Powering Ecosystems with Partnerships Services and AI

In this episode of Between Product and Partnerships, Cristina Flaschen, CEO of Pandium, speaks with Chris Samila, Co-Founder of Partnership Leaders, about what makes ecosystems thrive, how services and partnerships intersect, and how AI is reshaping the partner landscape.

Chris’s Journey to Partnership Leaders

Chris has spent most of his career in partnerships, moving from the clean tech space into SaaS with roles at Optimizely, FullStory and Crossbeam where he built partner programs from the ground up. About four years ago he co-founded Partnership Leaders, a global community dedicated to advancing the partnerships profession. Today he leads events that bring together thousands of partnership professionals worldwide.

What Sets Ecosystem Leaders Apart

Chris emphasizes that the difference between companies that activate their ecosystems well and those that don’t starts with executive support. Too often partnerships are siloed as a “channel” function. Modern ecosystem-driven organizations weave partnerships into product strategy, customer success and services delivery. Success is less about company size and more about clarity. Knowing which partners to prioritize, when to engage them and how to align that with company goals is critical.

Services as a Growth Lever

Historically SaaS companies avoided services, preferring a pure self-serve model. Many leading AI companies are now leaning heavily on services partners to drive adoption. Blending internal services with boutique partners creates a flywheel effect. Partners make money around the product which fuels ecosystem growth. The key is setting guardrails so services enable the ecosystem rather than compete with it.

Compensation and Career Pathways

Chris discusses the evolving landscape of compensation for partnership professionals. Drawing from surveys and research at Partnership Leaders, he identifies trends in pay and career growth that reflect the increasing recognition of partnerships as a strategic function. He highlights partner operations as a growing specialization and the rise of Chief Partnerships Officers (CPOs) in mid-market and enterprise companies, signaling a broader shift toward embedding partnerships into core business strategy. Chris also advises job seekers to explore opportunities at high-growth AI companies that have yet to build partner programs, as these can offer significant career impact and growth potential.

Outsourcing Partnerships and AI

A surprising trend is the rise of outsourced partnership teams used by large companies to scale quickly. While relationship depth is always key, some firms have embedded outsourced managers for years blending seamlessly with internal teams. AI is reshaping this space. Outsourcing firms are building AI tooling to accelerate onboarding, enablement and collateral creation. As AI reduces admin work, partner managers will spend more time on relationships and strategy.

The Value of Human Connection

Despite the rise of AI and distributed work, Chris sees demand for face-to-face interaction growing. Attendance at Partnership Leaders’ events is at an all-time high as professionals look to balance Zoom calls with in-person trust-building. More companies will align travel around industry events combining business meetings and community gatherings.

AI Trends in Partnerships

Partnership Leaders recently completed a six-month research project on AI in partnerships developing a maturity model that shows how AI can support individuals, partner programs and company-wide motions. LLMs help partner managers with account planning. AI-native tools scale partner training in 60+ languages. AI handles the busywork and humans focus on relationships.

Looking Ahead

Chris and Cristina discuss upcoming Catalyst events in cities worldwide, highlighting the value of both digital and in-person experiences for networking. The conversation underscores the growing importance of building strong connections and leveraging events to strengthen partner ecosystems and professional growth.

To learn more about Partnership Leaders and their global community, go to www.partnershipleaders.com

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