Every March 8, the world honors International Women’s Day (IWD): a celebration of women’s achievements—whether cultural, political, economic or otherwise.
This year, IWD highlights the need for society to #PressforProgress. In an industry sometimes guilty of being male-oriented, Crealytics is proud to celebrate our female colleagues’ accomplishments. We sat down with six colleagues to discuss their roles, how they got to where they are, their advice for the next generation, and more.
Natalie Bojanowski – Head of Human Resources
Describe what you do…
I head the HR team at Crealytics. We take care of 150 employees in four offices spread across Germany (Berlin and Passau); the U.K. (London) and the U.S. (New York). There’s always plenty to do! We recruit internationally, so there’s a big focus on making new starters feel comfortable with the right onboarding (as well as visa and payroll needs). Other responsibilities include employer branding, bespoke workshops and liaising with job fairs.
What advice would you give to the next generation on getting into HR? (or Digital Marketing, if you’d prefer)
I’d say – and I couldn’t stress this enough – it’s important to network. A rich network can help you find the answer to any number of questions. From legal queries to digital know-how, having an expert to consult makes things a lot easier. Three years ago I founded an H.R. society my German contemporaries. Purple Square now has a 600-strong membership! I really believe that if you want nearly anything in life you can do it.
Why Crealytics?
The board sees HR as a big part of what we do overall. I was also overwhelmed by how open and welcoming my colleagues were. It’s a sense of community I hadn’t experienced as much previously.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The sheer amount of variety. There’s lots of problem-solving, a demand for conceptual thinking and of course, a nice buzz from the hiring process.
Sumita Kar – Global Customer Success Manager
What does your job entail?
I am the Customer Success Manager – based out of our Berlin office. I liaise with clients and Crealytics, handle all SaaS and non-Key Accounts. I also provide non-operational support as training and strategic planning for the Digital Marketing department.
What advice would you give to the next generation of women interested in Digital Marketing?
This is the future, all channels of digital marketing have plenty of opportunities – operationally and non-operationally alike. Other than pay-per-click knowledge, communication and skills for client facing situations are of key importance. Work on those.
What are your favorite things about Crealytics?
It’s international and relaxed. It also gives you room to grow professionally and personally: you work with a fun team of experts and mentors.
What are your biggest challenges?
Developing myself and tailor-making a newly-crafted role.
Lisa Wagner – Project Manager, Marketing Automation
What professional advice would you give to your younger self?
Doubt yourself less, back yourself more.
How did you get into coding?
I have always loved working with computers (read: gaming), but I was convinced my math skills were too poor to make it. At the end of high school, I took a leap of faith and enrolled in Computer Science. Turns out, I can prove theorems with the best of them.
What made you want to join Crealytics?
Joining a dynamic, highly innovative team that kept its start-up feel even eight years in? Who wouldn’t?
My proudest moment so far is …
Teaching my first coding course in NYC.
Veronica Romero – Head of Marketing Design
What professional advice would you give to your younger self?
Be patient and don’t be so hard on yourself.
My proudest moment (so far) is …
I don’t really have a specific moment but I would say it feels rewarding to see how far I’ve come as a designer.
How did you get into design?
I actually received a Bachelor’s degree in French Studies but I have always been drawn to art. In my younger years, I would often paint and sketch so I knew I would eventually want to head towards something creative. So how did design find me? Well, my boyfriend introduced me to Illustrator (design program from Adobe). This discovery just opened a new creative world and it was then I decided to pursue design and became a self-taught graphic designer.
What made you want to join Crealytics?
I noticed right away that Crealytics had a great collaborative team. I wanted to become part a community where everyone is encouraged to share ideas and work together to achieve the company’s goals.
Sanja Samanic – Junior Digital Marketer
What advice do you have for the next generation of women in Digital Marketing?
Read a lot and keep up with trends in the digital world. There is always something changing in this field.
What does your daily role entail?
A lot of different things: account checks, reporting, communication with clients, meetings & workshops. There is always something happening!
How did you get into Digital Marketing?
I was interested in the topic since it appeared because I finally found something that is both creative & analytical. I finished a specialized Digital Marketing course after college and started working bit by bit as a freelancer for small clients.
What’s your favorite thing about Crealytics?
That’s an easy answer. The people who work there create a positive and relaxed working environment.
Romana Stefancova – Team Lead, Digital Marketing
How did you get into PPC?
In my first digital marketing job, I inherited a couple of tiny AdWords campaigns. They performed extremely well, so I started exploring how I could expand and improve them even further – and it became addictive. There is never an end to campaign optimization – you can always find settings, audiences, ads or keywords to tweak – small changes that can make a big difference – and I really enjoy seeing the results!
What are the biggest challenges as a Team Lead?
It’s a very varied job and requires that both the clients and the team are happy. As a result, it’s sometimes challenging to find some time ‘for me’ during the week, to keep up to date with what’s happening in the digital world. Luckily, my morning commute is long enough to browse through the interesting stuff!
What made you want to join Crealytics?
The people, technology, and company culture. Everyone I met was very friendly, smart and truly knowledgeable. I liked that “Crealytees” care about doing a great job for their clients, and they support each other. I am also a big fan of automation and smart campaign optimization, so I was really interested in our technology’s capabilities.
