What does it actually look like to build a partner ecosystem that helps take a company from $60M to $700M+ and into IPO territory, and then turn that playbook into C-suite leadership?

In today’s episode of the Partnership Mastermind Podcast, I sit down with Rich Gardner, former SVP of Global Strategic Partnerships at Klaviyo and now President at Pavilion, the global GTM community serving 10,000+ operators navigating short tenures, AI disruption, and a world with no predictable playbook.

Rich has been a lawyer, VP of Sales, ecosystem builder, and now president, which means he knows how to navigate uncertainty, rally cross-functional teams, and bet on what really moves the needle.

We cover:

-The Shopify deal: why a painful rev-share increase became Klaviyo’s biggest ecosystem unlock

-Why partnership leaders MUST know their P&L and unit economics cold

-The underrated power of partner enablement as an early, high-ROI hire

-How Pavilion is helping GTM leaders navigate short tenures, AI disruption, and a 2026 no-playbook.

Rich Gardner

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Learn more about Partnership Mastermind https://partnershipmastermind.com/

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-lavoie-phd-aaaa4111b/

Chris Lavoie is a leading voice in B2B SaaS partnerships, known for building programs that deliver real, measurable results. As the founder of Partnership Mastermind, he equips professionals with actionable tools, training, and mentorship. After building multiple partnership programs, he launched Partnership Mastermind.