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".
Marketing Strategy, Data Analysis, SQL, Intellectual Curiosity, Systems Thinking
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
Video Highlights
1. Intellectual curiosity is highly valued; demonstrated by continuous learning and the ability to explain new concepts.
2. Statistical knowledge and exposure to SQL and databases are beneficial, especially for data analysis and leveraging AI tools.
3. Strategic vision and strong interpersonal skills are crucial for understanding how different elements work together and improving systems.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
Intellectual curiosity is probably the biggest thing to me. In terms of hard skills, I believe a knowledge base in statistics is helpful. It doesn't necessarily need to come from college, but I would recommend everyone take a statistics course.
I think it also helps to better understand data with AI or in a new space. I can write SQL, but I usually feed it into AI to optimize it and correct any queries if I'm missing a comma or have incorrect syntax.
Exposure to SQL and databases is something everyone could probably benefit from. From there, we can move into interpersonal skills, strategic vision for how things will work together, and being able to put them all together.
This includes being able to step back and ask why something is working and how it can be improved. This ties into intellectual curiosity. I value this highly because every interview question is important.
The best barometer for a good hire, in my opinion, is asking what someone has learned recently and if they can explain it. This showcases whether they are intellectually curious and learning something in the space. I've had people explain lighting and photography to me.
One day, I was looking into how a paper bag is made by a machine, how adhesive is applied, and how processes could be improved. Then, there's the communication of those ideas.
These are the three core aspects: intellectual curiosity, the ability to be analytical, and the ability to build and tinker with systems until the business runs flawlessly. Finally, there's the ability to monitor that system in case it should ever break.