Honoring the Women at Integrate: #IntegrateHer Week 2

Not only is March National Women’s History Month in the U.S., but today also happens to be International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women globally. Last week, we launched #IntegrateHer to recognize the amazing women at Integrate, and we’re continuing the series all month long with stories of their challenges, contributions, and learnings across their diverse careers. Read below for our second installment of #IntegrateHer stories. Follow us on social (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) or check back on our blog for more.

Nicole Jacobus, Alliance Manager

1. Tell us about your career path and what led you to Integrate.

I started my career in marketing and moved to managing events for customers. I worked with IBM to solve an issue with obtaining a consistent data from 3rd party events they sponsored. I then created a team around supporting this solution for many B2B companies with the same issues IBM was experiencing. I spent 14 years in the events industry until moving to Integrate to work with partners in the industry.

2. What has been your biggest challenge over the past year (personally, professionally, or both)?

My biggest challenge has been that the industry I started my career in was halted overnight. In the midst of a global pandemic with so many unknowns, I had to simultaneously navigate helping event marketers who use Integrate to shift strategies, while also helping my elementary school son with going from school in a classroom to school at home. I was his personal IT, teacher’s aid, tutor, and principal. My 3-year-old was home for a month, and I had to juggle keeping her entertained, get my son set up for school, and work full time.

3. Do you have any unique talents?

Ha. Not really. I can do splits?

4. What do you do for fun outside of work?

Family time, board games, Barre3, travel, playing with/loving on animals and eating.

5. What is one thing you’d tell your younger self?

Holding boundaries doesn’t mean you are unkind. You don’t have to feel guilty for saying no or giving a response others do not want to hear.

6. Which one of our cultural pillars do you most align with?

I think innovation is what I feel most aligned with this year. From the whole world-changing and figuring out how to make it all successful.

Emily Kunkel, Customer Lifecycle Marketing

1. Tell us about your career path and what led you to Integrate.

Coming out of business school, I had experience in CPG and wanted to transition into tech. I worked 2.5 years at a video game startup in brand marketing and was able to learn a ton! I then was recruited to Yahoo! and spent the next 2.5 years in consumer marketing focused on driving their outbound marketing efforts with a heavy digital focus. Shortly thereafter I joined a relatively small LinkedIn right around the time of their IPO. I spent the first 2.5 years in product marketing, spearheading their voice of the customer efforts, delivering the mobile app strategy and partnering closely with product, design and engineering on in app and cross promotion on site. I then transitioned over to a new role, horizontal marketing that was product agnostic, working on ad campaigns that were member focused and B2C brand efforts. I then formally was asked to join the brand team (team of 3) and spent three years celebrating a number of firsts for the company, an ad campaign for veterans, LinkedIn’s first TV commercial, an “Always Be Learning” integrated campaign.

After 6 long, yet rewarding years, I decided I wanted to try something new. I had targeted Workday given their core values and applied for a brand role that culminated into a demand media opportunity. I loved my 2.5 years at Workday, I learned a ton about B2B demand and developed a passion for third party programs and content syndication. We developed a great working relationship built on trust and transparency in spite of 3 major agency transitions, multiple marketing org shifts and 2 CMO changes.

While at Workday I had heard about the infamous Deb Wolf, Workday’s first marketing hire who led Workday through its IPO, my former VP’s mentor, and Integrate’s current CMO. In early 2020 I set some professional goals for myself. My kids were becoming more self-sufficient and I wanted to focus on my career and career growth. I believed I was at a plateau growth-wise at Workday. When I heard that Integrate was building out their marketing team with Deb and Stephanie Swinyer leading the charge, I wanted in. I wanted to be challenged in a way that pushed me, would make better use of my skills and experience and allow some space for professional growth. I was intrigued by Integrate’s hypergrowth, product roadmap and current customer base. Finally, I wanted to work with best-in-class sales folks, and at a company that has core values that closely map to my personal values.

2. What has been your biggest challenge over the past year (personally, professionally, or both)?

The biggest challenge over the past year has been striking a balance. As a mother, wife and full time working professional I am hard wired to excel at all. I have learned that that is an impracticable feat. Once the pandemic hit, I had to personally adjust to life being “stuck at home.” The line between work, mommy, managing household duties has been blurred. There’s really no separation and or chance to escape as visual/human interaction beyond the immediate family has been minimal. I have come to expect good days and bad days and have attempted to build into my daily routine, some mental escapes in the form of reading and exercising indoors.

3. Do you have any unique talents?

Growing up I did ballet for 10 years, so I can do a pretty mean pirouette, but then I decided I wanted to play basketball so I can also make a free throw.

4. What do you do for fun outside of work?

I’m in a neighborhood book club, so super into reading books in my spare time. I like my sports teams, Oakland A’s and GS Warriors. My kids are into tennis, so we also watch and play a lot of tennis right now. My secret vice is K-dramas on Netflix.

5. What is one thing you’d tell your younger self?

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

6. Which one of our cultural pillars do you most align with?

Trust – be authentic, seek to understand; be humble with others both internally and externally with how you show up to customers.

Kristen Khalatbari, Product Manager

1. Tell us about your career path and what led you to Integrate.

I graduated with a biological engineering degree and quickly realized that I didn’t have the stomach for big pharma politics. But since I had always enjoyed technology and working with customers, I landed in my first job in technology consulting. That key career pivot led me to Product Management where I fell in LOVE with the mix of technology problems and customer business problems. Once I found product management, I haven’t looked back. I have worked for enterprise software companies in the B2B space for most of my career but have also spent some short time in B2C companies as well.

In 2018 my then fiancé and I decided to leave our careers in Atlanta to move to Phoenix in order to be closer to family for when we eventually start a family. This was a large move both personally and professionally. My husband landed at his dream company and I landed in Phoenix working for Carvana. I quickly realized that the sudden shift from a B2B enterprise software to B2C startup was not the direction I wanted to go. Luckily, I made some great friends while at Carvana who had been in the Phoenix product world for a while. After much discussion, I applied with Integrate in 2019 for their Product Management role and I’ve been extremely fulfilled with my choice.

2. What has been your biggest challenge over the past year (personally, professionally, or both)?

2020 brought many surprises and challenges for everyone but especially my family. 8 days after official lockdowns started, my husband and I had our first child. There was a lot of sadness that we could not share the joy and hardships of a newborn with anyone we knew because of Covid. Trips planned for family to meet our baby were cancelled. The image of having your first child and being surrounded by friends and family for support was shattered. To make things more complex, our baby was diagnosed with an extremely rare disease at 5 days old that would ultimately result in her receiving a liver transplant at 6 months old. The number of unknowns kept piling up. Are we at the right hospital, are we giving our child the best shot at surviving, what will happen with our jobs, will we be able to pay our mortgage, who can take care of our dog, how will we take care of ourselves?

We learned a great lesson in trying to only address the problem that was right in front of us because when you think things can’t get worse, they somehow always do. Our little family of 3 was extremely isolated for 9 months of 2020. Luckily, we had made some good decisions for ourselves before 2020 that will affect our family forever. My husband had 5 months of paid paternity leave from him company that literally saved us. Covid policies meant that only one parent could be at the hospital with our baby at a time. Normally grandparents, aunts, uncles can help fill in gaps so that parents can attempt keeping their jobs–but we did not have that option. Without that, our story would have been much different. Integrate also stepped up in a big way and ensured I would have a job when I was able to come back to work even after I had exhausted my FMLA after having our child.

Companies that make conscious choices to support their employees so that employees can focus on their families is the reason that my family is thriving today. This is a lesson I will continue to pay forward at every company I work for in my career. Our daughter was blessed with a second chance at life and received a liver transplant from a donor family in September. Her journey is far from over, but she is thriving and that means our family can retreat from survival mode and focus on celebrating every positive moment we can. I look back on the last year and think wow look at all I have survived amidst immense adversity. It reminds me that we are all stronger than we realize and that it can’t storm forever. When you know of a family going through a hard time, you might feel helpless. But know that your outreach, your thoughts/prayers, phone calls and facetimes– they all mattered and in the end they are what helped sustained us through it all.

3. Do you have any unique talents?

I make a very delicious dirty martini 😂

4. What do you do for fun outside of work?

Attend live music/concerts and travel to see friends and family.

5. What is one thing you’d tell your younger self?

It’s okay that you are unsure if this is the right decision, you’ll learn something no matter the outcome so let go of your worries.

6. Which one of our cultural pillars do you most align with?

Trust. I hope those that interact with me see that I have genuine and deep concern for whatever they are bringing to me.

Zineb Harvey, Sr. Marketing Business Analyst

1. Tell us about your career path and what led you to Integrate.

The answer for me was clear. I ultimately joined integrate because I was looking for company with a great culture and good products/solutions. 2.What has been your biggest challenge over the past year (personally, professionally, or both)? Personally and professionally, my biggest challenge is always time. Somehow, I never have enough hours in the day to get to all the things on my wish/to-do list!

3. Do you have any unique talents?

I can converse in 4 languages!

4. What do you do for fun outside of work?

Outside of work, I enjoy enameling and goldsmithing. There is something magical about using the right side of the brain.

5. What is one thing you’d tell your younger self?

1) Invest in yourself 2) Have SMART goals 3) Focus on relationships.

6. Which one of our cultural pillars do you most align with?

Happiness: nothing delights me more than helping others achieve their goals!

Michele Shuey, Sr. Director, People Development

1. Tell us about your career path and what led you to Integrate.

I’ve spent 23 years in the Talent Development field and the last 6 years deeply invested in how the Employee Experience (eX) drives the Customer Experience (cX). Many companies give lip service to investing in People First programs to truly differentiate themselves in a competitive candidate market but Integrate is the real deal. I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with our Chief People Officer, Natalie Dopp, at three companies now. She and I started down the path of creating an employee journey that sets us apart back in our LifeLock days in 2015. Together we have learned a lot and iterated over time what’s known today as the Integrate Experience. The Integrate Experience is a very intentional look at the employee life cycle that elevates the “Moments that Matter” while driving deep connections to engage and retain top talent. I’m grateful to reunite with her here at Integrate and work alongside such an amazing group of humans in the People Team and across Integrate.

2. What has been your biggest challenge over the past year (personally, professionally, or both)?

I think everyone’s just tired. It’s always tough balancing being the parent I want to be while being the professional I want to be. Most people want to contribute in both arenas at a high level. The People Team is looked to for guidance, support, and execution of People First programs to support our employee base. It’s a responsibility we care very deeply about which can sometimes feel quite heavy. If I could sum up 2020 in one word it would be EXHAUSTING. The pressure to deliver at a high level professionally, navigating the impacts of the pandemic for Integrate, my household, and my extended family, and a tenuous racial and political landscape have all been…well…exhausting.

3. Do you have any unique talents?

Hmm, this one is hard to answer and took me some time to come up with a unique talent but, here we go… Entertaining is my jam. From a random and impromptu Wednesday night with friends dropping in to hosting over 300 people for a Celebration of Life and everything in between. Birthdays, Bat Mitzvahs, Weddings, Funerals, Homecoming, Super Bowl, St. Patty’s Day, Speed Dating (for High Schoolers) on Valentines Day; Line Dancing, Back Yard campouts, you name it and we’ve hosted it. My high level of extraversion pairs nicely here and we celebrate a lot.

4. What do you do for fun outside of work?

Fun outside of work always surrounds family and friends. We’re big sports fans so we’re either watching our kids play VB & BB or watching games on TV. Movies and music are a big part of our lives. Being outside is as well. We have lots of yard games like volleyball, basketball, horse shoes, wiffle ball, bags, ladder golf, yard pong, Sapo (Peruvian coin toss), so we spend a ton of time in our backyard. Boating, hiking and exploring new places rank up there as well.

5. What is one thing you’d tell your younger self?

Just Relax! Focus on the things that are within your control. Stay present in the moment and really take it in.

6. Which one of our cultural pillars do you most align with?

I love Radical Candor. When you really understand its essence it’s really powerful. Navigating the intersection of “care personally” and “challenge directly” pushes people to be better communicators. It asks more of us than “just being direct.” It asks us to build trust and connections before being direct. I’ve spent my entire career teaching people how to give great feedback and if you can truly embody Kim Scott’s intentions with Radical Candor you will be an effective communicator.