Following on from the investment by Gryphon Partners, David Stephans, CEO, has wasted little time in strengthening his leadership team.
Stephans has appointed Raj Badarinath as Chief Marketing and Product Officer. Badarinath was previously CRO and CMO at Arrowstream, a leader in Supply Chain Visibility for the food services industry. He left as the company was acquired by Buyers Edge last month. Before Arrowstream, he held senior marketing appointments at Algonomy, RichRelevance, Nutanix, Checkout, Winwire Technologies, and Capgemini. He was also a senior product strategy manager at Oracle Peoplesoft and began his career at Infosys.
David Stephans commented: “The position of Chief Marketing and Product Officer is a new one at our company and rather unique, and it will be instrumental to fulfill our company’s ambitions. Raj comes to Rootstock with a track record of driving the growth of SaaS companies, with the management experience to build high-performing teams and with phenomenal industry experience in our space.”
Why has Stephans decided to fill two roles with a single person? While Badarinath has the experience to fulfil both roles, it seems a tall order for one person, especially considering the growth trajectory that Stephans and Gryphon Partners are looking for.
How will this work with two roles?
As chief marketing officer (CMO), he will drive awareness of Rootstock Cloud ERP and the value this product delivers to manufacturers, distributors, and supply chain organizations. As chief product officer (CPO), he’ll assess what Rootstock customers appreciate and need in an ERP solution and translate these insights into a product strategy and roadmap. Both roles are significant for any firm, but it is the first time Rootstock has had either. Praveena Khatri is VP of marketing at Rootstock and was previously in charge of marketing. Ramesh Sunder is vice president, products & technology at Rootstock and presumably was in charge of the product. It means that Badarinath will have a solid team beneath him in both roles, which may be why he has both roles.
Badarinath commented: “I’m super excited to join the team. When I learned about the amazing capabilities of Rootstock, my first reaction was ‘this has got to be one of the industry’s best kept secrets. Meanwhile, manufacturers are seeking next-generation solutions to help transform their businesses in a post-pandemic world. My goal is to make these companies aware of Rootstock ERP. With this solution, they can leverage and multiply the strength and robust capabilities of the Salesforce Platform, and they’ll be equipped to sense and respond to supply chain disruptions and to future-proof their potential in a competitive market.”
Besides the several different roles, Badarinath is also a principal at ZV Ventures, an investment firm which invests in startups. He works with portfolio firms and has a breadth of experience that will serve him well at Rootstock. He is also a voracious reader and has authored and self-published a book. Badarinath studied Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science (Eq.) in India and has a strategic marketing diploma from the University of California at Berkeley.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Stephans is building his leadership team and the wider organisation with the investment by Gryphon Partners. There are currently seven open roles, including two in the UK and five in the US. It will be interesting to see how Badarinath evolves the Rootstock strategy and aligns with Stephans and his team.
In an interview in 2021, Badarinath perhaps indicated why he wanted both roles. When asked the most important lesson he has learnt in his career, he answered: “Marketing is greater than technology. Products fail because people don’t get into the mindset of customers because of a lack of visibility and awareness. Value proposition and targeting always makes a big difference.”
Now he has responsibility for both; it will be interesting to see how Rootstock develops its ERP solution.
