This episode of Pour Over spotlights Laura Foti, the CMO and Founding Executive of Specright, the #1 platform for specification and supply chain data management. Laura believes that buying into your company’s vision is paramount to succeeding in any leadership role and shares the highlights of her leadership journey, the personal values she infuses in her work, and the vision and values that power Specright. She shares her perspective on the ins and outs of specification and data across industries and why, although the mechanics of specification might not be sexy, the end result certainly is. Laura talks about her unique strategy for generating excitement around this category, and the philosophy behind the three main levers underpinning Specright’s ultimate success across industries. She also dives into her personal reasons for believing in her company’s vision and the role models that shaped her professional and personal identity. Laura delves deep into the basis for her leadership ethic, core motivations, along with offering some true nuggets of wisdom for anyone pursuing a path to CMO.
Leadership journey: Went from working as a consultant at Deloitte Digital to becoming CMO at Fika portfolio company, Specright.
Personal Values: Learned to take pride in her work as the child of immigrants who worked in a factory.
Learned by Example: Watched her father embody the principle of dreaming big, finding courage, and rejecting the limits applied by others.
Specright Premise: Pioneering specification management, packaging, and category creation.
Vision and Values: On a mission to contribute to a world without waste where the right thing is made every time.
Growth Model: Three main levers include thought leadership, ecosystem, and network.
Core Motivation: Believes in the vision and buys into the Founder’s approach to making Specright successful.
Role Models: Admires her first boss, Linda Boff, Deloitte CTO, Christy Levy, and Lumen President and CEO, Kate Johnson, who taught her to be herself in business.
Advice for Future CMOs: Advocates for immersing yourself in all the areas of marketing in order to understand it.
QUOTES
“One of the greatest joys of my life has been being able to take my passion for storytelling and apply it in the business setting to help people do things differently.”
“You have to show people, not just tell them.”
“The vision is to live in a world where the right thing is made every time.”
“We all want a sense of belonging and community in our lives as human beings, and we want to align with people who are trying to achieve the same things we are.”
“Even though specs may not feel very sexy, the outcomes are really sexy.”
“The biggest gift you can give to others is to be yourself and showing them that they have permission to do the same.”
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