Kelly Watkins

Kelly is a seasoned operator who has led marketing and operations across some of the most formative B2B SaaS companies of the past decade. She was one of the first ever marketing hires at GitHub, built global marketing from the ground up at Slack (where she created the Where Work Happens brand strategy), served as CEO at Abstract (culminating in an acquisition by Adobe), and led global operations at Postman. Kelly has also held a number of board roles, including at Honeycomb and Buoyant.

She's one of the early builders of the product-led growth motion, having helped shape it at GitHub and Slack before it had a name. Building on these experiences, Kelly co-created Reforge's PLG course, and speaks and advises on the topic regularly. She also advises early and growth-stage startups on other aspects of go-to-market, brand and narrative, and operations.

Kelly lives in Marin, CA, with her family. She studied theology in college, was named one of Ad Age's Women to Watch in 2018, and is a big fan of spicy food, sunny weather, and the Oxford comma.