You’re Getting Marketing Ops ALL WRONG ft Mike Rizzo | Hard Corps Marketing Show | Ep 445
What does it really mean to work in marketing operations, and how can leaders better leverage these professionals as strategic enablers?
In this episode of The Hard Corps Marketing Show, I sat down with Mike Rizzo, Community-led Founder and CEO of MarketingOps.com. A longtime community leader and champion of the marketing operations profession, Mike brings clarity to the misunderstood world of marketing ops and shares what’s next for the industry.
He explains why marketing ops pros are more like product managers for go-to-market systems than just email campaign operators. From the launch of a new certification path to AI’s place in the workflow, Mike reveals how the role is evolving, and what skills the best ops leaders bring to the table.
Whether you're leading a revenue team or just starting in ops, this episode offers practical advice to grow your team, your strategy, and your career.
Takeaways:
- What a tiered certification path could do for the marketing ops profession.
- Why curiosity and self-service learning are essential ops traits.
- How AI can support, but not replace, strategic thinking in operations.
- What leaders can do to foster open communication and innovation.
- Why supporting community participation drives team development.
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Connect with Mike:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedrizzo/
- Marketing Ops Website: https://marketingops.com/
- Ops Cast Podcast: https://opscast.marketingops.com/
- MOps-Apalooza 2025: https://mopsapalooza.com/
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- YouTube: https://youtu.be/Vsh4Qn-OIOU
Hard Corps Marketing is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/
Creators and Guests
Host
Casey Cheshire
CEO & Founder of Ringmaster Conversational Marketing. Casey Cheshire is a marketer, serial entrepreneur, and adventurer. He has been in EO for close to 10 years and counts his relationships as a key reason for his continued success. Casey’s passion for podcasting led to him founding Ringmaster Conversational Marketing. Ringmaster helps B2B businesses launch podcasts that drive growth and revenue. Previously, Casey founded and ran Cheshire Impact for 10 years. It became the top Salesforce Pardot marketing automation solutions partner in the world before a successful exit in 2021. He is also a US Marine Corps Veteran where he served in the Infantry and deployed to some very hot climates. In his free time, Casey likes to skydive, climb mountains, and pretend to be a hungry bear for his two kids.