Career Journeys: An Amazing Team Is the Secret Ingredient

In 2006, I was returning to the workforce after nearly a decade of full-time experience and several years juggling part-time marketing gigs while raising two young kids. When they headed off to school, I scanned the local classifieds for my next adventure and spotted an ad for a public relations and events coordinator. I mailed off my resume, landed an interview and, just like that, my Withum journey began.

On my first day, I remember sitting at my desk with a premonition: I’m going to be here until I retire. The $40M NJ-based accounting firm felt like home. The people were genuine, kind and supportive and I could see endless possibilities for a marketing career.

Within the first three years, two marketing directors resigned, leaving our small department without a leader for nearly a year. With encouragement from my collogues, and drawing on my experience, I applied for the director role and got it. I’ve been leading the department ever since and was promoted to CMO in 2016 when the firm established its first bench of C-suite executives.

Takeaway for marketers: Sometimes career-defining opportunities don’t come from job searches, but from stepping up when leadership gaps appear.

From a Small Team to a Marketing Powerhouse

When I started, our marketing department consisted of four people in one office. We were mostly known for party planning, brochures and proposals. Fast forward 20 years, and the department has grown into a team of 55 marketing professionals across the U.S. and India, serving a $700M firm with a rocket-growth trajectory.

The growth didn’t happen by accident. It was fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit…and a whole lot of teamwork. Every milestone in my career has been tied directly to the incredibly talented, supportive team of people around me.

Takeaway for marketers: Marketing scale follows people scale. Invest in talent early and often.

Defining Our Brand: People First, Always

Withum’s brand strength today is something I’m incredibly proud of, from AAM-MAA recognition to ranking eight out of 1,400 firms in a national brand strength index report. But our brand story is inseparable from our people.

One of my earliest and most impactful collaborators was Jin Park, now director of creative services, who joined the firm a year after I did. Together, we have defined a brand that reflected who we were, with Jin’s extraordinary vision leading the strategy. Our first ad campaign in 2010 launched the tagline Be in a Position of Strength, featuring artsy black-and-white photos of key leaders. It felt sophisticated and marked the moment we truly started aligning our brand with our people.

Soon after, we created our first culture video to kick off our annual State of the Firm meeting. A lip-sync video to the Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feelin’ featured dozens of team members, including the managing partner, and sparked overwhelming enthusiasm across the firm. The following year  a flash mob video landed Withum on the cover of Accounting Today. Sixteen annual culture videos later, this tradition has become a powerful recruiting and engagement tool. Matt Basilo, associate marketing director, who started with Withum as an administrative assistant, now leads these video productions.

Our brand evolution continued with a 2016 logo revamp and the memorable ”blue chucks” campaign that set the tone that we were the “cool kids” in accounting. Our current Power in the Plus followed, which continues the legacy of our people being out in front and our unique culture on full display.

Takeaway for marketers: Authentic brand strength is built when culture, creativity and people are visible.

Centralizing Processes and Embracing Technology

As the firm grew, so did the complexity of our marketing. The adage “necessity is the mother of innovation” certainly applied. What once worked with a group of generalists handing everything, evolved to groups with specialized skill sets.

Proposal development was our first inflection point. Moving from decentralized efforts (and Microsoft Publisher!) to a centralized Pursuit Strategy Team lead by then proposal writer Heather Campisi (now director of communications) and Gabby Pisano (now director of pursuit strategy) dramatically improved efficiency. Proposal automation tools were a game changer for quality, analytics and win rates, too.

The same evolution happened in digital marketing. Tanina Khanuja, who was our first digital marketer (now our director of digital marketing), advocated for centralization and tech upgrades. Brand consistency and analytics soared. SEO was next, so we hired Krysten Hambrook, who is now an associate marketing director, our SEO and GEO strategist plus whatever comes next.

Over time, we built centralized teams across communications, CRM/data solutions and design (adding Ashton Abby to Jin’s team). They support the entire firm with a sophisticated, integrated tech stack to drive efficiency, performance and lead generation.

Takeaway for marketers: Centralization helps with consistency, scalability and the smarter use of data.

Leading by Industry and Growing by Geography

In 2009, we engaged with growth consultant Gale Crosley to implement her industry-focused go-to-market strategy that is still in use today. After leading the initiative for many years, I passed the torch to Allison Gorga, director of industry marketing, who has continued with the marketing plans, budgets and ROI tracking to support firm growth.

That focus paid off in major ways, fueled by explosive growth in our Financial Services practice following key talent acquisition. Danielle Atkinson, our first national director of marketing for an industry practice, was hired to support this team. She lead the fun and edgy marketing campaign, “Feet on the Street” (we clearly love good athletic shoes). Experiential marketing, conference strategy and strong industry alignment helped this segment become a significant revenue driver —reflecting 15% of total revenue. This growth also created a need for a second marketer, Jessica Forenza, creating the first dedicated marketing ‘team’ to support an industry practice

Geographic expansion followed. Or first distant office opened in Orlando in 2015. This acquisition added then-marketing manager Jennifer Castellanos to the team (now director of regional marketing). Together, we crafted our first regional marketing strategy and budget — the “10 Point Plan.” Withum now spans 14 sectors and 30 office locations, including two in India.

Takeaway for marketers: Industry and regional strategies require different muscles, but both demand clear ownership and measurement.

Digital Transformation and Lead Gen at Scale

By the late 2010s, digital lead generation became a major growth engine. We acquired a boutique digital workplace solutions firm, inheriting Sasha Tchulkova, who wowed us with persona-driven strategies, drip campaign and tight alignment with business development. Today, Sasha is director of marketing for advisory services.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, our team was ready. Our battle cry was: “We are built for this!” Digital-first strategies and quick adoption of collaboration tools allowed us to meet client needs in real time. And we aired our first CNBC commercial spotlighting cybersecurity and remote work.

Today, digital marketing drives millions of dollars in new and recurring revenue for the firm.

Takeaway for marketers: Agility matters most when disruption hits. And digital readiness is a competitive advantage.

The Next Chapter: Leading Through People

Just as I predicted on my first day, I have retired from Withum. It’s bittersweet, but it feels like the right time personally and professionally. I’m incredibly proud of what we build and, more important, who we build it with.

The most important lesson of my career is to always elevate your people. Listen to their goals, aspirations and ideas for growth. Then support them and let them thrive. Their success became the ultimate success of the department and my tenure.

As Withum sets its sights on $1billion in revenue, artificial intelligence is certainly poised to be the next game-changer. But I have complete confidence in the marketing team’s future. The secret ingredient has always been the same. And, honestly, that’s just how everyone rolls as a team.