“We will continue to invest in Lisbon,” says CEO of American unicorn Iterable

In August, Sam Allen took over as CEO of Iterable. The American unicorn's new CEO spoke enthusiastically about the Lisbon hub and the role it could play in the company's expansion into Europe , a market he has identified as a priority for the growth of the technology company, which, using artificial intelligence (AI), develops a multichannel marketing platform used by more than 1,200 brands in over 50 countries.

Growth will be organic, but not limited to that. Sam Allen, who during his several years at Salesforce has been responsible for more than two dozen mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, admits that, for now, buying isn't on his immediate list, but it's "on the radar."

In the fall, he's expected to come to Lisbon to tour the hub , which will celebrate its first anniversary in September. He's enthusiastic about the team's growth. "I don't know what the experience with Cloudflare was like, but we've had great success in Lisbon. I don't see any reason why we won't continue to do so in the future," he says, when asked if he felt the constraints highlighted by the North American technology company's CEO, Matthew Prince.

With six offices — three of which are international (London, Lisbon, and Sydney) — the unicorn employs more than 650 people, having surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue at the beginning of last year.

You were executive VP and global chief pipeline officer at Salesforce. You left a big tech company to become CEO of Iterable, a unicorn. What motivated this change?

In over a decade at Salesforce, I've had incredible experiences, but when I looked at Iterable, I saw an absolutely incredible product, with top customer reviews on platforms like G2 Crowd.

I deeply believe we're in a very significant transition period in the technology lifecycle. I've worked in Silicon Valley for almost 30 years and I've seen these things happen before, but nothing at the speed of AI. And Iterable not only has this incredible product, but it's also built from the ground up for AI and to be an AI leader.

Iterable works in marketing technology, focusing on customer engagement—a potential $40 billion market growing at over 16%. So, there's a huge opportunity.

I deeply believe in the vision that Andrew Boni [co-founder and current CEO] has created for this company. I'm thrilled that he's taken on the role of Chief Scientist and will continue to drive that vision forward.

The team is fantastic. I've spent a lot of time analyzing the executive team I'm currently working with. They're all incredible, very eager, and want to succeed in the market, which matches my desire, and build something truly great. As I get to know the people at Iterable, I see they share my passion for customer success.

Personally, it's an opportunity to take charge and be responsible. I had an incredible career at Salesforce, an important role, but at the end of the day, I wasn't the one making all the decisions. In my career over the last 30 years, I've done many things; the only thing I haven't done is lead a company as compelling as this one, through a massive growth cycle. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. And I want to prove to myself that I can be a successful CEO in this fast-paced industry.

With new leadership, Iterable talks about a "new chapter of growth." Is it purely organic, or, given your M&A experience, will this strategy be part of this new cycle?

I have no intention of changing the product strategy I created before joining. That was one of the reasons I came here. What I'm here to do is drive significant growth, primarily in the business area and geographically.

My number one priority is Europe. We have a huge opportunity ahead of us in Europe, so I'm thrilled to have this incredible position in Lisbon.

Currently, Iterable is very strong in four sectors in the US. We have the opportunity to expand horizontally to other industries within the US, to delve deeper into the corporate market, and to enter the Fortune 50 globally. This is the first factor in terms of growth.

The second is geography. We have a presence in EMEA [Europe and the Middle East] and a small presence in Asia-Pacific, but I believe there's a huge opportunity for us in those two continents. My number one priority is Europe. We have a huge opportunity ahead of us in Europe, so I'm very excited to have this incredible position in Lisbon.

Third, we have the opportunity to do a lot more with our partners, especially as we look to enter new geographies, to help us scale very quickly in those countries.

I wasn't brought here to do M&A, but it's obviously an opportunity for any company. I feel there will be immense opportunities for acquisitions. And we have an incredible Board of Directors who are very excited about the opportunity for inorganic growth. It's definitely on my radar.

So growth doesn't come from M&A?

My focus in the first six months is, first and foremost, to truly get to know the team, unite them, understand our business, and understand our customers. I want to spend a lot of time with customers. I'll be going to Europe, probably Lisbon in the fall, and I want to get to know the people there, the team. The number one priority is to understand our business, unite the team, drive the plan and vision, and how we'll execute it within the company.

Second, I believe there's a tremendous opportunity for inorganic growth. I wasn't brought here to do M&A, but it's obviously an opportunity for any company. I feel there will be a ton of opportunities for acquisitions. And we have an incredible Board of Directors who are very excited about the opportunity for inorganic growth. It's definitely on my radar, but it's not something I'll be focusing on in the first six months.

We're finding incredible talent in Lisbon, not just for engineering and product, but I want to expand our capabilities to include business development and more sales and marketing roles. This way, we can leverage Lisbon primarily on the continent and London, obviously, in the UK, giving us a dual opportunity for real growth.

You mentioned Europe as a priority. You have two offices in the region, London and Lisbon . Are there plans for new hubs to support expansion on the continent, or are the ones you already have more than enough?

I don't think what we have is enough. We can't expand aggressively without a larger presence. That's one of the reasons I talked about partners and their importance. Like any other company in the world, we have limited capacity. Therefore, I want to leverage the partner ecosystem in Europe to really drive much of our growth there, initially.

And we will continue to invest in both Lisbon and London. We will seize opportunities as they arise. If we discover an incredible opportunity to build an office in Amsterdam, we will do so, but I prefer to leverage and take advantage of our current presence.

We're finding incredible talent in Lisbon, not just for engineering and product, but I want to expand our capabilities to include business development and more sales and marketing roles. This way, we can leverage Lisbon primarily on the continent and London, obviously, in the UK, giving us a dual opportunity for real growth.

We can pursue opportunities in Europe without having to allocate people to specific countries. We've been very fortunate so far in Lisbon in finding language resources to support all of Europe. As I delve deeper into this, I'm very excited about the opportunity to expand our presence in Lisbon.

Reaching 100 [employees in Lisbon] in a few years, almost four times our current size, is a pretty good goal. But if we need to go beyond that, if we need to reach 150 or 200, I have no doubt we can achieve it in Lisbon. We have plenty of room to grow there.

When the hub was announced, the goal was to reach 100 people in "a few years." Given that the strategy involves expanding beyond technological and product capabilities, will that number be surpassed?

I think 100 is a very good goal. We'll review the composition of the 100 people as we grow, but we've had tremendous success so far, going from practically zero to 25. I think we'll reach 30 by the end of the year. We're not limited by growth in Lisbon.

Reaching 100 in a few years, almost four times our current size, is a pretty good goal. But if we need to go beyond that, if we need to reach 150 or 200, I have no doubt we can achieve it in Lisbon. We have plenty of room to grow there.

I don't know how the Cloudflare experience went, but we've had great success in Lisbon. I don't see any reason why we won't continue to do so in the future.

Cloudflare has a hub in Lisbon. Matthew Prince, the CEO, was recently very vocal about the problems caused by work visa delays, the "suffocating" bureaucracy, and the "broken promises." Your Lisbon hub is almost a year old. Do you experience the same constraints?

I don't know enough about what happened with Cloudflare, but what I can say is what our experience has been like. It's been excellent. We've had no problems. We've had an excellent opportunity to learn about other entrepreneurial initiatives in Lisbon: Unicorn Factory, AICEP, and Instituto Superior Técnico.

I haven't seen anything that tells me why we can't continue to grow and scale. We've been successful in our recruiting efforts. We have incredible talent. I don't know about the Cloudflare experience, but we've had great success in Lisbon. I see no reason why we won't continue to do so in the future.

Matthew Prince said that three years ago he stopped recommending Portugal as a country to invest in. I gather from what he just said that he has a different opinion.

I think it's incredible. Frankly, I've never had a position that gave me the opportunity for growth in Portugal, so it's a bit new to me, but everything I've seen is simply incredible. I've developed businesses in Dublin, Warsaw, Italy, and I've seen these opportunities all over Europe, and I think Lisbon and Portugal, from a broader perspective, are fertile ground for us.

Other companies are investing in the sector. I know Lisbon has invested heavily in becoming much more centralized and focused on technology. The fact that we already have a presence there is incredible, because I believe we can lead that growth. I believe it will be an incredible partnership for us.

Twenty-five years ago, Europe was tremendously ahead of the US in terms of mobile technology—and still is—and we had to follow Europe's lead. What's happening now is somewhat similar. Europe's focus on privacy is really important. We have challenges in the US, a kind of 'Wild West' with a completely open [model].

Recently, startups, VCs, and lobbying groups from companies like Meta and Google have called on the European Commission to pause the AI ACT , arguing that it affects innovation. Given that Europe is a growth hub, will it be difficult for a company like yours to navigate this regulatory environment? Is it excessive?

We've been in the market for a decade, we have incredible capabilities, and we've built an incredible platform that you can implement in the regulatory environment today.

Twenty-five years ago, Europe was tremendously ahead of the US in terms of mobile technology—and still is—and we had to follow Europe's lead. What's happening now is somewhat similar. Europe's focus on privacy is really important. We have challenges in the US, a kind of 'Wild West' with a completely open [model].

I want AI to continue to exist forever. We need to build a very strong and trustworthy environment around AI. So I'm eager to work with the right authorities. I want to have a voice at this table. I think our opinions will be important.

But at the end of the day, regulations are regulations, and we'll figure out how to navigate regulatory compliance and bring products to market that customers love and that don't violate any privacy concerns.

There are professions that no longer exist because they were left aside by technological advances. There will be impacts on jobs—they already exist—based on these AI capabilities, but it's also creating new ones. The job of prompt builder didn't exist a year ago; now it's a job you can find in any company. I believe AI will open new markets, new opportunities, and make us better workers.

Some tech companies, like Salesforce, are pausing or reducing engineering recruitment because they believe AI will reduce their talent needs. How will AI impact your company? Are engineers creating the tools that will lead to the elimination of their jobs?

I'm a technologist, but I'm also an optimist. I've seen the tech industry change dramatically over the past three decades, but I also understand how challenging it can be. AI is an incredible tool; it's already present in our daily lives, and we all use it.

Our engineers will become better, faster engineers. It will increase our pace of innovation in the market. But we still need people to innovate. So, I believe that at Iterable, we will use AI to be better at our jobs. We're building AI capabilities to help marketers be better at their jobs. So, we're more focused on how [AI] will improve the state of the world.

There are professions that no longer exist because they were left aside by technological advances. There will be impacts on jobs—they already exist—based on these AI capabilities, but it is also creating new ones. The job of prompt builder didn't exist a year ago; now it's a job you can find in any company. I believe AI will open new markets, new opportunities, and make us better workers.

I also know from experience that AI is difficult to implement. Companies need to deploy a lot of people in the field, at customer sites, to make AI work. Salesforce is also hiring engineers to make AI work on customer sites. It's a balancing act.

You lead an AI company, a fast-paced technology. As a leader, what are your personal challenges?

First and foremost, it all starts with people. So, my biggest challenge is ensuring we have an aligned team that truly understands our vision and is focused on executing and delivering it. For me, that's the most important thing. Iterable has been incredibly successful and has a fantastic product. So, I know we have the basic ingredients, but we need to ensure everyone is aligned and focused.

Second, I've been a CEO before, but at a much smaller company, so this is new to me. I need to recognize that there's a learning curve and I need to focus on ensuring I master the different components of the business. It will take some time and a lot of investment on my part, but I'm excited. To help me figure this out, I have several mentors who have become CEOs of very successful companies. I reached out to them because I want to learn from their experience. I don't like to reinvent the wheel; I prefer to learn from people who have already been there.

And finally, this is what we've been talking about. What will AI do? How do we ensure we'll be in a leadership position, how do we grow effectively? I want to invest in Europe; how do we do this in a way that makes financial sense for Iterable and drives the success of our customers in Europe?

What surprises many people who have never served [in the military] is our focus on people. You can't lead well, especially in an extreme environment like combat, if your people don't fully trust you. And you have to earn that trust, not just because of your position.

You spent many years in the Marines and then moved into the technology sector. This transition from military to civilian life isn't very common in Portugal. What did you take away from that experience?

This transition is also not very common in the United States. Very few Marines in the US end up in roles like mine. And, by the way, I take this very seriously. I'm very dedicated to veterans' issues, not only in the US but also in other countries. At Salesforce, I was the executive sponsor of our veterans community. We had branches in London, Lisbon, Paris, Israel, and Japan.

To answer your question, the military is very, very different, especially the US military, but what surprises many people who have never served is our focus on people. You can't lead well, especially in an extreme environment like combat, if your people don't fully trust you.

And you have to earn that trust, not just because of your position. And I take that very seriously. On my first day at Iterable, when I met everyone at the all-hands meeting, I told them, 'I know I have to earn your trust.' So, that's [lesson] number one.

Number two, the way to build trust is to never ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself. And the simplest way to do that is to lead from the front. People need to see me sitting next to them doing the hard work. I want to create a competitive environment, something the military does very well.

The third thing I learned from the military, and have always applied, is that my job is to make the people in my organization better at their jobs. I'm here to remove obstacles, to provide them with support, to help them do their jobs.

The United States military is hierarchical, but not top-down. We have a concept called 'Commander's Intent,' where your Commander tells you what mission he or she wants you to accomplish, but it's up to you to decide how to accomplish it. I'll give you the tools you need to get the job done, and if you encounter obstacles, it's your responsibility to let me know so I can help.

To be a leader, you need to make difficult decisions, be transparent and honest with people, and this requires a lot of moral courage. Prioritizing values and caring for people are the keys to success.

I'll add one more thing: I'm very values-driven. Integrity is my number one value, and the idea that your word is your bond. This is something taken very seriously in the Armed Forces, and I've always carried that with me.

My second value is moral courage. To be a leader, you need to make difficult decisions, be transparent and honest with people, and this requires a lot of moral courage. Prioritizing values and caring for people are the ways to drive success.

I'm also very performative. I want a high-performance culture. We hire excellent people and expect a lot from them. We may find that people can't grow with us, and that's okay; we'll treat them with empathy.

But make no mistake, at Iterable, I'm going to significantly drive a performance-based culture. I think the vast majority of our employees are eager for that, because we all want to win, do great work, and have fun doing it. I want to build that culture here.