Q&A: Meet the Women Changing the Martech Industry

With International Women’s Day on our doorsteps, we here at Martech Alliance are taking the opportunity to celebrate. Streamers? Check. Bunting? Check. A bunch of VIP guests ready to answer questions way below their pay grades? Check. Our industry is filled to the brim with talented women, taking charge and taking names. ‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change’ - the UN motto for International Women’s Day - is a perfect description for what women have been doing for years in the Martech industry!

Also, there would be NO Martech memes without the women on our team, which would be an absolute travesty.

From marketing to mantras, dilemmas to dinner plans, regrets and re-dos to Reese Witherspoon, we cover all bases. 

This is part of a series, so keep your eyes peeled for part 2.

Say hello to the women making a real difference in the industry!

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 Oh, and we're running a women-centric Websesh soon - click here to find out more!

Veronica Lazarovici Heaxgon

Marketo Champion & Certified Expert Veronica Lazarovici is just that – a certified expert (and legend)! Currently living and working in Palma, Balearic Islands Spain, V is an automation and operations aficionado.

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Building the Martech Engine @ Alma

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

Duplicates skewing reporting across tools. Finding the source of dupes and doing merges is no fun. Like weeds, when you think you got rid of them, they pop up from other corners.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

Yes I do: The braver we are the luckier we get. This mantra has been my combat against imposter syndrome

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

My mentors, incredible women who are paving the way for all of us in Martech - Kimberly Galitz, Helen Abramova, Courtney McAra, Sara Albright just to name a few. I was going through a career transition in the past few months and with their incredible support and guidance, I am able to follow my new path with confidence.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

I think that in-person events and conferences will make a big comeback. Many people are missing traveling, social events, and meeting in person. I also think that we will see more companies using CDPs to do data consolidation and Marketing teams will make more use of product info and intent data.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I would really love to attend a few industry events in person and meet my peers and mentors! I also like the fact that the world has slowed down and we are more focused on what truly matters: family and taking care of our health.

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Get a mentor and join the online communities. You will hear many others sharing failures/difficulties and will also get the support and inspiration you need to get through it.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Don't be afraid to reach out to others for advice and help. You will be surprised how many people are just happy to give back to the community. We are not meant to do this alone.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

My mentors. They are leaders in their chosen profession and work hard to help elevate others too.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

This year I am a Marketo Engage Champion. I am really looking forward to contributing to this program. My goal is to further develop the community here in Europe and help other users reach their goals with Martech.

 

Courtney Tobe Hexagon

Courtney Tobe Manager of Marketing Ops at AvidXchange and implementation genius, has plenty of tools under her belt. Court also volunteers for Wear Your Crown Inc. a non profit focused on creating a safe space for women, by women.

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Build scalable processes leveraging technology

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want or need to do. My MOPS org gets pulled in so many different directions and the opportunities of projects and workstreams that we can get involved with are truly endless. That's part of what I love about martech and MOPS, there are always new things to learn or try, but sometimes it can make it hard to prioritize and know which initiatives to focus on.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

Glennon Doyle's "We Can Do Hard Things." This last year has been challenging in so many ways personally and professionally. It helps me to remind myself that I've done hard things before and that I can still do hard things.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

I am fortunate to be surrounded by many strong and impactful women, but the following are a few who have inspired, supported, and empowered me the most over the years...

  •  My mother. She is a strong woman who has been through many challenges in her life. Through them all, however, I have watched her handle them with strength, forgiveness, and grace. She has taught me how to find joy and laughter through difficult times and to always put the people who are most important in your life first. She has encouraged me to be 100% true to myself and assured me that no dream is too big if I put my mind to it.
  •  My current and former Marketing Operations teammates at AvidXchange. I’ve been fortunate to be part of a Marketing Operations team at AvidXchange that is 100% female. Our team is full of strong personalities, and because of that we challenge and push each other. We all have different perspectives, opinions, strengths and beliefs, but that isn't an obstacle for us, it's an asset. They've taught me how to approach problems and situations differently than my typical instinct, and they've encouraged me to tackle projects that are outside of my comfort zone because they believed in me.
  • My Davidson College Field Hockey Teammates. I spent 4 years of my collegiate career playing field hockey with a team full of amazing and inspiring women. Today these women are economists, doctors, teachers, PhD candidates, lawyers, marketers, nutritionists, wives, mothers. For 4 years, we encouraged, challenged and supported each other on and off the field, and although the issues we are facing today are a bit different than they were in college, we continue to show up and support each other.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

After experiencing first hand, the value of having a martech stack that allows you to scale and execute campaigns in a fully virtual environment, companies will continue to invest in digital technology. Marketing Operations teams will be asked to expand the scope of technologies and teams that they support without getting additional headcount.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I am a huge extrovert so I am very much looking forward to being back out into the world again.

Post-covid, I plan on spending much more quality time with the friends and family who I wasn't able to see as much as I would like to over this last year.

I plan on doing a lot more traveling again! I love exploring new parts of the world and meeting new people along the way.

I also plan on doing a lot of dancing somewhere in public with lots of other people because it's been way too long haha.

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Don't be too hard on yourself. Oftentimes failures or difficulties can be the greatest learning experiences. Spend some time analyzing what went wrong, do some self-reflection and then move on to the next adventure.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Raise your hand. Don't wait for your boss to assign you to a project to start it or get involved in it. Listen and look out for new and exciting opportunities going on around you and volunteer for them. Challenge the status quo. Ask hard questions. And always believe in yourself, you're capable of more than you know.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

Reese Witherspoon. She was struggling to find parts in Hollywood that depicted women as strong, deep, or inspirational. So she started Hello Sunshine, a media production company that puts women at the center of every story they tell. What I love about her is that rather than waiting for Hollywood to change, she decided to take action and start changing Hollywood herself.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

Now that we have the foundation of our martech stack built, I'm excited to take things to the next level. I'm partnering with other key stakeholders in different business units across the company (HR, IT, Customer Success) to gain a deeper understanding of our data structure and strategy and our enterprise technology stack to identify new opportunities for my team to plugin, scale operations and drive campaign efficiencies.

As for my dinner plans, tonight I'm treating myself to some of Charlotte, North Carolina's finest fried chicken.

christina headshot databricks

Senior Marketing Operations Manager at Databricks and a Fearless 50 Marketer, Christina Zuniga is well, fearless. As a graduate of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, she has recently returned to her old haunt, and volunteers with the organisation, which offers over one million bucks in scholarships annually. Her catchphrase may as well be “bricks and bucks”, but I think we’ll workshop that.

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

MarTech strategy, implementation, execution

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

If I take the time to make a How-To Guide or document the process, it is a pet peeve when people don't use those resources and ask me the same questions over and over.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam (I will find a way or make one, very loosely translated)

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

A ton of women have helped me in my career! One that stands out is a former boss who took me under her wing and taught me so much.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

Many of the in-person software companies have expanded offerings to include virtual event support, in order to survive COVID restrictions on gatherings. I expect this hybridization of event software and consulting companies will continue as some people will still be reluctant to travel post-COVID.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I can't wait to hop on a plane and visit my family.

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

How you react depends on who you are talking to:

  •  For yourself: people are human and humans make mistakes. It's embarrassing, but be kind to yourself and commit to not making the same mistake twice.
  • -For leadership: have a plan you can refer to showing how you will prevent similar mistakes, this shows you are proactive and turn a bad situation into a good lesson for yourself and others
  • For your team members: be human and show them that mistakes happen but what matters is how you handle it. Share what happened so that they can share their own mistakes and everyone can learn from each other.
  •  For other teams: own your mistake and communicate how you will prevent future errors. This builds trust and respect.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

You are the only advocate for your career. Mentors can help you get to where you want to go, but only if you know what you want to do. Bosses can be fantastic advocates, but only if you ask them to advocate on your behalf.

Your work does not speak for itself, you must speak up for it.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

I'm at a crossroads in my career and I'm still figuring it out!

 

Sharon Winterton HexagonVice President of Customer Success at Catalina USA, Sharon Winterton is a sales op and CX icon. With an MBA in Business Administration and Management from Phoenix, AND a BS/BA in Elementary Education/Music from UD, she’s got the brains to back it up. Sharon is also a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, which sounds very cool, very Kobra Kai, very badass.

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Lead presale support and deliver customer value contract through renewal. (not 5 words, but I did the best I could!)

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

With a sales-driven organization, driving standardization is constantly pushing a huge boulder uphill! Our past success is often our biggest enemy with building future scalability.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

My dad lived with Multiple Sclerosis for over 50 years before he passed away in 2014 at 83 years old. My mantra is actually borrowed from him. He always would say, "Do the best you can with what you have." He lived that example by being exceedingly positive and living a very full life despite his challenges. For example, he and my mom did a cross-country camping trip when he was almost 70 years old.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

I was blessed to have a phenomenal team of women leaders as I came up through the leadership ranks in our delivery operations team. I learned a lot from their example, and felt a responsibility to continue carrying the importance of culture forward when they left Catalina to pursue new opportunities. When I joined Sales to lead the Sales Ops team, I was again blessed to have the opportunity to learn from another strong woman leader who modelled the importance of advocating for other women and sticking up for what she believed is right. She recently left the organization for a career growth opportunity, but I'm carrying those lessons and her example with me on a daily basis as I navigate corporate politics with the reorg work I'm leading.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

I think there's opportunity to continue to migrate towards more ad-hoc, real time engagement and collaboration...both internally and with our customers. Everyone's acceptance of fewer formal meetings and in-person gatherings has the potential to allow for more authentic in the moment collaboration. I'm really excited about the potential that has with how we engage our customers.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I LOVE the slower pace, not commuting to the office every day, and getting to spend more quality time with my family. However, I can't wait to go on a real vacation, see my extended family, and go to a concert again!

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Focus on the lesson. It's so easy to beat ourselves up when we make a mistake, but those are also the times we grow the most. It's hard to really grow when everything is going well. So if things are rough, look for lessons to take out of the experience and apply them the next time. And next time it will be something different. I'm still learning every single day!

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Oh geez...maybe major in Business instead of Elementary Ed and Music? Kidding....I did go back and get my MBA to have some formal business training though. I think with the rapid rate of change in our industry, it's really important to build our "resume" or list of accomplishments with HOW we show up each day...how do we lead new implementations, build teams, adapt to and lead through change, vs. taking pride in specific areas of skill and expertise. Staying relevant in skills and knowledge is important, but invest in the longer lasting HOW over the WHAT.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

Amy Coney Barrett - I love her unapologetic priority of both her family and her career, and she embodied grace under fire during the confirmation hearings.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

Primary focus through this year and into next will be standing up Customer Success at Catalina. Dinner is a bit more challenging. My husband just told me he's thawing some ground beef, so I'm guessing we'll have burgers or spaghetti.

 

Regan Hamilton Hexagon

Paula Shannon is the Chief Evangelist at Lilt, and previously the CSO and SVP at Lionbridge. Working with artificial intelligence-powered enterprise translation technology and services, she’s basically Elon Musk with much better hair. She not only sports the coolest job title I’ve ever seen, but has also volunteered with Translators without Boarders, and is the VP of Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Illuminate Lilt's AI-Driven Translation

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

Language as an after thought. If content and processes are designed for English-speaking audiences first and foremost then translated and adapted content will never feel authentic, or persuasive.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

I love this question!

Acting with high integrity is always the right decision.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

Yes, Yes, and YES.   My first boss, Anita Komlos, took me in hand and taught me so much about business, sales, and marketing. I still keep in touch and have shared various success moments with her in the past. My grandmother was another huge influence in my life. She believed that anything was possible and that gender was irrelevant where limits were concerned.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

I believe that some technology, post-COVID, is introducing bad habits. For example, sales people are using Zoom to "get to the point: and jump into presentations instead of probing and doing diagnostics. Similarly, attention spans are shortened and people are impatient to get to the small piece of info they want—missing a company's broader message. There are incredible new developments such augmented reality (AR) for e Commerce. I am even affiliated with a firm, Auras Studios, using AR and 3d audio filters to drive fan engagement for bands who can't tour or do concerts.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

Definitely looking forward to some human connection! I would even take a droning conference keynote right about now!

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Do not ever chart your path on a linear trajectory. Sideways can be success, reversals kick-off new journeys. Nobody is looking at the totality of your success as harshly as you might. The journey IS the reward.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Never be afraid of the inner-workings of technology. There is nothing you can not understand or learn.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

  • Whitney Bouck at HelloSign
  • Loni Stark, VP at Adobe AEM

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

I am very involved in chairing, for the third time, a charity event for the Old Brewery Mission, the largest resource for homeless men and women in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I am also working on a number of webinars for Lilt, exploring AI-driven translation. Roasted mushroom soup is on for dinner to night!

 

Regan Hamilton Hexagon (1)Digital Marketing Manager at Integrate, Regan Hamilton is a boss in Boston. Sorry, that was terrible. With a proven track record of exceeding client KPIs and stakeholder expectations, and managing key accounts, Regan is a marketing guru. She also speaks three languages (English, Mandarin and Spanish)! Ella es genial!

 Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

                                                                     Paid Media, SEO, & Digital Experience creator

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

(1) Unclean data (2) Painful integration between technologies

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

Work smarter and harder.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

Melissa Kane (Microsoft), Keri Gonzalez (Wordstream), Hannah Cohen (Wordstream)

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

I think Covid has had three primary effects on marketing teams: (1) accelerated digital transformation, (2) Smaller or stagnant budgets year over year, and (3) pausing the in-person events strategy. Post Covid, I hope we see an evolution of the martech scene that includes some form of technology consolidation. We have so many great tools that do so many necessary tasks, but the tools are expensive, and implementation can be complex.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

Post-Covid, I am excited to continue working remotely, but hopefully from some nicer destinations than my shoebox of an apartment. Maybe Bali for a bit…

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Appreciate the past, but focus on the future. After you learn from your difficulties, turn your attention to how you will grow from it moving forward.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Be hungry for knowledge, learn as many technologies as you can, and think about using the technologies in innovative ways.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

Whitney Wolfe, Sallie Krawcheck, Adrienne Penta

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

Professionally, I am planning to innovate the B2B digital experience by using some of our newer martech to create personalized experiences at each digital touchpoint. Personally, I’m just working on carving out more time in my day for walks and Starbucks runs.

 

Moni Oloyede Hexagon2020 Marketo Champion. Marketing Operations Expert. Co- Organizer at DC Marketing Tech Talks. Moni Oloyede makes more than money. From graduating with a masters from John Hopkins University, she has gone on to completely cover all aspects of Digital Marketing. She was also named as one of the “25 Women in B2B Marketing Who Inspire Us Every Day”, and boy, does she inspire us!

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Establish reliable, effectives marketing processes.

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

Executive leadership expecting the tool to be automagical, especially w/o budget and resources.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

Make your success, the success of others.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

Michele Perry was my very first boss at my first job (Sourcefire) and gave me the opportunity to work in Eloqua, which began my career in marketing technology.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

The technology will continue to grow. Digital transformation is here to stay.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I CAN NOT WAIT to breakout, go outside, enjoy live entertainment and see friends in person.

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

All "failures" are just learnings. Find the lesson and quickly move on. Also, find a community of professional women (either in martech or out) it helps for career advice.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

I would tell my younger to focus on the soft skills more i.e communication skills, listening skills, collaboration skills.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

Oprah is my hero.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

I'm working an operational methodology for marketing technology professional to help them communicate the language of the technology better.

Andrea-Clatworthy HexagonAndrea Clatworthy is the Global Head of Account Based Marketing at Fujitsu, and is a black belt in improving business results, M&A internal and external comms and culture and change management. In the past she has been the Marketing manager at not 1, not 2, but 6 separate companies, as well as working in the Business Regulations Team in the Cabinet Office.

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Enabling ABM everywhere at Fujitsu

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

Lack of integration. Speed of deployment not inline with need. And there is so much choice in the market, its hard to select the right tool

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

lol, no not really. I guess 'Enabling ABMers to be awesome'

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

Isobel Voyles - awesome lady

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

Expecting to see some further consolidation of vendors; Digital is now firmly a thing, so we need to be clever with how we evolve it in terms of customer engagement, and smart with how we use the data we collect

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

Very much looking forward to the pub, seeing family and friends, and generally not being stuck in the house

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

  • Don't take any set-back personally; 2. Keep a log of successes and great moments and look back on them when a set back happens, and remind yourself how awesome you actually are; 3. Be prepared to fail now and then, and when you do, fail quickly and learn from it

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Be curious, be flexible, be willing to take on new challenges, be brave, be authentically you, share successes

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

Margaret Thatcher -- not necessarily all her policies, but how she operated. She was determined, she took hard decisions, she stuck to her guns, she worked really hard to transform herself so that she could succeed. And she delivered.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

I'm doing some (non-work) interior design and a raft of crafting projects, which really relax me and I enjoy immensely! For work its a continuation of ABM Everywhere, with expansion into new geographies and scaling.

No idea what dinner will be yet, but I suspect it will accompanied by a glass or two of something lovely.

Adriana Jones Lima HexagonPublic Relations Offering Manager at OneTrust, Adriana Jones Lima is a PR, training, and events extraordinaire. As Project Manager for MEDA’s Annual Gala, she helped raise over $250,000, and over $14,000 in other events to provide scholarships for high school students. Now she turns that training expertise over to you, so you better get ship-shape!

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Effectively react & communicate AdTech developments.

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

My biggest MarTech gripe is also one of my favourite aspects. Everything changes and evolves so quickly - especially in the realm of privacy compliance and AdTech/MarTech. From the deprecation of third-party cookies, ePrivacy Regulation, IAB TCF updates, new technology, or evolving privacy laws there is always something new to learn. It's great since it keeps me busy and my work interesting. But it seems just as I've gotten a handle on a new privacy law or technology shift another one pops right up.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

No lives depend on the work you are doing (even though it may feel like it) - So slow down, breathe, and stress less.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

So many women have helped and supported me along the way! One small thing that has had a major impact on my career and confidence is when women in leadership ask my opinion. I remember my first internship when the CEO called me into a conversation about product development and asked what I thought. This small act helped develop my perspective, build my confidence, and showed me that my ideas were valued.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

Several major things. First, I think traditional offices and 9 - 5 workdays will be a thing of the past. We'll see much more collaboration and flexibility with where and how people work.

Second, I've noticed an uptick in privacy consciousness amongst consumers. Covid-19 contract tracing has shone a light on privacy issues, this has spilled over into other areas. The MarTech/AdTech industry will need to explicitly incorporate privacy into new products and campaigns. Privacy and trust will be key differentiators in the MarTech scene Post-Covid.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

Travel, travel, travel...did I mention I'm looking forward to traveling again?

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Remember that everything is happening for you, not to you. You will make mistakes and fail. Embrace these missteps, take ownership, and learn from them with grace.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Take a risk and speak up - you're ideas are good. Even if they aren't nobody on the team is going to bed thinking about a silly idea you shared during a brainstorm.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

My team! We have an all-star team of strong women leaders that each bring something different. Their committed, no non-sense yet compassionate approach to our work makes me excited to get up every day.

Tracee Ellis Ross inspires me as well. I've learned a lot about how to balance a strong work ethic, self-care, and joy. To thrive professionally you have to find balance in all aspects of your life.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

Lamb kofta, roasted veggies, and hummus.

We have so much going on this quarter. We have a few new products coming out, a new customer success initiative, and what feels like a speaking session every day. 2021 is a big year for MarTech/AdTech as we phase out third-party cookies and adapt strategies to the evolving privacy landscape. Our team's goal is to stay up to date with these developments, communicate them to our audience, and work alongside them to develop effective solutions to the marketing and publishing goals.

 

Women Hexagon 2

Senior Marketing Operations Manager at Integrate, and Marketing ops specialist, Ashley Langford is a B2B and SaaS expert. A Marketo Revvie Award Finalist and Marketo Champion, Ash has the trophies to prove it. She has also volunteered as a board member for The Young Non profit Professionals Network of Atlanta, which is powerful, meaningful (and a mouthful!)

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Herding cats

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

When people design a process for today and do not think about how it should scale in the future. When I design anything I always ask myself “How will this affect future Ashley”.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

There are multiple ways to skin a cat.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

I’ve been very lucky in my career to have some amazing women co-workers and mentors. I am grateful that I can call them friends now and that I can continue to bounce things off them.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

Post-Covid the live events are going to be the place to be. People cannot wait to actually be with people in person and connect with each other. In regards to technology I see a lot of technology M&A activity happening. We so many technology companies now there is going to be a point that some will have to merge.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I’m looking forward to meeting some of my new teammates and share a meal with them. My wedding was postponed last year due to COVID and I'm looking forward to having our wedding with our friends and family later this year. Who doesn't love a good binge though? I’m very much enjoying my Netflix binging. My husband and I have been going through all 40 seasons of the TV show survivor. We are a little past the halfway point right now.

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

Everybody is human and everyone makes mistakes. In order to get past it you need to admit that you made a mistake, ask for help if needed, learn from the mistake and try not to make the same mistake again.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Imposter syndrome is a real feeling. It’s ok to feel that way sometimes, but you are awesome and you can do anything that you put your mind to.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

I love seeing any professional women that breaks the barriers. One that really inspires me is Sarah Kennedy, the former CMO of Marketo. She is just such an inspirational leader and great person.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

This year is going to be a very busy year, I am going to focus a lot of my time on making sure that we are utilizing all of our technologies to the fullest extent. In delicious news though, I will be making homemade calzones for dinner tonight.

 

Girl Hexagon

Tabitha Adams (BA, MBA, VIP, HRH) is the Senior Demand Marketing Manager at Integrate, and a Board Member / Head of MarTech & Community Management at The Growth Ops Community. A demand generation and marketing operations expert with 10+ years’ experience, she is the go-to for anything Marketing; ops, adoption, analytics, attribution, automation, optimisation, scoring. And breathe. She is also a volunteer for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County!

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

Orchestrate multi-channel programs with MarTech

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!

I don't have one at the moment - we've done a lot of work to remove the biggest pain point; shared goals. With shared goals we're on the same page for targeting, activation, and how we report on success

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?

It's more important to be courageous than perfect

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?

Yes, women and men actually. I've been blessed to have mentors across my different jobs or through other avenues like my MBA program. Key people I have learned more about business, perseverance, and importance of success through community include executives who took the initiative to guide and mentor (Sean Whiteley, Hilary Headlee, Larry Stein, Don Piluso), amazing managers and co-workers (Ken Grossgold and Sara Kinsey) and friends I've made across my network (Jill Melchionda, Melissa McCready, and Karla Torres).

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.

I see an impending need to consolidate and rethink how we prioritize MarTech changes. There will be less of a focus on point-solutions and more of a need to select or refine use of tools that allow for buyer-focused programs. Marketing (including mops) need more visibility into the journey of a buyer and less tactic-centered tools.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

We'll see how quickly it occurs, but I'm hoping to fill my calendar with live music. Until concerts come back, I'll plan for a few road trips to visit nearby states and get out of the house!

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?

It's rare that your failure or difficulty isn't shared by someone else in the industry. Bouncing back requires tenacity and the ability to learn from where you started. I'd also note that you don't have to rush in your career. Hitting the next milestone or finding your "dream job" takes time - learn from where you are and make connections to build up a community that can help you along the way.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?

Don't be afraid to share your learnings, whether from success or failure, with your peers and your network. You don't have to be a "thought leader" to have a voice and influence your industry.

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?

Key individuals probably overlap with the women who have influenced my career, but I'm constantly inspired by those who are able to illustrate what I'm feeling through their own words. Nothing inspires me faster than someone I can connect with through similar experience. I also look for professional women who are taking the time to find solutions to problems that females in technology and/or marketing face today. There's a lot to be said of those that enact change instead of just highlighting the problem.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?

I'm doing a lot of work to help maximize marketing, and sales, ability to align with the buyer through every activity or outreach. This means connecting the "who is your audience?" question to each phase of our marketing process and how we prioritize engagement follow up. I'm also really looking forward to some of the larger virtual conferences this year like Forrester and Adobe. It's time to reprioritize learning and see what insights companies are gathering from the challenges of 2020 - 2021.

Women Glasses HexagonAmandine Boitel Servain is Vice President, Global Demand Generation, at Cheetah Digital, and lives life in the fast lane (terrible cheetah pun, sorry). Her specialities include Marketing strategy and planning, international campaign development, lead generation, and much, much more! Described as a "true marketeer" by colleagues, Amandine has cat-like instincts and a paw-fect track record, plus a masters from SKEMA business school! 

Jobs in Martech are always super layered and complex. Your position is no exception! So to make things a little bit clearer, could you describe your role in five words or less?

I have to create need for a product or service with the goal of passing qualified leads to the sales team and eventually drive revenue.

What is your biggest martech/ marketing ops gripe? Don’t hold back!
 

Data visualisation & Marketing Attribution I have yet to find the best tech to help me visualise digital body language is a way that I can interpret, act on and share with Sales. But also a tech that helps me understand marketing ROI.

It’s a bit 2008, but do you have a personal mantra?
 

Life Is Like Riding a Bicycle. To Keep Your Balance You Must Keep Moving.

Have there been any women along the way, who have helped you out and supported you?
 

Yes definitely. 3 actually. They all helped me move in my career and trusted me. From starting in the tech industry to taking managing position in an international role, they were all very supportive and taught me a lot without micromanaging.

How do you see the martech scene in the Post-Covid days? Apart from everyone going straight to the pub, of course.
 

Consumers have experienced the best or the worst of customer experiences during the last 12 months. Digital transformation was a rocky path for a lot of brands and they will have to focus on the foundations of this transformation. Technology that helps to collect, understand and activate data across communication channels at scale & in real time will be a must for D2C strategy.

What are your own plans Post-Covid? Are you looking forward to being back out, or are you enjoying the Netflix binges?

I will probably go visit my family abroad and YES definitely want to go out. Can't wait to have a proper dinner that is not a take-out.

Do you have any advice for bouncing back from failure or difficulties, especially for young women within the industry?
 

Don't underestimate the power of sorority. In your work, you will find someone that can help you, mentor you, give you the right piece of advice.

What career advice would you give to your younger self, on how to succeed in marketing and tech?
 

Start building your personal brand as soon as you can in your career. Work skills are important, but a strong personal brand can open the door to new business and career opportunities

Who are the professional women that really inspire you?
 

It might sound cheesy, but my mother was an inspiration. Not because she had a stellar career, but because she always worked hard, never gave up working even with a family of 3 girls. It showed me the importance of work in life.

What are your plans for the future? By this I mean what are your upcoming projects, and what are you having for dinner?
 

I have a few work projects I am working on, mostly around ABM and Data, but also some other stream that are focusing on client marketing. And for dinner, it will definitely start with a glass of wine and probably a pasta dish.

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