233 – 21 Minutes Unlocking Exponential Ecosystem Growth with Greg Sarafin

EY’s Vice Chair Emeritus Joins Ultimate Partner®

In this episode, Greg Sarafin delves into the imperative of the ecosystem, the pivotal role of chief partner officers, career progression in consulting, and the dynamics of organizational leadership.

Discover how Greg oversaw EY’s Alliance Partner Ecosystem, driving substantial growth and impact, with a staggering 40% contribution to EY’s growth over the past six years, surpassing $10B in revenue. With insights from his extensive experience, including leadership roles at IBM and BearingPoint, Greg shares invaluable perspectives on strategic partnerships, technology implementation, and leadership skills essential for C-suite roles.

Learn firsthand about the intersection of technology, business, and partnerships as Greg discusses the tech industry’s influence on GDP growth, AI value creation, and business process reengineering. Gain actionable insights into partner operations, cost management, and the profound impact of partnering functions on organizational success.

Tune in to uncover the secrets of effective partnering, leadership, and capital allocation in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. Don’t miss this enlightening conversation with Greg Sarafin, a seasoned leader with a wealth of experience in driving impactful partnerships and organizational growth.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode

0:00 – The Decade of Ecosystem and Partnering Efficiency 

2:16 – Industry-Specific Partnering Models 

5:08 – The Role of Chief Partner Officers 

14:24 – Challenges and Benefits of Partnering 

14:58 – Elevating Partnering to a Core Competency 

20:36 – The Future of Partnering

https://youtu.be/JjqVclyjBo0?si=jW8TJq85b0HST_bz

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Ultimate Partner LIVE – Executive Summit ’24 – Now OPEN! Take Advantage of Early Bird Pricing – Ultimate Partner LIVE ’24

I’m thrilled to announce the Ultimate Partner LIVE Executive Summit 2024, which will be held in Dallas, TX, on October 22nd and 23rd!

This year’s summit promises to be bigger and better. It will be an immersive experience bringing together over 300+ partners across ISVs, LSPs, and SIs. Join us for two days of insightful discussions, hands-on workshops, and unparalleled networking opportunities with industry leaders and Microsoft executives.

REGISTER HERE Transcript Keywords:

Vince Menzione 0:39  

flywheel success is where you will build momentum, and that momentum will continue, and then you feed into the other systems to say, this is what we did. This is how we did it together.

Vince Menzione 0:50
So Greg, you’ve been a thought leader in this ecosystem movement as we refer to it now, like, why is it a strategic imperative? And what would you say to other SIS or other organizations similar to EY, analogous to EY, what they need to go do better differently? Soa

Greg Sarafin 1:12  

I’m gonna take it up from the world of tech and SI, because I believe this movement is much bigger than that. I know that because there’s a natural affinity for tech and consultancies to partner for four decades now, if you think about it, and that Bill Gates moment, right, exactly, and so. And the reason for that is that clients, if they just adopt technology and they don’t get busine