IWD 2026, The Women Who Move Us: Michelle Donnelly, CRO of Crescendo

Michelle Donnolly is CRO of Crescendo, with extensive experience scaling go-to-market teams and working for well-established companies, including Salesforce and Groq.

Please tell us about yourself and your journey in the tech/startup world.

I’m a growth executive and builder with 15+ years of experience scaling go-to-market teams across retail, technology and emerging AI companies.

I spent a decade at Salesforce leading go-to-market, scaling revenue and building high-performing teams within a disciplined, market-leading environment.

Ready for a new challenge, I made the leap to Groq to commercialise next-gen AI infrastructure at a very early stage, refining enterprise sales before the market fully formed. Many questioned moving from software to a hardware-heavy AI play, but I trusted my intuition and trusted advice from my network – a bet that proved successful when Groq scaled and was ultimately acquired by NVIDIA.

Today, I’m the CRO of Crescendo, an AI-native customer experience platform unifying AI and human expertise into one system. We’ve exceeded $100M in ARR in under 2 years by turning complex innovation into measurable business outcomes through clarity, execution focus and strong teams.

What has been one defining moment in your career so far, and how did it shape the way you lead or build today?

A defining moment in my career was watching members of my team achieve goals they once thought were out of reach. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring people who have gone on to extraordinary success, including joining what we call the “million-dollar club.” It was never just about the paycheck. It was about helping them stretch beyond what they believed was possible.

I truly believe in overachievement, not for ego, but because of what it can unlock for others. When someone earns a promotion, secures financial freedom, or lands their next defining role, it impacts the trajectory of their life – and their family’s future.

My job isn’t just to hit numbers. It’s to build a team environment where people are both supported and challenged to become their best selves – and then watch them surpass even that. This experience shaped how I lead.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in the tech/startup landscape, and how did you navigate them?

Early in my career, I noticed the bar felt higher for women. Not a complaint, a fact. In hindsight, these challenges made me better.

At one company, five of us were promoted into leadership at the same time. I was the only woman, and I was handed the hardest assignment: rebuilding an entire organisation from the ground up. Looking back, it was the greatest gift of my career.

I reimagined the ICP, rebuilt the pitch and competitive strategy, diversified the team and reshaped the culture. Year one was hard. Year two, we delivered 400% growth. My team and I were well compensated for that turnaround. We proved what’s possible when you bet on the hard assignment.

What I’ve learned is that the harder the assignment, the bigger the opportunity to define your leadership on your own terms. Being handed the tough stuff forced me to develop skills my peers simply didn’t have to build. It put me ahead in the long run.

I don’t avoid the hard things. I run toward them. That’s where the real growth lives.

What’s something you think the tech world/startup industry is getting right when it comes to supporting women?

Women in tech have always had to work harder to earn the same seat at the table. Honestly, that’s made us sharper, more resilient and relentless collaborators. The bar has always been set higher for us, and we’ve cleared it anyway.
What excites me now is that AI is accelerating the pace of everything, and women’s natural strengths – critical thinking, empathy, building trust quickly, seeing around corners – are exactly what high-growth AI environments demand. These aren’t soft skills anymore. They’re the competitive edge.

At Crescendo, I see this every day. The most innovative GTM strategies aren’t coming from the loudest voices in the room. They’re coming from leaders who listen deeply, build inclusively and move fast.

The conversation is finally shifting from representation to performance and impact AND women are leading it.

Conversely, where is there still work to be done in supporting women in tech and startups?

There’s still meaningful work to be done. Many women are recognised as builders and high performers – a privilege that can also raise expectations. The bar is often set higher because women consistently overachieve and are held to a different standard than our male peers.

Access to transformative opportunities remains critical. The turnaround roles, high-risk growth bets and true P&L ownership positions create outsized career acceleration, and women need equal access to them. Representation in revenue leadership, AI and boardrooms matters because those roles shape the future of business.

We also need to be honest: women can do a better job supporting other women. Men have historically been strong advocates for one another. We need to match that by actively sponsoring, recommending and backing each other when pressure rises.

Stronger advocacy builds more resilient companies and expands what’s possible for everyone.

Looking ahead, what change would you most like to see for women in tech over the next five years?

I’d love to see more women architecting the AI era rather than just participating in it. Women founding companies, leading AI-native businesses, shaping how intelligent systems are deployed. More women in boardrooms and high-stakes decision roles. When you look at business leaders like Anthropic’s co-founder Daniela Amodei, you can see the tremendous impact women have in steering innovation and responsible design at the highest levels of AI.

I want there to be more encouragement for women to step into both technical and revenue leadership roles. We should normalise bold choices and nonlinear career paths, because the most transformative decisions are rarely conventional.

AI is redefining how organisations operate. At Crescendo, we unify AI and human expertise into one system because we truly believe technology should strengthen, not replace, the human connection at the center of great experiences. I’d love to see more women leading that balance between automation and humanity.

What advice would you give to women who are just starting out in tech or considering founding their own company?

To succeed in tech, adopt a future-first mindset. Watch where the world is going, embrace AI and build relationships with the builders, investors and operators already living on the edge of innovation.

Curate your personal board of directors – people who give honest counsel, see around corners and keep you grounded. Your network isn’t just a bridge to opportunities. It’s your greatest source of insight.

Be bold in execution and clear in communication. Be bold with your customers too – ask the right questions, listen deeply and guide them toward measurable outcomes. There is so much to learn from selling, if you’re willing to see it.

Above all, simplify. Identify your top three priorities and ignore the rest. In a world of noise, focus and execution beat complexity every time.

Wins and Wisdom: A Quick Q&A

Here are a few quick questions that helped us understand a little more about who Michelle Donnelly really is.

1. Who is a woman, past or present, who inspires you the most and why?

Tina Brown (editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Daily Beast). She disrupted publishing, fought to be taken seriously in male-dominated rooms, mentored countless women and built things from scratch with relentless authenticity. She’s a woman who walked into rooms she wasn’t always welcome in, rebuilt what was broken, used her platform to elevate others and is fearless.

2. What’s a book, podcast or resource that has helped shape your career?

Brene Brown “Dare to Lead” (2018) and Mel Robbins “Let Them” (2024). “Dare to Lead” taught me how to show up as a braver, more authentic leader. “Let Them” taught me to stop exhausting myself trying to control how people receive that leadership. Together, they completely changed how I manage my team and myself.

3. Can you share a quote or mantra that motivates you when things get tough?

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt

This speaks to overcoming fear and being bold. Not letting fear get in the way.

“Everything in life absolves, resolves and dissolves.” – My dad

He was saying that nothing is permanent. Trust the process, don’t cling and don’t panic. Everything works itself out in time.

4. What’s one win or achievement from your career that you’re especially proud of?

Building teams that overachieve. Seeing people I’ve mentored dramatically change the trajectory of their careers – whether it’s landing major promotions, achieving financial milestones, or stepping into roles they once doubted were possible. Those are the wins I am most proud of.

5. What’s one habit or ritual that keeps you motivated and inspired every day?

Box Breathing. It’s a simple technique – inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds – that helps me reset when things get hectic.

It’s actually a trick used by Navy SEALs to stay calm under pressure. Physically, it flips the switch on your nervous system to lower stress and boost oxygen flow, which keeps my energy up and my head clear. It only takes a minute, but it’s the best way I’ve found to shift from feeling scattered to feeling dialed in.

Would you like to participate in our 2026 International Women’s Day Interview series? Contact us