Holly Whitaker
Commercialization and marketing leader with 15+ years building scalable marketing and growth systems across MedTech, SaaS, higher education, and AI-enabled organizations. Transforms fragmented commercial functions into repeatable operating systems through customer insight, cross-functional leadership, AI-assisted workflows, and data-informed decision making. Experienced growing multi-layered teams that transform marketing from a production function to a measurable commercial system and valued strategic partner.
Professional Experience
Founding Chief Marketing Officer
Veterinary Intelligence
Spearman, TX
April 2026-Present
Scope:
Startup Marketing Strategy & Tactics
Fractional at 2 hrs/wk
Veterinary Imaging
-
Built marketing function from the ground up, establishing positioning, messaging, website, and commercial foundations for launch.
-
Partner directly with early customers to refine positioning, develop new offerings, and improve B2B2C adoption.
Director of Marketing
Epica International
Landrum, SC
November 2023-Present
Scope:
5 Business Units
PE-Backed Portfolio
$17M → $35M
US & Italy Stakeholders
Cross-Functional Team
MedTech
Industrial Automation
Veterinary Imaging
-
Aligned a fragmented marketing organization across five business units, establishing a commercial operating model as the connective tissue between product marketing, sales enablement, customer adoption, and demand generation to revenue priorities.
-
Developed AI-assisted workflows, including GPT-powered research, ICP evaluation, messaging development, competitive intelligence, and sales enablement systems that generated $6.2M in pipeline in the first month after rollout.
-
Optimized commercial investment following a ~40% budget reduction, maintaining pipeline performance while improving lead quality and eliminating low-ROI initiatives.
-
Improved recurring revenue and commercial predictability by increasing warranty attach rates from ~15% to more than 60% through lifecycle marketing and customer adoption initiatives.
-
Aligned executive leadership across product, engineering, sales, and marketing by clarifying tradeoffs, improving prioritization and organizational decision-making.
-
Translated Voice of Customer research into commercialization strategy, developing customer personas, messaging, expansion pathways, and sales enablement assets supporting growth from $17M to $35M.
Director of Partner Success
Acadeum
Austin, TX
February 2022 - November 2023
Scope:
$4M P&L
EdTech
SaaS
Marketplace
Series C
-
Led partner commercialization, positioning the marketplace in customer-centric terms that accelerated adoption and growth.
-
Standardized commercialization processes across 3 partner-facing teams, improving scalability and executive decision-making to scale from 200 partners to over 300.
-
Established recurring Voice of Customer programs across my book of 75 customers that informed positioning, partner personas, expansion strategy, and revenue goals.
-
Built repeatable partner enablement programs spanning onboarding, expansion, reporting, and customer success, increasing partner revenue by up to 3x.
-
Accelerated partner maturity by 66% through structured onboarding, customer journey design, and expansion programs aligned to measurable revenue outcomes.
-
Expanded the marketplace into a new vertical by developing targeted positioning, segment-specific offerings, and network strategy, adding 23 new partners.
Learning Strategies Consultant
D2L
Kitchener, Ontario
June 2021 - January 2022
EdTech
SaaS
IPO November 2021
-
Accelerated adoption by up to 3x for returning users (2x new users) through targeted onboarding, enablement, and end-user communication strategies.
-
Enabled 270+ executives with change management strategies, achieving rapid time-to-value for enterprise and mid-market customers.
-
Supported launches through Voice of Customer research, onboarding, and GTM execution, generating $120k in first-year consulting revenue.
-
Built scalable implementation resources, customer education, and GTM assets supporting enterprise adoption during rapid digital transformation.
-
Partnered with product, customer research, sales, and professional services to translate customer insight into product adoption and implementation strategy.
Director of Online Education
Texas A&M AgriLife
College Station, TX
August 2012 - June 2019
Scope:
Shared Service for 18 academic units
Team 8→18, 2 management layers
Higher Ed
State Agency
Cross-Functional Team
-
Built a shared commercialization model across 18 business units, increasing digital learning output 7× while reducing public funding reliance by $275K.
-
Scaled a new digital service supporting 650K+ annual course completions through standardized platforms and operating systems.
-
Aligned faculty, researchers, administrators, and technology teams around a shared commercialization strategy.
Program Analyst
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Higher Ed
August 2010 - August 2012
Department Head, Teacher
Waco Montessori School
Waco, Texas
K-12 Ed
August 2000 - August 2010
-
Led upper elementary programs, faculty collaboration, parent engagement, and experiential learning initiatives for students in grades 4-6.
-
Led program evaluation across three classrooms including academics, budget, and parent programming.
Associate Director
Baptist Student Ministries
Texas Tech University / Baptist General Convention of Texas
January 1998 - August 2000
-
Developed leadership curriculum, facilitated training programs, and mentored emerging leaders across church and community organizations.
Professional Experience
Founding Chief Marketing Officer
Veterinary Intelligence
Spearman, TX
April 2026-Present
Scope:
Startup Marketing Strategy & Tactics
Fractional at 2 hrs/wk
Veterinary Imaging
-
Built marketing function from the ground up, establishing positioning, messaging, website, and commercial foundations for launch.
-
Partner directly with early customers to refine positioning, develop new offerings, and improve B2B2C adoption.
Director of Marketing
Epica International
Landrum, SC
November 2023-Present
Scope:
5 Business Units
PE-Backed Portfolio
$17M → $35M
US & Italy Stakeholders
Cross-Functional Team
MedTech
Industrial Automation
Veterinary Imaging
-
Aligned a fragmented marketing organization across five business units, establishing a commercial operating model as the connective tissue between product marketing, sales enablement, customer adoption, and demand generation to revenue priorities.
-
Developed AI-assisted workflows, including GPT-powered research, ICP evaluation, messaging development, competitive intelligence, and sales enablement systems that generated $6.2M in pipeline in the first month after rollout.
-
Optimized commercial investment following a ~40% budget reduction, maintaining pipeline performance while improving lead quality and eliminating low-ROI initiatives.
-
Improved recurring revenue and commercial predictability by increasing warranty attach rates from ~15% to more than 60% through lifecycle marketing and customer adoption initiatives.
-
Aligned executive leadership across product, engineering, sales, and marketing by clarifying tradeoffs, improving prioritization and organizational decision-making.
-
Translated Voice of Customer research into commercialization strategy, developing customer personas, messaging, expansion pathways, and sales enablement assets supporting growth from $17M to $35M.
Director of Partner Success
Acadeum
Austin, TX
February 2022 - November 2023
Scope:
$4M P&L
EdTech
SaaS
Marketplace
Series C
-
Led partner commercialization, positioning the marketplace in customer-centric terms that accelerated adoption and growth.
-
Standardized commercialization processes across 3 partner-facing teams, improving scalability and executive decision-making to scale from 200 partners to over 300.
-
Established recurring Voice of Customer programs across my book of 75 customers that informed positioning, partner personas, expansion strategy, and revenue goals.
-
Built repeatable partner enablement programs spanning onboarding, expansion, reporting, and customer success, increasing partner revenue by up to 3x.
-
Accelerated partner maturity by 66% through structured onboarding, customer journey design, and expansion programs aligned to measurable revenue outcomes.
-
Expanded the marketplace into a new vertical by developing targeted positioning, segment-specific offerings, and network strategy, adding 23 new partners.
Learning Strategies Consultant
D2L
Kitchener, Ontario
June 2021 - January 2022
EdTech
SaaS
IPO November 2021
-
Accelerated adoption by up to 3x for returning users (2x new users) through targeted onboarding, enablement, and end-user communication strategies.
-
Enabled 270+ executives with change management strategies, achieving rapid time-to-value for enterprise and mid-market customers.
-
Supported launches through Voice of Customer research, onboarding, and GTM execution, generating $120k in first-year consulting revenue.
-
Built scalable implementation resources, customer education, and GTM assets supporting enterprise adoption during rapid digital transformation.
-
Partnered with product, customer research, sales, and professional services to translate customer insight into product adoption and implementation strategy.
Director of Online Education
Texas A&M AgriLife
College Station, TX
August 2012 - June 2019
Scope:
Shared Service for 18 academic units
Team 8→18, 2 management layers
Higher Ed
State Agency
Cross-Functional Team
-
Built a shared commercialization model across 18 business units, increasing digital learning output 7× while reducing public funding reliance by $275K.
-
Scaled a new digital service supporting 650K+ annual course completions through standardized platforms and operating systems.
-
Aligned faculty, researchers, administrators, and technology teams around a shared commercialization strategy.
Program Analyst
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Higher Ed
August 2010 - August 2012
-
Designed qualitative interview frameworks and analysis methods that improved product utilization by aligning programs with customer outcomes across 3 departments.
-
Translated quantitative customer feedback into measurable program improvements across 20 academic departments.
Department Head, Teacher
Waco Montessori School
Waco, Texas
K-12 Ed
August 2000 - August 2010
-
Led upper elementary programs, faculty collaboration, parent engagement, and experiential learning initiatives for students in grades 4-6.
-
Led program evaluation across three classrooms including academics, budget, and parent programming.
Associate Director
Baptist Student Ministries
Texas Tech University / Baptist General Convention of Texas
January 1998 - August 2000
-
Developed leadership curriculum, facilitated training programs, and mentored emerging leaders across church and community organizations.
Education
Ph.D. Applied Communications, Leading Technology Change
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
August 2008 - May 2012
Master of Theology
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
August 2000 - May 2006
Master of Education
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
August 2002 - December 2005
Bachelor of Science, Agricultural Economics
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
August 1993 - December 1997
Certifications
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Hubspot Content Marketing
Looker Data Analytics
Project Management
eLearning
Generative AI
Agentic AI
Platforms
CRM & Revenue Operations
-
Salesforce
-
Hubspot
-
Wix CRM
-
YAMM
Change Management Methodologies
-
ADKAR Prosci
-
Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
-
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
-
Concerns-Based Adoption Model
Learning & Enablement
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D2L Brightspace
-
Blackboard Learn & Collaborate
-
Moodle
-
Articulate Storyline
-
Rise 360
-
Microsoft PowerPoint
-
Kaltura
-
Camtasia
Analytics & Reporting
-
Tableau
-
Looker Studio
-
Google Analytics
-
Google Search Console
-
SPSS
-
Microsoft Excel
-
Microsoft Access
Collaboration & Productivity
-
Clickup
-
Asana
-
Basecamp
-
Monday.com
-
Trello
-
Confluence
-
Slack
-
WhatsApp
Virtual Events & Facilitation
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Zoom Webinars
-
Microsoft Teams Live Events
-
Webex
-
Adobe Connect
-
GoTo Meeting
-
Google Meet
Content & Digital Experiences
-
WordPress
-
Wix
-
Shopify
-
Adobe Creative Suite
Social
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Sprout Social
-
CoSchedule
-
HootSuite
-
Meta
-
TikTok
-
LinkedIn