Ask a Marketing Executive: Allyson Havener of TrustRadius

In the latest edition of our Ask a Marketing Executive interview series, we sat down with Allyson Havener, Chief Marketing Officer of TrustRadius, to talk about rebuilding her marketing team into a growth engine, navigating the recent HG Insights acquisition, and embedding AI to sharpen go-to-market execution. Plus, her first career as a ballerina in Dubai.

How do you define the role of the CMO?

The role of the CMO is to make sure the marketing function is a growth driver within the business. We do this by connecting our customers, the business, and the market. Marketing leaders touch every functional area within the organization to ensure that the way that we’re going to market, showing up for our customers, and presenting the company is coherent, cohesive, and consistent.

What is your proudest accomplishment at TrustRadius?

I’m proud of rebuilding the company’s entire marketing team into a growth engine. When I was considering my next opportunity, our CEO reached out to me because he needed someone to rebuild the marketing department. When I joined, like many marketers stepping into a new role, I found that the marketing function was broken and needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. A marketer rarely enters a role where everything runs like a well-oiled machine. The team had gone six months without a leader, and at that point, there was only one person juggling a mix of product marketing and sales support, mainly just helping move deals along.

TrustRadius was recently acquired by HG Insights. How do you expect your platform to evolve under the combined organization?

Our goal is to leverage the strengths of both brands. HG Insights is recognized as a leader in revenue operations and intelligence, while TrustRadius is recognized for our trusted peer reviews and as a one-stop shop for buyers to make confident technology decisions. We have become the gold standard for product research and peer reviews among tech buyers. TrustRadius.com will remain a destination for buyers to do product research, maintaining its integrity with unbiased, vetted reviews and transparent vendor information. It will also serve as a source of valuable content, buyer intent data, and vendor lead generation.

Integrating these assets into the HG Insights platform will bridge the gap between strategy, revenue operations, and go-to-market execution. I have noticed that many companies do not have the depth of analysis or data needed to define their ICP or know where to truly focus their marketing and sales efforts. Our combined platform will help fill that gap by giving companies the market analysis to determine their ICP, identify who is in the market, and drive demand more effectively.

What’s a cool thing your team is using AI to do?

This may be a bit controversial, but while many companies market themselves as ‘AI-powered’ or even as AI companies, at the end of the day, they are still part of a specific industry. Over time, AI will be embedded into everything, so while saying ‘AI-powered now’ seems cutting edge, it’s not a positioning method that will differentiate you in the future. It will be like saying your product is ‘computer powered.’ Right now, there is a rush to be known as an AI company because that is what buyers (and investors) are looking for, but long-term success requires building a clear AI strategy that fits into your larger industry context.

On a practical level, we focus on product intelligence. One exciting development has been building agentic frameworks to make our product data more accessible for generating demand. Today, users can claim and update profiles or generate reviews for free, but much of the data lives in our database and has historically required manual pulls. By operationalizing that product-level data, we have made outbound campaigns more efficient and relevant while driving greater engagement at the top of the funnel. At the same time, at the bottom of the funnel, we can act on signals from user behavior on our site to deliver highly relevant outreach. This combination of efficiency and precision is how we’re embedding AI to improve marketing and go-to-market execution based on first-party data we get from our product.

What’s the one skill you want everyone on your team to have?

Having a growth mindset is essential, especially post-acquisition. Change becomes the only constant, and how you respond to it matters. At TrustRadius, most of my team has been with the company for years – the average tenure is around four years, with some leaders staying six years, which is remarkable in the tech world. We’ve built a strong, cohesive team, but acquisitions create a whirlwind.

In this environment, curiosity and adaptability are mission critical. Buyer behavior is shifting, new tools are emerging, and AI is rewriting the playbook. I look for people who can embrace that change, pick up the ball, and run with it. You can coach and encourage it, but ultimately, a growth mindset comes from within. That’s the kind of mindset that helps teams thrive through transformation.

What’s your go-to question when interviewing a candidate for your team?

I always ask candidates for an example of when they made a big impact or took on a project outside of their job description. To me, that shows proactiveness and drive. Much of my career has been about identifying areas in the company that needed attention and taking ownership to improve them. That ties directly to a growth mindset. Are you proactive or do you wait to be told what to do? When I’m interviewing someone, I want to hear how people stepped out of their comfort zone, took initiative, and found opportunities to create impact quickly.

What would be your dream job if you weren’t a marketing leader?

Oh, I love this question. I had my first dream job right out of college. I was a ballerina my whole life, and I danced professionally in a ballet company in Dubai for two years. I also taught dance, and I loved every moment of it. It was an amazing experience to have in my twenties.

Of course, ballerinas have a shelf life, so eventually I needed to make a change. I moved back to San Francisco and started my first tech job. If I weren’t a CMO now, my dream would be to buy a boutique hotel somewhere in Northern California, like Mendocino. Just live on the land, run a cute inn, and have a bunch of dogs. Now I just need to convince my husband.