The New Rules of Marketing Team Design

Marketing org charts may look innocent, but they’re loaded with meaning. Split your team into “revenue” and “corporate” and you’re sending a message, whether you mean to or not. Structure reveals philosophy. And in B2B, that philosophy had better be built for trust, speed, and results.

In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by Kelly Hopping (Demandbase), Lesley Davis (Waggoner Engineering), and Gary Sevounts (Simpplr) to discuss how they’re shaping marketing teams that reflect clearer priorities, move in sync with the business, and operate at the pace growth demands.

In this episode:

• Kelly built her team around one goal: earning sales love. It reshaped her team’s structure, mindset, and KPIs. 

• Lesley explains how cultural clarity and cross-functional trust helped her team scale fast inside a complex org. 

• Gary shares how “Treasure Ops” became a full-funnel GTM engine, reviving stalled deals and tying ops directly to pipeline.

You’ll also learn: 

• Why your org structure should follow how your buyers engage 

• How AI is already shifting roles 

• How shared metrics and a single definition of success align marketing and sales 

Tune in for a look at how marketing teams are being built to meet the moment! 

Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 452 on YouTube

Resources Mentioned 

• CMO Huddles 
• Past episodes mentioned 
  • Lesley on Building a Dream B2B Marketing Team 
  • Gary on Pipeline Playbooks 
  • Gary on Growth Marketing

Highlights

• [3:05] Kelly Hopping: Sales has to love us 

• [9:07] Measuring the unmeasurable 

• [11:52] Lesley Davis: Dream team still holding it down 

• [13:31] Chip away and cheerlead 

• [23:16] Gary Sevounts: What Treasure Ops is all about 

• [26:37] AI made the writing grind easier 

• [29:29] CMO Huddles: How B2B marketing leaders level up 

• [33:10] AI as the ultimate force multiplier 

• [37:59] Earning sales’ trust early 

• [40:53] Focus fixes everything 

• [46:34] Last words on structuring marketing teams

Highlighted Quotes  

“My number one goal is for sales to love us. We give them a brand that they love, pricing that’s simple to understand, content that’s easy to consume and share, and events they’re proud to invite their customers to.”—Kelly Hopping, Demandbase 

“You've really got to look at your industry, the team you have, and what you're trying to achieve. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all.” —Lesley Davis, Waggoner Engineering

“I’m looking for people that fit the right culture of my team. People that are aggressive, hungry, eager to learn, and, of course, have the experience.”—Gary Sevounts, Simpplr

Full Transcript: Drew Neisser in conversation with Kelly Hopping, Lesley Davis, & Gary Sevounts