Her Story
About Jaida
Jaida Dowd is a sales and marketing professional with six years of experience in the pet industry, all with Hill's Pet Nutrition. She began her career shortly after graduating college as a Territory Manager and has progressed into her current role as a Business Account Manager, where she oversees two key accounts within the farm channel retail space. In this capacity, she is responsible for driving account performance, strengthening strategic partnerships, and supporting the delivery of science-based pet nutrition solutions.
Jaida specializes in consultative sales, working closely with veterinary professionals and retail partners to ensure pets receive appropriate nutritional support for a wide range of health conditions. While she initially pursued an interest in marketing, she quickly discovered a strong alignment with sales as a relationship-driven discipline focused on problem-solving and value creation. Her role includes conducting veterinary clinic visits, leading educational lunch-and-learn sessions and dinner programs, facilitating product trials for pet owners, and collaborating with cross-functional teams on forecasting, planning, and account strategy. She excels in managing long-term client relationships, where consistency, adaptability, and strategic communication are essential to success.
In addition to her professional responsibilities, Jaida is pursuing her Master of Business Administration at Emory University - Goizueta Business School, where she is expanding her expertise in leadership, strategy, and business management while balancing a full-time career. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Xavier University of Louisiana, where she developed a strong foundation in leadership, discipline, and teamwork as a student-athlete. She is committed to continued professional growth and aspires to leverage her experience and education to build a consulting practice focused on helping businesses and organizations achieve sustainable growth and innovation.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jaida
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my parents and my support system my village. Both my parents have been great role models for me, and they have always been there for me. I just hope to continue to pass that along and be role models for others as well.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I just received is about the PIE model for people in their early career who want to move up. It addresses the chicken-or-the-egg problem where companies want you to have experience but won't give you the job to get that experience. The PIE model shows that Performance is actually only 10% of what leads to promotion. The other 90% is Exposure and Image - meaning, when they think of your name, are they seeing you on emails, seeing you performing, seeing you doing best practices and helping other people? And then there's your image and reputation when they do see you - is it positive or negative? This model really shows how important networking is and putting yourself out there outside of just your performance metrics. Sometimes doing a great job is just the bare minimum, and people don't realize there are other things you really need to make sure you're doing, like having people in your corner. I didn't fully understand this until I got that advice, and it was so impactful.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I know it's so corny, but you really can do anything that you put your mind to, and the first step is always the hardest. A lot of times, you are the main person blocking your way. So getting out of your own way is truly the biggest obstacle or the biggest hurdle. And then once you've faced that, it's so much easier to get to your goal.
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