Five Years of Ops Cast: What Surprised Us, What We Learned, and What Matters For The Future

In this special episode of Ops Cast, Michael Hartmann is joined by Mike Rizzo and Naomi Liu for a wide-ranging, unscripted discussion about the origins of Ops Cast, the early days of live audio experimentation, and how the show has evolved alongside the Marketing Ops profession itself.

What starts as a casual anniversary conversation turns into a thoughtful look at what has truly mattered over the years. They reflect on memorable episodes, first-time speakers finding their voice, career-changing moments sparked by the podcast, and why honest, vendor-neutral conversations have always been central to the show.

Most of all, this episode is a thank you. To the guests who took risks, the listeners who showed up, and the community that turned a passion project into a platform for learning, validation, and opportunity.

In this episode, you will hear about:

• How Ops Cast started and why it stayed intentionally unscripted
• The hidden emotional labor of Marketing Ops work
• Creating space for first-time speakers and underrepresented voices
• Why were some of the most impactful episodes the least predictable
• Overrated and underrated topics in Marketing Ops today
• What five years of conversations reveal about the profession

Whether you have been listening since the beginning or just discovered the show, this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how Ops Cast became what it is today and why the conversations are still far from over.