Case Study: Scaling Customer Webinar Series Through Cross-Functional Leadership at Palo Alto Networks
- Cristin Padgett
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 7
Background
As part of Palo Alto Networks’ White Glove Service for our highest ARR customers—major credit card companies, global financial institutions, and even the Happiest Place on Earth—I was tasked with starting a monthly webinar program designed to help customers take a more proactive approach to network security.
Challenge
The original format was a single monthly session. But as demand grew across global regions and product areas, it became clear that we needed to scale. The challenge was to orchestrate multiple teams across Customer Success, Product, and Marketing while maintaining content quality, engagement, and operational consistency—especially as topics often needed to pivot quickly around critical CVEs or approaching EOL milestones.
Approach
I led the end-to-end strategy and operations for the program, acting as both Agile Project Manager and Program Manager.
My approach included:
Strategic Planning: Built a 12-month content calendar, working closely with Customer Success Engineers (CSEs) who had their finger on the pulse of customer needs, while maintaining flexibility to adapt to emerging market events.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with CSEs, Product SMEs, and Marketing to identify speakers, review and refine content, and host dry runs to ensure a smooth delivery experience.
Operational Execution: Created and managed email campaigns (newsletter, invitations, and follow-ups), coordinated Gainsight automation and timelines with the dev team, and built enablement kits for CSEs with personal invitation links.
Scalable Expansion: Introduced JAPAC-friendly sessions and segmented content into three key pillars—PAN-OS, Cloud Delivered Security Services (CDSS), and Strata Cloud Manager (AIOps)—each tailored to drive deeper adoption and product confidence.
Results
Scaled from 1 to 3 monthly webinars, expanding global accessibility and participation.
Achieved 40–50% attendance rates from registered participants—well above industry averages.
Averaged 100 attendees per event, including some of our largest enterprise clients worldwide.
Strengthened cross-team alignment, building a repeatable process now used as a model for future customer enablement programs.
Leadership Reflection
This program was a true exercise in cross-functional leadership—influencing without authority, building trust across technical and non-technical teams, and delivering measurable results. It required balancing structure and agility, coordinating stakeholders with competing priorities, and maintaining a consistent customer-first focus.
About the Author:
Cristin Padgett is a results-driven marketing and GTM leader with over a decade of experience across cybersecurity, AI, and enterprise technology. She has built scalable programs that bridge Product, Customer Success, and Marketing—delivering measurable impact across adoption, retention, and revenue growth.
Cristin is open to fractional or full-time opportunities, strategic consulting, and speaking engagements on topics including customer enablement, data-driven GTM strategy, and cross-functional leadership.
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