Melanie Ferris

I would say a large part of my success comes from my grit and resilience to keep pushing through with hope, finding the light at the end of the tunnel, and not letting setbacks or minor challenges set me back from my original goal and my original dream. Learning how to do so with hope and really just taking care of those around me as well. But I also can't discredit the amazing mentors and people around me that have spoken into me and supported me through that. It's been my husband, it's been my coworkers at work, other team members that I've known, just all those people in my younger years that really spoke to me and really saw potential. I think that ultimately inspired me to keep going, building confidence that I actually am good at this. So I think both having those external support systems and my own motivation and excitement for what I could achieve is what's fueled me over the years.

One thing that my mentor told me early on that really stuck with me, in terms of looking at data and changes, is to always look at the tides and not the waves. If you're thinking of an ocean, sometimes life can feel very wavy, right? One week will be really great, the next week will be really hard. But in the long run, what you need to pay attention to is the overall progress you've made, how are the tides changing. I really love that metaphor, and it's always stuck with me, because it always forces you to zoom out and look at the bigger picture of where you're going. Your steps are only temporary, and they don't define where you'll ultimately land.

I would say don't be afraid to dream big, and stay curious. Put in all the time that you can for learning. That's one thing that has gotten me to where I am. As I started to climb up into bigger roles, I started to feel a little bit intimidated, because I had never done things before. I've never applied this marketing skill set to this problem, and so I felt very underqualified to take that on. But over the years, I've learned that you don't always have to be the most qualified for the task. You have to be the most motivated and diligent, though, to see it through. I really learned the value of taking initiative to learn, and to basically build your own confidence that you can do whatever you put your mind to. So my advice would be to always keep learning, never stop growing, and don't be afraid to dream big.

The biggest challenge in the industry that I've seen, especially with how marketing relates to business, is right now AI is exposing this. AI is forcing companies to really look internally and externally on who they are and what they need to do to grow authentically, because at the end of the day, we still have our human connections, the humans that we connect with is how we do business. It's not just business to business, it's business to people, as I call it. The biggest thing in the industry is, I think marketing needs to understand and really lean into what it was always meant to be, and that's storytelling and building trust. I've seen that AI has begun to put that at risk. People are increasingly mistrusted, they're doubtful on the authenticity of content, on stories, on businesses, and the whole role of marketing and external communications is to establish that trust and be the storytellers and the mouthpiece for the firm and to amplify it. I think it's a critical point, because I think AI is exposing that businesses can't truly succeed today without marketing that serves people first, instead of the business or other motivations.

I would value balance in everything. In addition to that, I think posturing a positive mind in everything. You'll see the greatest results when you take care of yourself. That's been one thing that I've had to learn, making sure that my health and my mental state is best taken care of so that I can show up at work. I really value hard work, I value openness and honesty and collaboration, but also just a can-do attitude for everything. And I think integrity is at the core of that. I seek to live out my life, my personal life, with integrity and show up the same way for everyone.