Episode 7: Evolving for Execution Excellence with Anand Akela

April 12, 2022
Episode 7 Evolving for Execution Excellence with Anand Akela

When did you last sit down to look at your GTM strategy? Maybe it is time to make some slight changes. Today we are talking to Anand Akela about the evolution of his go-to-market strategy, playbook, and how it will continue to evolve in the future. 

Anand Akela is a seasoned product marketing executive leading the GTM strategy, Product and Solutions Marketing at Nutanix. Before joining Nutanix, Anand was VP of product marketing at Tricentis. Earlier, Anand worked at CA Technologies, AppDynamics, Oracle and HP in various product marketing, product management, and engineering roles.

Anand received his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, and a BS in Computer Science from Pune University in India.

“Having a go-to-market strategy is not good enough. As the saying goes: the strategy or vision without planning on of execution is like a nightmare.” – Anand Akela

Evolving for Execution Excellence with Anand Akela – All Things Growth

Highlights from today’s discussion with Anand include:

  • Introducing Anand Akela (1:25)
  • What Go to market strategy means for Anand (2:21)
  • Experience with consolidating products and strategies (4:54)
  • Just having a go-to-market strategy is not good enough (6:20)
  • The complexity of filling the gaps in a go-to-market playbook (10:12)
  • Anand’s trials and successes in developing his GTM playbook (13:53)
  • Using functionality and value to develop your go-to-market strategy (20:45)
  • Driving alignment for execution excellence (23:15)
  • The importance of keeping your customers informed (29:16)
  • Evolving your playbook as your company evolves (31:43)
  • How product marketing has evolved – and how it will change going forward (34:30)
  • Critical skills for marketers (39:29)
  • Anand’s greatest takeaway (41:47)
  • People to learn from (43:37)

Go-to-market strategies are not one-size-fits-all, and you will likely need to tweak and evolve your playbook as your company grows. Anand’s story is an excellent example of how he has learned from his successes and failures to create a GTM strategy that works for his business. If you are looking for help creating or refining your go-to-market strategy, reach out to us — we would be happy to learn more!