Career Rocket Episode #15: Chris Samila

“I’m very bullish about the growth and opportunities of the technology partnership channel.”

Chris Samilla

The goal of Career Rocket is to make an impact on people’s careers by sharing wisdom and advice from successful professionals. You can listen to the recording on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Target audience for this episode: aspiring professionals looking to grow in the partnership space or those that are curious about learning more about making a career in this growing field.

Today’s guest: Chris Samilla. The man with the million dollar smile and a genuine, caring, and driven individual. We dive into how he started his career, ended up in Australia and meeting his wife, being recruited back to the States, and building a partnership team.

Professional background and highlights 

• SolarCity - partnership manager for Tesla

• Optimizely - Strategic Partnerships - Asia Pacific

• Fullstory - VP of Partnerships

• Crossbeam - VP of Partnerships

How many people have you managed (includes direct reports and their teams) over your career? 100s including managing partnership clients

For each career stage, please share the most important characteristics to have in the field of marketing.

• Entry level: 1-3 years

  • Top characteristic: Focus and commit to be great at what you are tasked to do. 

    • Tip: Research and choose a company that you know will be successful. When you are aligned with the mission and believe in the future success of that company, you know investing your energy into that company will pay itself off.

• Mid-career: 3-6 years

  • Top characteristic: Engaging with peers in other companies. You will shortcut career mistakes and expand your network quickly.

    • Tip: Focus on helping these people become successful in their career.

• Mgr/Directors

  • Top characteristic: Empathy.

    • Tip: Focus on what drives the partner’s success and not your own KPI

Looking back, please share what you feel have been your biggest drivers to a successful career?

• Having empathy and relentlessly focusing on the success of others

If there was one thing you would like to tell someone earlier on in their career that you wish someone had told you, what would it be?

• It’s ok if you don’t have it figured out and ask for help!

Looking ahead, where do you think are the upcoming hot spots in careers around your discipline?

• Technology partnership managers who work with other technology companies to package deals together and sales

What are the interesting challenges you anticipate will be coming up in your discipline in the coming years?

• How to engage with the big cloud marketplaces and to select which companies to partner with. There is a 175,000 saas companies out there and there is only 100,000 partnership professionals. Pick and choose wisely

What do you do to keep yourself on top of your game?

• Keep on learning because that gives comfort in knowing you have opportunities in the future

• Working out and taking basic care of your health

• Stay connected with people

Not only do you have a successful professional career, you seem to be genuinely grounded and happy. What does living abundantly mean to you and how have you carried it out?

• Seeking and working in a profession that makes you feel fulfilled and excited

• Find ways to give back and make a difference beyond myself

Check out our full list of Career Rocket guests here