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Saren Sakurai

@saren

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Marketing leader and demand-gen strategist with 20+ years building AI-enabled, revenue-driving B2B growth engines.

United States

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What I'm looking for

I’m looking to lead revenue-driving B2B marketing—owning GTM and demand gen end to end, integrating AI-enabled workflows, and partnering cross-functionally to deliver measurable pipeline, conversion, and ROI.

I’m a marketing strategist with 20+ years bridging brand narrative and revenue operations. I design multi-channel GTM frameworks that turn complex B2B buying journeys into measurable pipeline growth.

I’ve built and scaled full-stack marketing engines through Series A growth phases, owning positioning, ICP/messaging, demand gen, lifecycle, and performance analytics. I’ve driven a 300% increase in qualified lead volume by architecting end-to-end GTM plans and sales playbooks for B2B tech clients.

I connect teams and channels by orchestrating SEO, paid media, and content to maintain consistency across long-cycle buying. I also implement AI-driven workflows (including LLMs for persona research) and focus on AEO to capture zero-click intent, improving speed-to-lead and funnel visibility.

My leadership style is hands-on and metric-led: deep-dive CRM and SEO audits to shift from vanity metrics to ROI, plus conversion optimization through A/B testing and CRO. Recent wins include scaling demand 300%, improving MQL→SQL conversion 3x, reducing Google Ads CAC 70%, and delivering strong ROI for global cybersecurity and AI platforms.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Fractional Head of Marketing

Current

WethosAI

Dec 2023 - Present (2 years 6 months)

Led full-stack B2B SaaS marketing through Series A ($7.5M) growth, building positioning, ICP/messaging, demand gen, lifecycle, and performance analytics. Scaled demand 300% via integrated paid/organic/partner campaigns and rebuilt the website + funnel to increase MQL→SQL conversion 3x.

GTM Strategy Demand Generation Integrated Campaigns HubSpot Lifecycle Marketing Paid Media SEO

Fractional Head of Marketing

Qwiet AI

Feb 2023 - Dec 2023 (10 months)

Drove 5x lead volume in six weeks and cut Google Ads CAC by 70%, while growing LinkedIn inbound by 300% in one quarter. Built HubSpot automation tied to the buyer journey by tightening ICP definitions and sales SLAs before automating.

Performance Marketing Google Ads CAC Optimization Lead Generation HubSpot Automation LinkedIn Inbound Growth ICP Definition Sales SLAs Buyer Journey Mapping

Senior Director of Marketing

BlackBerry

Oct 2020 - Jan 2023 (2 years 3 months)

Global digital marketing for the world's largest AI cybersecurity software company. Direct report to CMO; quarterly board presentations.
• Managed $2.3M paid media spend; led 6-10 directs plus global agency partners across Google Ads & LinkedIn
• 550% YoY paid search growth via Quality Score optimization (budget-neutral). 8x ABM engagement
• Built C-suite and board-level performance dashboards

Salesforce Adobe Experience Manager Google Ads Google Analytics Google Tag Manager ZoomInfo ZoomInfo GTM Studio LinkedIn Ads LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Director of Marketing

Cylance

Jul 2017 - Oct 2020 (3 years 3 months)

Directed early demand generation through Series D and the BlackBerry $1.4B acquisition, delivering $4M quarterly pipeline on a $2.5M annual paid-media budget (8:1 ROI). Implemented the Forrester Demand Waterfall across a 40-person marketing-sales org, driving 23% form conversion lift and 28% digital/organic lead growth, and led a $1.3M cylance.com rebuild with a 40-person team on time and on budget.