Celina Frias

I would say I'm really ambitious. That's my biggest thing. I'm really ambitious, but alongside of that, I'm really persistent and consistent. I'm always looking for the next step and the next thing to achieve because I always want to keep growing, and I never want to take off the target from it. A comfort zone is like my worst enemy. I never want to be comfortable enough so that I don't move towards where I want to be. I think the biggest challenge I've ever faced was moving to a different country. I've always been good at speaking English, but it was my second language, and the U.S. is a totally different culture from Mexico. Taking the leap of faith in myself and making sure that no matter what, I was gonna make it in a new country, in a new environment, in a new culture - I think that's pretty much what got me where I am today, and I'm really happy I did. So I would say I'm ambitious, I'm really persistent, and I trust myself a lot. I also know that I don't know everything. I'm always open for feedback, and I always want to keep learning more and trying to see what my areas of opportunity are so I can improve them as well.

The best career advice I've ever received was from one of my mentors at Amazon. She told me that you should always say yes to every opportunity that comes, and then you can figure it out later if you trust enough that you have the skills and the confidence in yourself to achieve it. Sometimes when I'm offered a job, or an interview, or even a project, it can be scary, but I always remember my mentor, and I think I'm smart, I think I'm capable, I think I have skills, and even if I don't, I think I can always learn from it. So I always try to approach life in that way, where if I get the opportunity, it's because I should take it, if it aligns to my goals and the path where I want to go towards. At the end of the day, you can always learn everything. You may not know everything from the get-go, but if you're capable enough, confident in yourself, and willing to put in the effort, you can get anywhere you want.

I would tell them to not be afraid. Sometimes it can be intimidating when most of the people in the industry are men. I would say to not be intimidated. They should keep on learning, evolving themselves, and know that they can accomplish everything they want, as long as they have the skills and the right mindset and confidence in themselves, and to not let anyone discourage them from being in advertising, because I believe advertising is a beautiful industry. It teaches you a lot, and it's a world of data and of constant evolving, so just keep up with the trends, learning, and be consistent about your work, and never take off the look of where you want to be, especially in the industry. Also, rejection might be part of the road of your success. Sometimes you do need to fail to get where you want to be. So to not be discouraged - I think that would be my biggest thing, my biggest tip or advice. If you keep on trying, eventually you're gonna knock on the right door that's gonna lead to your right path.

I would say AI is the biggest challenge right now. Everything's evolving so quickly and so fast. AI has been not replacing, but changing the way we work. Right now, programmatic advertising is a huge thing that not many people are looking into it, compared to the traditional way of advertising. Programmatic is - I think 95% of sales are now through programmatic in the advertising industry. I would highly recommend just learning about programmatic advertising, because I think that's the future, and I think that's where AI is leading towards too, as well. So anything that's programmatic, audience targeting, and just keep on with the different technologies that will eventually keep on being present and changing over time in the industry. The key is staying adaptable and committed to ongoing education, because keeping pace with these changes requires professionals to embrace innovation while maintaining the human creativity and strategic thinking that drive meaningful connections between brands and audiences.

I would say respect, empathy, loyalty, and honesty are my core values. I'm really loyal to my values. I love to perform in a way where I'm proud of what it reflects of myself in the workplace. I always want to be able to look back and be proud of what I accomplished and how I did it. I think honesty and being true to yourself is really important. Obviously, respect is one of my biggest values. I know it's kind of like a given, but I always like to highlight it. And then I would say empathy, especially because in any type of work environment, you're gonna be working alongside different types of personalities of different people - it could be stakeholders, it could be clients, it could be co-workers. I think empathy is a great value to have in the way that it allows you to see other perspectives that you may not be able to, and just so you can work in a more peaceful environment in a more integrative and collaborative way.