College Experiences That Helped a Chief Marketing Officer at Protecto Succeed
Shekar's unconventional path to a Chief Marketing Officer role began with an engineering background, demonstrating that "analytical skills are very important," a skillset developed through data-driven thinking rather than a marketing-specific degree. The most valuable takeaway, however, is the importance of maintaining an "open mind" and a "curiosity to learn," as unexpected knowledge gained from various fields can contribute significantly to career success.
Data Analysis, Analytical Skills, Curiosity, Open-mindedness, Career Exploration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Shekar Hariharan
Chief Marketing Officer
Protecto
MSRIT (Bengaluru, India), 1993-1997
Louisiana State university, M.S. in Industrial Engineering
Engineering - Mechanical
Technology
Communication and Marketing
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Developed analytical and data-driven thinking skills, crucial for marketing success.
2. Had an unconventional background, highlighting the importance of an open mind and diverse skillset.
3. Emphasized the value of continuous learning and exploring various fields of knowledge for a fulfilling career.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad to set up for success in your career?
This is probably the question I would not answer in a conventional way. My answer would be: I did my undergrad in engineering, which has nothing to do with marketing. It was mechanical engineering, a very technical field.
Even my master's was in engineering. Neither of them directly helped me with marketing, though they did help me with two things. One is data-driven thinking; it developed an analytical frame of mind.
This has always helped me in my current job. I always look at things like, "Why should I be doing this?" and "How do I measure success?" So, analytical skills are very important for going under the hood, as they say, and finding the rationale behind success and failure.
Did my undergraduate degree necessarily provide those analytical skills? Probably not. Even if I had been in journalism, I might have still gained those skills, not engineering per se. I had a very unconventional background into marketing. It wasn't what I was thinking; it was just destiny that I ended up in marketing.
What I advise for people is to always have an open mind and always be curious to learn. Any kind of knowledge you gain could help you in fields you'd never imagine. So, having that open mind and expanding your horizons of knowledge is very important.