Listen and assess.
Meet every person on the team and their key partners in product and sales. Keep in-flight work shipping.
You get a written read on the team and a 90-day plan.
Your PMM team needs a leader before you can hire one.
When a product marketing leader leaves, the team doesn't just stop. I step in as a Fractional PMM Leader, run the team, make it stronger, and hire the person who takes over from me. You can keep moving without carrying it.
Over 15 years in product marketing, specializing in transitions
Brands I've been employed or contracted by
Now Verizon
Now Delinea
A vacant PMM seat costs more than the salary.
Your PMM leader left, and the team is reporting to you.
Now you're running 1:1s and approving launch briefs on top of your actual job.
The search will take months. The roadmap won't wait.
Launches, pricing, and sales enablement still need someone who owns them this quarter.
You're not sure what the next leader needs to fix.
Hiring without a clear read on the team means writing a job description from guesswork.
I run the team so it stops being your problem.
One person accountable for the team, from the first week to the day your permanent leader is in the seat.
- 01
Hold the reins.
I take over the team's day-to-day from week one. 1:1s, priorities, the launch calendar, and the PMM seat in your leadership meetings. Nothing waits on a vacancy.
- 02
Assess the team.
Each person gets an honest read: what they're strong at, where they're stretched, and what the next step in their career looks like. You get the same read, in writing.
- 03
Strengthen the foundations.
Positioning, messaging, launch process, sales enablement, competitive. I fix what's missing and document it so it outlasts my time there.
- 04
Align to strategy.
Where the work has drifted from what the business needs, I reconnect it to company and product strategy, cutting what doesn't serve it.
05
Hire my permanent replacement.
I write the role around what the team actually needs, run the search with you, and onboard the person who takes over. I'm not trying to stay. A clean handoff is the goal.
You'll know what's happening at every stage.
Stabilize and strengthen.
Fix the foundations, align the work to strategy, and coach each person toward the gaps the assessment found.
You get documented PMM foundations and a clear role spec.
Hire and hand off.
Run the search with you, interview alongside you, and overlap with the new leader until they own the team.
You get a permanent leader and a team that's ready for them.
Already have a leader? Add bench strength.
If your team is led but stretched, especially while moving from product marketing to portfolio or solutions marketing, I can work alongside it.
Book a discovery callExecution
Hands-on work with your team: portfolio narratives, solution messaging, launch plans, and the enablement that gets sales to use them.
Advisory
A standing working session with your PMM leader to pressure-test the shift to portfolio or solutions marketing before it reaches the field.
Questions CMOs usually ask.
How long does an engagement last?
As long as it takes to hire the right replacement. Ideally this would be a 3 to 6 month engagement.
Is this full-time?
This is a fractional engagement, you would get 2 to 3 fully dedicated days, with ad-hoc support throughout the week as needed for the team.
What if someone on the team wants the role?
Good. The assessment tells you whether they're ready, and if they're close, I'll coach them toward it instead of running an outside search.
What happens on the discovery call?
You tell me about the team and what's at stake this quarter. I tell you what I'd do first, and whether I'm the right fit. I may not be and I will let you know. If I'm not, I'll tap my network to help you where I can.
Tell me about the team. I'll tell you what I'd do first.
Prefer email? hello@innervates.com