35 years of marketing in technology: A front-row seat to change

This International Women's Day, I find myself reflecting on my career that has spanned more than three decades in B2B technology. Today I serve as SVP of Marketing at Vanillasoft, a SaaS sales engagement platform, and the path that led me to where I am today has been anything but straightforward. Over 35 years, I've worked across telecom, medical device, and SaaS industries - and during that time I've had a front-row seat to one of the most transformative periods in business history.

When I began my career, technology looked very different from what we know today. In many ways, marketing itself was a completely different discipline. One of the most vivid memories from early in my career was launching my first website. I actually wrote the website using HTML in Notepad. I had to convince my senior executive that it was not just a fad. I thought it was revolutionary and I was completely excited about that simple website. Yet compared to today's digital ecosystem, it was incredibly simple - static pages with very little insight into who was visiting or what they were doing and no engagement or calls to action.

In those early days, tracking marketing performance was extremely limited. Much of what we did relied on intuition and experience rather than data. Campaign results were often measured weeks or months later, and even then, attribution was more art than science. We relied heavily on physical trade publications, industry magazines, and events to reach our audiences. Those channels could be effective, but they lacked the immediacy, precision, and feedback loops that marketers expect today.

The shift from those traditional channels to a fully digital marketing environment has been one of the most profound changes I've experienced. Over time, print publications began giving way to online media. Email marketing became mainstream. Digital advertising and SEO emerged. Social media transformed how brands communicate with customers and prospects. Now we regularly talk about GEO and AEO.

Alongside those changes came an entirely new level of accountability - and opportunity.

I vividly remember when Salesforce first launched and attending my first Dreamforce. At the time, it introduced a new way of thinking about customer relationship management and the accessibility of sales and marketing data. That innovation sparked a wave of technology that continues to evolve today.

Since then, the ecosystem has expanded dramatically. Marketing automation platforms entered the picture, enabling marketers to nurture prospects at scale. Intent data tools began helping teams understand when buyers were actively researching solutions. Subscription management platforms created new models for how companies deliver and monetize software. And of course, SaaS solutions themselves have transformed how organizations deploy technology across the business.

Today, conversations about the tech stack happen every day. Marketing leaders are expected to understand how dozens of systems - from CRM to automation to analytics - connect together to drive growth. The modern marketing organization has become both a strategic and technical function.

And that transformation has been empowering, especially as a female in the technology-based business world.

The technology I have today gives me unprecedented visibility into our audience, our campaigns, and our revenue impact. Data informs nearly every decision I make - from messaging and segmentation to budget allocation and forecasting. What once took months to understand can now be analyzed in real time.

But keeping up with this constant change requires something beyond technical skills. Throughout my career, one quality has consistently made the biggest difference: curiosity. 

Curiosity has always been one of the driving forces behind my own success. Technology evolves quickly, and the only way to stay ahead is to continually ask questions, explore new tools, and challenge assumptions about how things should be done. Curiosity pushes me and my team to learn, to experiment, and to look at problems from different angles.

It's also something I actively look for in the people I hire and the partners I choose to work with. Skills can be developed, and platforms will always change. But curiosity - the willingness to dig deeper, to understand the "why," and to explore what's possible - is what fuels innovation and growth.

As I reflect on this International Women's Day, I'm also struck by how the role of women in technology has evolved alongside the technology itself.

Early in my career, there were far fewer women in leadership roles across technology companies. Over time, that landscape has been steadily changing. More women are entering the field, leading teams, building companies, and shaping the direction of the industry.

Progress still needs to continue, but the momentum is encouraging.

One of the things I've always loved about working in technology is that it rewards curiosity and adaptability. The industry moves quickly, and success often comes to those who are willing to learn, evolve, and embrace change. For the next generation of women entering technology, my advice is simple: stay curious.

Ask questions. Explore new ideas. Be open to learning from every experience.

Technology will continue to change. New platforms will emerge, data will become even more powerful, and the way we engage with customers will keep evolving.

But the most exciting part of the future isn't just the technology itself - it's the curious minds that will shape it.

And I'm proud to be part of that journey.