Meet Mike Thanos, ON24’s Senior Director of Sales Enablement, based out of California! Mike began his ON24 journey in 2016 but has always been a believer in ON24’s mission even before joining the team. From an ON24 customer to a rockstar employee, Mike has contributed to many exciting projects and has his share of unforgettable memories at ON24. To learn more about Mike and his time at ON24, read what he had to share below.
How did you hear about ON24, and what drew you to join?
I started working with ON24 as a customer in the early 2000s during my 11 years at Oracle. I was one of the earliest buyers of ON24 in their Marketing organization, where many of the integrated marketing campaigns I managed for the technology side of the business had ON24 webinars as a key element.
I also worked on some virtual events with partners and sponsored webinars through publishers using ON24. I continued to implement ON24 solutions at other companies as well before joining ON24 in August 2016.
What drew me to ON24 at that stage of my career was a combination of the PEOPLE, the PLATFORM, and the POSSIBILITIES. I already knew from my marketing experience that the ON24 platform is key to connecting with audiences and driving results in digital, integrated initiatives.
I believe that ON24 (the team, the platform, the thought leadership, the strategic direction, and more) is instrumental to any digital engagement strategy for businesses and programs.
I was already a big believer in ON24; I just made it official in 2016.
How long have you been with ON24?
Five years in August 2021
What have been some of your favorite projects you have worked on at ON24?
This question is so difficult to answer because there have been SO MANY highlights and wonderful team efforts along the way. I’m grateful for ALL of the experiences. If I were to choose three:
1. Elevate / Kickoff Events Led and was emcee for our ON24 Team Kickoff Events (called ON24 Elevate) in the summers of 2017 and 2018, as well as led planning for the 2020 event prior to the cancelation due to the pandemic. Looking forward to when we kickstart that again.
2. ON24 University and New Hire Training I developed and continue to drive our ON24 University onboarding programs and ongoing education and internal communications for the team.
That all includes new hire training weeks, on-demand curriculum, regular ON24 University internal webinars, and Sales all-hands meeting webinars while also working with and supporting the teams and our colleagues across our global organization.
It’s great seeing my recently growing Enablement team ramping up to support and help drive many of these efforts.
3. Platform and Services Updates Helping with the enablement for numerous products and services launches in collaboration with Marketing, Product Management, Customer Success, Sales Ops, and more colleagues across the ON24 #OneTeam.
It’s always exciting seeing the evolution of the ON24 Platform and helping the team bring that innovation to our customers to delight them every day. These projects provide a front-row seat to seeing our platform’s innovation coming to life.
How has ON24 helped you with your career development?
I look at this from two perspectives:
First, from my years as a customer. Some of the largest, most successful marketing programs I ran included ON24 webinars and digital solutions.
From product launch campaigns to acquisition strategy communications initiatives to core demand generation programs, ON24 was a staple in my team’s programmatic efforts yielding great results. Those programs and their success helped me and my teams show great results and growth in our careers.
Second, my tenure at ON24. I have grown so much more in these five years than I ever thought was possible at this point in my career. I have developed new skills, worked on new projects, and applied fundamental programmatic and integrated approaches to them.
I’ve also continued to grow my team along with my management skills and experience. I am grateful every day for the opportunity to support and engage every day with so many different areas of the ON24 business and that the leadership team trusts in me to be in a management leadership role.
What has been your favorite ON24 memory?
My favorite memory is, without a doubt, Elevate 2017 in New Orleans. Elevate 2018 in Phoenix was awesome too, but NOLA was my first one. Reflecting on that week in New Orleans, here are a few highlights:
On the first day, I got to use a megaphone to announce to about 200 colleagues that a Second Line Band would be guiding us through the streets of New Orleans from our hotel lobby to our welcome reception a quarter-mile away. Epic!
Then, I had the honor to be the emcee for the three days. I introduced leaders, peers, customers, 3rd party speakers and guided the team on their journey that week as they learned more about the business, our platform, skills, and processes, all while helping get the team energized for the year. Grateful!
I was both excited and nervous, and the team all rallied around each other, so the event rocked!! We launched internal themes like #OneTeam and Our Time is Now – themes still used in our business to this day. I can’t wait for the next one. I look back on that week in NOLA as one of those pivotal moments not only in my career but in my life. Thank you, ON24!
What excites you most about ON24’s future?
I am very excited and optimistic about the global opportunity for ON24 across industries and areas of businesses that we can help with our Digital Experience Platform.
I think there are so many ways that we can impact the digital strategies for businesses, and I very much look forward to the growth and success of ON24. I also can’t wait to meet more new colleagues and see what’s next in our platform evolution.
What advice do you have for prospective ON24 candidates?
TEAM!!! ON24 is a team sport. Be ready to join and be part of a wonderful team where we lean on values like Respect, Collaboration, Integrity, Excellence, Empathy, and Accountability.
Take the time to get to know the business, our solutions, and most importantly, our amazing colleagues across the globe. I’ve not only worked with great colleagues but also built friendships for life! Go, Team!
What is your proudest moment as an ON24 employee?
Simple. Every day at ON24!! Along with that, on February 3, 2021, ON24 went public. This moment was absolutely epic, and it will be a day I’ll never forget. It’s a day anyone at the company at the time will never forget.
What is unique about ON24?
ON24 is a growth organization yet an established company with over 20 years of experience in the digital strategies and solutions space. So, we get to enjoy the excitement, energy, and innovation of a growing, emerging organization, while also having the stability and foundation of a successful, proven organization. That’s a great balance and experience. Oh, and we also have a Digital Experience Platform that is second to none.
What has your experience been like adjusting to a fully remote environment?
Thankfully, the company was very supportive through the process, while there were many questions and lots of uncertainty. I certainly missed being around the team. However, I quickly realized the importance of staying connected as a team.
ON24 has great resources and tools in place to stay connected digitally, on video. I couldn’t imagine the last year without the great virtual team meetings, our internal webinars, and some very nice 1:1 virtual coffee chats too. I’m hopeful and looking forward to seeing the team in person soon. Meanwhile, the organization continues to be very supportive and flexible to the employee’s needs.
If you could switch your role with anyone else in the company, who would it be and why?
I don’t know if I can answer this one. I love what I’m doing, and I get to work with so many colleagues and groups across the business every day. That’s what I love to do, work with awesome people, and drive amazing initiatives for the business. #Grateful #ON24Rocks #OneTeam