Jacqueline Theise

I would say my current role at West Marine is my most notable achievement. When I joined, I pretty much immediately scaled their affiliate program by migrating from their previous platform, which was a bit outdated, to Impact, which is a lot more user-friendly for both the advertiser and the publisher. They didn't have much of an influencer program before I was able to come in and create that, grow that, and scale it in a way that is meaningful across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Then taking on social media, which wasn't something I wasn't an expert in by any means, but I've learned so much since leading this team. Being able to connect organic social, influencer, and affiliate has just been such a complement to those three channels in general. Each channel has its own learning curve, and it's been a great career move to take on leadership within all of those three areas. I've been able to step up to the plate for these new learning curves, and people believed in me. I had great leaders that helped me get there, especially my mentors Brooke Meister from Rue Gilt Group, who is now VP of Merchandising there, and my current manager Mona Sutherland, Senior Director of CRM, Loyalty, and Digital Marketing at West Marine. Mona really empowers me to lead and gives me the autonomy to do so. She's always been supportive, understanding, and very honest, and her leadership is very authentic and approachable.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is to choose a company whose mission genuinely resonates with you—one where you feel a personal connection to the product or service. When you care about what you’re building or representing, the work becomes more than just a job; it becomes meaningful and motivating even during challenging times. For young women especially, this kind of alignment can be powerful because it naturally fuels confidence, persistence, and long-term growth. Rather than chasing roles solely for title or compensation, focusing on passion and purpose helps create a career that feels both successful and personally fulfilling.

I would tell her to find a company that you feel passionate about working for. Try to look for a company where you have some sort of connection to the product, because that really makes your job not feel like a job. It makes it feel fun, and it gives you life. If you're spending 5 days of your week doing something, doing your job, you want to love it. So you want to feel passionate about the company you're working for and the products they sell. I would also recommend exploring different influencer and affiliate opportunities, as it gives you some more understanding to eventually grow into a role where you can take on both influencers and affiliates, and then tie social in there as well.

One of the biggest challenges with social is that a lot of the content requires being on the boat, which is always weather-dependent. We're currently working on initiatives like establishing more of a hybrid overlap between our affiliate platform and influencer programs, which would be a little bit more upper funnel. Right now we're focused on spring boat prep, which is a big initiative, especially in the Northeast. Boaters are gearing up to get back on the water, doing different jobs like painting their boats, checking their equipment, wiring, gear, everything that revolves around de-winterizing or upgrades they want for the season that's quickly approaching.

Being outdoors and in nature is really important to me. I love being on the water, whether that's boating, diving, fishing, or paddleboarding. Yoga is a big part of my life and really helps me with my mental and physical well-being, helping me stay grounded emotionally, mentally, and physically. I also enjoy crafting, especially with shells. We go out every weekend on the boat whenever we can, just relaxing, diving, or fishing, or just being outside in nature. Growing up in South Florida with boating, diving, and being on the water all the time shaped who I am. Living in different places like Boston and Portland, Maine, meeting different types of people and experiencing different cultures has shaped me into the person I am today, both professionally and personally. The culture in South Florida is very different from New England culture, and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to experience New England culture. That experience really shaped me and who I am today, my personal beliefs and personality, and helped me grow stronger mentally and physically.