How do you walk into a company of nearly 800 people as its first-ever president and win over the ones who wanted your job?
We are bringing this one back because it keeps landing with second-in-command leaders. Cameron sits down with Sameer Kazi, the first president in ActiveCampaign's history, who joined a fast-growing company of nearly 800 people and had to earn trust from day one.
Sameer traces his path from employee 200 at ExactTarget through the Salesforce acquisition, KKR, Bessemer, and running Cheetah Digital, then unpacks how he split responsibilities with the CEO, why he brings non-finance leaders close to the numbers, and how he decides with incomplete information.
If you are stepping into a senior seat or scaling a business without losing its edge, this one is worth the revisit. Listen now.
Sponsored by:
This episode is brought to you by our Silver Sponsor, Next Level Growth.
They help COOs and leadership teams build Elite Organizations through a proven, customizable framework built around the Five Obsessions of Elite Organizations.
If you and your leadership team are ready to operate at the next level, take the Elite Organizations Assessment and receive a free 20-page customized report based on your answers, plus a complimentary one-hour coaching session with a Next Level Growth Partner and Business Guide to begin implementing tools that will help you build an even more elite business.
Complete the assessment here to get started - nextlevelgrowth.com/cooassessment
Timestamped Highlights
02:35 Employee 200 at a "tiny little company" called ExactTarget
03:15 Filing an S-1 in 2008, right as the markets fell apart
03:50 Why the growth never actually slowed down
05:37 The years between Salesforce and ActiveCampaign
08:50 Walking into KKR and asking, "Barbarians at the Gate?"
10:38 The boardroom lesson from a business with declining growth
12:38 What an MBA is actually good for
13:38 Reading Salesforce's income statement before SaaS was cool
14:48 The 54% lever that only works while growth holds
15:52 Quitting his job to raise money with twins on the way
16:32 Why ActiveCampaign came looking for him
19:23 Why the role was never about empire building
21:46 Winning over the people who wanted his seat
25:11 How you know when you know enough to decide
26:24 What ActiveCampaign really does
34:47 Why every non-finance leader should learn the numbers
37:25 The advice he would give his 21-year-old self
About the Guest
Sameer Kazi was serving as President of ActiveCampaign at the time of this recording, the first person to hold that title in the company's history, reporting to founder and CEO Jason VandeBoom. A veteran SaaS operator, he was an early executive at ExactTarget (employee 200) through its acquisition by Salesforce and ran EMEA operations from London. He later served as interim CEO of Simply Measured and CEO of Cheetah Digital, and worked alongside investors including KKR and Bessemer. He holds an MBA and describes himself as a sleeves-rolled-up, sweat-the-details operator. Sameer is now the Chief Executive Officer at Pantheon Platform.
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Mentioned Resources
Important Links
Note: This Fan Favorite episode is a recast of one of our most impactful interviews, still packed with insights for second-in-command leaders. Whether it is your first listen or a revisit, there is timeless value inside.
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
Sponsored by:
This episode is brought to you by our Silver Sponsor, Next Level Growth.
They help COOs and leadership teams build Elite Organizations through a proven, customizable framework built around the Five Obsessions of Elite Organizations.
If you and your leadership team are ready to operate at the next level, take the Elite Organizations Assessment and receive a free 20-page customized report based on your answers, plus a complimentary one-hour coaching session with a Next Level Growth Partner and Business Guide to begin implementing tools that will help you build an even more elite business.
Complete the assessment here to get started - nextlevelgrowth.com/cooassessment
