Kerry Desberg ─ Fearless marketer who champions innovative initiatives and next-generation technologies.
February 9, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Kerry Desberg
Chief Marketing Officer
Impartner Software
Are you looking for a bold, prescient marketer who is comfortable connecting the dots and taking action before most others? We know the person—Kerry Desberg!
Kerry is a seasoned marketing and communications pro. She is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Impartner, a global leader of channel management technology. She is a confident forger of new paths known for breaking barriers by championing innovative initiatives and next-generation technologies.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Kerry Desberg!
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
Dairy farmer kid – with the maiden name, Utter. True.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
100-125K. I commuted from Seattle to our headquarters in Utah, so it happened fast, big trips aside.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
Escamole, in Mexico City. A Mexican delicacy made with black ant eggs.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
When I was 29, I got the role of public affairs manager for Procter & Gamble’s Cosmetic and Fragrance Products – Cover Girl, etc. There was no headier CPG and I was blown away by the investment in employees – things like P&G College. It was like a rapid fire, live MBA program and I am grateful for it every day.
One of my favorite achievements is branding I did with WatchGuard, with a lion to convey there is no more ferocious security protector to have in front of your network. The international campaign with the lion was on airport billboards from Sydney to San Francisco with cheeky phrases like, “Unleash the Beast.”
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
Early career PR role provided access to a wide range of leaders at all levels in all disciplines. This allowed me to build deep relationships that have been invaluable throughout my career.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
Early in my career, I was in the defense and oil industries and I was generally the marketing outlier in a room of engineering focused teammates. I had to learn to trust the value of my ability to translate technology into something easily consumable by a wide range of stakeholders. That’s a superpower every company needs, but I was less confident of that value early on.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I make time for it. Every one of us can remember every toe hold someone gave them. I do. I want to play it forward.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
Easy. Marketing in the pandemic. It has required our marketing team to duck and pivot to find and drive demand but in the end, it’s made us better. In every way, we’ve honed what we are doing to make every movement matter more.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I keep myself close to our tech stack. You have to understand your tech stack – what’s possible and what to fight for. I’m not saying you have to know how to turn every dial – but you can become outdated terrifyingly quickly if you don’t know what’s under your marketing hood.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
It’s a luxury problem -- managing scale. 75% percent of revenue goes through the channel, and when companies automate and optimize the performance of their channel, the results are spectacular. Continuing to build out the team to do more, better, faster, bigger to capture the momentum of that is a fantastic opportunity, and we are and will be there to capture it.
