The latest statistics show that female representation in the global technology industry is on the rise, reaching 33% in 2022; however, as that same statistic demonstrates, there is still plenty of work to be done. Braze values inclusivity and takes pride in empowering voices to work towards their dream. For Women’s History Month, Stephanie Nicolas, DEI Program Manager, sat down with Mariam Asmar, Senior Director, Strategic Consulting, to learn more about her career trajectory, what drew her to Braze, and what she appreciates about the environment and team she has helped craft.

What did you do before Braze and why did you join?

I haven't been at Braze very long—it's only been about 10 months. I have a background in marketing and advertising, having spent eight years at McCann WorldGroup, a big creative agency that's responsible for doing the advertising campaigns for large brands like L'Oréal, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Pernod Ricard, and worked on all of those accounts during my time there. When I left McCann, I realized that the world was obviously going more digital, and brands that were investing a little bit more in their marketing tech stack were seeing the returns on their bottom lines.

I met Daniel Head (Chief Revenue Officer at Braze) at DMEXCO, an ad tech conference, where we were on a panel together. We stayed in touch, seeing each other at conferences like Cannes Lions and Mobile World Congress. Eventually we began to brainstorm about how we could start bringing creative agencies together with a company like Braze, and how they could start doing more award-winning creative campaigns.

That was in January 2019. Early in 2020, right before COVID-19 hit, I left McCann after eight years. Dan and I had lunch just to catch up and there, he suggested that he could do something for me at Braze. Confused, I responded with “What would I ever do at an engineering company?” And he responded, “I really want to make more creative case studies; we need to win more Cannes Lions.” The year before, McCann had been Network of the Year at Cannes, and it was a company whose culture was heavily geared towards creativity. I had a lot of exposure to the leaders charged with making that happen and so knew a thing or do about how that comes to life in an organization—what that culture is, how that machine works. After exploring a few options at Braze, I discovered the Strategic Consulting team. When I found this team, I instantly gravitated towards it because of how closely it was aligned to my experiences and my passions—using data to tell creative stories.

I actually was very torn between an offer at Braze and an offer at Coca-Cola as a creative strategy director, where I would have been overseeing a creative division in Latin America. But Braze was growing, new, and it felt like it was the right time take on a risk. Because if it paid off, that would be great.

I love hearing that you were able to utilize your creative agency skillset and pivot into tech. What does your new day to day look like?

Our Strategic Consulting team has three divisions: Creative strategy, growth strategy, and business value consulting. That's new for us and not the way that we've been structured in the past. So, my day to day usually has to do with things like: How do I start developing a creative expertise vertical for a company that doesn't necessarily have the muscle memory for it? How do I enable GTM teams to do more creative storytelling? Who is the best creative director to be my partner here? How can I build a better support layer for the current team? How do you create culture between people when everybody's working remotely? How can I be a better leader?

What is something that you’ve really enjoyed at Braze?

I've really enjoyed the receptivity that our leadership team has shown all the things I want to do and say. This can look like supporting Rod McLeod, our VP of Social Impact, as he works to champion diversity, or bringing up a creative endeavor I believe a brand like Braze needs to invest in.

Also, everyone here is so smart, often in very different ways than how I'm smart. I think being able to be around the team and listen to some of those conversations has just taught me a lot about a side of marketing I wasn't as familiar with.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me! Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

I love my team—we have such a good makeup of people from around the world as well as different personalities. I think we have one of the more diverse teams here at Braze, and I have really enjoyed learning from them.

Are you interested in joining Braze? Check out braze.com/careers to explore our current opportunities.