Leslie Denson
VP of Marketing | Technical B2B | Revenue Marketer
leslie@lesliedenson.com
linkedin.com/in/lesliedenson
Who I Am
I've spent my career at technical B2B companies where the buyer doesn't trust or listen to marketing. That's not a complaint; it's actually what I find interesting about the work. When you can't rely on brand affinity or a smooth sales cycle, you have to build something that genuinely earns attention: the right message, the right motion, a team that knows how to execute against a number. I've done that across developer tools, data infrastructure, and workflow automation.
Executive Impact
Career Proof Points
Cohesive Strategy & Global Pipeline
Seqera- Restructured a global team of 14 across four countries and established a monthly Pipeline Council with GTM leadership to create shared accountability.
- Built an AI-powered scoring and messaging framework using Claude Code that gave SDRs a prioritized view of high-intent contacts.
- Result: Quota attainment jumped from 50% to 90%+ in 9 months, achieving record pipeline and iARR quarters.
Establishing GTM Infrastructure
Materialize- Defined the ICP and trial-to-paid funnel for a deeply technical data infrastructure product.
- Owned the entire GTM motion, leading to the acquisition of the company's first $1M in revenue.
- Result: Scaled from $0 to $1M+ ARR in under nine months, with ~100% of pipeline sourced by marketing.
High-Efficiency Demand Gen
Ascend.io- Achieved 304% TOFU growth while limiting ad spend growth to just 40% through aggressive channel optimization.
- Result: Improved lead conversion from 0.6% to 2.4% by tightening feedback loops between activity and pipeline quality.
Building for Exit
Eventador- Built the marketing function from the ground up for a real-time stream processing platform.
- Scaled net leads by 285% year-over-year prior to acquisition.
- Result: Acquired by Cloudera; Marketing-sourced leads converted 50% of total customers acquired.
Marketing to Technical Buyers
Developers and technical buyers don't respond to most marketing because it isn't built for them. I focus on developer advocacy, community, and technical content as the primary motion, not a supporting program.
Proof: 100% marketing-sourced pipeline at Materialize.Parallel Execution Strategy
I build strategy and team concurrently, doing the work myself first to validate leading indicators before hiring. This ensures headcount calls are based on proven signals rather than industry assumptions.
Proof: Built Materialize's trial-to-paid funnel from scratch.AI-Powered Operations
I build custom tooling—like AI scoring frameworks and daily pipeline health briefing systems—to dramatically reduce the gap between market signal and executive action.
Proof: SDR attainment from 50% to 90%+ at Seqera.Running Teams that Own the Number
I've led global teams across demand gen, advocacy, field, product marketing, brand, and ops. I rebuild operating cadences that give the team clarity, ownership, and room to move.
Proof: Led 14-person distributed team at Seqera.Professional Timeline
What I'm Looking For
I'm interested in technical companies at the stage where marketing can genuinely move the business, where I can own the function, build the right team around a clear strategy, and look back and see that things were measurably different because I was there.