Ep 67: Eboni Mack: Always Forward-Thinking

Diva Tech Talk Podcast

Diva Tech Talk spoke with Eboni Mack, Senior Manager, Analytics, at GTB (www.gtb.com). In high school, Eboni originally had her eye on a thespian career, but instead decided to focus on communications studies in college (“the way people think and how they consume media.”). During her college years at the University of Michigan (www.umich.edu), Eboni benefited from a public relations internship at Lapides Publicity Giragosian, a media internship at Fox 2 News (http://www.fox2detroit.com/), a writing stint at the Michigan Daily (https://www.michigandaily.com/) and an internship at Radio One (https://urban1.com/radio-one/). Post-graduation, her first job was as an account executive for AT&T (www.att.com). Simultaneously she went back to school for her MBA, with a dual concentration in marketing and management, from Wayne State University (www.wsu.edu). Two years in, Eboni moved into a market analyst position, a role she held for four years.

She then shifted to MRM McCann (https://mrm-mccann.com/), a large advertising agency (part of the global MRM Worldwide Group) that specializes in helping large companies effectively convey their brand value and deeply connect with customers. Eboni’s initial MRM McCann assignment was as senior data analyst for General Motors (www.gm.com). She dove into CRM (customer relationship management) analytics, dissecting email campaigns for Buick and GMC, then a senior site analyst role, evaluating consumer behavior across all GM brands. Eboni then migrated to Team Detroit, going through a brand change to GTB ( Global Team Blue), and is proud of their heritage as a full-service agency to Ford Motor Company (www.ford.com) . “We have creative, project management, strategy and a huge marketing science unit, that has different analytics disciplines from media to online search to attitudinal and survey.” Eboni exclaimed. “Bringing all those disciplines together to serve our singular client,” is GTB’s key differentiator in the competitive advertising world. Eboni’s current role is focused on website optimization.

Eboni sees her key strengths as diligence, drive, and inquisitiveness. “I am always looking to learn,” she said. “Technology is an industry that is always changing. You need to constantly be feeding your brain with knowledge and information just to keep up!” She said that “being a woman of color has definitely shaped my experience. Throughout my career, there have been many times when I have been ‘the only’ in a room! But it has shaped my experience in a positive way and has allowed me to bring a different perspective to the table.”

Eboni is ambitious. “Within a few years, I see myself moving into a director role, where I am leading a division or department. Long-term, I see myself exploring entrepreneurship.” She also plans to get her PhD, at some point in the future, to teach at the university level, later in her career.

For Eboni, “happiness is about being fulfilled in whatever it is I am doing.” Her current sources of happiness include her stimulating career, strong relationships with friends and family, and traveling the world. “That criteria may change as I enter different parts of my life.” Eboni acknowledged that “I have a fear of failure. My greatest fear is allowing my fear of failure to hold me back. When I leave this earth, I want to know that I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish. I don’t want to miss out on anything because I was afraid to take a risk.”

Eboni’s advice to women destined to lead includes:

1. “Always be in a constant state of learning.”
2. “Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.”
3. “Give back along the way.”

Eboni served as an advisor to the Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated (http://www.deltasigmatheta.org/educational.html). “I also studied abroad, in South Africa, so I did a lot of volunteering with youth, including the St. Philomena’s Children’s Home and LoveLife, a health awareness organization geared toward youth in South Africa.”

“What I would tell the ‘younger Eboni’,” she said “is that you don’t have to have it all figured out. I literally thought I was going to be ruling the world by 25. When that didn’t happen, it was a little disappointing. Now I would tell myself to ‘allow yourself to be human.’ You don’t have to have all the answers. And that’s ok, because life is really about the journey, and not the destination.” The best way to contact Eboni J. Mack is through her Linked In account.

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