Hello, my name is Arianna Valentini. I currently work as a product portfolio manager (PPM) at GMC Software. As a PPM, I’m fueled by passion and copious amounts of caffeine to develop effective value propositions, product strategy, and thought leadership based on GMC Software’s product portfolio. I don’t do all this alone! Being a PPM means I’m a cross-functional player in the organization working with everyone from marketing to sales to advance GMC Software’s position in the customer experience market.

I wasn’t always a PPM. In the “before time” I worked as a research analyst focusing on marketing software and digital transformation at both IDC and InfoTrends. Being an analyst means you live in Excel, spend a lot of time writing, presenting at industry focused events, and working with major tech companies to determine future strategy. Once you’re an analyst it’s in your blood, and what I learned as an analyst has helped me become a more effective marketer (especially when it comes to developing analyst engagement strategies).