Celebrating Women in Affiliate Marketing

In honor of International Women's Day, Geno Prussakov of AM Navigator shared a series of interviews with women in affiliate marketing including CJ's own Desiree Toto and Sandrine Thompson. Read their interviews below.

These interviews originally appeared on AM Navigator. Make sure to check out all of the interviews: Part 1 |Part 2

Desiree Toto

VP of Product Development

What's the best decision you’ve ever made?
Taking a risk and switching career paths later in my career from client services to product development.

What are you most proud of doing?
Watching the success of other women I have mentored within Affiliate.

What advice would you give to women trying to break into affiliate marketing?
To be successful you need to have the capacity to be creative and analytical while having a foundational understanding of technologies. These competencies along with building industry knowledge will be key to your success.

What women inspire you and why?
Personally I receive inspiration from the people I interact with on a daily basis. Part of what brought me to CJ was the amazing group of women leaders that not only where successful in their careers but balancing their home lives. Working with these women gave me the confidence to fully invest in my career and start a family.

Are you planning on doing anything special to celebrate the International Women’s Day?
Having a daughter, and being a female leader, I treat every day like International Women’s day and it’s important to set a good example every day.

Sandrine Thompson

Director, Strategic Insights

What's the best decision you’ve ever made? 
Career-wise, I have to say I’m really happy with my decision 14 years ago to accept my first job in affiliate. I had no clue that I was embarking on what was to be an interesting and personally satisfying career in such an exciting industry.

What are you most proud of doing?
About mid-way through my career in affiliate I paused to assess what aspects of my job I really enjoyed (which turned out to be data analysis and strategic development) and explored how I could do more of that on a day to day basis. I was able to propose a new role for myself within my company and experience how to define and develop that role over time. Instead of getting frustrated and discouraged with where I was heading in my career, I’m proud that I defined a new path for myself.

What advice would you give to women trying to break into affiliate marketing?
Take a natural strength, skill or talent and find a way to apply it in a way that meets an unmet need. For example, if there is something that you do really well, develop a training and show others how to also be good at that task or skill. You’ll gain the trust and esteem of others, which often turns into real job opportunities down the line.

What women inspire you and why?
I’m inspired by women who are honest about the struggles of balancing motherhood and a career. Successful business woman and writer, Tiffany Dufu, is a great example — her book “Drop the Ball” shows others how to counteract a natural instinct women have to “do it all” and instead strive for balance.