Carlotta, tell us about what you do today!
I work for Shopify, within the Partnerships team. Shopify helps entrepreneurs and established businesses create the best D2C experiences and I lead key relationships with our highest performing partners to enrich their ecosystem offering. Previously, I worked at global media agencies and in ad tech at Oracle Data Cloud, meaning I worked directly with some of the biggest global brands to develop and establish long-term strategic partnerships through thoughtful data analysis and insights identification.
What is the main reason you work with what you do?
I love building relationships and connecting people, so the opportunity to meet partners and expand my networks energises me. I also particularly like finding strategic ways to work together, finding new opportunities and adapt to constant change and transformation (and I get plenty of this!). These types of roles also generally allow me to travel and do public speaking, which are both passions of mine.
Particularly useful was participating in lectures held by professionals, which offered an outlook into what real-life scenarios actually looked life.
How did LUSEM prepare you for working life and a career within digital media?
If I think of my time at LUSEM I immediately think about the classroom debates we'd have during our Strategic Brand Management class, which helped us all understand the same issue from different perspectives and think critically & analytically. Another element which was particularly useful was participating in lectures held by professionals, which offered an outlook into what real-life scenarios actually looked like.
What do you prefer to do outside of work?
Outside of work I am involved with a number of networks and mentoring groups such as Bloom UK, BelEve and School16 – a NYC-based mentoring network focused on helping students get into non-tech roles in tech companies. I am also on the board of two organisations and I am a guest lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sussex. Recently, I also launched my personal venture to offer consulting services, professional introductions and public speaking engagements in the media and tech sectors – exciting times!
I advocate for a tech industry with more women at the top, the essential role of mentoring to address social mobility and the importance of creating genuine connections for mutual growth.
What advice would you give yourself if you started your studies now?
Network within the University, create connections with students from other courses (you're much more likely to run into them in your career than you think), get involved with student projects (eee alumn here), get some work experience. If you're able to take on some field-related work (volunteer, with startups etc) during your studies, that'll help you tremendously when it comes to apply for your first role after graduation in terms of hands-on knowledge, self-confidence and contacts.
Tell us about your expectations for the future.
From a career perspective, my objective is to keep working on my non-executive experience to turn that into a full-time career later on down the line. I love thinking strategically and identifying potential opportunities and challenges that organisations can capitalise on or be weary of. On the side, I advocate for a tech industry with more women at the top, the essential role of mentoring to address social mobility and the importance of creating genuine connections for mutual growth. Therefore, in the future I plan to keep raising awareness around these topics.
