Kathy Barrios
Oslo-Based Fractional CMO/CRO with Proven Track Record in Building & Scaling B2B Tech Companies Globally
Hola, soy Kathy! I help B2B startups and scaleups grow, real growth, the kind that shows up in revenue and retention, not dashboards that look good but don't mean anything.I've spent 25 years in B2B tech in the thick of it: sales, marketing, product management, customer success. Built them, scaled them and lived in them.Twice I've taken companies from zero to real double-digit ARR.I zoom out to set the big picture and zoom right back in to do the work because that's how things actually get done.
© Katherine Barrios. All rights reserved.
About Me
Made in the USA. Based in Oslo, Norway. Serving globally.
I'm Kathy Barrios. Colombian-American, born in New York, raised in the great state of New Jersey, and living in Norway since 2001. This place is home now but the Jersey in me isn't going anywhere.I'm 47, a wife, mom to two awesome kids, a sci-fi and fantasy nerd, and I wear bold lipstick like it's part of my personality (Mac Ruby Woo and Dior 999, if you know, you know). I love dogs, travel as much as I can, and I'm genuinely terrified of cats. Don't ask.Professionally, I take risks and I'll be the first to admit when I'm wrong. I give everything when I believe in something or someone and I have no patience for people who make life harder than it needs to be. Life's too short for that.I root for the underdog, always. I'd rather move and be wrong than sit still and feel safe. And I'm still learning, every single day. Life's too short for anything else.
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
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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Fractional 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
"Kathy stepped in as our fractional CMO during a transition period when we had no internal marketing lead. Despite being with us only two days a week, she made an immediate impact with her insight and dedication. She served as a valuable sounding board and was a total pleasure to work with."
Harald Olderheim, CEO, Glint Solar
Let's Work Together
Hiring a full-time CMO or CRO when you're still figuring things out is like buying a Ferrari to learn how to drive.
You need someone who's been in the room when the pipeline looks scary and the messaging isn't landing.
I've scaled companies from zero to real revenue, twice. I'm here to build something that works, not make your metrics look pretty.
I work with seed through Series B companies helping with the following:
Fractional CMO, CRO, or CCO
Interim leadership
Messaging and positioning workshops
1:1 coaching for marketing and commercial leaders
I don't hand you a strategy deck and disappear. I get in the room, join calls and work alongside your team. I scale what's working, not rebuild for the sake of it. I also won't hand you a framework when what you actually need is cleaner foundations.I care about revenue and customers actually moving, not slides that impress your board. And I care about people. Building them up, coaching them, helping them become the absolute best at what they do.My roots are in development tools, shipping and logistics and renewables, but I work across B2B industries.Let's talk for 30 minutes. You share what's not working, I'll be straight with you about whether I'm the right person to help. Book a chat in the calendar below.
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© 2026 Katherine Barrios. All rights reserved.