Kat Villanueva Making history, one launch at a time

I've been in situations where the metrics indicate a gap in CX, but the solution wasn't clear; or we had a viable path to address the issue, but we didn't know how to measure it. Most of the time, we identify a long-term strategic opportunity that would clearly drive value for customers & the business, but we haven't figured out what success looks like along the way. I have had the privilege of leading initiatives to address these exciting challenges, working alongside leadership, product, marketing, sales, and operations teams to align on a path forward in a manner where we can learn from mistakes and gain momentum by celebrating wins as indicated by KPIs. Cutting through ambiguity by adding structure & concrete targets is how we quickly gather learnings & build impactful solutions.

I have worked extra hard to overcome my personal fears of managing up, especially as a first-generation underrepresented minority who didn't attend an Ivy League school. Winning others over is an important skill in any dynamic role that requires teams to collaborate on the final product. It's much easier to persuade the audience to follow you when you're an already-established leader with a track record of success, but many of us are still well on our way to earning the formal title that grants us that authority. In addition, in a world where relationships truly matter, we want to ensure we are managing stakeholders in a way that is sustainable long-term. I would love to share my insight in how you can build self-confidence to defend your groundbreaking ideas that challenge the status quo, and ultimately guide a room full of naysayers into becoming believers & advocates.