Career Path Of A Group Vice President, Strategy At Huge Inc
Sarah's career path began with a master's in industrial-organizational psychology, leading to human resources, but a desire for "corporate strategic growth" prompted an MBA from UCLA Anderson. Subsequent internships in marketing and product management, followed by management consulting at Booz & Company, ultimately culminated in their current role as GVP, Strategy at Huge Inc., a "growth digital agency" focused on digital transformation.
Career Development, Leadership, Digital Transformation, Strategic Growth, Management Consulting
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sarah McMains
GVP, Strategy
Huge Inc
USC, 2006
CSULB, MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology; UCLA Anderson, MBA
Psychology
Consulting & Related Professional Services
Business Strategy
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Sarah's career path demonstrates the value of combining different fields. Her background in psychology and business, coupled with an MBA, provided a unique perspective that led to diverse roles in HR, marketing, product management, and consulting before landing her current position.
2. Sarah's internships were pivotal in shaping her career trajectory. Experiences in marketing and product management allowed her to explore different aspects of business and hone her skills, ultimately leading her toward a strategic role.
3. Sarah's career showcases the benefit of continuous learning and adapting to evolving interests. She proactively pursued further education (master's degree and MBA) to transition into new areas and actively sought opportunities that aligned with her evolving career goals.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
In college, I studied psychology and business. After graduating, I pursued my first master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
This field combines the two disciplines by studying people and their behaviors as applied in the workplace. It's relevant to organizational development, learning initiatives, and organizational design.
This includes structuring an organization to achieve business ambitions, understanding core capabilities, and identifying needed talent. Even defining something as tactical as a job description falls under this.
I initially applied this knowledge to a career in Human Resources. However, after several years of classic HR management, I realized that while I cared about employees, development, and organizational learning, I was more fascinated by corporate strategic growth and top-line growth.
I wanted to focus less on optimizing internal initiatives for profitability and more on driving business expansion. This led me to pursue my MBA at UCLA Anderson.
During my MBA, I knew I wanted to focus on growth and positively impact a business's top line, but I was unsure of the specific path. I completed an internship in marketing, partnering with trade partners like retailers and grocery stores to market the company's products.
I also interned in product management. This was in 2010, when the iPhone had recently been released, and Android had entered the market. I was curious about how this digital shift would change things.
My product management internship involved building a mobile website, which was a valuable experience. I enjoyed both marketing and product management.
Ultimately, I wanted to think on a larger scale and didn't want to focus solely on individual clients or work in-house. Therefore, I decided to pursue management consulting.
I was fortunate to land a job with Booz & Company, which didn't recruit at Anderson at the time but is now part of PwC and may recruit there. I worked there for a couple of years.
Most recently, I joined Huge, a growth digital agency. We focus on digital transformation and innovation for our clients. I've been with the company for about eight years.
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