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Philip, VP Marketing at Financial Services: Advize Career Interview

Embark on a career journey that blends analytical prowess with creative problem-solving!

This VP of Marketing role at Financial Services began with a foundation in sales and digital marketing, evolving into a dynamic position focused on media buying, conversion optimization, and data analytics, all while navigating complex regulations.

Each day involves data-driven decision-making, strategic planning, and continuous system refinement, requiring intellectual curiosity, statistical knowledge, and exceptional communication skills.

This person finds immense satisfaction in the ever-changing challenges and the opportunity to positively impact people's financial well-being, making coordination across diverse teams a crucial aspect of success.

Thrive in this industry by building strong relationships, mastering technical skills, and continuously seeking new knowledge, all while contributing to a company that is positively changing people's lives.

Advizer Information

Name

Job Title

Company

Undergrad

Grad Programs

Majors

Industries

Job Functions

Traits

Philip Cozens

VP Marketing

Financial Services

UC Berkeley

​

History, Art History

Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)

Communication and Marketing

Student Athlete

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Career Path of a VP Marketing in Financial Services

Philip's career path began with summer sales roles during college, where being an athlete limited internship opportunities, then moved into a challenging cold calling role where "being a little too tight" highlighted the gap between academic and real-world communication. This led to digital marketing, including paid search, social media, and CRM, before a pivotal move to a financial services company, progressing into marketing operations, data analysis, and machine learning, demonstrating continuous learning and adaptation.

Career Path of a VP Marketing in Financial Services

Main Responsibilities of a VP Marketing in Financial Services

As VP of Marketing, Philip's main responsibilities encompass media buying, affiliate relationships, and conversion rate optimization. In addition, marketing operations, data analytics, and ensuring compliance with regulations like the "Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act" and the "Fair Credit Reporting Act" are also central to Philip's role.

Main Responsibilities of a VP Marketing in Financial Services

A Day In The Life Of A VP Marketing At Financial Services

A VP of Marketing's day revolves around data-driven, direct response strategies, starting with analyzing daily KPIs to immediately adjust bids, staffing, or call queues for optimal performance; constantly being slightly paranoid and confirming that things are still working appropriately, they later focus on long-term growth through conversion rate optimization tests and building dashboards to ensure continuous improvement. The VP's role emphasizes the importance of understanding where every dollar goes and ensuring processes are continuously refined to enhance marketing effectiveness.

A Day In The Life Of A VP Marketing At Financial Services

Most Important Skills for a VP Marketing at Financial Services

For a VP of Marketing role in Financial Services, "intellectual curiosity" is paramount, acting as "the best barometer for a good hire," and is demonstrated by continuous learning; this is complemented by hard skills like statistics and SQL knowledge, and soft skills such as strategic vision and strong communication, all of which are essential for analytical thinking and system optimization. The career professional summarizes that a key part of the job is to "be able to tinker with systems until they're at a point where the business is running flawlessly, and then being able to monitor that system in case it should ever break".

Most Important Skills for a VP Marketing at Financial Services

Favorite Parts of Being a VP Marketing in Financial Services

As VP of Marketing at Financial Services, Philip most enjoys the dynamic nature of the role where "no two days are the same," providing constant intellectual stimulation and unique challenges, a stark contrast to previous roles with repetitive daily tasks that became difficult to stay engaged with. The excitement of tackling diverse problems and delving into performance drivers is what Philip finds most rewarding in career at this point.

Favorite Parts of Being a VP Marketing in Financial Services

Biggest Challenges Faced By A Vice President Marketing At A Financial Services Company

As VP of Marketing at Financial Services, Philip's biggest challenge is "coordination" between numerous departments like sales, analytics, and technology to ensure projects are completed on time and executed as envisioned, requiring a "symphony" of efforts to work seamlessly. This is especially crucial given the fast-paced nature of technology, where there is a need to respond in "under a second with working through three or four systems."

Biggest Challenges Faced By A Vice President Marketing At A Financial Services Company

Favorite Parts of Working in the Financial Services Industry as a VP Marketing

Philip, as a VP of Marketing in Financial Services, enjoys the ability to positively impact people's lives by improving their financial awareness and health. Specifically, Philip finds it beneficial to see someone "start to learn about a company that's doing good things" and then benefit from their programs, ultimately "changing your fiscal life."

Favorite Parts of Working in the Financial Services Industry as a VP Marketing

What Type Of Person Thrives In Marketing According To A VP Marketing At Financial Services

According to Philip, a VP of Marketing in Financial Services, those who thrive in marketing are able to "build relationships" and understand the sales aspect of the role. They also need strong analytical skills and "intellectual curiosity" to delve into technical aspects like ad platforms, machine learning, and AI.

What Type Of Person Thrives In Marketing According To A VP Marketing At Financial Services
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