s View with Christa Quarles

Hear How Partners are Driving Customer Success with Nancy Ridge and Norma Watenpaugh

The post Mastering Market Transitions Through Partnerships with Michelle Chiantera first appeared on Channel Journeys.

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