Managing up, out, and across with Mike McGee, Vantaca

What happens when you’re hired as the first product marketer in a 30‑year‑old, engineering-led company?In this episode, Wendy Werblin, Director of Product Management, Product Marketing, and Strategy at ScriptPro, breaks down how she:Turned “we need more features” into “we need product–market fit”Ran cross-functional persona and journey workshops instead of going soloBuilt an 18‑month delivery roadmap that finally gave engineers the whyIf you’re a founding PMM, or sit between product, sales, and marketing, this one’s basically your field guide.

Most product marketers learn their craft in SaaS, where data is everywhere. Maitri Gandhi, product marketing specialist at Hoshizaki America, works without it. She talks about building ICP messaging across sectors like food service, hospitals, and education using qualitative signals and trial and error, and why she thinks sales enablement is less about assets and more about giving a sales team something to talk about.

Mike McGee, Director of Product Marketing at Vantaca, joins the show to share his journey from retail sales to leading marketing teams – including a pivotal stop in customer success at Buildium, where he developed deep expertise managing large clients in the community association management space.Mike unpacks what product marketing really means: a uniquely cross-functional role that sits at the intersection of product, customer, and partner marketing. He opens up about the shift from individual contributor to team leader, what he looks for when building a team, and why so many organizations still misunderstand what product marketers actually do.

In this episode, we're joined by Doug Kimball, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Digital Science, who shares his unconventional journey from counseling to product marketing – and the through-line that connects both: clear, human communication.Doug unpacks his go-to framework – "So What? Why? Who Cares?" – and how it keeps messaging sharp and impactful. He reflects on his time at Nielsen, where a rare pivot through sales gave him a 360° view of how products are built and sold, and at Blue Yonder, where he developed competitive strategy from scratch.Now at Digital Science, he's focused on building a cohesive product marketing team and the frameworks to help it thrive. He's also authored a book on messaging and is active on LinkedIn as a mentor and connector.

What does it really take to make a product launch land? Amruta Hunnurkar, Go-to-Market Lead at Amazon EMEA, brings 14 years of product marketing experience to unpack why the discipline is far more than a support function but a core revenue driver.Drawing on her time at Samsung and in the startup world, Amruta explores how the rules of the game shift depending on where you work: structured process versus scrappy agility, big-brand playbooks versus getting in the room early. She also draws a sharp distinction between a product launch and a product marketing launch, and explains why confusing the two can cost you.

What does it take to build genuine trust with your customers – especially when the stakes couldn't be higher? In this episode, we sit down with Angeline Giammona, a product marketing leader whose career is a masterclass in meeting people where they are.Angeline takes us through her time at Bobbie, an infant formula company, where she built lifecycle marketing and customer engagement strategies from the ground up – including a fundraising campaign that sold out in under three hours. She opens up about what it really means to market in high-emotion, high-trust categories, and why understanding your customer's world matters far more than promoting your product's features.

What does it take to market cybersecurity at one of the world's most recognized brands? Jess Shields, Director of Product Marketing at Mastercard, brings 20 years of hard-won experience to this conversation.From leading the global launch of Mastercard's acquisition of Recorded Future, a major player in threat intelligence, to navigating the complex dance between product marketing and product management, Jess breaks down what it really means to bring enterprise security products to market with clarity and impact.She shares the practical frameworks she swears by (including a four-quadrant prioritization grid that keeps her and her PM partners aligned), her philosophy on customer-centric positioning, and why she believes product marketers need a seat at the table from day one – not just at launch.

What does it really take to make product marketing drive revenue – not just awareness? In this episode, fractional CMO Aruna Inalsingh pulls back the curtain on her unconventional path from engineer to startup marketing consultant, and shares what she's learned working across wildly different industries – from beauty and fashion to drone manufacturing. Aruna makes the case for a smarter, more balanced approach to product marketing: one that delivers quick wins without losing sight of long-term strategy.

Join us as Jess Ruby, Director of Growth Marketing at UniUni, shares her inspiring journey into growth marketing. She emphasizes how embracing data and metrics can transform how marketing teams demonstrate their impact, especially crucial during times of uncertainty and budget constraints. Through relatable examples like tracking conversion rates and measuring revenue from sales decks, Jess shows how product marketers can clearly communicate their value and strengthen their strategic position.

Maniesh Joshi, VP of Product and Commercial Marketing at Transcarant, discusses the importance of empathy and clarity in product marketing. He shares his journey from healthcare consulting to becoming an "accidental marketer," highlighting his roles at Medtronic and Omada Health. Maniesh emphasizes the value of having a strong point of view loosely held and the need for product marketers to drive innovation. He recounts successful launches, including a beta pilot for a patient engagement app and a rapid AI solution launch at Transcarant, which generated $60 million in pipeline in 60 days.