In this five-part series, we highlight women at Bidtellect nominated by their peers for their inspiration, leadership, and success in the industry. We asked them everything from career advice to juggling teams and personal goals to the perks of being a woman.

Describe your role at Bidtellect. 

I’m the Director of UI/UX. My team and I are responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of every feature in our DSP application that the user interacts with.

How long have you worked in the advertising industry?

5 years in ad-tech, 20 years in the tech industry.

What is a struggle or difficulty that you had to overcome in your career – as a woman or otherwise?

Without a doubt, the greatest difficulty I’ve had to overcome was early in my career when I decided to move to a country where I did not speak the language natively. I am originally from Colombia and I moved to the States in my early 20s. In retrospect, as difficult as this was, I think it made me a better Engineer because I knew my work had to speak louder than my words. 18 years later I see that it did.

What is your greatest strength?

I think one of my greatest strengths is being a problem solver. I can see a situation from different perspectives and find creative solutions even in the face of difficult obstacles.

What strengths do you think you have as a woman that are unique to women that make you successful?

Empathy. Now, I don’t think empathy is a trait unique to women; however, I think that women generally grow up learning to care about others. Being able to wear other people’s shoes is very important in my field, to truly understand users’ needs and design solutions that address them.

What woman or women do you look up to (in your life, at Bidtellect, your past, or the industry)?

The women at Girls Who Code! I have always been a huge fan of their work. For those that don’t know, Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization created to support and increase the number of women in engineering. They have coding summer camps, clubs, and classes for girls in 3rd grade and all the way up to college. They not only teach girls how to code, but they also inspire them and introduce them to this wonderful career. This is a cause close to my heart and I plan to get involved at some point in my career.

What are you most proud of at your time at Bidtellect?

I am immensely proud of the evolution of our DSP in the last 5 years. Of course, this is the result of the work of many people. But I’m especially proud because almost every feature in the DSP that our users interact with, materializes in my desk when I start pushing pixels around to create prototypes. Seeing these prototypes become a live feature – thanks to the perfect execution of my team- is an exciting thing!

What advice would you give to other women or girls starting out their careers?

Obstacles will always exist, don’t fail because of them, succeed despite them. Nurture your creative side, everyone has one! It’ll make you better at solving problems and a happier person. Know your worth!

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In this five-part series, we highlight women at Bidtellect nominated by their peers for their inspiration, leadership, and success in the industry. We asked them everything from career advice to juggling teams and personal goals to the perks of being a woman.

Describe your role at Bidtellect. 

My title is Vice President of Marketing, but I am always changing gears throughout the day, whether it be working on client creative, helping with product marketing, social media, writing, whatever is on my checklist. I sort of think of myself as a “mamabear:” I genuinely care about everyone and want to help with anything. I get energized by the fast-paced, constantly evolving digital space

How long have you worked in the advertising industry?

20 years (OMG!). I started my career at Advertising.com in January 2000. Throughout my tenure, I managed Advertising.com’s Email Network as well as its Affiliate Network. While working during the day, I managed to take evening classes at Johns Hopkins University and received my masters in multimedia design.

While at AOL, my team produced high impact custom videos, content integration solutions, and innovative multi-channel customized presentations while shifting strategy to support two corporate rebrands.

As the Senior Director of Brand Marketing at ShareThis, I successfully managed a corporate rebrand while generating leads through creative content marketing, media buying, social media, event planning, and SEO/SEM strategies. I managed our brand, creative and communications/public relations teams.

What is a struggle or difficulty that you had to overcome in your career – as a woman or otherwise?

I’m a people pleaser. I want everyone to like the outcome of my work, even though I know very well that you will never be able to please everyone. I learned a long time ago that I am my worst critic.

One thing I’m working on now, is the power of “No”. It’s a full sentence. I’m not there yet, but there are times I take on way more than I can do and somehow figure out a way to get it done.

I! Really! Need! To! Stop! Using! Explanation! Points! In! ALL! My! Emails! 😉

What is your greatest strength?

I never miss a deadline. You give me a deadline, I will get it done.

What strengths do you think you have as a woman that are unique to women that make you successful?

I look at a lot of my male counterparts in the industry and I have to say, none of them do everything I do. My experience in creative design, writing, product management and analytics has put me in a bucket of my own. I don’t just delegate, I roll my sleeves up and do the work.

What woman or women do you look up to (in your life, at Bidtellect, your past, or the industry)?

I had this boss while at Advertising.com, her name is Alana Thompkins. She was starting a new custom solutions team (basically presale) and said “I want Missy Steiner on my team”. She taught me how to leverage my strengths and voice. She has an immaculate way of interacting with others, organizing her thoughts, and delegating with power and confidence. And before I became a single mother, I was learning from her the importance of work/life balance and how to simply “have it all” on your own terms.

What does being a team player mean to you?

While working as a team, I do my best to LISTEN. This is when the old saying “pick your battles wisely” comes into place. We are all passionate people, and sometimes, it’s just best to sit back and listen to others and work together rather than delegate. The most important thing is to always remember that we are ALL on the SAME TEAM and share the common goal.

Best Productivity Hack?

Tackle your hardest tasks FIRST! Instead of going about your day dreading and obsessing over that ONE THING that needs to get done, get it done first. Spend the rest of your day feeling energized and filled with a sense of accomplishment rather than dread.

Remember what I like to call “The 5 Minute Rule.” When something bothers you, give yourself five minutes: allow yourself to scream, wallow, internalize it, whatever then let it go. There are days when the tiniest thing will consume you. It will eat away at you until your head explodes.  You can’t change it. Focus on the present and the future.

What advice would you give to other women or girls starting out their careers?

You might wake up tomorrow and the shittiest thing happens to you, maybe you got let go from your job or a terrible breakup and you are struggling to find answers. You have two decisions – crawl under a rock with a pint of ice cream and a gallon of self doubt OR push through and find the end of the rainbow. Fate will only take you so far, do the work and make your magic. Things really do happen for a reason.

It’s also really important to step outside and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Recognizing that it’s not all about YOU sometimes. As I was leaving the doctors office with my son the other day, I looked over at the nurses who were disheveled, tired and worn out and said “You know, I really appreciate everything you are doing, it really means a lot.” Those simple words led to tears and hugs, they really needed to hear that. Treat everyone you meet with respect until they give you a reason not to. There has to be more uplifting and rejoicing.

The most important thing: don’t dull your shine! If there are factors in your life that are inhibiting you from the joys of sparkling and shining – get rid of them. If there are things in your life that you want to try or explore – do them without fear. I will support you!

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Charlotte Otremba is the Director of Marketing Communications at Bidtellect.