Be open
to going
left and right
in your career
In this Up-Close interview, we speak with Helen Sutton, Chief Revenue Officer at Ardoq.
Can you tell us a bit about your career journey so far and your path to becoming a Chief Revenue Officer?
It is interesting, people quite often ask me for career coaching, wondering about the path to becoming a Chief Revenue Officer. Sometimes I hesitate to spoil it for them, but there isn't really a clear path you can lay out. I started as an electrical engineer working in steel mills, so it wouldn't be considered a classic entry point. I made probably two big pivots in my career. One was when I moved from being an engineer in steel mills to the IT side of the world, moving into ERP within these steel mills. I got curious about what systems were planning and directing manufacturing plants, so I found out about some of them through cold calls actually as this was pre-internet (which will date me!). From here, I moved into ERP consulting and pre-sales. The other big pivot I made was moving into a sales role. My coaching often advises people to move left and right a bit and not worry too much about job titles, team size, or prestige, but to think about where they want to get to. I was determined when I was at SAP UK to be their first female Managing Director, knowing that to achieve that, I needed sales experience. So, I gave up a team of about 20 to make that move. Without that, it would have been difficult. Many people bypass the individual contributor sales role and management, but for me, it gave me skills and credibility. It particularly gives me credibility when it comes to coaching as I've been there, and I've done it. In a nutshell, it's not linear. Be open to opportunities, be curious, and be open to going left and right.
Could you please tell us about your approach to leadership within Ardoq? And has your leadership style evolved over time?
I believe one constant with me is a core value of fairness. Fairness is inherent in everything I do—it means promoting people, providing equal opportunities, and transparent compensation. It also means letting go of people when performance isn't there, hoping to find a better fit. This has always been a core value for me. In terms of my leadership style, this manifests in two ways. Firstly, I focus on driving high performance. In fast-growing companies like ours, it's essential to balance high performance with cultivating the right culture. I believe you can achieve high performance with a positive attitude, but there are times when tough decisions must be made. That's how I approach leadership.
With joining any new company there is always a bit of teething and, given that you have been with Ardoq for just over a year now, you have probably encountered some obstacles since joining the organisation. What would you say those were and how did you overcome them?
Firstly, the time has flown by! I wouldn't necessarily describe anything as obstacles; I see these things more as opportunities. One advantage I believe I’ve been able to bring is pattern recognition, allowing me to connect the dots quickly. At Ardoq we have built a platform that enables large enterprises to succeed in their business transformation. I saw that we needed to focus more on the business values and outcomes to get the buyers attention, rather than the great features on our platform. For instance, I made some key changes within three weeks to optimise our partner go-to-market strategy, ensuring collaboration between partners and sales teams. As a result, in the last year we have seen great strides with strategic partners making a significant impact. This was an area that others might have thought was tricky to tap into but because I had sort of been there before, we were able to capitalise on this opportunity. Another area I've been able to swiftly address is operational rigour. We've refreshed our entire tech stack, moving everyone onto Salesforce, and Clari for forecasting. This transparency enables predictability, and since I joined our actual results have aligned closely with forecasts, which is crucial for investors and the board.
When you arrived at Ardoq, were there any key challenges or opportunities that you weren’t expecting to be there or any areas that you felt were underdeveloped?
I think the most obvious challenge was the partner side of things. We weren't structured for collaborative driving, which was hindering our progress. Another area where I saw an opportunity for improvement was establishing a global pre-sales team. We had talented individuals working in isolated pockets, lacking in sharing best practices and structured career development. Addressing this quickly has been instrumental to our current success.
“If I'm honest, as a woman in leadership, it's easy to feel pigeonholed as a female leader, but I believe everyone has a responsibility to promote diversity and it is a key part of our hiring process. ”
How would you say Ardoq differentiates itself in a competitive market through customer service and support and how does that contribute to the revenues of the business as well?
So, it's critical, obviously. Both new business and the retention game go hand in hand in driving our ARR. While some may perceive it as a competitive market, we believe we stand out as the only independent data driven Enterprise Architecture platform in the Gartner Magic Quadrant. When you examine the Gartner Magic Quadrant and customer reviews, support emerges as a consistent highlight. Our CSAT typically sits above 98%, which is exceptional, thanks to our very talented support team. Customers feel well-served, as evidenced by their feedback. We've recently initiated a series of customer community events since last summer, physically bringing together customers from different geographies, and it's been very well-received. We now have a regular cadence, having hosted events in London and Copenhagen, with Oslo and others upcoming. The feedback from customers reaffirms the excellence of our support.
You touched on some functions and departments being a bit siloed and lacking that collaboration. How do you foster a culture of collaborative innovation within the business.
Collaboration is absolutely critical, but it's not about having everyone in the same meeting. Our management team, under the leadership of Erik, our CEO, is highly aligned. He sets very clear goals and OKRs for the company, which trickle down into departments and provide real clarity. This clarity ensures that everyone knows what we're working towards. This year, we have a robust roadmap of upcoming features that will inevitably impact our marketing, messaging, and product strategies. We're also evaluating our pricing structure and considering how to introduce these updates to our existing customer base. To manage this large cross-functional initiative, we've appointed a dedicated program manager because it spans across multiple functions. It's a lot to handle when integrating multiple teams, but having a clear vision and product roadmap helps organise everything.
Obviously, every business is aware of the development of AI and machine learning and the impact it's having. How would you say AI and machine learning is shaping the sales or marketing tactics at Ardoq and where do you see it going in the future?
That's a great question and one that you can’t get through any interview without discussing. For Ardoq, we've focused on two main areas. Firstly, from a product standpoint, we're prioritising user choice. We're making it clear that any features involving AI are opt-in for our customers. Some of these features will be rolled out in the coming weeks, and we're excited about the potential they offer. Our product naturally lends itself well to AI-driven scenarios, which is promising. We always look at implementing AI in a safe and secure manner that does not take risks that could affect us and our customers.
Regarding our approach to sales and marketing, it's still evolving. We've made a company-wide decision to provide access to tools like ChatGPT Enterprise for experimentation. Over the past few months, we've identified two key areas where AI can significantly impact our operations. First, in terms of productivity, we've found success in automating tasks such as RFP responses and InfoSec questionnaire responses. Second, AI is proving invaluable for customer-facing research, helping us drive outbound initiatives and develop account plans and strategies. These are currently our primary focuses, but we're committed to experimenting, evaluating, and evolving our approach as needed. Given the uncertain future landscape, this approach feels sensible and strategic.
How are those innovation initiatives actually driven specifically from the go to market perspective? Is that initiated by you and your team, does it come from the product and engineering arm of the business or is there an executive level discussion around implementing these technologies?
We've made it entirely an executive-level initiative informed by team level experimentation. We're currently in the process of reviewing and prioritising our strategies to determine the best applications for AI across our internal operations. Some of these initiatives involve integrating AI directly into our existing toolset. Personally, I'm a big advocate for Clari for forecasting, which provides me with a comprehensive overview of our business operations and guides my decision-making processes through their AI support. Additionally, tools like Clari copilot, which offers call recording and excerpt generation, have significantly improved our operational efficiency. It's worth noting that many other vendors are also introducing similar AI-driven solutions, highlighting the industry-wide recognition of its benefits. However, I believe that claiming to have everything figured out in this rapidly evolving landscape is likely not true.
How do you use these technologies and innovations in terms of communication with your team? You mentioned Clari for forecasting but when you have dispersed teams internationally, what methods and channels do you use to enhance this connectivity across your teams?
If I start by looking at the revenue organisation, it encompasses everything that interacts with the customer: sales, pre-sales, account management, customer success management, professional services, support, and partners. To ensure effective communication, we have a weekly kick-off video hosted by Erik, our CEO. I also do a similar thing for my team, which I've maintained for years, which involves me recording a brief video over the weekend, which is then scheduled to go out on Slack at the start of the week, coinciding with the waking hours in Australia. The video serves as a recap and also highlights what is top of mind for the start of the week and is never exceeding five minutes. I find this approach efficient for keeping everyone informed while maintaining a human touch. While watching the video isn't mandatory, I believe it's essential for staying updated, given how quickly things can change. In addition to this, we have set meetings and touchpoints as part of our organisational structure. Overall, we heavily rely on Slack for communication, a common practice in many organisations and one that I am a fan of, albeit with its own set of pros and cons.
The past few years have been quite challenging globally due to various reasons which have ultimately impacted the global economy. What measures do you put in place to make sure that Ardoq is an organisation that is equipped to deal with any external changes?
It's one of the reasons why I emphasise the importance of predictability. When you have a solid grasp of the business, as we do at the moment, you can stay ahead and respond promptly to any positive or negative developments. Predicting the future amidst the current uncertainties is challenging, but we've set our budget and targets for the year, and we're tracking well. Our focus is on consistently meeting our commitments, and if there are any deviations, whether positive or negative, we'll take appropriate action. Personally, I believe this is the best approach because trying to anticipate every possible outcome, especially considering the numerous elections happening worldwide, would be impractical. Instead, we need to remain aware of how different geographies and industries may be affected and adapt accordingly.
Do you think there is enough being done to promote diversity in leadership roles and what actions do you think should be taken to ensure that diversity exists in all areas?
It's a project I'm deeply passionate about, and that encompasses diversity in its broadest sense. If I'm honest, as a woman in leadership, it's easy to feel pigeonholed as a female leader, but I believe everyone has a responsibility to promote diversity and it is a key part of our hiring process. Since joining, I've made several leadership changes, with four new starters, three of whom are female which I’m really proud of as I've brought on exceptionally talented individuals who are the right fit for their roles. Additionally, I've launched and taken on the role of executive sponsor for our Women in Ardoq leadership initiative. During our recent global sales and marketing kick-off, it was inspiring to see eight out of ten speakers on the main stage were female. We also held a fantastic Women in Leadership panel discussion over breakfast. Furthermore, we're launching an employee resource group to further support diversity initiatives. It's a passion project for me, and I'm committed to leveraging my position to drive positive change.
If you could choose a superpower - and it doesn’t have to be related to your work – what would it be and why?
I actually gave this question a fair bit of thought and I think my superpower would be to slow down time. My daughter is 16, and she's currently preparing for her GCSE exams. It feels like just yesterday she was a little kid, and now she's getting ready for this big milestone. Slowing down time would also give me the advantage of more – or longer – hours in the day to get all the work done and also spend more time with her.
Do you have any books, podcasts or other resources that have really impacted you that you think others should consume? Additionally, what is your approach to listening and reading to these various resources?
I make it a point to read at least one business book every month. Over Easter, I read "Getting Started with Enterprise Architecture," a book recommended by Erik, which was really insightful. We're always on the lookout for good textbooks to recommend to both customers and internally, so we've ordered copies for the offices. It was a great read and I wish I had it in my first month with Ardoq. Additionally, we're starting a BDR book club, organised by a fantastic team member, to foster discussions about these topics.
From a podcast perspective, I have a keen interest in politics. One podcast I avidly listen to is “The Rest is Politics” with Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell and "Political Currency," hosted by Ed Balls and George Osborne. In particular, Ed Balls and George Osborne offer fascinating insights into the trade-offs involved in governing, balancing national interests with political strategy. It's intriguing to hear about their experiences at the heart of government and how they navigate complex political landscapes. If you're interested in politics, I recommend giving it a listen.
