Krystle Rocci

I attribute much of my success to the incredible mentors I had early in my career, particularly Liz Phillips Lacey and Rachel Israel. Liz hired me right out of college and told me, “I’m your media mommy, and I will always be your media mommy.” Both she and Rachel gave me opportunities to shine, and they allowed me into rooms that, at the time, I may not have technically had the title or experience to be in yet.

That exposure shaped me tremendously. Even when I was not the person speaking in the room, I was learning — how decisions were made, how leaders carried themselves, how strategy was built, and how confidence develops over time. Liz and Rachel were both incredibly smart, accomplished women who modeled what strong leadership looked like, and their belief in me helped me grow faster than I might have otherwise.

As I became a leader in my own right, Liz later said to me, “Now, Krystle, you have media babies of your own, but I’ll always be your media mommy.” That stayed with me and has deeply influenced my own leadership philosophy. I try to lead people the way I like to be led: with trust, empathy, access, and room to grow. I do not believe in micromanaging people, and I believe strongly in giving rising talent exposure to rooms that may be slightly bigger than their current title.

So much of leadership is learned by watching others. Similar to how children learn from their parents, I learned from the women who invested in me early on. My hope is that the many “media and marketing babies” I have hired, mentored, and led across different companies can look back on the role I played in their development with the same fondness and appreciation that I feel for Liz and Rachel.

The best career advice I’ve ever received was: don’t just chase the next title — chase the problems you actually want to solve.

Earlier in my career, I was very focused on proving I could do the work, move quickly, and earn the next level. That drive helped me build a strong foundation across media, strategy, digital, and integrated planning. But over time, I realized the roles where I’ve been most successful are the ones where I’m closest to the business challenge: understanding the consumer, connecting brand and performance, building the right operating model, and helping teams do better work together.

That advice has shaped how I evaluate opportunities now. I’m most energized when I’m not just managing a channel or a budget, but helping define how a brand shows up in culture, how media drives growth, and how teams can work smarter across creative, data, and commerce.

So for me, the best advice was really a reminder to build a career around the kind of impact I want to have — not just the next box to check.

I would say just always be open to learn and ask questions. If you're invited to a meeting, even if your schedule is crazy and you don't necessarily want to attend, especially as you're starting out, those things are going to teach you the soft skills that sometimes your day-to-day role doesn't cover. The industry is very interesting, but a lot of what you do in the beginning is very tactical and, to be fair, not the part of the job. So find your people, whoever they are, whether it's someone like me or who you're reporting into, and try not to just think of the day-to-day work, but look at the person 2 or 3 levels above you and learn about the "why" behind the "what". If you're always understanding why you're doing something and have the bigger picture in mind, then I think that leads to longer-term success. The other thing I would say is, while marketing is not investment banking and we always say we're not saving lives, we're not doctors, it can be very, very fast-paced and sometimes lead to a little bit of burnout, especially when you're in the early phases doing a lot of that tactical work I mentioned. So just be adaptable and flexible to change, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

One of the biggest challenges and opportunities in marketing right now is navigating complexity without losing clarity. We have more data, more platforms, more technology, and more ways to reach consumers than ever before, but that does not automatically mean we are creating more meaningful connections.

The opportunity is to use that complexity intelligently — to bring together brand, media, creative, culture, commerce, and measurement in a way that feels cohesive to the consumer and valuable to the business. AI, retail media, CTV, personalization, and closed-loop measurement are all creating powerful new possibilities, but they still require human judgment, strong strategy, and a clear understanding of the consumer.

For me, the most exciting work is helping brands modernize how they show up in market while staying anchored in what has always mattered: relevance, creativity, trust, and impact. The brands that win will be the ones that can move quickly, use data responsibly, and still create work that feels human.

The values that are most important to me, both in my work and in my personal life, are integrity, empathy, curiosity, resilience, and impact.

Integrity matters because I believe your reputation is built over time through consistency — how you show up, how you treat people, and whether your actions align with your words. In marketing and media, the work moves quickly and the landscape is constantly changing, but trust remains one of the most important currencies.

Empathy is also central to how I lead and how I move through the world. I try to understand people’s motivations, pressures, and perspectives, whether I am working with a team member, an agency partner, a senior stakeholder, or a consumer. I believe the best leaders are able to balance high standards with humanity.

Curiosity has been a major driver of my career. The media landscape has changed dramatically since I started, and I have always tried to stay open to what is next — whether that is new technology, new consumer behaviors, new platforms, or new ways of building brands. I think curiosity keeps you adaptable, and adaptability is essential for long-term success.

Resilience is another value I hold closely. Careers are not linear, and neither is life. I have learned as much from the difficult chapters as I have from the successful ones. The ability to keep going, keep learning, and keep evolving is something I am proud of.

Finally, I care deeply about impact. I want the work I do to matter — to the business, to the brands I help build, to the teams I lead, and to the people coming up behind me. Whether at work or in my personal life, I hope to leave people and places better than I found them.