Brett Sheppard

About

AI-native B2B full-stack marketer scaling SaaS profitably from US$1M to $1B+ at Datadog, Splunk, ServiceNow and Tableau; prior Gartner senior analyst across 35+ countries and U.S. Department of Defense data engineer at the Pentagon & U.S. Navy Air Systems Command. Industry knowledge & technical expertise in AI, data, cybersecurity & DevSecOps observability; profitable growth ramping marketing from zero to 100+ staff and US$1M to $100M+ budgets. Claude AI certified for marketing automation; HubSpot, Clay & LinkedIn Marketing certified. Head of demand gen & product marketing at Marketing Dúnedain since 2019: hands-on fractional or interim CMO for rapid-growth cloud & SaaS firms across AI, data, DevSecOps, martech & sales enablement. Recent engagements include 70% ARR growth for an LLM retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) vendor while leading 25 marketing & inside sales staff on a US$5M budget 3x sales pipeline, new product launches, technical podcasts & website revamp for open-source build systems vendor Aspect Build; full-stack contributions spanning account-based marketing (ABM), community development, demand gen, messaging, press & analyst relations, product launches, sales enablement & strategic storytelling. Track record across two IPOs & acquisitions: head of enterprise marketing & strategy at Datadog, growing DevSecOps annual recurring revenue (ARR) from under US$50M to $300M+, 8,000+ customers and 82% YoY revenue ahead of the NYSE: DDOG IPO. VP of marketing & inside sales at AI & data science startup DxContinuum, driving a 500% rise in marketing-qualified leads and 3x growth from US$3M to $10M ahead of acquisition by ServiceNow. Director of big data product marketing at Splunk, contributing to 3x/year growth to US$1B+ revenue & 13,000-customer milestones prior to acquisition by Cisco. Senior manager of product marketing at Tableau, supporting US$20M to $100M+ growth and the NYSE: DATA IPO, including the high-profile "Human Face of Big Data" lead gen campaign. Director of strategic marketing & product management at Nortel Networks, scaling Metro Ethernet from zero to a US$774M Ciena acquisition despite the dot-com downturn. Foundation in technical & analytical rigor: five-year Gartner senior analyst tenure covering analytics, enterprise systems & information security from Tokyo, Singapore and Boulder, with consultative CxO meetings onsite in 35+ countries. Prior civilian contractor U.S. Department of Defense data engineering role with security clearance, reconciling classified financials for fighter jet sales to NATO allies & Japan. Master of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh with marketing & finance concentration, Asian Studies certificate & U.S. Department of Education fellowship. Bachelor of Arts with Honors and Phi Beta Kappa in Government & Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. 30+ professional references published on LinkedIn from former CxO managers, peers & direct reports. Based in the U.S. East coast in Hanover, NH, USA with global remote availability.

Experience

• Head of Demand Gen and Product Marketing · Marketing Dunedain12-01-2018

  Provided hands-on full-stack marketing & go to market (GTM) in multiple SaaS market segments & geos. • Head of marketing & dev relations for open-source software build systems vendor: Delivered 3x sales pipeline, new product launches, successful trade shows, technical podcasts & website content revamp. • Head of marketing for LLM retrieval augmented generation (RAG) vendor: Led 25 marketing & inside sales with US$5M budget driving 70% ARR growth while reducing % of GTM expenses to revenue. • Contributions include account-based marketing (ABM), community development, content, demand gen, messaging, press & analyst relations, product launches, sales enablement and strategic storytelling.

• Head of Enterprise Marketing and Strategy · Datadog2016 – 2018

  Led B2B marketing & sales enablement that grew SaaS DevSecOps annual recurring revenue (ARR) from under US$50M to $300+M; achieved 8k+ customers, 82% YoY revenue growth and IPO (NYSE: DDOG). • Launched products & refined messaging from infrastructure monitoring to DevSecOps observability. • Supported sales to acquire 590 US$100+K & 40 $1+M ARR accounts; marketing & sales 40% of ARR. • Sales VP: “Taking a collaborative approach with sales, Brett fleshed out messaging, lead generation, content and events that moved us much higher and wider in our opportunities and accounts.”

• VP of Marketing and Inside Sales (transition after ServiceNow acquisition) · DXCONTINUUM (ACQUIRED BY SERVICENOW)2016 – 2016

  As “marketing team of one” for AI & data science Series A startup & Salesforce partner, drove 500% rise in MQLs while halving average sales cycle, driving 3X growth US$3M to $10M & acquisition by ServiceNow. • Co-founder and Chief Product Officer: “Brett was instrumental in a producing a quantum positive change on our marketing efforts with a well-designed plan to generate demand for our solution.” • Started digital ads, inside sales team, CxO programs, integrated campaigns, ABM & analyst relations.

• Director of Big Data Product Marketing · Splunk2013 – 2016

  Led product go-to-market & CxO expansion from log management to big data, cloud and security SIEM. • 360-degree reviews: “key driver for customer traction”, “content machine” & “deep market knowledge”. • Personal and team contribution to 3X/year growth to US$1+B revenue & 13,000 customer milestones. • Supported partnerships with cloud (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure), security specialists (Cisco, FireEye, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks) & system integrators (Accenture, Cap Gemini, Deloitte).

• Senior Manager, Product Marketing · Tableau2010 – 2013

  Led technical product marketing as Tableau grew sales from US$20M to $100+M and IPO (NYSE: DATA). • Launched Tableau Cloud, Mobile & Server. Led “Human Face of Big Data” lead gen campaigns.

• Founder and Head of Marketing Services · Absolutely Inc2003 – 2010

  Grew lead gen & product marketing service provider to US$M/year serving Fortune 500 & startup clients. • Supported Symantec CxO programs & cybersecurity, HP data warehousing, and EMC/Greenplum. • Authored O’Reilly technical content including Hadoop tutorial & T-Mobile data architecture case study.

• Director of Strategic Marketing and Product Management · Nortel Networks2000 – 2003

  Launched and grew Metro Ethernet business US$0 to $774M Ciena acquisition despite dot-com downturn. • Sales and Marketing SVP: “Brett has a unique ability to research & understand multiple disparate data and to develop strategies, roadmaps and go-to-market initiatives that drive accelerated growth.” • Led 8 direct reports and team of 40; ranked in top 15% of director-level peers.

• Senior Analyst · Gartner1995 – 2000

  Covered analytics, enterprise systems and information security for US$4B research & advisory leader. • Authored research on industry markets, customer needs, technology trends, best practices & vendors. • Managed junior analysts in multiple countries. Earned top ratings for “client presence” & public speaking.

• Financial Analyst and Managing Editor · Investor Relations Corporation1994 – 1995

  Supported 40+% YoY revenue growth; executed 8+ projects/day with zero-errors requirement for 2 years. • Met tight deadlines, closely supported sales, and promoted to department head with 3 direct reports.

• Data Engineer and Analyst, CASDE / DDL Omni Engineering civilian · U.S. Department of Defense1988 – 1991

  • During college reconciled financials for fighter jet sales to NATO allies & Japan. Held security clearance.

• Marketing Analyst · Maynard Electronics1984 – 1986

  • Worked during high school at data storage provider that grew from garage start-up to US$50M/year and acquisition by Symantec. Managed relational database, prospect inquiries, and marketing campaigns.

Education

• University of PittsburghMaster of Arts, Business (Marketing and finance concentration), Asian Studies certificate
• University of VirginiaBachelor of Arts with Honors (Phi Beta Kappa), Government and Foreign Affairs

Similar talent on Pangea

Sharon B.Strategic, Data-Driven B2B SaaS Product Marketing Leader | Product Strategy, GTM & Growth | Startup Mentor & AdvisorBoston, MAThiago V.Senior Demand Generation & Performance Marketing Leader | 12+ Years (ABM, Paid Media, AI Workflows)San Francisco, CAGGauri S.Senior GTM Product Performance & Marketing Analytics | Full-Funnel Performance & AI Marketing Automation (6+ Years)Delhi, IndiaBrock W.B2B Marketing Leader (Demand Gen, ABM, MarTech) | 16+ Years Driving Pipeline & ROISan Diego, CA