From a very young age, I was intrigued by business – I would marvel at men in suits, running off to important places with their black leather briefcases. I wanted to emulate those men – making big decisions, traveling to far off places and figuring out ways of making their companies more successful. My father still proudly tells the story of a young girl who would use every chance she could to introduce herself to others with a firm handshake – something that neither one of my parents ever taught me.

As a teen, I was fascinated with understanding how people think and the powers of persuasion and influence. Looking back, I think this stemmed from wanting to persuade my parents to extend my curfew – but it really got me thinking about how the mind works. The idea that I could actually change a person’s mind, to influence them to willingly act a certain way, or do a certain thing, without directly telling them to do so was riveting! My understanding of psychology and how one’s environment influences so many aspects of a person’s identity was deepened during my undergraduate university studies.

During my undergrad, I finally discovered the perfect ying and yang to my future – the perfect fusion of business strategy and human psychology – I discovered marketing! I was amazed how marketing took the analytics of business strategy and coupled them with the application of persuasion in psychology to create a need in the market for specific goods or services, and then capitalized on those needs. I saw that strategic marketing is not just a campaign, a commercial or a call to action – it is the consequence of an in-depth analysis of a business problem from both a corporate and a consumer perspective that yields the path to achieve a company’s goals in an effective and impactful way.

Traveling and living abroad rekindled my curiosity on the influence of culture on both business and psychology. Completing my MBA with concentrations in marketing and international business strategy, provided me with true insight on the importance of clear communication and cultural understanding in both business and marketing.

I have a deep appreciation for marketing and strategy… analyzing and decoding root causes of business issues; creating impactful and unique omni-tiered solutions, formulating and executing plans with excellence – these are all things that really inspire me!