Rebuilding a Marketing Operations Function

The Problem

Marketing needed a function that could handle campaign delivery while improving the way the business worked. Too much day-to-day work depended on individual knowledge and stakeholder relationships. Requests, software ownership, and planning information were spread across different tools and conversations.

I took on a broader remit across the software portfolio, campaign operations, operational data, internal software, and practical AI. Rebuilding the team meant deciding which capabilities Marketing needed, how responsibilities should connect, and how the function would support an organization of 100+ marketers globally.

From Business Challenges to an Operating Model

I redesigned the team around the work rather than backfilling the previous structure. The five-person model connects coordination, systems, audiences, campaign production, and data. An AI & GTM Systems Engineer and a campaign delivery role added capacity in the areas the roadmap needed.

I translated recurring business challenges into five roadmap pillars: clear platform ownership, repeatable campaign operations, practical AI and systems integration, dependable operational data, and team enablement. Three horizons organize the change: stabilize and clarify, operationalize and expand, then scale and govern.

Each challenge needed an operating decision as well as a technical one: who owns the work, how it enters the team, which standards apply, and how people learn the process. Intake design, email governance, enterprise review coordination, and accessible documentation make those decisions part of everyday delivery.

What Changed

• Clearer intake and prioritization: designed simpler intake across 11 forms, with 54% fewer questions and 70% fewer required fields. Team responsibilities connect incoming work to the roadmap.
• Portfolio stewardship: own approximately $1M in annual Marketing software spend across 60+ platforms and coordinate review with IT, Security, Privacy, Legal, and Procurement. Right-sized Asana to save more than $40K over two years.
• Communication planning: organized calendar, production, and audience workstreams with owners and a shared six-week global calendar.
• Internal software: built a campaign operations platform and forecast app that connect business workflows with systems and shared data.
• Repeatable enablement: made process knowledge available through a shared documentation suite and AI support agents. Onboarded two new roles with responsibilities mapped to the roadmap.
• Investment choices: built a portfolio plan proposing lower total spend with added capability. Evaluate internal development and AI by the business task, implementation effort, and adoption needed.

Outcomes

Service results reflect the team's work, with turnaround measured for completed requests.