Erica Schroeder
Marketing
Palo Alto,CA
Summary
Growth-focused and innovative marketing executive with a proven track record of scaling B2B enterprise brands, from startups to a $1.5B portfolio. Expertise in account-based marketing (ABM), digital marketing, and sales enablement, consistently driving measurable business impact. Passion for crafting compelling storytelling and implementing AI-driven marketing strategies, while striving for operational excellence. Honed skills in building high-performance teams and executing data-driven growth initiatives.
Work History
Chief Marketing Officer
SymphonyAI
01.2022 - Current
- Company Overview: Part of SAIGroup, SymphonyAI is a pre-IPO enterprise AI SaaS leader with 2,400+ staff globally and $450M revenue
- Generated 15K leads in 2024, converting 33% into SQLs and 14% into pipeline opportunities across marketing mix with 63 industry events (135 average leads per)
- Supported 325 new ABM accounts
- Led brand awareness expansion: 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year (AI innovation), 2024 Inc 5000 listing, and 22 other industry awards and rankings
- Grew LinkedIn following to 150K, share of voice to 30%
- Unified six separate websites and brands into single company site and brand, securing SEO first-page rank for 540+ terms
- Led unified SKO, developed company overview presentation, and trained field sales on messaging and materials
- Implemented comprehensive, full-stack marketing metrics framework for all divisions and company for MQL, SQL, opportunity tracking, with annual targets and quarterly reporting
- Implemented AI marketing tools for content and processes, including LLM marketing prompts, Canva, Notebook LM, Lumen 5, HubSpot, and SEMRush
- Led 26 staff across corporate, product, and demand-gen marketing
- Improved productivity by 38%
- Established data-driven decision-making for marketing initiatives and resource allocation
- Part of SAIGroup, SymphonyAI is a pre-IPO enterprise AI SaaS leader with 2,400+ staff globally and $450M revenue
Head of Marketing
SAIGroup
01.2019 - 01.2022
- Company Overview: Privately held investment firm of five B2B SaaS AI software companies with combined revenue of ~$800M
- Led five rebrands and created SAIGroup brand ID, ensuring impactful presence
- Developed marketing strategy for portfolio companies, defined unique positioning and compelling messaging for target audiences and markets
- Mentored marketing team of 40, fostering innovation and collaboration
- Built and scaled social media following from 0 to 5K for visibility, engagement, and thought leadership
- Developed marketing best practices, streamlining workflows, and cross-company collaboration
- Privately held investment firm of five B2B SaaS AI software companies with combined revenue of ~$800M
Senior Director of Marketing
C3.ai
01.2018 - 01.2019
- Company Overview: Enterprise AI and IoT software platform market leader
- Grew from $36M to $92M 2018-2019
- Led content and communications, including product, branding, advertising, PR, social media, and customer storytelling
- Launched C3.ai blog
- Developed sales messaging, competitive insights, and customer personas for technical/business decision-makers
- Expanded marketing into new verticals (federal, banking) and products (financial services, manufacturing)
- Revitalized applications (oil & gas, utilities)
- Defined and executed PR and AR strategy for innovation drumbeat and thought leadership
- Led to recognition as leader in Forrester IIoT 2018 Wave
- Established strategic planning in a matrixed organization for quarterly goals, metrics, and marketing mix
- Coordinated across product, sales, services, and executive teams to align goals and success
- Led employee communications and culture-building efforts
- Hosted women in technology event (2019)
- Enterprise AI and IoT software platform market leader
Senior Director of Global B2B Marketing
SunPower Corporation
01.2014 - 01.2018
- Led global marketing team for $1.2B commercial and utility businesses, contributing to 30-40% revenue growth annually
- Reported to CMO and managed an international team of 10
- Developed and executed go-to-market strategies for global businesses
- Established weekly reporting with full-funnel metrics to measure and tune results
- Launched ABM, targeting top-segmented prospects with predictive analytics/tracking
- Overhauled lead generation process with nurture, paid media, events, and SEO
- Established inside sales process to increase volume and velocity/yield
- Launched new product messaging to focus on business value, personas, and customer needs
- Created a new digital presence for brand affinity
- Built and managed programs for 300+ partners
- Launched content distribution channel
Director of Marketing
Cisco Systems Inc.
01.1999 - 01.2014
- Oversaw marketing for multiple business lines
- Built product messaging, buyer personas, and customer journeys
- Developed marketing strategy and metrics in close collaboration with sales and business leaders
- Drove global annual strategic marketing planning/budgeting
- Frequent industry/media speaker
- Led thought leadership platforms for executives/CEO
- Led marketing across multiple high-growth and emerging technology businesses (IoT, video, TelePresence, data center networking)
- Defined global go-to-market strategies, brand positioning, and demand generation, supporting $5B+ business
- Built Cisco IoT marketing strategy, launching IoT World Forum and contributing to $500M+ revenue expansion
- Created award-winning messaging for TelePresence and cloud networking, earning CiscoLive Best Content (2014) and Chairman’s Choice Award for Innovation & Execution
eWeek Bureau Chief, News Editor, Reporter
Ziff Davis Publishing Co.
01.1990 - 01.1999
- Influential technology journalist and columnist for eWeek (PC Week) with 500K subscribers
- Frequent TV/panel technology pundit and event chair
- Built relationships with industry executives, analysts, and end users
- Won multiple awards for coverage
Education
Executive Scholar - Leadership
Executive Scholar - Sales & Marketing
BA - Political Science, German. Minor: History
Skills
Brand awareness
Social media marketing
Content strategy
Creative thinking
Product launches
Marketing analytics
Public relations
Strategic marketing
Corporate communications
Campaign coordination
Influencer marketing
Integrated marketing
Timeline
Chief Marketing Officer - SymphonyAI
01.2022 - Current
Head of Marketing - SAIGroup
01.2019 - 01.2022
Senior Director of Marketing - C3.ai
01.2018 - 01.2019
Senior Director of Global B2B Marketing - SunPower Corporation
01.2014 - 01.2018
Director of Marketing - Cisco Systems Inc.
01.1999 - 01.2014
eWeek Bureau Chief, News Editor, Reporter - Ziff Davis Publishing Co.
01.1990 - 01.1999
Kellogg School of Management - Executive Scholar, Sales & Marketing
Duke University, Trinity College - BA, Political Science, German. Minor: History
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford - Executive Scholar, Leadership