Wain, great to have you with us! Tell us a bit about your background and your journey to becoming CEO at Canto. I’ve had the opportunity to help build over two dozen software companies throughout my career. I’m particularly passionate about the building phase—finding opportunities where software can be transformational in helping people achieve their goals. I initially got involved with Canto in more of an advisory capacity. But as I saw the vast potential for us to accelerate value for customers and evolve the platform, I was inspired to come on full-time as CEO last November. The DAM (Digital Asset Management) space has evolved rapidly. What’s your take on this growth, and where do you see the future headed? There’s no question that digital content creation is exploding. Most of our customers are managing exponentially more assets than they were just a few years ago. This explosion makes a strong case for purpose-built DAM platforms that go far beyond just storing files. What we’re seeing—and building toward—is a future where DAM systems become far more intelligent. AI will transform DAMs into proactive, predictive systems that help businesses anticipate content needs, automate workflows, and drive strategic decisions with greater confidence. The days of static asset libraries are behind us. We’re entering the era of smart content ecosystems. What core features do you think marketing and sales teams underutilize in DAM platforms today? One of the most underutilized—but incredibly powerful—features is collaborative functionality. Too often, DAMs are seen as digital storage lockers. In reality, they are platforms that enable real-time collaboration, streamline version control, and dramatically improve content findability. Advanced searchability, powered by metadata, tagging, and AI, can transform how teams interact with their content. When leveraged properly, DAMs can drastically speed up campaign cycles and increase overall productivity. AI is becoming central to modern marketing stacks. How do you see it shaping the future of DAMs? The combination of AI and DAM is truly exciting. AI can handle many time-consuming, repetitive tasks—automatically tagging assets, analyzing content performance, enhancing search results, and even suggesting the best assets to use based on context. Looking ahead, DAMs will become increasingly intuitive and adaptive. Imagine a DAM that understands your marketing objectives and recommends content before you even ask. That’s where we’re heading—toward intelligent systems that help marketers make better decisions, faster. Tell us more about Canto’s marketing strategy and the martech stack that powers your operations. At Canto, we take a customer-centric approach. We prioritize understanding our customers’ pain points and shaping our messaging and product development accordingly. On the martech front, we use a combination of tools across CRM, marketing automation, social media management, and analytics to track performance and inform our decisions. Naturally, our own DAM platform plays a central role—it’s where all our content lives and how we ensure consistency and efficiency across campaigns. As a tech CEO navigating current economic headwinds, what are five fundamentals you believe B2B leaders should focus on? Absolutely—challenging times demand focus and clarity. I believe the five fundamentals for B2B tech CEOs are: At Canto, these principles are embedded in our DNA. I’ve seen many teams in my career, but the passion, collaboration, and commitment of the Canto team truly stand out. It’s what keeps us moving forward, even in uncertain times. MartechHeads Takeaway:As content volumes grow and AI accelerates its role in enterprise marketing, leaders like Wain Kellum are shaping a new future for DAM platforms—one that is smarter, more collaborative, and deeply integrated into the broader marketing tech stack. The result? A future where content is not just managed but activated intelligently to drive business success.
