CXO MovesLeadership & Strategy
Zendesk appoints Lori Gabrielli as VP of Demand Generation

Article content
Lori Gabrielli has joined Zendesk as Vice President of Demand Generation, bringing extensive experience in enterprise technology marketing, global go-to-market strategy and marketing team leadership.
Across her career, Lori has led marketing functions spanning account-based experiences (ABX), field marketing, integrated campaigns and partner programmes across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific and Japan. Her approach combines commercial performance with a focus on developing people and building collaborative marketing organisations.
At Zendesk, her appointment comes as demand generation continues to play a central role in connecting marketing investment with pipeline creation, revenue growth and customer acquisition.
Connecting marketing strategy with revenue outcomes
Lori's experience spans the development and execution of go-to-market programmes designed to deliver measurable returns. Her work across demand generation, ABX and field marketing reflects the importance of aligning campaigns with account priorities, sales objectives and customer needs.
For enterprise technology companies, this alignment is increasingly important as buying groups become more complex and sales cycles often involve multiple stakeholders. Effective demand generation requires more than campaign execution; it depends on coordinated engagement, clear measurement and strong collaboration between marketing and sales.
Lori's background across global marketing functions positions her to bring these elements together, with an emphasis on building programmes that support pipeline performance and commercial growth.
Experience shaped by enterprise technology marketing
Lori's career includes experience at VMware, where her contributions were recognised through several marketing and leadership honours. These include the VMware Marketing Excellence Award in 2020, the Leadership Award in 2018 and the Global EPIC² Award in 2017. She was also named to CRN's Women of the Channel list in 2012.
Alongside her commercial responsibilities, Lori has championed training, mentorship and employee engagement initiatives. Her experience reflects a broader view of marketing leadership in which organisational performance and team development are closely connected.
Building teams that can execute consistently across regions requires clear operating foundations, opportunities for professional growth and a culture that recognises individual contributions. Lori has identified these priorities as central to her leadership philosophy.
Building high-performing teams at Zendesk
In her new role, Lori brings a combination of global marketing experience, revenue orientation and people leadership to Zendesk. Her stated priorities include disciplined execution, cross-functional collaboration and creating an environment in which marketing professionals can develop their capabilities while delivering business results.
As B2B marketing organisations face growing pressure to demonstrate their contribution to revenue, leaders must balance strategic planning with execution, measurement and the development of teams that can adapt quickly.
Lori's appointment brings that combination of commercial focus and people-centred leadership to Zendesk's demand generation organisation.
About Zendesk
Zendesk provides customer service and customer experience software that helps organisations manage customer interactions across support channels. Its platform includes customer service, employee service and AI-powered capabilities designed to help businesses improve service delivery and customer relationships.
Source: Lori Gabrielli's LinkedIn announcement.