Influential Woman · Advertising Marketing

Cassandra Castillo

Account Executive, --

Arlington, TX

3Awards received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Babson College Degree Business Degree Degree Study Abroad in Madrid Cert LVMH Brand Marketing and Operations Course Member Samia Society Founder

Her Story

About Cassandra

I've been working as an account executive in marketing for about a year and a half now, and this is my first position after graduating from Babson College. I'm a first-generation graduate, which was very important to me, and I knew I wanted to study business but wasn't sure what area specifically, which is why Babson was perfect for me. During college, I interned at Fidelity and explored finance, but that experience confirmed I wanted to do marketing. What really led me into marketing was starting an organization called Samia Society at Babson - it was for first-gen students to develop professionally, make connections, and have a support system throughout college since we don't have that experience in our families to guide us. We created a first-gen conference hosted annually in the Greater Boston area where we invited colleges to attend, and we had workshops, free headshots, and networking events where we reached out to different companies to connect with our students. That's what led me into marketing - getting to know people and bringing things to life. Now I work primarily with Samsung, overseeing all their marketing, especially for flagship launches. My typical day involves internal meetings with project managers, creatives, and copywriters, as well as client meetings to discuss project status and bring those projects to life, whether it's campaigns, localization for the U.S. market, or assets for digital and social channels. I recently got the opportunity to change teams to do more channel work, which is carrier-specific marketing, and not a lot of people get that opportunity. I've exceeded expectations in both of my performance reviews so far, and I'm proud that I've become someone my team can rely on.

Quick Facts

IndustryAdvertising Marketing
Based inArlington, TX
Languages English, Spanish
Specialty Marketing, Account Management, Brand Marketing
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Campaign Development
- Client Relations
Volunteers with Hoops and Homework After-School Program Volunteer

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Cassandra

01What do you attribute your success to?

I would say my parents. My parents are immigrants, so I've seen all the hard work that they've put into starting my life here and allowing me to take advantage of all these opportunities that they didn't have. I've had great support from them and encouragement, and I don't think I would be as far as I am today without their support. They really are my rocks and the foundation of everything I've accomplished.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I've ever received is to just be yourself and not be afraid to ask for help or be that help to someone else. I'm very big on not having the mentality of 'I had to struggle, so you should too.' I'm the opposite - I had these struggles myself in whatever position or anything that I was doing, so here's my advice so you don't go through that. I believe in making it easier for those coming behind us, because that's how we get further each generation.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say to just persevere. Last week, I realized that I'm actually one of the only girl AEs on my team, and that was a little crazy to discover. It can be a little tough sometimes, especially being the only woman in certain rooms or on certain teams. So I would say to persevere, to be authentically yourself. You're there for a reason - own it. Don't let being the only woman in the room make you doubt yourself or hold back.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I would say AI is obviously one of the biggest challenges. A lot of people are dealing with AI nowadays, and the implementation of AI in our daily work is something we're all navigating. For us specifically, when we have launches, we obviously cannot rely on AI just because a lot of stuff is embargo and confidential. So navigating through that obstacle and trying to figure out how we can work with clients who want to use AI while we can't share confidential information is a real challenge. It's almost like we need a custom build for the company where AI is integrated in a secure way, similar to how Amazon does it.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I would say respect is a big one. Obviously, we can't get anywhere without being mutually respectful. Organization is also really important to me - in my day-to-day, I like to stay organized, and it helps me get through my day. Another big one for me is communication. Since I'm always working across different teams, it's very important to stay aligned and communicated. I'm receiving communication from my client and from internal teams, and I have to really be that back-and-forth middle person. If I miss something, it could set us back, so for me, communication is a really big value.

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