BAROFE BY Kathy Barrios

Oslo-Based CCO/CMO with Expertise in Scaling B2B Tech Companies Globally

I help power B2B startups' and scaleups' commercial growth. I am a C-level operator.A strategic and results-oriented C-level executive with extensive expertise in building, growing, and scaling B2B companies. Backed by over 20 years of experience in B2B enterprise sales, full-cycle revenue marketing communications, product marketing, and customer success.I excel at crafting and executing growth strategies that position companies as market leaders on a global stage. I’m equally adept at driving high-level strategic initiatives and rolling up my sleeves to be hands-on and operational, making sure there is unsiloed GTM execution and measurable results.

© Katherine Barrios. All rights reserved.

About Me

I'm Kathy Barrios (KB), a 47-year-old Colombian-American born in NY and raised in NJ, with a passion for bold ideas and even bolder lipstick (Mac Ruby Woo and Dior 999, if you know, you know). After landing in Norway in 2001, I’ve embraced it as my second home, though my roots remain proudly Colombian-American. I’m a wife, mom to two awesome kids, a sci-fi and fantasy nerd, and a world traveler, when I’m not busy avoiding cats (yes, I’m terrified of them) or loving on dogs.In my professional life, I’m a driven, passionate leader who’s not afraid to take risks or admit when I’m wrong. I believe in giving my all when I believe in something or someone. Kindness is key for me, and life’s too short to deal with a-holes. I thrive on challenges, love fostering innovation, and have a knack for creating compelling stories that can scale tech companies globally.I'm passionate about launching new ventures and prefer action over inaction. I value teammates who tackle challenges head-on and I always root for the underdog. My career aspirations revolve around continuous learning, supporting innovators, and uplifting those around me.

Core Strengths

  • Building and leading high-growth cross-functional commercial teams, from strategy to execution.

  • Creating global brand leadership through data-driven marketing and customer engagement.

  • Expertise across EMEA, US, Latin American, and Asian markets.

  • Languages: English (Native), Spanish (Native), Norwegian (Fluent), French (Conversational).

Passions

  • Helping Norwegian tech companies expand globally.

  • Building and scaling B2B tech companies

  • Launching and scaling high-impact ventures with dynamic, innovative teams.

  • Supporting Founders and CEOs in executing commercial strategies to achieve market leadership.

  • Mentoring and coaching marketers to make sure marketing's true role in driving an org forward is understood by founders and CEOs

Made in the USA. Based in Oslo, Norway. Serving globally.

Key Achievements

CCO & CMO, Xeneta (2015–2024)

  • Scaled and supported the company from 20 to 250+ employees and raised $108M across three funding rounds (Series B-D: Lead Investors - Smedvig, Luxor Capital, Apax Digital).

  • Spearheaded the demand generation and brand marketing, PR strategy that established Xeneta as the global leader in shipping pricing analytics.

  • Grew ARR from $0 to $26M and achieved 94% GRR and 106% NRR by developing and executing robust GTM strategies, while building and leading high-performing, end-to-end marketing, customer success, and services teams.

Board Member, Future Leaders Global (2021 - Present)

Director, Global Marketing & Communications, Qt Company/Digia (2011–2015)

  • Positioned Qt as the leading software development platform behind some of the world’s most innovative and advanced software and hardware products.

  • Led global marketing for Qt through acquisitions with Nokia and Digia driving initial ARR from $0M to $50M.

  • Built and scaled a developer community program to over 1 million users, strengthening Qt’s market position as the leading global software development platform.

  • Pioneered revenue models for open-source software and oversaw product management in the latter part of my tenure, driving innovation and market leadership.

Product Marketing Manager, Nokia, Qt Development Frameworks (former Trolltech), May 2008 - July 2011

Product Marketing & Communications Manager, Unit 4 Agresso R&D (Sep 2002 - Feb 2008)

PR Manager, Americas/Asia Pacific, Opera Software (Jan 2001 - Aug 2002)

Selected Customer Projects

Advisor & Interim CMO (May 2025 - Present)

  • Strengthened Appfarm’s marketing execution and go-to-market rigor to support the next phase of growth.

  • Put in place operational discipline across marketing, tightening execution and aligning sales and marketing around shared goals, pipeline responsibility and measurable outcomes.

  • Led a focused effort on positioning and narrative, sharpening why Appfarm is uniquely capable of delivering what others cannot, and ensuring this conviction is clearly articulated and consistently reinforced across the executive team, the organization, and the market.

  • Pushed for a bold, confident market stance, helping Appfarm clearly own its space rather than blend into the no-code and vibe coding noise.

  • Serve as coach for Head of Marketing and Demand Generation Manager

Fractional CMO (February 2025 - Present)

  • Led Autility’s market entry into energy audits in Norway and the UK, defining the category, driving pilots, and designing a new pricing model.

  • Built Autility’s core problem narrative, clarified product pillars, shaped the Autility Twin In-Use positioning

  • Translated complex technical capabilities into clear commercial value across the full building lifecycle.

"We hired Kathy as a GTM expert to drive the market research and help validate a new GTM strategy for Autility in the energy audit space. We're so impressed by Kathy's ability to dive deep in segment specifics and customer profiling, build the business case, run campaign testing for validation, continuously iterating and being really self-going. She's a one-person marketing team running everything from strategy to product marketing and digital marketing. I highly recommend Kathy for fractional engagements...one of the best product marketing executives I've come across!"
Anders Melbye, CEO, Autility

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Interim CMO (April 2025 - November 2025)

  • Led Glint Solar’s positioning, narrative, and go-to-market execution, helping the company move from feature-led messaging to a bold, demand-creating story in the renewable energy market.

  • Clarified what Glint Solar does, for whom, and why it matters, positioning the company as a credible, opinionated platform for solar and BESS development rather than just another industry tool.

  • Strengthened commercial enablement and operational rigor across sales, marketing, customer success, and product by installing product launch discipline, CRM and data hygiene, and shared accountability for pipeline and growth.

  • Worked hands-on across teams to make GTM a company-wide operating model, not a siloed commercial function.

  • Supported in recruitment of VP of Marketing

© Katherine Barrios. All rights reserved.