Explore the hidden resume that shapes women leaders—built through resilience, empathy, and invisible capabilities that define true leadership impact beyond job titles and professional achievements.
Her Story
About Somya
Somya Saxena is a marketing strategist with over 16 years of experience driving growth, customer engagement, and brand transformation for global organizations. At Staples Business, she plays a key role in shaping and executing strategic marketing initiatives that drive awareness, customer engagement and measurable business growth. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and human insight - translating complex business goals into meaningful customer experiences. Her leadership style centers on curiosity, collaboration, and the belief that marketing should be a strategic driver of business value - not just a support function.
She has built a global career across India, Canada, and the United States, bringing a diverse, cross-cultural perspective to her work. Her experience spans retail, e-commerce, and technology consulting, including roles at Sears, CVS, Cyint Technologies, and Staples Business.
Her career journey reflects both intention and evolution. She began her professional path in computer science engineering in India - following a traditional route - but quickly realized her strengths lay in understanding people, not just systems. Within months of starting her first role in technology consulting, she pivoted into marketing, a space where she could combine analytical thinking with storytelling and customer insight.
Somya is inspired by women who redefine leadership on their own terms - balancing ambition, resilience, and authenticity while creating meaningful impact in their industries and communities. She believes that the most influential leaders are those who create opportunities for others to grow.
Based in Massachusetts, Somya continues to mentor emerging professionals while championing thoughtful leadership in marketing and business.
Areas of Expertise
• Marketing Strategy & Execution
End-to-end marketing leadership across the full lifecycle — from ideation and strategy to testing, execution, measurement, optimization, and scalable growth.
• AI-Enabled & Data-Driven Marketing
Leveraging AI, analytics, and insights to improve targeting, personalization, campaign effectiveness, and performance optimization across channels.
• Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem Management
Building and managing high-impact relationships with agencies, vendors, and cross-functional internal and external stakeholders to drive business outcomes.
• Customer Growth, Retention & Lifecycle Marketing
Driving demand generation, loyalty, share-of-wallet expansion, account-based marketing, and full-funnel customer engagement strategies.
• CX & UX Optimization
Optimizing end-to-end digital journeys through conversion-focused, data-driven experimentation and lifecycle engagement strategies to improve acquisition, activation, and retention in high-growth environments.
• Go-to-Market & Omni-channel Strategy
Designing and executing integrated campaigns across digital, content, and traditional channels to support product launches and business growth.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Somya
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a combination of curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to keep evolving. I’ve learned that success isn’t about having all the answers - it’s about staying open to learning, adapting, and navigating change with confidence. Careers rarely follow a straight path, and the ability to move through uncertainty and setbacks has been a defining part of my journey.
Finally, I’ve been fortunate to learn from strong leaders and mentors who encouraged me to think bigger and trust my voice. Their guidance helped shape who I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One piece of advice that has stayed with me is: “Don’t just focus on doing your job well - focus on understanding the business.”
Early in my career, it was easy to get absorbed in executing campaigns or delivering projects. But the real shift happened when I began thinking more broadly about how marketing connects to business outcomes - revenue, customer experience, and long-term strategy.
That perspective changed the way I approached my work. It helped me move from thinking like a functional marketer to thinking like a business leader. This advice reminds me that true leadership comes from seeing the bigger picture - and making decisions that have lasting impact.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
First, trust your perspective and speak up earlier than you think you’re ready. Many women wait until they feel completely confident before sharing ideas, but leadership often requires stepping forward before everything feels perfect.
Second, focus on understanding the broader business environment, not just your specific role. The most effective marketers are those who understand how their work connects to customer outcomes and organizational goals.
And finally, build relationships and learn from the people around you. Most careers are not built in isolation. Mentorship, collaboration, and supportive networks make an enormous difference in how we grow.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Marketing is going through one of the most fascinating transformations we’ve seen in decades. Technology, data, and AI are reshaping how organizations understand and engage with customers. The opportunity for marketers today is enormous - we have more insights and tools than ever before to create meaningful, personalized experiences.
At the same time, the challenge is ensuring that we don’t lose the human side of marketing. Data can inform decisions, but empathy and understanding are what truly creates connection.
The marketers who can combine analytical thinking with emotional intelligence will drive the most meaningful impact in the future.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, empathy, and growth are values that guide both my professional and personal life.
Integrity means approaching decisions with honesty and accountability. Empathy is essential in leadership - understanding different perspectives creates stronger teams and better outcomes. And growth - both personal and professional - is something I deeply believe in. Every stage of life and career brings new opportunities to learn, evolve, and become a better version of ourselves.
As a parent, this is especially meaningful. Leadership is not just about influence in the workplace - it’s also about showing the next generation what it means to lead with purpose, integrity, and resilience.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Somya
The Resume Women Carry That No One Ever Reads
The leadership skills that shape us the most rarely appear on LinkedIn.
The Resume Women Carry That No One Ever Reads
The leadership skills that shape us the most rarely appear on LinkedIn.
Most professionals carry a resume they proudly share with the world.
It lives on LinkedIn.
It lists degrees, job titles, promotions, and accomplishments.
It captures the milestones that define our careers.
But many women carry a second resume.
This one is rarely written down. It isn’t submitted during interviews, and it doesn’t appear in performance reviews. Yet it often reflects the experiences that shape us into the leaders we become.
It’s the resume built quietly—through resilience, responsibility, empathy, and the determination to grow through life’s complexities.
And in many ways, it tells a deeper story.
The Resume the World Sees
The traditional resume measures what is easy to quantify.
Roles held.
Teams managed.
Revenue generated.
Campaigns launched.
Awards received.
These achievements matter. They represent years of dedication, learning, and persistence.
But they capture only part of the story.
What they rarely show are the invisible capabilities developed along the way—the ones formed through influencing without authority, navigating complexity, supporting others, and growing through moments that never make it into bullet points.
Some of the most influential leaders exemplify this. Indra Nooyi, widely admired for her transformative leadership, often reflected on how her journey was shaped not only by corporate success but also by family, culture, and the responsibility she felt as a mother and role model. She famously wrote personal letters to the parents of her executives, thanking them for raising the people contributing to her company’s success—a gesture that reflected how deeply she valued character, upbringing, and human connection in leadership.
Her story reminds us that leadership does not exist in isolation from life.
It grows through it.
The Resume No One Sees
Beyond job titles and promotions, many women build another set of capabilities that quietly shape how they lead.
Emotional Intelligence Architect
Over time, many women learn to read a room, navigate tension, and understand unspoken dynamics—creating environments where people feel heard and supported.
Bridge Builder
Women often step into roles that connect people and perspectives—translating ideas, resolving misunderstandings, and helping collaboration move forward.
Resilience Builder
Few careers unfold exactly as planned. The ability to adapt through uncertainty, setbacks, and change becomes one of the strongest leadership muscles we develop.
Confidence Builder for Others
Many women invest deeply in lifting others up—mentoring colleagues, encouraging emerging talent, and helping others recognize their potential.
Life Systems Manager
Balancing professional ambition with personal responsibilities requires extraordinary adaptability, organization, and emotional stamina.
None of these roles appear in job descriptions—yet they define effective leadership, especially when influence matters more than authority.
Where These Skills Are Built
Leadership is rarely built only in moments of professional success.
It grows in the spaces where life and work intersect.
In the meeting where you need to persuade without formal power.
In the moment when a colleague needs support and you step in.
In the challenge that forces you to rethink, adapt, and grow.
These experiences rarely appear on resumes—but they shape perspective, empathy, and judgment.
Leadership is forged through human experiences that teach resilience, humility, and compassion.
Leadership in Everyday Life
For many women, leadership carries an additional dimension: someone is watching.
A daughter.
A son.
A younger colleague.
A friend or mentee.
Setting an example for others can be one of the most meaningful forms of leadership—even without formal authority.
People notice more than we realize.
They see how we respond to pressure.
How we navigate difficult decisions.
How we treat others.
How we recover from setbacks.
They learn not only from what we say—but from how we live.
For many of us, the desire to model resilience, independence, and integrity becomes a powerful source of motivation.
The goal is not perfection—it is progress.
Showing that strength can coexist with compassion, ambition with humility, and success with kindness.
Even in mid-level roles, the way we carry ourselves sets a tone for others—demonstrating what possibility looks like through everyday actions.
Why the Invisible Resume Matters
Organizations often evaluate leaders through measurable achievements:
Experience.
Credentials.
Performance metrics.
These are important—but they don’t always capture the qualities that create truly impactful leadership:
The ability to build trust.
To navigate complexity.
To support teams through uncertainty.
To inspire confidence in others.
The Legacy We Leave
Every professional has a resume the world sees.
But many leaders also carry another—shaped by experiences that develop empathy, resilience, and perspective.
For women especially, leadership often includes an additional responsibility: showing the next generation what strength, courage, and possibility look like.
Because sometimes the resume that shapes us the most is the one never submitted anywhere.
And sometimes the most meaningful leadership impact we have is not only in the organizations we work in—but in the examples we set for those quietly watching and learning from us every day.
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