Built to build
Brand, demand gen and GTM for B2B tech companies
About
Katrien Zoë Depoorter. Software + tech + marketing.
Most recently Head of Marketing at Karomia (B2B AI-native software, Ghent), where I came in to bring brand and demand gen to the next level and put a marketing OS in place. Right as the product entered a new chapter and a new category.
Before that: Head of Marketing at Enersee and VP Global Marketing at Itineris. Earlier career in sales, business development, and customer success at Esko, Blue Yonder, and Symphony Teleca. That commercial DNA shapes how I approach marketing. Pipeline and revenue are never an afterthought.
I work through my own management company, PORTOR & Co. Not as a consultant, not as a freelancer. As an embedded marketing leader who builds it, runs it, and stays to see results.
Dual Belgian-American. Twelve years in the US. For companies building across both sides of the Atlantic, I speak both cultures. That saves time.
Every company is different. But the first question is always the same: where are you now, and where do you need to be?
Understand first, then build.
I start by understanding the business, the product, the customer, and what's already in place. No assumptions. Then I build from there. Brand foundations first. Demand gen on top. The operational structure to make it run.
No demand without brand.
Brand ID is foundational. Who you are, why you exist. How you engage with your customers. How you want them to fall in love with your company and product. Without it, demand generation is just spending money to be forgettable.
AI. Every day.
I work and play with AI every day. To know what's instantly helpful and what's not ready yet but will soon.
Momentum from day one.
In the early months, I can cover a lot of ground myself. Strategy, copy, campaigns, creative direction. No three-month hiring phase before anything happens. As the right people come in, I build the team and we fly.
In it for the long haul.
I build best when I can commit. Building something meaningful takes time. And there's no better feeling than building with people. Missions - not projects, not sprints - any day.
Building the team.
Building a marketing team is like solving a puzzle. Finding the right people, putting them in the right seats, and watching it click. That's one of my favourite parts of the job.