Keneth Backofen

Built the growth and demand generation function from nothing three times. Thread, UPSTACK, and Retail Zipline each had no demand engine and no reporting spine before I arrived. Carry pipeline and revenue as a number. 214% YoY revenue growth and 117% ACV pipeline lift at RFgen with 40% of total pipeline marketing-sourced; 55% pipeline lift and 38% lead-to-opportunity conversion at UPSTACK.

Make acquisition cheaper as it scales. CAC down 43% and CPL down 75% at Retail Zipline, and cost per opportunity down 61% at Thread, from $1,538 to $600. Run account-based demand generation into named enterprise targets.

Retail

Zipline's first enterprise ABM program closed a $1.8M ACV account and ran the sales cycle 33% faster.

Lead teams and budgets at scale: budgets from $1.3M to $9M, teams up to 20 people plus 7 agencies, and pipeline forecasts and ROI reported to boards and executive teams. Test what is actually incremental instead of trusting attribution. Channel and geo dark tests of my own design at three companies; the Caribbean pause moved bookings 30%.

Fractional CMO at Thread (2026-06 – Present)

Own go-to-market for an AI service desk platform sold into MSPs, directing a $6M budget and building the company's first multi-channel, full-funnel growth engine across US and international markets.

• Cut average cost per opportunity 61%, from $1,538 to $600, through structured channel experimentation and reallocating budget toward what actually produced pipeline.
• Launched net-new acquisition across programmatic display and remarketing, content syndication, and affiliate and marketplace channels (Capterra, Software Advice), plus paid search and SEO/AEO for organic and AI-search visibility.
• Built the first nurture and lifecycle programs for new prospects, marketplace-sourced engagement, and event communications.
• Work with Sales to define ICP, buying-committee roles, and funnel stage criteria, and lead hiring to build out the growth team.

Digital Marketing and eCommerce Consultant at Kismet Society (2025-10 – Present)

Built and launched the website and a self-serve paid and organic acquisition funnel, growing sales 5x and lifting conversion rate to 4.5%.

VP of Demand Generation at UPSTACK (2025-02 – 2025-09)

Built UPSTACK's first integrated demand generation engine, going from a solo IC to 4 direct reports, 3 contractors, and 5 vendors.

• Lifted marketing-sourced pipeline 55% and hit 38% lead-to-opportunity conversion using 6sense intent targeting and StackAdapt programmatic across display, video, native, mobile, and CTV against named accounts.
• Drove 1,100% inbound lead growth and 78% more sales opportunities across paid media, ABM, outbound, inbound, and events.
• Consolidated the GTM tech stack, tightened CRM governance and lifecycle definitions, and built executive dashboards on sourced and influenced pipeline.
• Created the first product marketing function across six core products, and presented quarterly pipeline forecasts and ROI analysis to the board.

VP of Marketing at RFgen Software (2023-05 – 2025-02)

Led a 5-person team and 5 agencies on a $1.3M annual budget across US and international markets, driving 214% YoY revenue growth and 117% ACV pipeline lift.

• Paired 6sense intent data with Pardot automation and Salesforce attribution for real-time visibility into marketing-sourced pipeline (40% of total), which decided where budget went next.
• Proposed and ran a 60-day incrementality test, going dark on 100 ICP-fit accounts with no intent signals. Direct traffic and top-of-funnel engagement each fell 15%, evidence that paid was creating demand attribution credited elsewhere. Applied the same method to other underperforming channels.
• Rebuilt brand positioning and messaging for multi-stakeholder buying committees, producing a 400% lead increase, a 60% conversion lift, and a 41% higher win rate, and ran Gartner and Forrester analyst relations.

Director of Demand Generation at Retail Zipline (2021-10 – 2023-05)

Led a 7-person team and owned a $3M annual budget across paid search, paid social, and StackAdapt programmatic, including planning, forecasting, and budget pacing.

• Launched the company's first enterprise ABM program against a named target-account list of large multi-location retailers, coordinating paid media with sales outreach, field events, and lifecycle programs. Largest account closed at $1.8M ACV.
• Cut CAC 43% and CPL 75% and lifted pipeline 26% through structured channel experimentation and audience testing.
• Owned partner and co-marketing programs and GTM alignment across Sales, Product, and CS, shortening the sales cycle 33%.

Marketing Lead, Digital Products | Director of Marketing at ConnectWise / BrightGauge Software (2019-09 – 2021-11)

Promoted post-acquisition to lead marketing for ConnectWise's digital product suite (ScreenConnect, BrightGauge) through PE-backed integration.

• Delivered 116% revenue growth and a 305% lead increase through Demandbase ABM, inbound, SEO, paid media, and lifecycle campaigns across US and international markets.
• Built ARR dashboards and standardized reporting, lifting demo requests 20% and product visibility 40% through the integration.

Digital Marketing Program Manager (Norwegian Cruise Line) at eClerx (2018-08 – 2019-09)

Directed a $9M paid media budget across five international markets, leading a 20-person team and 7 agencies with local teams in the UK, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

• Negotiated agency commercial terms (rate cards, rebates, SOWs) and oversaw the digital transformation of an 11-website ecommerce ecosystem, delivering 127% YoY revenue growth and 104% more bookings.
• Paused paid media in the Caribbean as an incrementality test; regional bookings fell 30%, confirming the spend created demand rather than captured it.

Senior Digital Marketing Manager at SproutLoud Media Networks (2016-04 – 2018-08)

Ran through-partner and channel marketing programs; grew qualified leads 125% MoM and hit 270% of the SQL goal.

Sr. Manager, Demand Generation at VTS (2014-03 – 2016-03)

Ran demand generation and analyst relations for an enterprise commercial real estate platform.

B.A. in Psychology – Florida International University