Meet Yvonne, Senior Manager of Product and Solutions Marketing at Hootsuite
By: Hootsuite Careers
Tags: Hootsuite, Career Advice, Careers, Product Marketing, Leadership

Yvonne then made the move from Singapore to Vancouver and joined Hootsuite as a Senior Product Marketing Manager at the beginning of 2019. In a short time, she has made a large impact and moved into a leadership role. She’s building out her team here at Hootsuite, so we’ll let her tell you more about that.

What made you make the move from APAC to NA? How did you adapt to working within different markets?

Long story short: my relationship. My husband is an animator and jobs are more plentiful in Vancouver. After two years of being in a long-distance relationship, I decided to say goodbye to Singapore and start a life here. When learning to adapt to a different market and culture, empathy is always important. I did my best to ensure I understood how things were done here, how people felt, what they liked or didn’t like, and what they’d prefer to continue doing. I spent the first quarter in my new role observing and asking questions, building relationships, trying to understand the gaps, and remembering to have fun along the way! Hootsuite peeps made this journey easier, as they were very welcoming and happy to share information.

You’re currently building out a large team. Can you tell us how this team fits into the Hootsuite ecosystem? What impact does the team have at Hootsuite?

Product Marketing Managers are the bridge between users and buyers — our product teams, marketing, and sales. We build meaningful alignment between all cross-functional teams, drive effective go-to-market tactics and strategy that resonate with our buyers, and arm our stakeholders with insights and intelligence that help influence our product roadmap, sales plays, and marketing campaigns.

Our team builds compelling narratives and stories that showcase the hard work our product teams do, and helps our reps be the consultative partner to their customers, and drive authentic engagement with our marketing partners. The leaders at Hootsuite see the value in our Product Marketing team and understand the importance of having a healthy ratio of product managers to product marketers which has helped enable the growth of our team.

An important part of building a successful team is fostering diversity and inclusion. How do you lead inclusive teams?

Fostering diversity and inclusion is always an area where teams can grow and improve, and it’s important to remember that diversity includes thought, skill sets, and personalities. Within my team, I believe the most important experiences to foster are trust, empathy, and a growth mindset. The team is strengthened by learning from each other and their unique experiences and we trust in each others’ capabilities and expertise. We ensure our team meetings and catch-ups are safe spaces where we can understand the world through each other’s eyes. Additionally, fostering a growth mindset and empathy are critical because it means that we are open to understanding context, understanding what’s worked and not worked, and most importantly with empathy — understanding each other.