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Amy Budd is a global marketing leader with 20-plus years of experience leading high-performance teams in technology companies. A firm believer that success comes from a blend of serendipity, courage, and skill, she recognizes her good fortune in having had leaders who were willing to take a chance on her early in her career. Her current gig with Qlik as the Vice President of Field & Partner Marketing has brought together her training and experience in corporate marketing, field marketing, and events planning.
Her parents taught her that she could be anything she wanted with hard work, perseverance, and a positive mindset. Her mom, in particular, showed her firsthand that she could have a career and family through her day-to-day actions and her eight-year courageous battle with breast cancer. This enabled her early years’ thoughts of being a lawyer to fade to dreams of a more creativity-driven career with the curation and publication of a neighborhood newsletter when she was ten.
Amy recognizes that she has had some fortuitous encounters throughout her career, starting as a senior in college; when attending an event met an alumnus that had her agency and, after a dinner conversation, was impressed enough to hire her right out of school. Her willingness to take a chance on her from a "good feeling" was something that stayed with Amy and which she has tried to pay forward throughout her career.
She does caveat that having those opportunities does not guarantee success – you need to also be in a place to recognize the opportunity and accept them as such.
Amy's current role is the penultimate aggregation of her past experiences – a blend of corporate marketing, events, and creating experiences applied to field marketing – connecting the dots between sales and what needs to be done feet on the ground to drive business. It doesn't come without challenges. With so many things she can do, Amy makes sure there is clarity – for her and her team – on the priorities to drive the most impact. To do that, she takes the time to recognize her team's strengths and create opportunities for them to shine.
"We can be so hard on ourselves and often don't give ourselves enough credit," says Budd. Her counsel to herself and others, when one finds oneself in that situation, ask yourself what you would tell a friend, and then be your friend. Great advice we can all use from time to time. That is a life-long lesson that needs conscientious practice.
Career song: Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts version
Career street name: Fortunate Place
Influencer: Parents, Mom in particular
