At GitLab, being a CMO shadow is not a job title, but a temporary assignment to shadow the CMO. The shadows will be present at all meetings of the CMO during their rotation. GitLab is an all-remote company, so the shadow will be attending virtual meetings hosted on Zoom.
The goal of the CMO Shadow Program is to give current and future leaders in the Marketing Team an overview of all aspects of the company. This should enable marketing leadership to better perform global optimizations. You'll gain this context through the meetings you attend and discussions with the CMO regarding any questions that arise during the call, should time be available during the shadow timeframe. The program also creates opportunities for the CMO to build relationships with team members across the marketing department and to identify challenges and opportunities earlier.
The CMO Shadow Program is not a performance evaluation or the next step to a promotion. Being a CMO shadow is not needed to get a promotion or a raise, and should not be a consideration factor for a promotion or raise, as diverse partipants have different eligibilities.
(To be developed) Hear what our CMO has to say about the CMO Shadow Program.
CMO staff will recommend who from their organizations should participate in the program. If you're a team member reading this and intersted in participating, reach out to your CMO staff member.
Start date | End date | Shadow & Role |
---|---|---|
2021-05-17 | 2021-05-28 | Michael Preuss - Director, Digital Experience |
2021-05-31 | 2021-06-11 | Available |
2021-06-164 | 2021-06-25 | Available |
You do not need to dress formally; business casual clothes are appropriate. For example, Todd wears a button-up with jeans most days. GitLab shirts are acceptable. Review Todd's calendar to check if there are formal occasions - this may require different clothing. If unsure, please ask the Executive Business Administrator (EBA).
You will get asked about yourself during the program, and it's important to describe it correctly. So stand in front of a mirror and practice 3 times. The main point is, do not say that your role is to "follow Todd around" or "follow the CMO around". The program is for exploring and learning about all the parts of GitLab, and there's where the emphasis should lie.
Review the CMO's calendar to get an idea of what your upcoming weeks will be like. If you see there is a meeting on the CMO calendar and you're not invited, but think you should be, feel free to ask CMO or the EBA directly.
Shadows should update their name in Zoom to include [Name] | CMO Shadow
for clarity in meetings.
Feel free to schedule a coffee chat with any of the CMO Shadow Alumni. You can review the list of CMO Shadow Alumni below. These chats can be helpful when deciding whether to participate or if you want to hear about the experience and what alumni have learned while shadowing.
At times you may be asked your opinion on a topic or you may be asked to do work if it is specifically realted to your job.
You are welcome to come off mute and join the conversation. Ask questions where you see appropriate. If you're more comfortable to dopping a line in chat, meeting attendees will see the note and often times, voclize your comment and may ask for more insight.
Depending on the meeting, you may be asked to take notes for the meeting. Depending on how you work, you may want to take notes of your own. Noting what you thought was interesting about the converation, how you think it impacts your role/team, and any follow-ups you want to personally take as a result of what you heard.
Shadows are encouraged to follow the CMO's activity on various platforms to get a complete picture of his everyday activities and where he directs his attention.
Start date | End date | Name | Title | Takeaways |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021-01-04 | 2021-01-22 | Jackie Gragnola | Manager, Campaigns | |
2021-01-18 | 2021-01-29 | Leslie Blanchard | Director, Field Marketing | |
2021-02-01 | 2021-02-12 | Becky Reich | Awareness Campaign Manager | |
2021-02-22 | 2021-03-05 | Emily Kyle | Manager, Corporate Events and Branding | |
2021-03-15 | 2021-03-26 | William Chia | Manager, Product Marketing | |
2021-03-29 | 2021-04-09 | Hannah Woodward | Sr. Manager, AMER Sales Development | |
2021-04-19 | 2021-04-30 | Natasha Woods | Director, Corporate Communications | |
2021-05-03 | 2021-05-14 | Emily Luehrs | Manager, Account Based Marketing |