Our CMO, Paula Catoira, is a total powerhouse. Within a few minutes of meeting Paula, it’s clear that she not only has some incredible leadership skills, but that she really knows her stuff when it comes to marketing and has an intense drive and passion for helping us reach our goals. (She’s also a really nice person and didn’t ask me to write that here 😜.)
After our first meeting—when I was just a super nervous interviewee and not the confident specialist that you’d meet now 😉 —hearing about Paula’s background, leadership style, and goals for our team were key influencing factors in why I decided to join Rival and Reach3. I’m happy to say that her mentorship has more than lived up to the hype in my head, and now she’s sharing her tips, tricks and best practices for being top-notch marketers with others too.
Paula recently joined The CMO Alliance's CMO Convo podcast, drilling down on the question "What are some of the most critical skills for success?" “Adaptability and resilience,” says Paula. On this episode of the podcast, Paula shares her career journey spanning industries, continents, and challenges, while highlighting some key strategies for success in today’s fast-evolving business landscape. Her story highlights the power of resilience, strategic alignment, and authentic leadership in navigating a complex business landscape.
“You spend so much time at work, so have fun and be yourself.”
The Value of Diverse Experience
With a background that includes everything from mechanical engineering to product marketing and revenue operations, Paula speaks to how a breadth of experience can help provide a holistic business view. She says when “you have the opportunity to play in different roles and experience and live in different environments and roles, you are able to connect the dots better in your organization, you understand dependencies across teams…and have a perspective on what are the root causes of a specific challenge, as well as the potential solutions.”
Why Resilience and Adaptability Matter So Much
Change is inevitable, especially in fast-moving, evolving industries. “Things will change, and you need to adapt,” Paula emphasizes, underlining the importance of embracing agility without losing sight of strategic goals.
The key is to plan meticulously while staying open to course corrections. This dual focus allows leaders to pivot quickly in response to market shifts, ensuring sustained progress toward organizational objectives.
Benefitting from in-the-moment insights—as we’ve seen with brands like Coca-Cola leveraging Reach3 Insights’ BXP Tool—supports not only the meticulous planning and pre-testing that informs strategies, but allows brands to gain insights in real time. This allows them to be responsive and adapt quickly to the needs and sentiments of their customer.
“You don’t have to know everything—just commit to learning.”
Clarity and Collaboration Through OKRs
Paula is a strong advocate for Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), describing them as a framework that aligns teams around shared goals. “Think of OKRs like a soccer game,” she explains. “Every player has a different role on the team, success depends on how they work together and that they all understand the end goal.”
By fostering clarity and visibility, OKRs help teams prioritize their efforts and measure success. Paula highlights the importance of cascading these goals from the organizational level down to individual contributors, ensuring everyone understands their role in driving the company forward.
As part of Paula’s team, coming up with meaningful OKRs is not optional, and presented a challenge for me in 2024. It was my first time using the framework, and I was still navigating getting up to speed on Rival Tech & Reach3 Insights’ offerings – trying to understand why researchers choose insight communities and what are the pros and cons of using them for market research? Or, what in the world is customer journey mapping? – all while coming up with actionable goals to drive my team, our companies and myself forward.
Looking ahead, setting our OKRs for 2025 is looming on the horizon, but this time I’ll be levelling up by leveraging AI. Within our marketing team, Paula encourages us to incorporate AI in our day-to-day activities, and as a company, Rival is consciously implementing and developing AI capabilities; pushing the boundaries of how we can improve not only our offerings but the market research industry as a whole. Personally, I’m a big fan of anything that helps me move faster in accomplishing my tasks (and get through goal setting 😅) so it’s easy to be on board with having AI lend a hand when I’m trying to drive business outcomes.
Budget Management as a Strategic Tool
It’s important for marketing leaders to make a commitment to transparency and agility in budgeting. Paula sees the budget as a tool for investment, and stresses the need for CMOs to build strong relationships with finance teams to enable the allocation of resources where they’ll have the most impact.
“The more I know how I’m performing against my budget, the more freedom I have to make decisions. And faster,” Paula shares. A proactive approach can allow quick responses to new opportunities and challenges.
Especially since there’s a bit of economic uncertainty in the water these days, doing more with less is the name of the game no matter what department you fall in. Being agile – by leveraging solutions like conversational research – will help researchers meet their goals without having to compromise. Our sister company, Reach3 Insights, recently hosted a webinar that touched on how insight communities have the potential to reduce costs and help research teams scale while getting high-quality data. Maybe we can have it all!
Key Takeaways for Aspiring Marketing Leaders
- Broaden your skillset: Understanding functions like sales, finance, and customer success enhances your ability to lead cross-functional teams effectively.
- Take risks: Embrace opportunities that push you outside your comfort zone. “You don’t have to know everything—just commit to learning,” Paula advises.
- Stay authentic: True leadership comes from being yourself. Paula believes authenticity fosters trust and collaboration, creating a more fulfilling work environment.
- Foster curiosity: Asking questions and seeking diverse perspectives can uncover innovative solutions to complex challenges.
A Final Note to Remember
When asked about her guiding philosophy, Paula emphasized authenticity and joy. “You spend so much time at work, so have fun and be yourself,” she shared, advocating for a balanced approach to professionalism and personal fulfillment.
Paula’s journey exemplifies how a diverse background, a willingness to take risks, and a focus on collaboration can drive success in the ever-changing world of marketing. For professionals looking to elevate their careers, her insights serve as both inspiration and a practical guide and I, for one, have benefitted immensely from her mentorship and leadership, so I hope you will too!
Listen to Paula's CMO Convo episode now.
