Angela Mayfield

I attribute my success to having a family and community of friends around me that are always supportive and always there for whatever it is I need. I wouldn't be able to dedicate the amount of effort and time to some of my professional and academic interests and ambitions if they weren't there for me. Their support allows me to pursue my goals while maintaining balance in my life.

The best career advice I've ever received was around not accepting that there's a problem that there is no solution to. Instead of going to the team with what you can't do, show up with what you can do and how that can help you get to your ultimate goals. This mindset has helped me approach challenges constructively and focus on solutions rather than obstacles.

I would say keep learning. Part of what's unique about working in business development and new business is that you get to work with the brightest leaders across whatever agency you're at, as well as the leadership on brand sides that have real challenges that are impacting their business bottom line. Being able to learn from that and ask questions when appropriate is a great opportunity that you can get at any level in this type of role. If you continue to take advantage of it, it will help you progress in your career.

I think that the marketing and advertising landscape is changing even more rapidly than it had previously, and so certain agencies are finding that they're able to keep up with those changes and partner with clients to have an impact on their marketing, whereas others are slower moving. It's exciting to be at a tech-focused agency that's really building solutions for clients as the landscape changes. The ability to adapt quickly and build innovative solutions is what separates successful agencies from those that struggle to keep pace.

I'd say honesty and commitment are most important to me. People don't really think about working in new business pitches as a team sport, because everybody's already assigned to different departments, and so that's their team. But when you pull together a group and you're responsible for developing the response and solution for a prospective client, you really have to get everyone to collaborate in a way that people are transparent and we can get the best work done, so that we have the greatest chance for success. These values of honesty and commitment are essential for bringing teams together and achieving our goals.