We spoke with Caroline Jussa, EMEA Senior Account-Based Marketing Manager at Autodesk, about the value of strategic focus, why experimentation is so important in ABM, and what she took away from the ABM Academy’s Expert ABM Practitioner training.
Alumni Spotlight interview
You’re at a dinner party and someone asks what you do – how do you explain ABM?
I usually just say I work in marketing! But more specifically, I focus on a set of strategic enterprise accounts, creating tailored marketing plans for each account or segment. The goal is to deeply understand their priorities and challenges, align our solutions to their needs, and build an orchestration plan that strengthens reputation, builds relationships, and drives business impact.
How did you get into ABM? Was it intentional or by accident?
It came as a natural next step, building on my experience in channel and field marketing before moving into enterprise accounts. I’ve always been drawn to complex, strategic accounts where you can be more targeted and impactful. At the same time, it aligned with a broader strategic shift Autodesk made some time ago to invest in ABM. It represented a more focused and sophisticated way to engage accounts, especially through a 1:1 strategic approach.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken in your ABM career, and did it pay off?
The biggest risk I took was stepping out of my comfort zone about 10 years ago by changing both role and company. Although, it wasn’t really a role change (I was still in field marketing when I joined Autodesk) — it was a sector change. It wasn’t easy at the time, but it paid off, giving me the opportunity to grow across different marketing functions at Autodesk and ultimately build the foundation for my current role in enterprise ABM.
What was your ‘lightbulb moment’ during the Academy course?
The training was a highly valuable experience, especially the simulation exercise, which made the learning practical and engaging through real-world collaboration. It elevated our perspective beyond tactics, strengthening our ability to think strategically, to shape an ABM strategy and programme, and to confidently advocate at the C-level. It shifted my perspective, deepening my understanding of the rationale and business impact of ABM strategy at a company level.
What’s in your ABM toolkit that you couldn’t live without – and what’s the most overrated thing everyone raves about?
A strong 1:1 strategic ABM plan is the backbone of everything. But just as important is building strong relationships and trust both with the account team internally and with the customer. And increasingly, AI tools are becoming essential to scale insights and improve efficiency.
What’s overrated? The idea that tools alone can drive success. Without a strong strategy and deep understanding of the account and stakeholders, even the best tools won’t deliver real impact.
Fast-forward five years – what does success look like for you?
In five years, success for me would mean having the right systems and frameworks in place to clearly demonstrate impact, not only in terms of revenue, but also for relationship strength, account expansion, and brand reputation.
It’s about making that impact visible in a simple, scalable way, while operating at a more strategic level across key global accounts.
If you could give aspiring ABM-ers one piece of advice, what would it be?
Continuous learning is key, but most importantly, experiment. ABM isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and it’s through testing, learning, and iterating that you truly refine what works and drive impact.
Final thoughts
Caroline’s journey from field marketing to enterprise ABM is a testament to the power of playing a long game — building deep account knowledge, earning trust, and staying curious. The ABM Academy gave her the strategic framework to articulate and elevate that work at the highest level.
Caroline went on to say “What was also great about the Inflexion training was gaining perspectives from peers at other companies — hearing how others approach ABM at organisations like Red Hat, and KPMG was a real highlight. That cross-company community is something you don’t always get, and it’s invaluable.”
That sense of community is something Inflexion Group’s ABM Academy is built around — bringing together practitioners from across the world to learn from each other, not just learn the curriculum.
Ready to start your own ABM journey? Explore our ABM Academy courses and find the programme that’s right for you.
Read our previous Alumni Spotlight where we chatted to Ross Jennings, ABX Lead Industrial & Electronic Verticals – Henkel Adhesive Technologies at Henkel.
