From CMO to President: Shafqat Islam's expanded role and Optimizely's future in the AI-driven marketing landscape

Alex AtzbergerAlex Atzberger
Aug 3, 2024

Modern marketing is a convergence of skill sets: a strong sense of customer and market, a product mindset, and an understanding of data and metrics. At Optimizely, we're now aligning our product development more closely with our marketing vision, creating an even more powerful platform. Here's how.

A pivotal moment for Optimizely

We just made a big move.

I'm thrilled to announce the promotion of Shafqat Islam from CMO to President of Optimizely. In this expanded role, Shafqat will oversee product and engineering in addition to marketing, bringing a holistic approach to our solutions.

The journey so far

Since acquiring Welcome, the market-leading Content Marketing Platform, two and a half years ago, Optimizely has undergone a remarkable transformation:

1
We've integrated our solutions to create Optimizely One, the first true Operating System for marketers.
2
Our Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) has surpassed $400 million.
3
We've cultivated an entrepreneurial, diverse culture focused on transparency, execution, and customer success.

Shafqat's impact

As the founder of Welcome and our CMO, Shafqat has been instrumental in driving this success:

He's ensured the satisfaction of major CMP customers like Shell and Salesforce.
He's defined our Optimizely One positioning and uses Opti-on-Opti every day to transform our digital experience, drive conversions and ultimately increase pipeline.
He played a key role in launching our SaaS CMS, revolutionizing how marketers use our no-code Visual Builder for website creation.

An engineer by training and a marketer at heart, Shafqat embodies the perfect combination of skills for Optimizely's future.

Trust and alignment: The foundation for growth

All the above is sufficient reason for Shafqat’s promotion, but it not the decisive reason why I made this move. I made this move because I trust Shafqat. Our shared values, instincts, and vision create a powerful synergy that will drive Optimizely forward as we scale.

There is business-as-usual, and then there are these special moments where the chemistry is just right. When your values align with someone, when you have the same hunches, and when you are in sync without talking, then you have something that is special. I believe both Shafqat and I felt this over the past year and more.

As a $400M+ ARR business recognized as a leader in 11 different analyst reports, we're poised to fulfill our mission of improving marketers' lives. With the advent of AI, the opportunities have never been greater, and Shafqat's lifelong dedication to this goal makes him the ideal leader to seize them.

I know Shafqat has worked on this problem statement – on how to make the marketer’s live better – for nearly his entire professional life. He told me is more energized and working harder that at any time of his career, because he sees more potential than ever before.

What this means for our customers and partners

This leadership promotion brings stronger alignment from engineering through to our go-to-market strategy. You'll benefit from:

A unified vision across product development, engineering and marketing
Solutions that more directly address your business needs
Clearer communication about how our innovations can drive your success

Looking ahead

Optimizely's best days are ahead of us. With this new structure, we're better equipped than ever to innovate, serve our customers, and lead the digital experience industry.

Optimizely’s best days are ahead and Shafqat and I are here for it.