Why Enterprise Leaders Prioritise Team-Centric Strategy — Eric Herzog, Infinidat

Eric Herzog discusses Infinidat’s evolution from relative obscurity to an award-winning leader among the global Fortune 2000. Drawing on experience with Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and EMC, as well as startups, Herzog explains why top CMOs approach marketing as a holistic, cross-functional function.

How does a varied background across big tech and startups shape a CMO’s perspective?

Herzog’s career extends beyond marketing, including roles as CRO, CFO, and VP of Supply Chain. This general management perspective enables him to assess marketing by its overall business impact, not just creative metrics.

“At Infinidat, I am the Chief Marketing Officer… my background is not just in marketing. I’ve been a CRO four times, VP of manufacturing and supply chain three times, and in one company, for 17 months, I was the CFO and the CMO at the same time. My background on the small company side is very broad. In a small company, I’ve led every function except for engineering. It’s a background that is not just pure marketing; it involves a number of other functions in a smaller entity.”

Why is it critical for marketing to operate without internal or external silos?

Herzog believes silos undermine a company’s success. By meeting weekly with sales and support leaders, he keeps the marketing team aligned with field realities and end-user needs.

“I view marketing as a very holistic thing… not only is marketing often siloed from other groups, particularly sales and product management, but even within marketing there are silos. I disagree with those who think that PR and AR should not be in marketing. That is a huge mistake. Business is a team sport. Every Monday, we meet as an entire team… I also meet with the VP of Sales once a week and the VP of Support once a week. If you don’t have the team working together, then the odds of winning the game are low.”

What is the biggest challenge facing B2B marketers, and how do you find “the beef”?

In enterprise storage and cybersecurity, Herzog asserts that substance is critical. Marketers must understand products in detail to equip sales teams with credible data for high-value transactions.

“The biggest thing marketers face today is that people think marketing is tough. In B2B, you better know what you’re doing. There was an ad… and the thing was, ‘Where’s the beef?’ In B2B marketing in particular, where’s the beef? If you can’t talk about your product credibly, how can you create the right collateral? Marketing’s biggest job is doing whatever it takes to help the sales team sell, not win an award for your advertising. If it doesn’t drive revenue, it’s a waste of time.”

How do you leverage third-party validation to overcome the “Infinidat who?” problem?

Herzog’s team leverages awards and press mentions in social media and sales materials. This integrated approach builds credibility when entering new, high-level accounts.

“We have really increased brand awareness. While people still say, ‘Infinidat who?’, it’s like 1/10th of what it was before. We create very cross-functional campaigns. We win lots of awards… then we social media the heck out of it. The sales team has been very appreciative because we’ve taken this integrated marketing approach… they’re going into new accounts, and people say, ‘Oh, Infinidat? We saw you won an award last week,’ or ‘We saw you in 27 articles in the IT and storage press.'”

How does the ideal customer profile (ICP) dictate the tone of executive engagement?

Selling to the global Fortune 2000 requires navigating complex sales cycles involving CIOs, CFOs, and CEOs. Herzog notes that marketing messages must be tailored for technical and business audiences.

“We sell mostly to the global Fortune 2000… Our average sale price is close to a million U.S. dollars. It’s a complex sales cycle. A storage administrator wants to know a bunch of bits and bytes. The director level wants to know, ‘How’s that going to benefit that application layer?’ The CIO not only wants to know that, but also how you improve the business value. A global Fortune 500 customer told us they saved $62 million in OpEx and CapEx. That is what the CIO and the CFO want to hear.”

What is the most effective way to blend virtual and physical events for the channel?

With 90% of revenue generated through channel partners, Infinidat’s event strategy combines global webinars with local, high-touch physical events, including multi-city roadshows and major industry trade shows.

“We blend physical and virtual events, ones we do ourselves, ones we do with trade show companies, and ones we do with our partners. Yesterday, April 15, 2025, I conducted two virtual webinars on enterprise cybersecurity… Last year, we did an 8-city roadshow including Milan, Madrid, London, Tokyo, and New York. Again, it’s an integrated marketing approach, and events are part of that approach, whether they are virtual or physical.”

How do you track the ROI of your marketing spend?

Herzog, a self-described “stats guy,” tracks every touchpoint from initial engagement to deal registration and final quotes. This data-driven approach ensures efficient use of the marketing budget.

“We track maniacally… we track what’s coming from the top of the funnel. We track through deal registration with our partners. We use Marketo, Salesforce, and 6sense. We can track back to, ‘Oh, they came to that webinar and downloaded those two white papers, and then they saw us at the Gartner show.’ We look at the ROI from everywhere: top of funnel, deal progression, and obviously, deal closure.”

What advice would you give to marketing leaders looking to raise the bar in their careers?

Herzog emphasizes mentorship and continuous learning. He believes success comes from hiring to address your weaknesses and maintaining curiosity to learn from peers and experience.

“First, where’s the beef? If you don’t understand the core value proposition, you’re not going to market well. Second, learn from others. I was a mentor to 15 different people at IBM. Never stop learning. I’m almost 70 years old, and I learn new stuff every day. As you move up, always hire to your weakness. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Business is a team sport. Marketing’s job is to always raise the bar.”

Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network

As Eric Herzog demonstrates, closing a $10 million enterprise deal requires more than digital advertising. It demands executive dialogue and third-party validation. The Ortus Club addresses this need through executive roundtables and knowledge-sharing sessions, bringing together Global Fortune 2000 decision-makers in a pitch-free environment. These curated settings enable leaders to focus on business value and trusted partnerships, which Herzog credits for Infinidat’s growth and industry recognition.

FAQs

Q: Why is integrated marketing better for sales than siloed functions?
A: As Eric Herzog mentions, when PR, social, and digital work together, they reinforce each other. The Ortus Club sessions act as a physical anchor for these integrated campaigns, giving sales teams a warm environment to engage prospects.

Q: How do executive roundtables help with the “Infinidat who?” problem?
A: By sitting at a table of 8–12 non-competing peers, a smaller company gains immediate cachet and third-party validation simply by being the facilitator of the industry’s most important conversations.

Q: How do you solve the challenge of securing high-level executive attendance?
A: Getting senior leaders to attend is the hardest part. The Ortus Club solves this by offering a pitch-free environment and a neutral setting, which significantly increases the attendance rate of the CIOs and CFOs Eric targets.

Q: Can these events help personalise the B2B sales cycle?
A: Yes. While consumer marketing uses colors and styles, B2B personalisation happens through human judgment and interaction. Roundtables allow leaders to hear the specific OpEx and CapEx concerns of a CIO in real-time.

Q: How does the team sport mentality apply to event attendance?
A: When marketing and sales attend an executive roundtable together, they act as a unified “offensive team,” as Herzog describes. They hear the same client feedback and can execute a follow-up strategy with much higher precision.