Between Curiosity and Change: Interview with Pauline Kolde

A Conversation with Pauline Kolde: Inside the New Marketing Reality

Getting Started in Tech and Marketing

Suneel Mistry: So let’s start from the beginning. What’s your journey been like getting into this world of marketing, automation, and technology?

Pauline Kolde: I’ve been in this space for a little over eight years now. It all started with a traineeship at a Microsoft partner. Before that, I came from something completely different. I studied Islamic Studies and Oriental Studies, so nothing related to IT or tech at all. Total career changer.

I first worked in tourism marketing, helping an agency show how Jordan could be a travel destination for German tourists. That was my first real touchpoint with marketing. Then I moved into the traineeship, learned more technical things, and eventually discovered Customer Insights, the marketing automation tool from Microsoft. That felt a bit closer to my strengths, so I dove into that and I’ve basically been working with it every day since.

Suneel: That’s a very cool mix. And your studies sound fascinating.

Pauline: They were. Very unique. I don’t think there’s a straight red thread through my career, but I wouldn’t change any of it. It shaped how I understand different cultures, different ways of thinking. And when you work internationally like we do, that helps a lot.

Suneel: Definitely. I’ve had to learn a lot about working across countries this year. Your background seems like such a natural advantage for marketing and understanding people.

Pauline: Yes. If I’m on a German project, of course it’s easier. But as soon as you’re in international projects, especially in IT, people think differently. You need different approaches, different ways to explain things. My studies helped me see that.

Current Work and the Challenge of AI

Suneel: So where are you working now and what are you focused on?

Pauline: I joined CRMK Germany at the beginning of November. It’s originally a Swedish company, and we’re building the German branch because we see a lot of potential here, especially with Microsoft ecosystem consulting and implementation.

But the biggest challenge, for us and for many people, is the shift to AI. I’m learning it for myself, understanding how Microsoft supports it, and helping customers figure out how to start their own transition. Many of them already use CRM or Dynamics or marketing automation, but AI adds a new layer they’re unsure about. Everyone wants to stay ahead of competition, but it’s hard.

Suneel: I totally get that. I did the Power Platform fundamentals course earlier this year. It wasn’t really about learning how to prompt but understanding what’s happening in the background.

Pauline: Exactly. Everything is changing quickly. I never needed a technical background before because I could self-learn and stay curious. But with AI, you sometimes need actual technical understanding to go deeper. That’s been challenging for me.

Making Tech Understandable

Suneel: One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot is making things more tangible for people, especially end users.

Pauline: Yes. If a developer tries to explain a customer journey or marketing automation, they often lose people. It’s not their fault. It’s just very technical. But if you can turn complex topics into stories or something relatable, it becomes easier to understand. That’s helped me a lot and helps customers feel less overwhelmed.

Suneel: Tech can feel so cold sometimes.

Pauline: Exactly.

Personas, AI, and Making Marketing More Personal

Suneel: You mentioned personas when we talked earlier. Can you tell me more about that?

Pauline: Yes. We’ve been experimenting with using AI to adjust tone of voice based on personas. So if you know your ideal customer’s challenges, goals, background, you can ask AI to take on that perspective.

You can say, “AI, you are persona A. If you received this email, what would you think? Is it clear?” And it answers as that persona. I tried it last week for an IT person. It gave me such good questions that I rewrote the email to fit their needs.

I also did it for a customer offer with Copilot. I said, “You are my potential customer. You don’t know anything about us. Here is the presentation. What do you think? Would you buy from us?” And the response was “it depends,” which is a very IT answer, but the questions it gave me helped shape the offer.

Suneel: That’s brilliant. It’s like getting secret feedback.

Pauline: Exactly.

The Balance of Personalization

Suneel: What do you think about how companies try to personalize communication?

Pauline: I think most people know companies collect their data, so it’s not a surprise when you get emails saying “you bought these shoes, here’s a matching jacket.” But personalization needs balance. Not too much, not too little.

I want to see my name and a personal tone, but not something creepy that shows they know too much. I understand why companies struggle with getting it right.

Suneel: Yeah, a lot of messages still feel robotic.

Pauline: Exactly.

CRM Systems and Understanding Tools

Suneel: You work a lot with Microsoft, but I’ve been learning about other CRMs too. What do you think of systems like HubSpot or Zoho?

Pauline: I’m biased toward Microsoft because it’s what I know, but it’s important to look at how others work. HubSpot especially focuses on marketing processes, so there might be best practices we can learn from.

Suneel: For me it’s always the nonprofit challenge of trying to do great things with small budgets.

Pauline: Yes. Totally different environment.

Skills That Matter

Suneel: What skills have been the most important for you in your career?

Pauline: Curiosity, for sure. Everything changes so fast that you need to stay curious. And resilience. If you’re experimenting and hands on, things will fail sometimes. You need patience.

And empathy. When you consult customers, you have to understand not just what they say but what they mean between the lines.

Suneel: Completely.

AI Everywhere

Suneel: How do you feel about AI becoming more present in everything?

Pauline: Personally, I use it for almost everything now, so I feel good about it. But it’s also scary. Things change so quickly that sometimes I can’t keep up, and that frustrates me.

I imagine how hard it must be for people who don’t work closely with technology at all. Especially in big companies where everything moves slower. I understand why some people feel afraid.

Privately, it’s helpful and fun. Professionally, it’s exciting but also overwhelming.

Suneel: It’s definitely two sided.

Creative AI and Making Films

Suneel: Anything fun you’ve been experimenting with lately? Any new tech or automation tools?

Pauline: I love Sora for videos. I tested the first version and the videos were so strange in a fun way. I made an Alice in Wonderland clip where the rabbit jumps into a hole, except the bunny hovered over the ground without touching it. I had so much fun.

Suneel: I’ve seen weird AI ads too.

Pauline: Yes. But I want to try Sora 2. I bet it’s much better now.

Suneel: If you could make a film entirely with AI, would you?

Pauline: Maybe. Would you?

Suneel: Within my means, yes. I couldn’t hire a crew, but with AI I could try something creative. I love documentaries and would love to try making one.

Pauline: That would be fun. You could see how far you get doing everything end to end with AI, even the marketing and publishing.

Final Question

Suneel: OK, final question. What is good, what is challenging, and what is next for you?

Pauline: Good is everything that will come next. This year will end more calmly. We have a conference in Frankfurt in December with Microsoft and some partners. We’re also getting trained in AI and how to adapt it for customers.

Challenging will be next year. Building up the company, hiring people, finding new projects and customers. A good and challenging year ahead.

Next for me personally is redoing my blog. I want to move it off WordPress to something leaner and faster for search and chatbots. More GEO than SEO.

Suneel: I’m curious where you land. I’ll send you the platform that nonprofit mentioned too.

Pauline: Yes, please.

Suneel: Great. This was wonderful. Thank you again.

Pauline: Thank you.