Marketing should sit at the strategic heart of the business
I’m Darren Gallagher, a SaaS marketing leader. I build pipeline, structure marketing teams for scale and help leadership see marketing as a commercial function. Be More Present is where I share what I’m learning, and the research I’m doing with founders and CEOs.
Marketing has changed
In SaaS, marketing is expected to own pipeline, shape strategy and stand alongside the CEO as a commercial peer. Many marketing teams were never set up, or supported, to do that.
The gap between a senior marketer and a true commercial partner to the CEO is rarely discussed, but widely felt. Through operating experience and research with founders and CEOs, I focus on:
- Marketing teams built for scale, not activity
- Commercial fluency and influence at board level
- Positioning that holds up to investor and buyer scrutiny
- Confidence: why it matters and how it is built
This is not about campaigns. It’s about capability, confidence and commercial authority. Marketing must earn, and sustain, its seat at the strategic table.
About me
I’m a SaaS marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience across digital performance, brand transformation, organisational restructuring and executive growth strategy. I’m Director of Marketing at Unity5, where I work at the intersection of revenue strategy, marketing architecture and board-level communication.
Alongside that, I run independent research on how founders and CEOs see marketing, and what builds confidence in the people who lead it.
Research
I’m talking to founders, CEOs, investors and marketing leaders about what they expect from marketing, how confident marketing leaders feel at board level, and what makes the difference. I’ll publish what I find here.
Working with me
I work with SaaS founders and CEOs on marketing consultancy, and on communications for awards, acquisitions and mergers. I also mentor founders and senior marketers, and I speak on confidence, commercial credibility and building marketing teams a board can trust.