The Drum 30 under 30 women in digital 2013 highlights the top 30 women under the age of 30 making an impact in digital. Here, we catch up with Meaghan Fitzgerald, head of marketing and operations, 23 Snaps.
The Drum 30 under 30 women in digital is an annual platform recognising the next generation of digital talent. Over the course of the next 30 days we will be running interviews with each of the women profiled, to give more insight into their careers so far, professional achievements, and what they see as the next big game changers in digital.Today's profiled individual is Meaghan Fitzgerald, head of marketing and operations, 23 Snaps.What is your biggest professional achievement so far?I am particularly proud of the work I've done to help launch 23 Snaps, a private social network for families, globally. I joined the team as head of marketing a few weeks after it released the iPhone version of the service in the UK, but since I joined the team, I've been involved in growing the service to hundreds of thousands of users globally, with over 60 per cent in the US and Canada, and other 20 per cent in Europe and Asia, who use 23 Snaps on iOS, Android, Windows 8 and online.
What is the biggest challenge you've overcome in your career? One of my great life ambitions was to travel and live abroad, so in 2008, I turned down a job offer in my home town of Palo Alto, California, to move to London. I didn't have a job, place to live, any contacts or much in the way of savings, but felt it was the right time in my life to take an adventurous risk. Within two weeks, I had met the team behind Spoonfed Media, a London-based start-up looking for a marketing director. Getting started in the UK, from a professional and visa perspective, was incredibly challenging but with the support from Spoonfed and the incredibly welcoming London technology community, I quickly found myself becoming an active part of Tech City and the London start-up scene.
What's the next game changer in digital?I think the real game changer will come from the people who operate in the digital space – specifically the merger of the CMO and CIO roles. Digital marketers need to become more adept at understanding, implementing and project managing the technical side of the business while technical leads need to spend more time speaking to customers and using customer feedback to create products that people connect with emotionally and want to share. As major lead drivers such as Google, social media and even traditional media become more recommendation-driven, the marketing and product teams need to work together to make their digital content worthy of outside endorsements.
What would you like to be remembered for? I want to be remember for making people more successful – whether that is through individual mentoring with my team and others in my industry; through leading and managing companies in which the whole team benefits, financially or otherwise, from the company's success; or through being part of a team that creates products that make people's lives easier, healthier or happier. I want my legacy and success to be directly related to creating success for those around me.
Who inspires you most professionally or personally?One of the people I find most inspirational, though unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet personally, is Brian Maxwell, the founder of PowerBar. His determination to become one of the world's best performing marathon runners despite having a heart defect, his creativity to envision an entirely new market (energy bars for runners – a concept that hadn't existed before he created PowerBar), and his business and marketing acumen to capitalise on that vision and create a company that has become one of the most recongisable brands in sports is incredibly inspirational. I am inspired to try and match his dedication, vision and skills.
What would you be doing if you weren't doing this? It's hard to imagine having a career outside of the technology industry, although I could easily see myself working in engineering, operations, sales or senior leadership teams – all of which touch on skills I have built in my current role. However if I were not working in the technology space, I would most likely be working for a pharmaceutical or medical company. I have a university degree in biology and have always been interested life sciences. In fact, I hope that someday I will be able to merge this interest with my current work in a biotech environment.
How do you relax?I enjoy running and creative writing, both of which allow me to switch my mind off work (briefly!). I also love just wandering around London – even after living here for over five years, I am still discovering lovely little areas of the city to explore and enjoy.
Describe your career to date in five words.Jump first, find parachutes later.
This series will run for the duration of October. Yesterday's featured individual was Jenny Kitchen, managing director, Yoyo Design.
