In the last year, Danielle Ruess said her greatest leadership lesson has been “beginning with the why.” The chief marketing officer for technology services company Wizeline tries to understand where others are coming from in each of her interactions, whether with a colleague, customer or member of the community.
“It goes back to that idea of adaptability; you have no idea what a person is facing in their personal and work life, and, sometimes, we all react in a way that we usually would not,” Ruess said. “Allowing a bit of space before reacting can change relationships, outcomes and effectiveness in your role. It enables us to make the necessary shifts and adjustments as things evolve. There is a book ‘Start with Why’ that encompasses some of this thinking — more from a business point of view — instead of focusing on what a company does or how the company does it … to why they do it.”
Ruess leads a multidisciplinary team, composed of some people with 1-2 years of experience and others up to 10-15 years of experience. Each role in her department encompasses different areas of marketing, communications and analyst relations. “I take mentoring seriously and have an open, knowledge-sharing approach with all the levels on my team, with the hopes to empower them to become CMOs someday, if they aspire to that position,” Ruess said. “In addition, there are some women and men I continue to mentor, either from past roles, or talent that I have met through events or industry associations. I feel most accomplished when I see someone take what they’ve learned and rise to a new position. Investing time in the ongoing development of future leaders is something every Titan should be doing; cultivating a high-quality talent pipeline means securing the future success of your company and teams.”
This is Ruess’ second year on the Titan 100 list. She described one of her greatest professional risks as leaving a long career in pharmaceuticals for the technology industry. She saw potential in tech, and it has proven to propel her career forward.
“Achieving any executive position takes not only personal discipline, but also the support of those around you, not only work colleagues and mentors, but family and friends,” she said. “One of the most important risks I took was to leave an over 15-year career in pharmaceuticals and chemicals and move to technology. I watched the advancement of technology throughout my career and knew it was the future; and I knew I needed to learn as much as possible about the industry while applying the horizontal skills I had honed to add value to the company.”
