I was born and raised in a small town in Maine and attended the University of Southern Maine. My career did not begin in marketing. I started in finance and joined an investment management firm in Boston. I learned the fundamentals of portfolio management, fund accounting and databases (Oracle). I took to technology, learning SQL and wrote queries to automate aspects of my job. I left finance for technology and moved into roles in business analysis and product management. I became a "marketer" in the early days of email marketing after getting my MBA from Babson College. I am still challenged and excited by my career in digital marketing. Marketing technology has very evolved rapidly. Marketing automation is much more than system configuration. It is defining strategies, mapping them into the tactics, supported by data and content needed to execute and measure their effectiveness.