Her Story
About Shawna
Shawna Faris is a marketing leader and digital expert with more than a decade of experience building brands, driving growth, and developing digital strategies within the healthcare and medical technology sectors. She currently serves as Director of Enterprise Marketing at Eko Health, where she focuses on marketing initiatives for health systems and helps advance the company’s digital health and AI-enabled technology solutions. Her career began in hospitality before she transitioned into marketing and joined the startup that became Exo, where she progressively advanced through digital marketing and growth leadership roles.
Throughout her career, Faris has demonstrated expertise in enterprise marketing, go-to-market strategy, demand generation, brand development, digital transformation, SEO, paid media, content, social media, and web strategy. At Vave Health, she served as Head of Global Marketing, leading worldwide marketing efforts for a handheld ultrasound platform and partnering closely with sales, product, and customer success teams. At Exo, she helped build the company’s digital presence from the ground up, led major website and brand initiatives, and spearheaded a website refresh that earned national Webby Award nominations. Her ability to combine strategic thinking, creativity, technology, and measurable marketing performance has made her a respected leader in fast-moving health technology environments.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Faris is passionate about mentorship, collaboration, and making technology more human. She describes herself as a storyteller and passionate leader who believes technology should make connections easier without making them less personal. She has benefited from empathetic mentors throughout her career and now dedicates time to mentoring women and young professionals, while also volunteering at her children’s school. A graduate of Arizona State University, Faris continues to invest in her own development, including recent training in digital transformation and AI, reflecting her commitment to continuous learning and to using emerging technology to create meaningful, scalable impact.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shawna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to curiosity, humility, adaptability, mentorship, and a strong growth mindset. My career transition from hospitality into the medical device industry taught me to embrace calculated risks and continuously learn, especially in the evolving fields of healthcare, technology, and AI. I am grateful for mentors and collaborators who have shaped my perspective, and I strive to pay that support forward by mentoring others. Most importantly, I am motivated by purpose—knowing that my work in enterprise marketing at Eko Health contributes to technology that can support earlier detection of cardiac disease and ultimately improve patients’ lives.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve received is to find good mentors and remain open to learning from the people around me. I’ve learned that admitting what I don’t know is not a weakness—it creates opportunities to grow, especially in fast-changing fields like marketing and medical technology. I believe curiosity, asking questions, and learning from others are essential to strong leadership, and I try to pay that lesson forward by mentoring and encouraging others throughout their careers.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering my industry is to stay focused on the goals you were hired to accomplish before taking on every additional request or project. Build credibility by delivering strong results, then be intentional about where you invest your time and energy. Find mentors, stay curious, and never be afraid to admit what you don’t know. Most importantly, protect your well-being along the way—ambition and self-care should work together, not compete.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is the continued gap in women’s representation, particularly in leadership roles across technology and medical technology. At the same time, advances in AI and digital health are creating exciting opportunities for professionals who can translate complex technology into clear, meaningful value for clinicians, health systems, and patients. I believe the future depends not only on innovation, but also on ensuring diverse perspectives have an equal opportunity to shape how that innovation is developed and used.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are family, integrity, curiosity, collaboration, authenticity, empathy, accountability, mentorship, and continuous growth. I believe in pursuing excellence while remaining humble enough to keep learning and supporting others. Family and self-care are also essential to maintaining balance and bringing my best self to work. For me, taking care of myself allows me to contribute more meaningfully to my team, my family, and the healthcare mission I care deeply about.
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