Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?
My job is to understand, think about, and improve the entire customer journey, from when a person first becomes aware of our product to their post-purchase experience. I’ve worked in product marketing, sales, and customer success, so I really understand what it’s like for someone at every step of the customer journey. My role as CMO is to continue learning about our customers’ experiences and influence each stage to increase the likelihood of them buying our product.
I also get to talk to really cool customers like Good American and Mattel, as well as our employees, to make sure we’re showing up the right way in our market. People see branding and marketing as an inconvenient expense, but it’s actually the key to everything a company does. Investing in your brand drives awareness; awareness drives traffic; traffic goes to your website, and your website is where you capture leads, which is what drives revenue.
What’s the most compelling tech project you’ve worked on, and why?
When I started at Salesforce over 10 years ago, the company made one product, and we had a few thousand employees. When I left, it was a company with tens of thousands of employees and valued at nearly $200 billion. The time spent being a part of growth and the challenges we faced undoubtedly shaped how I work and how I lead teams.
One of the most impactful professional experiences within my time at Salesforce was a move I made to become the global senior VP of customer adoption, marketing, and business development. I deliberately spent three years in customer success to gain firsthand experience in the full customer journey, knowing how crucial it is for marketing teams that manage the end-to-end lifecycle.
That role allowed me to spend my entire day thinking about the customer, their experience, and the entire lifecycle from end-to-end. It was an invaluable experience, especially since these days I’m hyper-focused on anticipating what our customers need.
What technologies are you most optimistic about? Least? And why?
Keep up with the innovative tech transforming business
Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.
Would I be a marketer if I didn’t say AI? But seriously, I am really excited about it. I think about it in two ways: One, how we work with and use generative AI to ideate and create faster; and two, how we can utilize AI to make data work harder for us. At Klaviyo, we tell our customers that AI can help them find smarter insights, make smarter decisions, work smarter, and deliver smarter results. To me, it’s not about replacing people or jobs with AI—it’s about working with AI to free up more time to be strategic and creative.
In terms of what I’m least optimistic about, data privacy is one that keeps me up at night, especially because of the impact it has on our customers. As it gets more difficult for brands to reach the right people, we’re helping our customers understand the importance of collecting zero- and first-party data to help them drive personalized experiences and build lasting relationships.
What’s the best tech-related media you read/watch/listen to?
I like to get the most out of my Apple News subscription, so I read everything from the Wall Street Journal to Business Insider and Ad Age daily. I’ve been hit or miss with podcasts, but lately I’ve been loving Lenny’s Podcast.
What’s something about you we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?
My first job was working at a mortuary; I actually come from a long line of morticians. Growing up in a family business helped me really understand and think about the pain points that go into being an SMB owner. They are constantly trying to do more with less, especially when it comes to their technology. Being an advocate for this type of buyer means I think about how to market our platform in a way that showcases how easy it is to buy, use, and onboard. I love thinking about what this segment needs and how we’re delivering what they need—it’s a big passion of mine.
What do you think about when you’re not thinking about tech?
Beyond tech, it’s all about family. About how to balance my daughters’ volleyball practice, school plays, and making sure we save room for family time at Lake Tahoe.