Ari Messer
New York,NY
Summary
Senior partnerships executive and pre-sales AI consultant with 10+ years of experience helping enterprise clients evaluate, adopt, and scale data-driven technologies. Proven ability to build and lead C-suite relationships, negotiate complex partner agreements, and nurture and close high-value deals through partnerships and alliances. Expert in Shopify, the modern data stack, cloud warehouses and data activation.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Co-Founder & VP, Sales and Partnerships
Littledata
11.2017 - Current
- As the co-founder of Littledata, I owned the entire sales and marketing funnel from zero to 1, establishing the startup as the leading data infrastructure for larger Shopify brands. As we scaled, I was able to focus on expanding the relationship with our biggest strategic partners and selling directly into enterprise clients and brand groups.
- Developed 20+ first-in-kind integrations with partners including Shopify, Google, Meta and Recharge-doubling ACV three times from partner-led deals.
- Managed full partnership lifecycle: sourcing, pipeline development, contract negotiation, onboarding, and sales alignment.
- Negotiated and launched official Twilio Segment partnership to bring Shopify data into enterprise analytics stacks, enabling AI/ML use cases via Snowflake and BigQuery, and winning 50+ enterprise deals with brands and CPGs including Dockers, Rothy's, New Era, Uniliver and AB InBev.
- Owned KPIs for partner-driven revenue and engagement, developing shared targets with product and sales around full-stack implementations and generative AI activations.
- Grew channel partners (agencies, consultants, ISVs, SIs) to drive 60%+ of new ARR through co-selling and technical enablement.
- Built executive relationships across key partners and clients; regularly led C-suite presentations and coordinated shared GTM decks to support high-value opportunities.
- Scoped API requirements and data schemas, working with cross-functional teams to ensure secure, scalable connectors for the top marketing destinations used by Shopify Plus merchants.
- Represented Littledata at retail, SaaS and ecommerce conferences and partner meetups in North America and EMEA; developed annual partner conference.
Founder
The AI Sprint (fka Lichen Consulting)
11.2015 - Current
- (Since 2024) Sell The AI Sprint as a method for aligning on AI strategy and encouraging organizational buy-in, covering everything from LLMs and first-party data to agentic commerce and GEO/SEO.
- Built a six-figure consulting business as a partnerships and revenue growth consultant for a variety of D2C and B2B companies, including Orbitz, Essentia Organic Mattress, Design Pickle and Jenobi.
Fractional Head of Partnerships
Agile CRM
11.2014 - 11.2015
- Established tech partner program, including co-marketing flows and partner directory that increased MQLs 5x.
- Launched new integrations in finance (QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Stripe) and sales enablement (Twilio, SendGrid) for combined CRM and marketing automation tool.
Lead, Partner Sales and Marketing
Preferred Return
07.2012 - 03.2013
- Tripled partner-driven referrals through channel partnerships with VCs, CPAs, tech-enabled accounting firms and startup accelerators, presenting directly to C-suite at partners and clients.
- Contributed to the company's acquisition by Carta through positioning as a predictive ML tool.
Partner Manager
Longitude Books
03.2011 - 03.2012
- Managed channel partners and resellers, including MIT, Harvard, National Geographic Expeditions and Backroads.
Education
Bachelor of Arts -
Stanford University
Master of Science -
The University of Edinburgh
Skills
Sales
Enterprise Sales
Process Optimization
Consultative Sales
Strategic Partnerships
LLMs
AI, LLMs and Emerging Technologies
Revenue growth
Sales training and leadership
Analytical and critical thinker
Product roadmaps
Strategic business planning
Innovative and visionary
Google BigQuery
Snowflake
Twilio Segment
Timeline
Co-Founder & VP, Sales and Partnerships
Littledata
11.2017 - Current
Founder
The AI Sprint (fka Lichen Consulting)
11.2015 - Current
Fractional Head of Partnerships
Agile CRM
11.2014 - 11.2015
Lead, Partner Sales and Marketing
Preferred Return
07.2012 - 03.2013
Partner Manager
Longitude Books
03.2011 - 03.2012
Master of Science -
The University of Edinburgh
Bachelor of Arts -
Stanford University
Skills
Enterprise Sales, Process Optimization, Consultative Sales, Business Development, Leadership, Data Partnerships, Strategic Partnerships, Snowflake, Google, AWS, RAG Systems, LLMs, MCP (Model Context Protocol), Emerging Technologies
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