Okta's CRO Jon Addison joins GTMnow host Sophie to break down the full story behind Okta's remarkable revenue turnaround, the launch of Okta for AI Agents, and the go-to-market playbook that's carrying them from $3B toward a $5B ARR target.From nearly $850M in operating losses to over $760M in operating income, Okta's transformation is one of the most significant turnaround stories in enterprise SaaS. In this episode, Jon pulls back the curtain on exactly how it happened.In this episode:- Why 91% of enterprises are already deploying AI agents but only 10% have a security strategy for them- How Okta's "AI governance gap" insight became the foundation for their biggest product launch in years: Okta for AI Agents- The GTM restructure around specialization that unlocked productivity and drove 40% higher average contract value on new product deals- How Okta became a partner-first company: 95% of their top 100 deals in the last fiscal year were partner-led, and what operationally made that possible- Why the first discovery call no longer exists, and how sellers need to show up differently in the AI era- Jon's new internal sales methodology, APEX, built on Command of the Message for the AI era- How Okta is using AI internally to transform their own go-to-market motion, from conversational intelligence to pre-sales assistants- What the path to $5B ARR actually looks like: enterprise expansion, international growth, public sector, and the massive new TAM unlocked by non-human identity- Jon's leadership philosophy: why human-centric selling is becoming more critical as AI takes over the repetitive workHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisiGuest: Jon Addison, CRO at Oktahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-addison-3399175Timestamp:0:00 - Cold open1:19 - Welcome + Jon's background: from London to Silicon Valley1:52 - How Jon got into software and identity management4:08 - Okta for AI Agents launch announcement5:04 - 90% of customers live with agents, only 10% confident in securing them6:31 - What's driving the governance gap in the market7:53 - Speed of agent innovation must be matched by security and governance8:36 - 40% higher ACV on deals that include new products9:43 - Why consolidation around a single identity platform is resonating11:45 - How AI agents unlock a massive new TAM for Okta13:05 - Okta's turnaround: from $850M operating losses to $760M operating income13:36 - Key decision 1: GTM specialization drove productivity15:02 - Key decision 2: becoming a partner-first company16:14 - What cracking the partner-led model actually looks like19:08 - How long it takes to see ROI from a partner-led pivot20:12 - The path from $3B to $5B: enterprise, international, public sector21:49 - Using AI internally: launching "Apex," the AI-era sales methodology23:04 - What the Apex sales methodology entails24:25 - Buyers now show up with strong opinions before the first call25:44 - How discovery is changing: human-centric selling in the AI era27:33 - Headcount and AI: what skills matter in the future29:31 - Why relationships are Okta's core competitive advantage30:36 - The role of experiences: F1, events, and the 7-touchpoint rule31:47 - Broad GTM surface area: ABM, ecosysThe GTMnow Podcast The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.