Palani Rajapalayum
Richmond,VA
Summary
Executive-level MarTech leader with 15+ years of experience building high-performing global teams, fostering collaboration across business and technology functions, and driving large-scale digital transformation. Proven success in aligning C-suite leaders, data engineers, marketers, and compliance teams to deliver Adobe Experience Cloud, Salesforce, and cloud-native marketing solutions at enterprise scale. Adept at managing multimillion-dollar investments, orchestrating omnichannel personalization, and embedding governance frameworks that balance innovation with operational excellence.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Principal Consultant - Adobe Experience Cloud/Platform Ecosystem
Sparkl Consulting
01.2024 - Current
- Partnered with C-suite, marketing, and product leaders to define and execute MarTech roadmaps, aligning Adobe Experience Cloud strategy with enterprise business goals.
- Orchestrated collaboration across data engineering, marketing operations, and compliance teams to deliver Adobe AEP, AJO, and CJA implementations that accelerated campaign deployment by 40%.
- Led organizational change management and training programs, equipping distributed teams with skills to adopt modern MarTech capabilities.
- Championed collaborative governance frameworks, ensuring compliance, risk management, and operational excellence across all campaign executions.
Head of Marketing Operations & Lead Technologist & Analytics
AT&T
Atlanta, GA
01.2019 - 01.2024
- Directed globally distributed teams in collaboration with IT, analytics, and product groups, managing multimillion-dollar budgets to deliver omnichannel engagement for B2B and B2C customers.
- Partnered with senior executives and line-of-business leaders to align MarTech modernization efforts (Unica → Adobe Campaign, SFMC, Aprimo → Workfront, Teradata → Snowflake/Palantir) with strategic growth initiatives.
- Collaborated with data and risk/compliance teams to embed governance and accelerate refresh cycles by 50%, enabling near real-time engagement.
- Mentored senior managers and fostered cross-functional teamwork, creating leadership pipelines and a culture of innovation.
Lead Marketing Technologist, Operations & Analytics
AT&T
Los Angeles, CA
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Championed collaboration between AWS, Adobe, and Salesforce teams to architect cloud-native MarTech roadmaps supporting enterprise scale.
- Directed adoption of Adobe Journey Optimizer in partnership with marketing and compliance stakeholders, enabling consistent omnichannel engagement.
- Reduced campaign execution time by 75% by aligning IT, marketing operations, and risk teams around automation and governance.
- Mentored high-performing technical teams, embedding agile practices and strengthening collaboration across functions.
Senior Manager - Marketing Technology & Operations
AT&T
Dallas, TX
01.2010 - 01.2017
- Led cross-functional IT, DBA, and analytics teams, ensuring technology initiatives aligned with marketing strategy and enterprise goals.
- Collaborated with business stakeholders and technical leaders to automate delivery of 100+ campaigns, processing 100M+ records with improved efficiency.
- Established collaborative operational frameworks, reducing ETL processing time by 33% while ensuring compliance and accuracy at scale.
Associate Director, Analytics & Marketing Technology Operations
Ogilvy / KBMG (WPP)
New York
01.2008 - 01.2010
- Directed multi-agency collaboration for Fortune 500 clients, aligning vendors, SMEs, and technical teams to deliver complex MarTech programs on time and within budget.
- Served as strategic liaison between client executives and technical analysts, ensuring business requirements were translated into scalable solutions.
- Built adoption and governance frameworks (RACI, UAT, training) that improved collaboration, efficiency, and compliance across engagements.
Marketing Technology Consultant
FICO
Richmond, VA
01.2008 - 12.2008
- Partnered with marketing and data teams to optimize Unica campaign platform, improving efficiency and scalability.
- Collaborated with IT stakeholders to migrate campaigns and redesign data mart structures, reducing processing times and operational risk.
CRM Platform & Product Owner, Marketing Technology
Capital One
Richmond, VA
01.2004 - 01.2008
- Partnered with IT, MA, Card SB stakeholders, Agencies, Unica, RCA/CFM and TSYS to deploy integrated MarTech solutions, lead testing cycles, and deliver targeted user training, enabling seamless adoption and measurable ROI across business unit.
- Led centralized table catalog, reusable object management, BIRT and ALE committees, Design and developed audit and validation process before the file deployments to the vendor.
- Spearheaded Campaign, Offer and Contact/Response data mart restructure, redesign of campaign structures across multiple LOB marketing programs, reducing execution runtime by 40+ and accelerating campaign speed-to-market to better support credit, lending, and rewards portfolios.
- Authored and delivered end-to-end functional requirements for LOB initiatives, driving automation, efficiency gains, and streamlined workflows that improved cross-functional campaign execution and governance.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering
B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Engineering College
Chennai , Tamilnadu, India06-1986
Skills
- Leadership and collaboration
- Cross-functional alignment
- Stakeholder influence
- Team leadership
- Vendor management
- Governance and compliance
- Adobe Experience Platform
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Workfront project management
- IBM Unica
- Snowflake data warehousing
- Palantir data integration
- Tableau data visualization
- AWS cloud services
- Azure cloud solutions
- Marketing technology strategy
- Omnichannel marketing journeys
- Campaign optimization strategies
- Cloud migration expertise
- Marketing data engineering
- AI-driven personalization
- Marketing automation tools
- Adobe Experience Cloud suite
- Data governance practices
- Campaign management techniques
- Multichannel engagement strategies
- Strategic planning skills
- Budget management expertise
- Problem-solving abilities
- Leadership development initiatives
- Team building activities
- Effective communication skills
- Change management processes
Technical And Leadership Skills
Cross-Functional Alignment, Executive Stakeholder Influence, Team Leadership & Development, Multi-Agency/Vendor Management, Governance & Compliance, Adobe Experience Platform (AEP, AJO, CJA, AEM), Adobe Campaign, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Workfront, IBM Unica, Snowflake, Palantir, Tableau, AWS, Azure, SQL, Python, MarTech Strategy, Omnichannel Journeys, Campaign Optimization, Cloud Migration, Marketing Data Engineering, AI/ML-Driven Personalization
Timeline
Principal Consultant - Adobe Experience Cloud/Platform Ecosystem
Sparkl Consulting
01.2024 - Current
Head of Marketing Operations & Lead Technologist & Analytics
AT&T
01.2019 - 01.2024
Lead Marketing Technologist, Operations & Analytics
AT&T
01.2017 - 01.2019
Senior Manager - Marketing Technology & Operations
AT&T
01.2010 - 01.2017
Associate Director, Analytics & Marketing Technology Operations
Ogilvy / KBMG (WPP)
01.2008 - 01.2010
Marketing Technology Consultant
FICO
01.2008 - 12.2008
CRM Platform & Product Owner, Marketing Technology
Capital One
01.2004 - 01.2008
Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering
B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Engineering College