Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.
This week’s Q & A is with Lisa Joy Rosner, Chief Marketing Officer at Neustar, Inc. Lisa previously held the title of CMO at NetBase, a social media analytics firms. Lisa began her career with Oracle and eventually hopes to transition all she’s learned in B2B marketing to B2C marketing.
1. What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?
Becoming a mother was a pivotal moment of reinvention for me. I found out I was pregnant with my first child the day after announcing the sale of the company I was working for at the time. I went through a major shift in how I prioritize. I became even more focused and efficient in my planning and execution and had to work on mastering work-life balance.
2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?
My mentor is Bob Runge, a high-tech marketing executive who developed Oracle University, and was the VP of Marketing who launched Silicon Valley companies, Gain Technology and BroadVision, to extraordinary success. He’s one of the best marketers I’ve ever met, who really understands the value of customers, teamwork and family. When I was very young, he pushed on me to see how strong I was. I’m especially grateful to him because years after he had left BroadVision, he recommended me to the CEO, as the marketer to take the company to the next level. It was my first role as an officer at a public company, managing people all over the world and it led me to where I am today.
3. What is your biggest goal right now?
On the work front my biggest goal is to help guide Neustar through a major brand transformation from a telecommunications company into an information services company. This is a lofty goal, but we make strides every day. On the home front, it is making sure my children get a solid education.
4. How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?
The first year after college, I lived in New Zealand and worked for a radio station selling ad time (but that is another story). I then moved to the San Francisco area where I planned to go to school to get a Ph.D. and eventually teach English Literature. When I arrived to the Bay Area, I lived near Oracle Corporation, so I sent in my resume because I needed a job for a year until school started. It landed on the desk of someone in human resources who coincidentally was about to travel to New Zealand. We made a connection, and I was offered a position as the executive admin for the vice president of marketing. Shortly after that, I decided that I wanted to do his job one day. In my new role, I made myself available to his direct reports and embraced any opportunity to learn about the different aspects of technology marketing so that I, too, could become a marketing executive and disrupt how it is perceived and measured. By age 29, I was the head of marketing for a startup and since then have run marketing for five companies. Today, I’m the chief marketing officer of a $1 billion information services and analytics company and am leading a major business transformation.
5. How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time?
I felt empowered and amazing on my 30th birthday. I was a year into my goal of being the head of marketing and had just launched a high tech company. I treated myself to a trip overseas to celebrate and completely embraced the milestone.
6. What’s the best networking contact you’ve made? How did you make it?
The best networking contact I have ever made was a sales rep for IDG, her name is Ai Collins, and she is the most connected person I know. We met when she called on me to become a customer of her services. Not only did she construct the best brand and lead gen programs for my company, but she helped me hire a fantastic team by referring me to talented people and even introduced me to the real estate agent who helped me find my first house and the OB who delivered my first child. She now works for a different company, but is always a reliable resource!
7. What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?
I gave birth four times in four years while launching two high-tech startups. I look back on that time and have no idea how we did it, but we just did.
8. What was the last business book you read?
I just finished reading “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. Given that I am helping lead Neustar through a major transformation, this book really came in handy.
9. What cause do you most want to advance?
Equal opportunity for women in the workplace and every-place for that matter.
10. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
Best advice came from my wonderful grandfather, Hy Rosner: “You don’t get what you don’t ask for, so be confident and ask for what you want, because chances are the answer will be yes.”
Check out Lisa Joy Rosner’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!
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