BOARD HIGHLIGHT
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As a leader at Aquila, how do you build that transparency and trust on your teams? “Because we are a start-up and we are building a platform, we have very clear achievement milestones that we are working towards. The milestones are both in terms of the technical development of the platform, and also the business milestones in terms of winning new clients, securing funding—they are very comprehensive. We are really open with both our employees and our broader stakeholders about our milestones and how we are pacing towards them. I think we have a fundamental transparency about the health of the company, and we are trying to invent a new category. This is very technically challenging, so it comes with some grace—if this were easy, it would have already been done by now. The company is set up to more accurately compare the at- media and the advertising that marketers buy on Google, Meta, Amazon, Tik Tok, and Linear Television. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Tik Tok are all investors in the company, so we have their support. But, it gets complicated because they are fierce competitors, but they are coming together on this project. As a result, we are very clear about progress, and we are very universally transparent because we are also very cautious about anti- competitive behavior, so we want everyone to know the same information. I think in many ways the company is set up on a foundation of transparency.” What is one piece of advice you want to share with graduating KLI seniors and/or the broader women-identifying CMC graduating seniors? “I will tie back to the value of integrity. It is not to be underestimated how important it is to simply show up and do what you say you are going to do. If you can root that behavior into your professional life, you will be miles ahead of most people. It sounds really simple, but in today’s hectic, busy world, it is not as easy as it sounds. Some of that is because we are all barraged with emails, outreach, things to read, meetings to attend; in this very fast-paced world, it is really easy to let things slip. I am talking about the basics: showing up to calls on time, or a minute or two early; responding to emails in a timely way; if you say you are going to submit something or you are going to prepare a draft of a deck by the end of the day, you do it by the end of the day. It is that level of personal integrity that can really make a huge difference in the way, particularly junior people, are perceived. To sum it up, be really reliable. If you are a CMC student, you are already ahead of the game; you are already going to show up as a smarter, more articulate, more analytical, and creative thinker. If you can develop a discipline to be the go-to person in your organization, you will set yourself up to be on a winning trajectory. It is simple, but it is hard to do.”
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