The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high-performing marketing leaders. 

Setup Founder & CEO, Joe Koufman, virtually sat down with Devika Mathrani, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian, to discuss the importance of integrity and communication in business, her ability to energize and activate her team members, and how Maya Angelou inspires her.

WATCH + READ THE RECAP BELOW

(SCROLL TO THE END FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW)

Q1 | Is there any advice you would like to share?

“Never let yourself be bored. If you lose your natural and organic passion, your natural curiosity, or that sense of growing and learning, you're not at your best.”

Mathrani’s advice to marketers is to stay passionate. She explained that if you’re experiencing feelings of burnout, or a lack of passion for what you're working on, then it's best to take some time away to give yourself space to reignite your passion. She also added that marketers should be willing to take risks in a way that is beneficial to them. “I think your career is not [just] about taking risks…Your career is about figuring out what is the right risk to take.”

Q2 | What is your superpower?

Mathrani goes “all-in” to fully embrace the spaces she is in. She described herself as an activator because she is able to “infuse energy into partnerships and relationships,” which is a huge asset to her team. 

Q3 | Where do you find inspiration?

“I get inspiration from the world around me,” said Mathrani. “I try to be very observant and tuned in to what I'm seeing and experiencing as a person. I bring those little nuggets of ideas or little observations that I have in the marketplace to my team and say, ‘What would be the equivalent of that for us?’ Or, ‘If that is the consumers' expectation today, how do we need to do something different?’ I try to get us outside of our space in order to inspire what we could be doing.”

Q4 | What values are important to you?

Integrity is at the top of Mathrani’s list of values because it’s at the core of everything she does. Also, she appreciates people who are willing to take risks and are naturally “courageous and curious”. Mathrani also mentioned how much she values good communication, and believes that it’s a trait that matters in every business function and can be the key to success. 

Q5 | What is a quote that inspires you?

Mathrani loves the quote from Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Mathrani continued, “It's a beautiful quote from a beautiful author, and makes me think a lot about my behavior, the choices I make, and how I operate.”

For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of marketing executives in various industries, be sure to watch the full interview with Devika Mathrani, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.

Watch the full interview to the right.