Growth and Senior Hire for Marketo

Marketing software and solutions firms Marketo has announced first quarter revenue up 35% to $62.2m - with a slightly smaller net loss. The firm has also hired former IBM exec Shankar Venkataraman as Chief Scientist.

Marketo, which in recent years has acquired social media platform Crowd Factory and web site personalization start-up Insightera, built its own research center eighteen months ago, and recently launched a solution called 'insight-driven engagement', in partnership with ad agency Wunderman.

First quarter GAAP net loss was $18.15m vs $18.92 last year, while on a non-GAAP basis there was also an improvement, to $7.65m from $8.29m last year. Figures were broadly in line with analysts' expectations. For the second quarter, the firm says it expexts revenue in the range $65 to $66m, and for the full year 2016, in the range $269 to $275m.

Chairman and CEO Phil Fernandez (pictured) said the results represent 'a solid start to 2016, with strong revenue growth and improved operating leverage', adding: 'Marketing automation has expanded beyond just the marketing department and is becoming a strategic weapon among CMOs, as well as CIOs and the entire C-suite. Marketo is well-positioned to capitalize on the broader market opportunity in 2016, as companies expand their digital transformation agendas'.


Venkataraman will take charge of product development. Prior to joining Marketo, he spent eight years at IBM, most recently as CTO for the IBM Analytics Platform, and previously as an engineer and Chief Architect working in the big data field. Before this, he was a VP at Celequest and Cognos Corporation.

Web site: www.marketo.com .