Hey Croners! Let’s be honest, everyone wants to become a CMO, right? But here’s the kicker, especially in those early career years: having a mentor to shed light on your path and guide you makes all the difference. It keeps you from getting stuck in mistakes or falling into bad habits.
And since we’ve been there, we’ve got your back: “𝟓 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐞 𝐂𝐌𝐎𝐬 (𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐬)”, is our new column where great CMOs will share their knowledge and suggestions just like an old friend.
Cool, right? Let’s get started and prepare yourselves to take notes while learning from the greatest minds!
Today we’re excited to have Angela Deganis, CMO – Chief Marketing and Communication Officer @Alleanza Luce&Gas. Her experience and creativity explode in her words, making them genuinely inspiring. We are completely blown away by her job experience and her suggestions: after reading this, you’ll know your worth and how to make it matter.
Thank you, Angela!
5 Tips for Wannabe CMOs ep. 1
Hi Angela!
You’re the first to be interviewed for this awesome new column, so you have a big responsibility in starting this in the best way possible. We have no doubt that you will. Now, let’s get into the questions!
1) Can you tell us who Angela is in just 20 words? (we know it's tough, but it's just a warm-up)
I’ve been asking myself the same question since I was 8. Today, I finally know I’m a human being who loves daisies, the sea, laughs, and whales, my spirit animals.
2) Tell us about your professional experience. Where did you start, and where are you now? Feel free to use as many words as you want, looking at your resume, you'll need quite a few!
I’m a marketing and communication strategist, with more than 25 years of experience, mainly in strategic marketing and communications.
I started my professional career working in the field of journalism, editing and copywriting, as well as in corporate communications and PR.
My first professional experience in the field of Marketing and Digital Communications started over sixteen years ago while working for a company provider of services for green energy and pharmaceutical retailers.
Since 2017 I’ve been working at Alleanza Luce & Gas, an energy company owned by Coop Alleanza 3.0, the biggest consumer cooperative in Italy and in Europe. I am currently managing a team of professionals dealing with product and trade marketing, digital strategy, multimedia, corporate communications and PR activities. Six years ago I planned a new marketing strategy with the new brand Accendi Luce & Gas launch, delivering a new image and a brand new digital ecosystem with a sensitive sales growth on the previous years.
I strongly believe in humanistic management and in 2020 I started the blog “Vita da manager” on LinkedIn and the homonymous profile on Instagram, Tik Tok and Spotify.
I’m the author of “Manager per caso”, an ironic survival guide for managers, workers and everybody who has a boss or a colleague, published by Morellini editore, first National Prize 2023 for Philosophy (philosophical practices section).
I have a University Degree in Philosophy and an Executive Master’s Degree in Strategic Marketing Management at Sole 24 Ore Business School, where I came back as a marketing teacher this January.
3) And now, let's move on to the main question of this column: What are 5 tips you would give to someone who wants to start working in marketing today?
Well, I have a few answers, but they aren’t mine. They come from a magical place where humans do their best to appear better than ever, to take the sense of existence and inspire us to do the same: movies.
So, here they are.
Nobody puts Baby in a corner (“Dirty Dancing”, Emile Ardolino, 1987).
Unfortunately, in some organizations, people think that anybody can do communication and marketing. We know that it’s not true.
Marketing is a complex economic topic, a field that requires knowledge and experience, continuous training and mutual collaboration. If you are in this unfortunate situation, don’t give up. Come out of the corner and help other colleagues understand your job.
As the writer Jane Austen teaches us in “Pride and Prejudice”: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single manager in possession of good skills needs another’s support to achieve their goals.
Go to the mattresses (“The Godfather”, Francis Ford Coppola, 1972).
Sometimes, you have to be brave, also at work. Take responsibility and fight for your projects and the greater good. Remember to do this in a polite way, to respect other colleagues and the company values, and to understand the rules. Nobody wants to work with aggressive people. You neither.
May the force be with you (“Star Wars”, George Lucas, 1977).
Face challenges. Marketing is an inter-functional process that requires inter-functional coordination. If you want to do a good job, you need to engage your team, you need the force of empathy. Don’t underestimate soft skills. Sometimes good relations at work are more important than technical competence.
After all, tomorrow is another day (“Gone with the Wind”, Victor Fleming, 1939).
Tough day? It happens. But tomorrow you can do it better. If these words, Scarlett’s personal motto, conclude “Gone with the Wind”, you can use them to say goodbye to a bad day.
Run, Forrest, run (“Forrest Gump”, Steven Spielberg, 1994).
Instead of dealing with an aggressive colleague or an awful, disrespectful boss, run. It’s quite impossible to change other toxic behaviour and your health is more important than your career. Always
Face challenges. Marketing is an inter-functional process that requires inter-functional coordination. If you want to do a good job, you need to engage your team, you need the force of empathy. Don’t underestimate soft skills. Sometimes good relations at work are more important than technical competence.
Keep reading our blog!
