Chris Burns
Illinois
Overview
I believe the most powerful question in business is "why?" Why are we growing (or not)? Why is this product different? Why should anyone care? Why is doing "X" or "Y" the best choice? When companies lose sight of the answers, strategy gets muddy, teams drift, and marketing turns reactive. I fix that. As a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and product marketing executive, I've led growth for Fortune 50 giants and VC- and PE-backed disruptors across healthcare, SaaS, and services. I specialize in repositioning brands, launching new products, leading B2B/B2B2C go-to-market (GTM) strategy, and scal
About
I believe the most powerful question in business is "why?" Why are we growing (or not)? Why is this product different? Why should anyone care? Why is doing "X" or "Y" the best choice? When companies lose sight of the answers, strategy gets muddy, teams drift, and marketing turns reactive. I fix that. As a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and product marketing executive, I've led growth for Fortune 50 giants and VC- and PE-backed disruptors across healthcare, SaaS, and services. I specialize in repositioning brands, launching new products, leading B2B/B2B2C go-to-market (GTM) strategy, and scaling high-performing teams. Notable wins include: ✦ Launching a pharmacy services brand boosting share price by 15% ✦ Repositioning a PBM as a SaaS company that attracted 2 acquisition bids ✦ Winning a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for branded experience design My passion is guiding purpose-driven organizations, particularly in healthcare and B2B, through transformation, aligning brand, product, and GTM strategy around the customer, sharpening the story, turning ambition into execution. My strength lies in turning the abstract into the actionable: translating insight into strategy, and strategy into outcomes. I lead with structure, creativity, and clarity, moving teams through complexity with confidence. Open to CMO, VP of Marketing, VP of Product Marketing, fractional/interim, and advisory roles where growth, storytelling, and data-driven decisions are central. Leadership Philosophy ➤ Ask why, then act. Insight precedes alignment. Alignment accelerates execution. I connect market signals, customer needs, and internal priorities to drive cross-functional focus. ➤ Lead with purpose and precision. Strategy drives execution. I grow talent, scale marketing, expand pipeline, and drive EBITDA growth while building accountable, creative cultures. ➤ Insist on data and creativity. ROI and inspiration are not mutually exclusive. I use analytics and commercial acumen to guide investment and enhance marketing's impact. I don't trade creative power for performance; I insist on both. Core Expertise Product Marketing | Brand Positioning | Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy | Healthcare Marketing | Commercialization | Strategic Growth | Messaging & Storytelling | Customer Experience (CX) | Enterprise Marketing | Account-Based Marketing (ABM) | Integrated Marketing Strategy | Digital Marketing | Content Marketing | Demand Generation | Sales Enablement | Revenue Marketing | Marketing Analytics | Marketing Operations | Talent Development | Business Transformation | B2B, B2B2C, B2C