Jess Walker McFarland, Customer Advocacy Leader, on Leadership & Building Advocacy for IPO Readiness

About the GuestJess Walker McFarland is a customer marketing and advocacy leader with experience at BMC Software (7+ years), Splunk, and Rubrik (3.5+ years). At Rubrik, she led customer advocacy and executive programs through the company's IPO. She's currently a free agent exploring what's next.DescriptionIn this episode, Sunny sits down with Jess Walker McFarland, a customer marketing and advocacy leader with experience at BMC Software, Splunk, and Rubrik, to discuss building customer advocacy programs, preparing customer stories for IPO, and what it really takes to make the leap from senior manager to director.Jess shares how she transitioned from partner marketing to customer advocacy at Splunk, why she sought out the challenge of IPO readiness at Rubrik, and her management philosophy of "enable, empower, and get out of the way." We dive into how customer storytelling changes when your audience shifts from buyers to investors, what makes the senior manager to director leap so difficult, and her take on AI: the tools are incredible, but the thinking is still your job.Whether you're navigating your first leadership role or preparing your advocacy program for a major company milestone, Jess's insights on building trust with your team and articulating the "why" to stakeholders will give you plenty to think about.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Early Career Beginnings00:38 Navigating PR and First Major Career Pivot03:14 Expat Experience and Life-Changing Moments09:10 Transition to Field and Partner Marketing15:14 High Growth at Splunk and Leadership Lessons25:33 The Leap from Senior Manager to Director27:26 Navigating Leadership and Team Dynamics30:29 Transitioning to Rubrik and IPO Experience38:51 Exploring AI and Personal Growth47:16 Recommendations and Final Thoughts Jess Walker McFarland: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicawm/Sunny Manivannan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnymanivannan/