I welcome Damien D‘Souza on this episode who is a business and technology transformation leader. His CV states COO, CIO and CCO experience, yet he markets himself as an interim and fractional ‚CTO‘. With his vast years of experience across multiple industries, he has worked in his portfolio career since 2019.   Things we discussed:

• Whilst he started his portfolio career in 2019, he started working for himself in 2012
• He left the corporate world after 30 years after taking redundancy and money for a runway to try 'self-employment'
• Work is all about what you want to do, not why you do it
• Damien started with IBM, then worked for Ericsson, Hutchison and Nokia
• The corporate world is about politics and if someone says jump, you ask 'how high'
• Most jobs come through his network
• Whilst he is a technology leader he is also a COO but has done work in sales and marketing and supply chain in senior roles
• It's not what you do but how you market yourself
• Working with start- and scale-ups
• How to help businesses to evolve and deal with things
• It's like being a 'father', a business mentor as much as doing the job
• It's about value add and outcomes
• He prices based on projects and outcomes, with regular milestone reviews
• Key principles he learned early in his careers:
• Listen not hear
• Never turn up late or unprepared for a meeting
• Don't waste anyone's time, get the terms of reference right
• People need to understand what you deliver (bring people along on the journey)
• Interim and fractional CxOs are equal in the C-Suite rather than being a contractor
• You constantly pitch for opportunities
• Going to work for something one loves with people you like
• Satisfaction through using one's skills
• Reward is the flexibility, and pay is just as good
• Priority is always oneself, not the work - a life work choice he made (Life-work balance NOT Work-life balance)
• Younger companies benefiting from experience and an external viewpoint
• Skill transfer and knowledge capital being important for the future
• New business models emerging
• Get out there and engage!
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiendsouza/

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Peter and I first met when he dealt with various digital marketing start-ups at Deutsche Post many years ago. Most recently, we discussed joint business development but also had a chat about my podcast, as Peter had quite some experience in interim and fractional C-level roles. I am in particular interested to share his experience with start-ups, large corporate and consulting roles. At time of recording Peter assumes an interim Management role within the Vodafone group which he has now left.   Things we discussed:

• Roles of senior executives
• His role in the top 5 consultancies
• Managing start-ups
• Consultant role vs. Interim manager role
• Steilvorlage
• Coaching vs. Consulting vs. Management
• Opportunities within companies leading to innovation
• How consultancy can open doors
• Variety going from project to project
• The changing landscape of workplaces and industries
• Transition situations
• Company cultures
• Bad mood and culture in companies
• Structure and transparency
• Interim set-ups
• Externals being a risk
• His advice: start as a consultant
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weichsel/

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Today I welcome Lena Andican who is one of the partners at Kurve - Kurve being the performance marketing agency my guest Oren Greenberg founded. Additionally, similar to Oren, she works as an interim and fractional CMO, advising companies on all things marketing.   Things we discussed:  

• Working with scale-ups
• B2B marketing and sales
• Positioning, marketing strategy and execution
• Transition from in-house to interim
• The need and want for flexibility and variety
• Confidence needed to be interim and leaping into a business venture
• Learning curve
• Advantages for companies to hire interim due to experience and time it takes to get things done
• Cost advantages for companies
• Influence of Covid to our work life balance, and how this impacts the new way of working
• Lead generation
• Packaging of products and prices according to outcome vs. day rates
• Piece of advice: go for it, and be confident with uncertainty
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-andican-987632b/

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

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Michel Quazza and I met a few months ago discussing investment and collaboration on projects. He is a seasoned international CEO and has worked as much in Silicon Valley as he has worked across Europe. Michel is scaling his interim work through advisory service, packaging up C-Levels under the ‘Corporate Development as a Service’.   Things we talked about:

• Difference in portfolio, consulting and ‘Corporate Development as a Service’ companies
• Scaling interim and fractional work
• Engineering, CPO and CEO
• Michel’s experience in Silicon Valley, the influence from the US on Europe
• Different cultures and their impact on businesses
• Covid accelerating the need and demand for his work
• Scale ups and skilling up
• The ease and challenges of scaling tech start ups
• Companies benefiting from his 20+ years experience, and the speed of taking things to market
• Developing a ‘consultancy’ rather than going it alone
• His company Qatalys: https://qatalys.com/
• How he started as a consultant
• Moving from corporate to VC to start-up
• Different focus coming in as an outsider
• Scale, focus, drive and commitment
• Advice for someone starting out: Be ready to learn something new
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mquazza/

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

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This episode is with Stephen Morris. Steve is a fractional CTO with a passion for software development and cyber security.  He directs IT strategies, advises on product and technology and helps other CTOs to go to market too.   Things we discussed:

• Companies not needing or being able to afford a full time CTO
• Helping aspiring CTOs
• Interim and fractional being a career progression from a full time engagement
• How he got bored when doing only one job, and the challenges were the same year on year
• The need for companies to have a CTO
• Bailey & Associates - a company that helps CIOs and CTOs to thrive: https://bailey.associates/
• The difference between a CTO, CIO and CDO
• A longer discussion around C-level naming, and how they connect
• How portfolio careers get more popular in Europe
• A choice of commitment
• Shared responsibility
• How to price oneself: fixed pricing, ongoing commitment, time based, equity only
• How to find work: networking, platforms and recommendations
• Trust between contractor and business
• The Portfolio Collective: https://portfolio-collective.com/
• The trusted advisor book
• How Covid and working from home made it easier to take on work
• The gig economy for C-Level
• Shared learning and cross fertilisation
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-morris-cto/

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

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I welcome Paul Edwards today who is an interim Chief Revenue Officer. With many years experience in the IT and Telecoms sector, he empowers organisations and teams to win complex high value sales within competitive markets. He is also a mentor to businesses for exit.   Paul and I discussed the following:

• Moving from a corporate career to a portfolio/interim/fractional career
• Experience in the IT/Cloud/Telecoms sectors
• Co-founding a business
• How to build a healthy pipeline and sales business
• Building a start-up to a functional company
• Importance of networking
• How consultants provide sales and marketing strategies whilst taking on responsibilities for actions at the same time
• Working across multiple businesses
• Positioning companies and products to potential buyers
• Expectations on oneself when going freelance
• Not to work for nothing
• Define SOW and outcome before going into a business
• Price according to the value you add
• Be clear where you add value to a company
• Executing the strategy you set out
• NED and Mentor roles
• Try to work with people you like and who like you - something you cannot choose in the corporate world
• Don’t waste your energy
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/p4uledwards/
• His book: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/p4uledwards_leaders-success-business-activity-6869656149742911489-YneH
• Paul's email: [email protected]

  Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

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Oren is the founder of Kurve, a London based, growth marketing consultancy working with corporates and scale-ups for the past 20 years. As an interim and fractional leader, Oren’s digital strategy and commercial expertise are instrumental in the growth of SaaS & Fintech brands. Brands he worked with include Lenovo, Canon, Investec Bank, Wonga, Peakon & Nutmeg.   Things we discussed:

• Part time and interim scalability and positioning
• Pricing and how you best price your work (very interesting insights!)
• Kurve and how this fits in with fractional and interim work
• The Kurve model
• Opportunities for outsource positions
• Networking and why it is important
• How interim and fractional work is popular in the US and slowly sweeps across the pond
• Autonomy and freedom
• Intelligence and confidence
• Methodologies
• Mitigating risks
• Offering an outside view
• How knowledge workers’ skills are experiences
• His desire to have a meaningful impact
• How interim and fractional work is a career progression from the corporate world
• Being an entrepreneur
• What freedom means to him
• Value based work
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orengreenberg
• Newsletter: https://www.kurve.co.uk

 

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

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I welcome Ben Rickard to my podcast. Ben is an experienced interim and fractional CDO, a NED and advisor with an expert domain knowledge in marketing, digital, data and tech. Ben and I have been discussing the interim and fractional space for a while, and I am glad he found the time to record his ideas around this exciting and growing space.   Things we discussed:

• CDO: data or digital officer
• Ben being a NED to parliament (not the government)
• Teams with different super powers
• His urge to get involved and do things
• Launching on his own during the pandemic
• Value proposition
• Taking the risk of going out on your own
• Confidence
• Networking with people and selling yourself
• Delivering a proof of concept before getting paid
• How to overcome the hurdle of selling oneself (as a non sales guy)
• How to utilise LinkedIn for winning business
• The learning of going through the process of setting up on your own
• Variety and lifestyle choice of being an interim and fractional CxO
• Being able to choose: from interim to full time to consultant - a career is fluid
• Portfolio Career and labelling of services
• The Portfolio Collective: https://portfolio-collective.com
• The value add of an interim / fractional leader to start- and scale-ups
• Expert networks
• Smart people who hire (people like) us😉
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrickard/
• Website: https://www.benrickard.com

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My new season, season 5, is all about Stories of Success in interim and fractional CxO roles. I am excited to bring you top CxOs in the field discussing their style, pricing, approach and how they started off in their current role. A learning curve for me, but also a learning for anyone aspiring to become a freelance consultant, start a portfolio career or build a business as an interim or fractional leader.   Episode one and season starter is with Victoria Rusnac!   She is an interim Chief Marketing Officer. Her speciality is in startup growth marketing strategies, including branding, performance and product marketing. When we first met she used terms like 'CMO in demand' or 'Marketing as a Service' or even 'crisis CMO'. She has a lot of experience in marketing and turnarounds.   Things we discussed:

• Victoria being a podcast coach
• Her marketing approach and terrible marketing challenges
• Edtech, Health and Fitness
• Moving from full time to part time roles and why
• Uncertainty around Covid
• Specialities in marketing
• Why to hire an interim leader
• Crisis management vs. execution
• Slow moving ‘full time roles’
• How you can be brutally honest in your job
• Diversity in the workforce
• Adding value as a contractor
• Her approach to interim and fractional roles, and why she loves being an ‘outsider’ in an organisation
• Freedom as a fractional leader, NED or advisor
• Lifestyle and personal choices
• Uncertainty of full time roles
• How to get more work as a freelancer
• Don’t do it for the money….
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrusnac/

 

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

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Hi all,

After 3.5 years of podcast recording, I am taking a break until at least the end of 2021.

Feel free to reach out to me or connect with me on Linkedin.

I am happy to help anyone, support you in your journey as a coach or consultant, and I am open for new ideas for 2022 - for the podcast or otherwise.

Thanks for all your support,

Volker

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