New season, New role - to a classic theme song!

September marks the start of a new season and has always been a special month for me—made even more memorable by one of my favorite tracks from Earth, Wind & Fire. This year, however, September is even more special as it ushers in a new chapter in my career.

I'm excited to announce that I've joined Optimizely, a company you may know from the digital realm, where it has made a significant impact with its leading Content Management System and Experimentation tools.

My journey in the digital world, particularly in Content Management and Commerce, spans many years, involving roles in technical expertise on Microsoft's technologies, creative agency entrepreneurship, and business leadership at global DXP providers and major digital agencies. So you might think that joining Optimizely was an obvious choice, but I'd like to share the thought process behind this decision.

Over the past six months, I've had the opportunity to explore the broader landscape of digital marketing platforms. We all know how crowded this space is, and through my advisory conversations with various companies, it became clear how challenging it is to select the right technology to meet the demands of modern marketing. 

One of the major trends in recent years has been MACH—tools built with modern architecture, cloud-based, API-driven, and often offering excellent headless solutions. This approach has given rise to the MACH Alliance, a group of companies offering products and technologies with this architecture.

Back in 2020, Gartner introduced the concept of "composable business," highlighting four key principles that future enterprises should follow:

- More speed through discovery

- Greater agility through modularity

- Better leadership through orchestration

- Resilience through autonomy

SaaS technologies align perfectly with this vision, and within digital marketing tech - MACH Alliance members have largely owned this movement in its early stages. However, as companies gain more experience with "composability," it’s become clear that Gartner's vision goes beyond just buying a CMS solution from a provider, with an API so you can build integration yourself.

Modern digital consumer experience is not delivered with single solution, but using a combination of many interconnected tools, processes, and competencies.

In my view, particularly in the context of modern sales and marketing technologies, the solution for most companies is more likely a blend—or a "Hybrid" approach - as analysts call it. And this is where Optimizely comes in.

Optimizely aims to be “The operating system for marketing," providing the foundation for seamless and secure end-to-end workflows while remaining open to extensions in a composable world. 

Optimizely's DXP, Optimizely One, offers a full suite of "best of breed" tools, many of which continue to lead in reports from Gartner, IDC, and Forrester. These tools are deeply integrated, thanks to a thoughtfully designed data platform (ODP), a leading Content Marketing Platform (CMP), and omnipresent AI support named Opal.

For me, this made my decision easy. Optimizely is leading the charge with a portfolio of technologies that meet the needs of companies with digital ambitions. I know how solution providers and digital agencies across EMEA are looking for ways to make a difference with their clients, and I see Optimizely as a great opportunity to do exactly that. And during the process I have had with Optimizely over the summer, it was clear there is a strong ambition to work closer with partners; leading agencies and industry solution providers. The fact that the company is already growing steadily, maintaining a remarkable culture reminiscent of Scandinavian leadership, and just have some great people on the team, is an added bonus.

In my new role, I'll be focusing on strategic partnerships and growth—areas where I have extensive experience. I look forward to connecting with good contacts and colleagues across EMEA to explore how we can grow together.

If you're interested in learning more — or just want to grab a coffee and have an informal chat—feel free to reach out or book a meeting with me directly here:

Book a meeting with me

I will also be available at Opticon 2024 in Stockholm, taking place next week. And also at DMEXCO in Cologne later this exiting month.

If you are there, let’s meet…  Until then - Enjoy September