What if the marketer who's visited 39 countries has discovered the secret to building teams that thrive across time zones and cultures?

Aimen Chouchane went from government advisory to leading marketing at Uptick, serving the fire protection industry across four continents. While other marketers chase generic SaaS playbooks, Aimen discovered his niche audience doesn't live on LinkedIn all day—they're out in the field keeping buildings safe.

Want to know the Wi-Fi research trick that saved his biggest deal? Or how a portable second screen revolutionized his work-travel balance? Aimen shares both.

But wait until you hear about Uptick's mission-driven approach—a company that actually helps keep people safe rather than just peddling software. The philosophy? You'll discover why Aimen refuses to work anywhere that doesn't make the world better.

This isn't your typical marketing interview about funnels and attribution. Discover how a leader blends Tunisian heritage, British pragmatism, and global perspective into marketing strategies that actually work for real people doing real jobs.

"You really can't be a marketer in 2025 if you're not using data... but you still have to use some gut instincts and make some creative calls."

- Aimen Chouchane

• The Country Collector - At 38 turning 39, Aimen's obsessed with keeping his travel count above his age. Currently at 39 countries, he's racing against time—literally. One pandemic slip-up and he was behind, but now he's back on track and plotting his next passport stamp.
• The Wedding Deal Maker - Forget LinkedIn networking events. Aimen's biggest career move happened with a beer in hand at someone's wedding. One friend's startup pitch over cocktails turned into eight years of SaaS marketing madness across four continents.
• The Istanbul Internet Survivor - Nothing teaches you Wi-Fi paranoia like getting yelled at by your boss during a dropped Zoom call. Now Aimen stalks Booking.com reviews searching for "wifi" mentions before booking anything. Turkey taught him the hard way that great download doesn't mean great upload.
• The Rio Sunset Enforcer - Most people say "work-life balance." Aimen says "work until Rio sunset, then beach." His productivity hack? Hard stops that force you to actually finish things instead of pretending to work until midnight.
• The Time Zone Referee - Managing Aussies, Brits, and Americans means someone's always awake and wanting to Slack you. Aimen's solution? Aggressively telling people to stop working after hours because apparently being a good boss means being the productivity police.

[02:30] The Global Marketing Advantage

How traveling to 39 countries transformed Aimen's understanding of customers and cultures. While other marketers rely on personas, Aimen draws from real human experiences across continents to build marketing that resonates with actual people, not demographic data.

[08:15] The Accidental SaaS Journey

From politics degree to government advisory to tech policy consulting, Aimen's career took an unexpected turn when LinkedIn became a client. The revelation that massive companies started as "ideas on a whiteboard" sparked his obsession with early-stage chaos and building something from nothing.

[15:20] Mission-Driven Marketing at Uptick

Why Aimen chose to market fire protection software instead of chasing trendy consumer apps. Uptick keeps public buildings safe by helping companies manage thousands of assets digitally—work that actually matters beyond quarterly metrics and vanity growth.

[20:45] Marketing as Science + Art

Aimen's philosophy on...

What if the CMO who calls himself "just a simple guy" has cracked the marketing code that's stumping industry leaders?

Christian Kunkel went from asking "What's a GRP?" to leading Fingercheck through the saturated payroll software market. While other CMOs chase growth hacks, Christian discovered customers were finding them through ChatGPT — not Google or ads. This revelation completely shifted his team's approach to customer discovery.

In this episode, Charlene Ormo interviews Christian Kunkel, a strategic mind who's not just building marketing systems, but reshaping how small businesses thrive. As CMO of Fingercheck, he's leading the charge in making payroll, HR, and financial flexibility accessible for the people who power our economy. But beneath the strategy is a mission rooted in empathy, resilience, and hard-won lessons.

This isn't your typical CMO interview about funnels and attribution. Discover how a marketing leader cut through the noise by returning to what most of us forgot — and the tactics making it work today.

• The GRP Mystery Detective - Day one in marketing: "Go fill a box with GRPs." Christian spent hours wandering the office asking "What's a GRP?" only to discover it was an elaborate prank.
• Jets Obsession Level: Maximum - This die-hard Jets fan believes if they win a Super Bowl in his lifetime, his legacy is complete (right after being a great dad and husband).
• The Support Call Crasher - While other CMOs chose strategy meetings, Christian secretly joins customer support calls for raw marketing gold you can't find anywhere else.
• Comic Book Marketing Genius - Christian literally drew a comic book to explain boring location data because apparently PowerPoints weren't cutting it. Did it generate millions? Of course not. Did customers think it was amazing? Absolutely. Because sometimes the best marketing ideas sound completely ridiculous until they work.
• The Homebody with a Famous Wife - Married to a Jennifer Lopez (not that Jennifer Lopez), Christian prefers quiet nights at home over the hustle and bustle. While the world chases the spotlight, he's found his superpower in the comfort of his living room.

[01:23] The Simplicity Superpower

Why Christian's approach to breaking down complex problems is his secret weapon in a world of marketing complexity. While other CMOs get lost in sophisticated frameworks, Christian's "simple guy" method cuts through the noise to find solutions that actually work.

[06:02] The Mentorship Multiplier

How the right guidance transformed Christian's career and why he's obsessed with paying it forward. Christian reveals the specific advice that changed everything for him and how he's using it to build unstoppable marketing teams.

[07:13] The Support Call Gold Mine

How secretly listening to customer support calls gives Christian marketing insights that million-dollar research can't buy. While other CMOs stay in their ivory towers, Christian gets on the frontlines to hear what customers really think.

[09:00] The "Feel Smarter" Formula

Christian's counterintuitive definition of good marketing that most CMOs get backwards. Instead of overwhelming prospects with features, he discovered the psychological trigger that makes customers want to buy without feeling sold...

Ever wonder if the key to SaaS success isn't about chasing every new growth hack, but about getting back to basics? Things like showing up, leading by example, and never forgetting that at the end of the day, people buy from people?

That's exactly what Charlene Ormo explores in this episode of Humans Behind the Metrics with Scott Nazdan, Vice President of Product Marketing and Strategic Communications at Panopto. Scott is a seasoned marketing and sales leader who calls himself a "player-coach," and he lives by one core belief: genuine human connection is the foundation of everything.

Scott's journey is truly inspiring. He took Ensemble Video from its early "guerrilla marketing" days in 2007 all the way to a successful acquisition by Panopto in 2020. Imagine a 15-year ride, pushing through constant market education, competitive battles, and the challenge of being ahead of the curve in a market that didn't even realize it needed video management solutions yet!

But here's why Scott's story stands out: He's not just another SaaS executive with a typical "hockey-stick" growth narrative. As a former Division I baseball athlete, he brings that same competitive fire, team-first mentality, and "practice when nobody's watching" work ethic to every single business challenge.

Now at Panopto, he's scaling those very principles, skillfully balancing the raw entrepreneurial hustle with the structure needed to compete in the big leagues. And if that's not enough, he's also a digital marketing professor at Syracuse University and hosts the "Learning Never Stops" podcast. He's someone who genuinely believes the best leaders are right there in the trenches with their teams.

If you're grappling with how to blend your instincts with established systems, maintain your raw drive within a corporate framework, or scale your business while keeping that personal touch, this conversation is your essential playbook.

"There is no secret pill for being great. It really is very simple in sports and in business. It's about the values and how you lead and how you operate daily and consistently. And that usually just means leading by example."

- Scott Nazdan

• The Division I Dreamer. Scott spent years dedicated to baseball, becoming a Division I athlete with professional aspirations — until his body and reality taught him that his real playing field would be business, not baseball.
• The Accidental Entrepreneur. Started in K-12 education, taught himself web design and video production, and stumbled into solving a massive problem in higher education that would become his life's work for 15 years.
• The Digital Deal: How Scott Nadzan Signed Away Ensemble Video with 75 Clicks During COVID. After 15 years of building Ensemble Video, Scott "sold" his company by clicking DocuSign file 75 times during COVID — no handshakes, no champagne, just digital signatures and tears of accomplishment.
• The Professor-Practitioner. While building and scaling his company, Scott has been teaching digital marketing at Syracuse University, staying connected to the next generation of marketers and keeping his skills sharp.
• The 4 AM Warrior. Scott's morning routine starts at 4-5 AM, getting ahead of the day to be productive and ready to serve others when "the bullets are flying" during business hours.

[00:02:54] The Sport of Business Mindset:

How Scott's Division I baseball background shaped his competitive business approach, applying sports values and Mark Cuban's "sport of business" framework to leadership. Greatness comes from consistent daily values and leading by example.

[00:10:38] Guerrilla Marketing for Startups:

Master the...