Senior Director of Marketing, Meyer Sound

I spent most of my career in account management at very creative-driven advertising agencies in Los Angeles and San Francisco and loved being surrounded by good people doing good work, with a culture driven by creativity, collaboration and an anything-is-possible mentality. I’ve had the opportunity to influence award-winning work for over 50 consumer and business brands, shape insights-driven go-to-market plans and build new brands from the business plan up to the campaign launch. Ten advertising agencies later and two years ago, I was ready for a new challenge of translating everything I learned to a passionate in-house marketing team as the steward of the Meyer Sound brand and champion of creating the best sonic experiences in the world. What I’ve learned along the way is that, as a marketer, we are all born storytellers looking to uncover the most strategic and creative expression of a brand’s story in an authentic way that actually means something to people. And in a way that delivers innovative work with results and brand affinity to prove it.


For someone trying to break into your industry today, what’s the move most people overlook?

Be curious, be persistent and believe in yourself. Learn everything you can about the industry you’re feeling most drawn to, talk to everyone you can and then talk to the people who know those people. Understanding what you don’t want to do is half the battle. Ask questions. Lots of them. When you talk to someone, ask what made them choose to work for that company and what makes them stay – they always give a genuine answer that is pretty insightful. Be strategic about how to set yourself apart. Submitting your resume on LinkedIn can make you feel like it’s going into a black hole – and welp, it might be. So figure out how to send a personal message to HR or someone on the team who you want to interview with. Scour LinkedIn and see whose friend has a cousin who’s neighbor works at your dream company. Come prepared to the interview with questions or observations that make it clear that you did your homework on the company. Always send thank you emails and when you do, if you want the job, tell them. And tell them why. They want to hear that you’re all in. Weave something into the note that makes it feel personal based on your conversation – like how you can’t believe you both grew up in the same hometown or that you love the same band or that you’re going to go buy their favorite book. All of a sudden you’ve made a human connection that’s strong and memorable. At the end of the day, remind yourself that interviewing is a two-way street. Yes, you’re trying to impress them, but they also need to give you the confidence that you’re jumping into something amazing that will help propel your career forward and keep you inspired.


Tell us about a pivot, setback, or unexpected turn in your career and what you learned from it.

One word: Layoffs. They can happen and they’re a jolt to the system – in the moment. It feels personal even though you know it’s business. But the beauty in it, once you get past the initial shock, is that it’s essentially a forced opportunity to re-evaluate where you want to go in your career, what new challenges you want to chase and what possible pivot you had been thinking about for a while but didn’t make the leap – now is the time to make it happen. It’s like someone is nudging you to be brave and put yourself out there. Everyone I know who has been laid off – myself included – has ended up in a better place. You just have to embrace the uncomfortable and how the opportunity you wanted that you didn’t see coming might be right in front of you.


If you could go back and give your USC-self one piece of advice about using your time there, what would it be?

Honestly, soak up every second of being a student at USC. You go to the best university in the country and these years will be some of the greatest in your life. The friends you make will be some of the greatest in your life. I grew up in a hard-core Notre Dame family and the second I stepped onto campus for a tour, I knew I would be a Trojan. There’s something so magical about this place. I wouldn’t trade my four years for anything and any time I meet a fellow Trojan, they say the same thing. There’s an instant bond when you meet alumni. The network is so strong – use it. Navigating the world post-college can feel daunting at times, but we’re all here for you. Fight On!