Stephanie Lio (Kellogg, ‘18) began her career as a management consultant, but after building a strong toolkit, entered Northwestern University (Kellogg) to find a career with greater ownership of over her work. After classes, internships, and networking, Lio landed on a post-MBA job in Product Marketing. In this interview, Lio described her journey to Product Marketing, her role now as a PMM, and her advice to those who are looking to transition to a Product Marketing role.
MBASchooled: What did you do prior to business school, and why did you go to business school?
Prior to earning my MBA at the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University), I was a public sector consultant at Deloitte Consulting in Washington D.C. As I worked on different projects, I realized that I wanted greater ownership over my work, with the ability to iterate and drive longer term outcomes than what was possible on a consulting engagement.
Consulting is an excellent professional skills and leadership “boot camp” for young professionals, but to determine what comes next (if you are unsure if you want to become a Partner or Principal!), I strongly encourage regular self-reflection and an intentional ‘test and learn’ approach. Reflecting on my skill sets, professional interests, and learning goals, I decided that business school would be the right opportunity to broaden my learning and transition my career. (Also, as a true Ravenclaw, I also simply love school.)
MBASchooled: Coming into business school, did you know you wanted a career in product marketing? How did you come to that conclusion?
My Bay Area upbringing and education exposed me at an early age to the tech industry, and as a consultant I frequently adapted product development practices (agile project management, design thinking, etc.) to my work and leadership.
Even before I applied to business school, I conducted informational interviews with former classmates and colleagues who kindly shared their insights into Business Operations (one of the more common post-consulting tech roles), Product Management, and Product Marketing roles as well as the cultural differences between early stage start-ups and “FAANG” companies. Having grown up in “The Valley”, I was keenly aware of how hype and spirit of FOMO (fear of missing out) can cloud your decision making, so I wanted to understand each role’s daily challenges and not just the glamorous successes and perks.
Because product management and product marketing roles vary widely between companies, I ultimately applied to a mix of both roles during my MBA recruiting process.
MBASchooled: How did you end up finding a full-time opportunity in Product Marketing?
Transitioning my career took a few steps: In the summer after the first year of my MBA, I interned as a Business Program Manager at Microsoft. The hiring manager and I regularly discussed my interests and where I felt my skill set aligned, and he gave me a summer project partnering with Business Development and Marketing to create an industry Go-to-Market strategy. I continued to network with other Product Marketing teams both within and outside of the company, learning about the diverse responsibilities and variations of the role across the tech industry. At the end of the summer, Microsoft ultimately extended a full-time offer as a Product Marketing Manager. I’ve been a PMM at Microsoft for about a year and a half.
MBASchooled: In your role as a PMM, what are some of the core responsibilities that you’ve had? What skills are most important for those responsibilities?
The ability to learn and adapt quickly and bridge diverse perspectives are important skills that have helped me succeed in my work. Currently, my role is closely aligned to a technical product, where I am accountable for its messaging and positioning in the market. I team most closely with product management and engineering to bring market insights to the product roadmap, while translating the product vision for our sales field and customers. I also partner with a lot of cross-functional teams to land that strategy–for example, working closely with business planners and financial analysts to develop and launch a new business model or explore bundled offerings, or collaborating with integrated marketing on a thought leadership blog series.
MBASchooled: What do you enjoy most about being a PMM?
I love being at the heart of both technical and business challenges. No two days are the same–sometimes to my chagrin–but on the whole, every day presents incredibly fascinating work that challenges me to draw from past professional experience, my MBA studies, and other experts, and reminds me to never stop learning.
MBASchooled: What classes, experiences, or lessons from your time at Kellogg have been most helpful to your career as a PMM?
Kellogg’s MBA program promoted a strong culture of collaboration and values-driven leadership that encouraged me to learn broadly, even taking classes wildly outside my traditional comfort zone. Because product marketing is inherently cross-functional, you need to learn to speak different “languages” to influence without having formal authority. While no one MBA class could have prepared me for the diversity of challenges I face as a PMM, I believe that the breadth of coursework and projects I worked on helped cultivate an ability to see different perspectives and drive change.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for MBAs who are interested in a career in PMM post-MBA?
If you are changing careers, I would start with taking an honest inventory of your skills and experiences and reflecting on how that might align to a product marketing role. If there is a misalignment between what you want to do and what you are naturally aligned to, consider making your career transition in steps. Be a product marketer for your own candidacy! What is your value proposition? What are your differentiators? Is there product truth?
Ready to take the next step and uncover your personal brand as a future tech marketer? Learn more about one-time resume review or coaching workshops with Stephanie, or follow at stephanielio.com and LinkedIn for more articles, reflections, and resources about product marketing and career development.
Among her other 2020 projects, Stephanie is currently exploring how dual-career couples navigate goals, geographies, and boring things like who takes out the garbage. Drop a note if you’re interested in participating!