# Don Bulmer

> Don Bulmer is Reltio's chief marketing officer and a veteran marketing and communications executive whose career has moved from a zoo internship to leadership roles at SAP, Shell, Gartner, AWS, Veeva Systems, and Reltio. His recurring specialty is translating complicated organizations and technologies into clear market narratives, building executive communities, and connecting marketing work to growth. In 2026, after helping shape Reltio's positioning and go-to-market alignment, he continued into the company's next chapter following its acquisition by SAP.

- **Role:** Chief Marketing Officer at Reltio, an SAP company
- **Organizations:** Reltio, Veeva Systems, Amazon Web Services, Gartner, Royal Dutch Shell, SAP, Tribal Planet, Churchill Club, Society for New Communication Research
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Communication, University of the Pacific, Executive Development Program, The Wharton School
- **Known for:** Inducted into the PR News Hall of Fame in 2009., Built SAP's analyst relations work into a broader industry and influencer organization., Led a campaign that PR News reported helped a law firm build an $80 million Y2K liability practice in under 18 months.

## Career timeline

- **1993** — Began his career as an intern at Mickey Grove Zoo in Lodi, California.
- **2001** — Joined SAP to lead analyst relations, later expanding his remit across industry and influencer relations, customer communities, partner communications, and university alliances.
- **2009** — Inducted into the PR News Hall of Fame while serving as an SAP communications vice president.
- **2011** — Moved to Royal Dutch Shell as vice president of communication strategy, responsible for social media, influence, and partner communication programs.
- **2013** — Served as co-founder and chief marketing officer of Tribal Planet and helped launch the mPowering Action platform with the United Nations Foundation, Shell, and entertainment-industry partners.
- **2018** — Recognized by Gartner as a Top Global Performer for 183% year-over-year growth in its Chief Marketing Executive business.
- **2020** — Led AWS industry marketing for energy and oil and gas, publishing on digital transformation in the sector.
- **2021-2025** — Served as vice president of marketing and CMO for Veeva Consumer Products; Reltio later credited the business unit with 200% growth, a tripled pipeline, and shorter sales cycles during his tenure.
- **2025** — Appointed chief marketing officer of Reltio, leading global marketing and reporting to founder and CEO Manish Sood.
- **2026** — Helped lead Reltio's strategic narrative, positioning, communications, and go-to-market alignment around its acquisition by SAP; continued with Reltio as an SAP company after the transaction closed May 7.

## Achievements

- Inducted into the PR News Hall of Fame in 2009.
- Built SAP's analyst relations work into a broader industry and influencer organization.
- Led a campaign that PR News reported helped a law firm build an $80 million Y2K liability practice in under 18 months.
- Founded and scaled Gartner's advisory service for chief marketing executives.
- Earned Gartner's 2018 Top Global Performer recognition after 183% year-over-year growth in the Chief Marketing Executive business.
- At Veeva Consumer Products, contributed to reported 200% growth, a tripled pipeline, and sales cycles reduced from years to months.
- Served as chairman of the Churchill Club and as a senior fellow and board member of the Society for New Communication Research.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published 'AI Is Changing What Marketing Is Built For,' reflecting on lessons from building an AI-native marketing organization at Reltio.
- **2026-08** — Moderated a launch conversation with Manish Sood and Venkat Venkatraman for their forthcoming book 'Agentic Intelligence: Strategy at the Speed of Data.'
- **2026-05** — Continued leading at Reltio after SAP completed its acquisition of the company on May 7.
- **2026-01** — Published 'MDM is Dead. Long Live MDM.,' arguing for a broader context-oriented view of master data management.

## Links

- Website: https://www.reltio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbulmer

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/don-bulmer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-04