15 Trailblazing Women in Revenue Marketing
In honor of International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate all of the amazing women in revenue marketing! These women are trailblazers and are helping to pave a path forward for other women in the space. We asked these women to share their superpower and actionable advice for women to increase their visibility and voice within their company and beyond. And, to celebrate each other, we asked everyone to shout out a woman who inspires them!
Jenny Coupe | Vice President, Global Revenue Marketing at ActiveCampaign
Superpower: Adaptability
Advice: B.Y.O.C - Bring Your Own Chair. Take a Seat at the Table - don't wait to be invited/asked.
A woman who inspires you: Kim Salem-Jackson. How to navigate up and down the org to build rapport and get things done.
Sarah McConnell | Head of Demand Generation at Qualified
Superpower: Professionally: my ability to shift from strategic planning to nitty-gritty hands-on execution Personally: the ability to turn any size pizza into a personal size pizza
Advice: Find an area within the company that is lacking (and that you are passionate about or will help you grow professionally) and go after it. For example, in my first B2B marketing role, we had no Salesforce admin to help keep our instance and data clean. I started getting my feet wet in the tool, found I loved getting my hands into all the data that could influence our marketing, and finally asked my company to help me get my Salesforce Admin Certification. At the time it seemed a bit out of my job scope BUT I have used my Salesforce admin knowledge 1000x times over, and it made me a better marketing ops strategist and a better colleague to my sales counterparts down the road. More importantly, it helped me get more visibility within my company and entrench myself as an indispensable teammate.
Your bosses and colleagues alike will start to turn to you for advice and feedback, and give you more freedom to take on new challenges after establishing yourself as a trusted expert in an area the company really needs. And that trust can trickle down into the rest of your role and help you root yourself within the organization. So if you see an area of need in your company, and you have the bandwidth and desire to take it on, don't hesitate! Jump in and get out of your comfort zone.
A woman who inspires you: My sister-in-law Megan Guy! She is an incredible marketer, mother, friend, and sister who now works at Stripe. She is someone I can always turn to for a gut check and to run ideas past, and can trust will give me honest and thoughtful feedback.
Tricia Gellman | CMO at Drift
Superpower: I function with conviction and drive which may also be negative but often helps me lead through change.
Advice: Ensure you are very clear on your goals and the goals of your team. Ensure these goals map to important business goals. If you are a marketing leader for example tie your team goals as close to revenue as you can to ensure you are aligned to the top growth goals of your company. Participate in meetings with a point of view and ownership of thought. If you are not in the right level of meetings, network with the people in the meetings to get yourself on the invite list. If you are in the right meetings but not participating you are validating that you are not worthy of being viewed in a senior way.
A woman who inspires you: Hilarie Koplow-McAdams, former Head of Sales at Salesforce now VC partner. Hilarie grew her career to be a leader in a very male-dominated field and industry. She never let her gender get in the way of her success. She has a family and demonstrated to her daughters what it looks like to be a leader and have independence as a woman. She also taught me to know your business so you can ask questions at the next level making it hard for people to just answer yes/no which easily results in people hiding the key issues. On top of all of this, Hilarie spends time with a non-profit she is passionate about. Her ability to make a difference as a mother, professional leader, and philanthropist is inspiring.
Ashley Levesque | Director of Marketing at Demio
Superpower: I'm unafraid of asking hard questions. I like to dig deep to understand the "why" - particularly as it relates to us as people. Why do we respond to certain events the way we do? How do our concepts and ideas of truth show up in our relationships with other people? With the work, we do as professionals? I bring the social psychology of vulnerability, honesty, leadership, and awareness into a business setting - unapologetically and proudly.
Advice: Spend some time thinking about what you want - then show up and ask for it. Ask to join the meeting you want to be at the table for. Come prepared and raise an opinion. Also, find a community - and find a mentor. Identify a woman that embodies your values and ask her if she'd be willing to spend time with you.
A woman who inspires you: Helen Israel at Gong is an incredibly thoughtful and intentional human who remains curious about the world around her and willing to say YES even without a roadmap. She's an asset to people and organizations everywhere. Anyone would be lucky to spend time with her.
Jennifer Dimas | Chief Marketing Officer at Qumu
Superpower: Collaboration
Advice: Know yourself. Be yourself without apology.
A woman who inspires you: Hana! Hana took on the project of hosting and moderating a BIG WIR event last year after having never done that before. She was passionate, committed, and prepared-- she ROCKED the event.
Natalie Gullatt | Customer Marketing Manager at LeaseQuery
Superpower: My superpower is connecting with others on a level where we can relate to one another and find things in common. My superpower of empathy is why marketing is such a great field for me.
Advice: Don’t be afraid to use your voice. Keep talking in every room you’re in and space you’re apart of in any way. Definitely don’t talk to just speak, be strategic but don’t be shy to be your own advocate and tell others that you have skills, ideas, experiences that they should value.
A woman who inspires you: I hate to sound cliché but I love Michelle Obama. She’s a strong, confident, beautiful, intelligent Black woman. She commands a presence whenever she’s in a room, she empowers others and genuinely supports people to be their best selves. I’m so thankful for her just being in the public space so I can know of such a positive experience and feel the motivation!
Lital Asher-Dotan | CMO at Hunters
Superpower: I pride myself on being a team builder. I love bringing together people and seeing the magic that's created when a synergetic team is formed. Providing people with the right space for personal or professional growth, seeing where they need support and where they can support others - this is when the best results happen.
Advice: Get a mentor and ask her to help you break into the internal company network. Don't just use the mentor as a consultant, use her to get you connected to the right people that will help you make your next career move.
A woman who inspires you: Sophie Blum, was my manager and mentor at P&G. She was a role model for me in two areas that are critical for women leaders: 1 - The importance of self-advocating for your work and achievements and 2- how to keep a healthy work-life balance by building partnership at home and prioritizing quality time with family.
Erin Hughes | Marketing Manager at Attentive
Superpower: Brainstorming! I love coming up with creative marketing ideas
Advice: My first piece of advice is to always share your opinion and speak up in meetings. What you have to say matters and will make you more visible in every meeting. Even if you're the most junior person in the room, ask questions and speak up if you think there's a better way to do something. In my experience, those moments are almost always met with appreciation. My second piece of advice is to always raise your hand for new opportunities. That's how you hone your skill set and demonstrate your value to others, who will then recommend you for future exciting opportunities.
A woman who inspires you: This is the corniest answer, but it's my mom. As I've grown up, I've realized all the behind-the-scenes things she does, her relentless energy, and her boundless patience. As a woman in business, I always looked up to her and she's part of the reason I went into Marketing. She treats everyone with respect, open-mindedness, and kindness in all parts of her life, and has set an archetype for the type of person I aspire to be.
Osayi Lasisi | Growth Marketing at Zenblank
Superpower: Being resourceful - I'm able to take advantage of available resources to accomplish personal and/or business goals.
Advice: Decide what you want to be known for and start talking about it. Share your thoughts on social media, offer to lead a session at work, join or start an after-hours group where you share your knowledge. You may be wondering: "How do I pick a topic?" That's a great question! I recommend you pick anyone that comes to mind. If you start talking about it and you run out of things to say, and you have no desire to do further research, then you can change to a different topic. Similarly, if you start sharing a topic and you're just not enjoying it, feel free to find a different topic. Your next question may be: "What if no one cares? or What if I run out of things to say?" Well it's all part of the journey, the more you share, the more you encourage yourself to learn. The more you learn, the better you get.
In the end, it's all about increasing YOUR visibility in the particular area you would like to be visible in - you get to decide what that area is, and how much time or energy you would like to invest in this journey.
A woman who inspires you: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - she has been the "first" in many positions, has gone through many extremely public ups and downs, through it all, she continues building her career and believing in a better world.
Asia Corbett | Director, Revenue Operations at Postal.io
Superpower: Connecting people together has always been my superpower both personal and professional. I'm sure it's why I find myself in very cross-functional roles. Making strong relationships across different teams in the company is so important to everyone's success - but it's also secretly really fun to talk, collaborate, and learn from others through this connection!
Advice: You have to be bold. If you see an opportunity go for it. I used to be timider early in my life but so many doors have opened by me seizing an opportunity when I get the chance. Schedule 1:1's with different leaders in other departments. An active presence on LinkedIn is the other key. Post interesting and helpful content and people will engage and connect with you! It can seem like a challenge to cut through the noise (we are all connected to the internet so much these days) but posting content and engaging with folks with definitely increase your visibility - in the company AND beyond!
A woman who inspires you: I would have to say one of the most inspiring women I've ever come across is Julia Gachet. We worked together at PresenceLearning for almost 2 years and she was my manager. Being on an operations team is CHALLENGING. And those challenges don't go away when you move companies. She taught me so much about navigating ambiguity and change with grace and embracing the unknown. Very important when you work for a small company with rapidly changing goals and changes in leadership and org structure.
Anne Angele | Consultant
Superpower: Curiosity. Endless curiosity has been the driving force behind a lot of my big wins professionally - including my start in marketing tech. In this space, you're out of date quickly if you stop asking questions and stop trying to learn, so it helps to genuinely want to know more.
Advice: First, find your people and stick with them. Networks are truly so valuable and men are absolutely utilizing them, so you should be too. There's a quote floating around right now that says something like "find friends who would mention your name in a room full of opportunities" and it's so true. There's so much room for women at the top and we don't get there by shooting each other down. I'm so grateful to have worked with so many incredible women who have poured into me and I am always ready to throw work, recommendations, support, or credit their way when I can.
My other biggest piece of advice for women, and especially introverts, is to speak up. Don't wait for someone to ask. Throw out your ideas, even if they are incomplete. Think out loud. Imposter syndrome is so real, but if you're reading this, I'm willing to bet you're the subject matter expert on something, you have something to contribute, and people are missing out on seeing it if you're keeping quiet. If you're really making an effort to be heard and you're continually being shut down, talked over, or not listened to, you might not be in the right environment. That's a major red flag for the culture and isn't a reflection of your contributions. We can also support each other here - if someone has a great idea and you see it being dismissed, repeat it and call out credit or ask pointed questions to bring it back on the table.
A woman who inspires you: This is such a tough one. DeAnn Poe helped me get my bearings in professional marketing. Paula Sansburn was the first person to tell me it's okay to admit my love language is money at work. Anita Williams and Gina Miller encouraged me to grow and taught me that managing people out of their jobs is a win, not a loss. Sarah Albright and Courtney McAra are so inspiring with the businesses they've built for themselves independently. Nina Wooten is one of the most dedicated professionals I know and is constantly inspiring me to be bold and to go after what I want. My mom was a C-suite exec with a stay-at-home husband in the 90s/00s and is still killing it as a consultant running her own business today. And just a huge shout out to every mother I know who worked through 2020 and commiserated or showed up to a Zoom call with preschool happening in the background. I see you. I couldn't exhaustively list every woman who has supported and inspired me throughout my career if I tried and I'm sure there's a dozen more I could name!
Hannah Bronner | Senior Manager, Revenue Marketing at Salsify
Superpower: Curiosity - asking questions!
Advice: Stay true to yourself and trust your gut. Speak up when you have an idea, ask questions when you don't understand, and be your own advocate.
A woman who inspires you: As a Brandeis graduate, Anita Hill is always the first woman who comes to mind. Her actions were not malicious or about seeking revenge, but rather to speak up for what was right, hold others accountable and create safe working environments for individuals to thrive.
Elizabeth Irvine | VP of Marketing at MarketMuse
Superpower: It’s not so much a superpower of mine, but I have a playlist that when I’m cranking it, I feel like I can do anything. A mix of girl-power anthems, Disney, classic and hard rock, show tunes, and other shameless music to get my blood going and pump me up.
Advice: I was passive for a while and kept hoping to be approached for interesting projects. Don’t wait for a project to be assigned to you. Propose a solution for a problem you’ve identified or a creative alternative to a project that has been blocked. Or just start working on it and show your impact.
Also, it’s a small thing, but leverage the mute/unmute on video calls. It’s a visible movement and even if the other person isn’t done speaking yet, it’s obvious that you have something to say. On teleconference lines or in-person, sometimes this can be missed. Take advantage of it and get your voice heard.
Join a women’s mastermind group. I went to a Women in Leadership event with a mastermind session and I never felt more heard and empowered. The whole time I thought “I’m not alone in this!”
A woman who inspires you: Yes, there are definitely a lot! But I attribute a particular personal growth aspect to a group of gals from my time in the UK. I was always a pretty private/reserved person at work. But after following their example I found once I shared more, exposed more of my corniness, broke out of my shell more — that I moved faster, got more things done and built more meaningful relationships with team members that accelerated our collective growth. Really — it was about getting out my own way and not worrying so much about what other people thought. My personal growth dramatically impacted my professional growth.
Tamrah Buhr | Director, Demand Generation at Globalization Partners
Superpower: I’m an empath so I feel before I think. The earliest memory I have of this superpower is in the second grade when I was awarded Student of the Month for being the class peacemaker. I always try to look at situations from different perspectives, love talking to strangers, and believe in regularly practicing vulnerability. I also "read between the lines" to truly understand what is going on with a person and how I can best help.
Advice: Identify the knowledge gaps on your team that if filled would help make your company more successful. Become the subject matter in those areas and then teach the rest of the team. Nothing boosts confidence like knowing your stuff, helping yourself and others succeed, and solving problems. These are also the traits leadership values in future leaders. That said, no one knows everything so maintaining a high level of curiosity is key to growth and success at any level.
A woman who inspires you: We never met but Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John. She is fierce, hard-working, unapologetically herself, and my fashion inspiration. To put it in her words, she is “redefining badassery”! When I started my career, I didn’t feel like I could be my authentic self. Then I discovered Bozoma. She taught me the importance of bringing my whole self to work, being uniquely ME, and never shrinking, regardless of the spaces I’m in.
Sesame Mish | Growth Marketing Director at Intellimize
Superpower: Intuition
Advice: Don't be afraid to speak up and make your voice heard. You can't expect others to guess what you're thinking. You need to say it out loud. If you have a strongly held opinion, share it. Your team will be glad you did.
Also, come to every meeting prepared, even if it's just 5 minutes of prep. Ensure you have a viewpoint about the topic, and that you have jotted down any open questions to bring up. Don't just sit back and be a silent bystander. Be an active participant!
A woman who inspires you: My mom inspires me with her work ethic. Operating a small business for the past 40 years and still going strong! I've learned from her that there's no task too small and that everything is an integral piece to making the business work.
A huge thank you to all of the amazing woman who shared their perspectives and Happy International Women's Day!