Krystle Rocci
Krystle Rocci is an accomplished integrated marketing and media leader with more than 18 years of experience shaping brand strategy, digital transformation, and full-funnel media investment across global organizations and leading agencies. She is recognized for her ability to translate complex business objectives into cohesive, insight-driven marketing strategies that drive measurable growth. Her work sits at the intersection of culture, data, and consumer behavior, enabling brands to build meaningful connections and deliver sustained commercial impact in an evolving media landscape.
Krystle’s career began shortly after graduating from Boston College, when she entered the media industry while initially exploring creative and marketing roles. She was recruited by a mentor she still refers to as her “media mother” to join Media Edge, a leading global media agency at the time, where she began in digital during its early phase of rapid expansion from a test-and-learn discipline into a core driver of marketing strategy. During her early agency years, she worked across both U.S. and global accounts, building a strong foundation in media planning and strategy while experiencing a fast upward trajectory in responsibility within her first four years. She later expanded her experience across organizations including Publicis, Spark Foundry, and WhoWhatWhy, strengthening her expertise across digital strategy, content, and integrated media leadership.
Following her agency years, Krystle transitioned to the brand side, most notably leading end-to-end connections and media strategy for Vitaminwater at The Coca-Cola Company, where she managed significant media investments and developed integrated campaigns that elevated brand relevance among emerging audiences. Today, she operates within a center of excellence within a global spirits company, ensuring that all content developed for North American brands is aligned not only with brand strategy, but also with the media environments in which it appears. She is currently pursuing her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business and is actively expanding her industry presence through speaking engagements and thought leadership. With a clear long-term trajectory toward the Chief Marketing Officer path, she remains focused on building culturally resonant, data-driven marketing strategies that deliver meaningful business impact.
• Boston College - Honors BA, Communications, Marketing, History
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the incredible mentors I had early in my career, particularly Liz Phillips-Lacey and Rachel Israel. Liz hired me out of college and told me, 'I'm your media mommy, I will always be your media mommy,' and both she and Rachel gave me opportunities to shine and enter rooms that maybe I had no business being in when I was in my twenties. Even though they were years my senior in age, they always allowed me to be in meetings and learn, even if I wasn't talking. Liz later told me, 'Now, Crystal, you have media babies of your own, but I'll always be your media mommy,' and that definitely shaped my leadership philosophy. I'm a pretty empathic leader to the people that work for me. I always try and lead people the way I like to be led. I personally hate being micromanaged, and I hate when my boss doesn't allow me to be in rooms bigger than the room of my current title. I think when you're starting out, or even when you're in the middle, even if you're not talking in that meeting necessarily, you're learning lessons. Liz and Rachel were just super smart women who have both had careers in their own right, and they're people I always modeled. What they taught me has always stuck with me, similar to how a child learns from their parents when starting in the industry.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
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 funnest part of the job. So find your people, whoever it is, 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 open and flexible to change, and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Locations
Private Company
Bronx, NY 10465