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Rising Stars | FEATURE Kate Masewich Age 35 Marketing Director commonsku Toronto, Ontario S ometimes you find what you are looking for, even if you don’t know you are looking. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in sociology, Kate Masewich was working at a small boutique insurance company as a marketing coordinator. Her roommate at the time, who was working for an industry supplier, heard commonsku President Mark Graham speak at an industry event, connected with him later on LinkedIn and saw his job posting for a marketing manager. The roommate relayed the news to Masewich who interviewed and landed the job. Three years later, in 2018, she was promoted to her current position. Nominators and co-workers Gabriella Asenjo and Alyson Brunton describe Masewich as one of the most adaptive people they know. “Among all the challenges of her current position, we decided as a company to launch a ‘commonsku sessions’ event, a four-city sales workshop tour. Kate never batted an eye and began researching and becoming an expert in each city. With the branding, software, content, swag and marketing campaign for the event under her supervision, we were able to turn the idea around from ideation to launch in under one month.” What impact has the COVID-19 lockdown had on your life both personally and professionally? commonsku is a cloud-based software and we practice what we preach, so to speak. The team is set up to work remotely with everything accessible from anywhere. The transition from office to home wasn’t difficult, but I miss seeing my team every day in the office. The biggest challenge was managing projects as COVID was unfolding. It has been a very unique time to be a marketer, especially since marketing budgets are typically the first to be slashed in a time of crisis. It’s been a lot of learning on my feet. But I am fortunate that I have a job to keep me busy. Not being able to see the people that I love, or know when that time will be, has been the worst part about COVID. What have you learned about yourself during this time? I’ve learned to be more flexible, which I’ve always struggled with. I manage a lot of different projects for different departments and a lot of those projects came to a grinding halt when COVID hit. I had to learn to sift through all of the ideas our team was throwing out and pick the ones that would yield long-term success and not just cater to short-term trends, especially since the world was changing so rapidly around us. I also learned that it is OK to lean on people for support. I like to think of myself as Wonder Woman, but even Wonder Woman needs some help conquering the universe. What concerns you most about the future of the promo products industry? I’m excited about the future of the promo industry. I’ve always had concerns about the environmental impact of this industry, and I think that this crisis has really helped it remember that every product ordered is intended to serve a purpose. With more products shipping directly to clients’ homes, our distributors and suppliers are considering the entire experience from packaging to the items themselves. I hope this conscientiousness continues post-COVID. Who or what inspires you and why? I’m inspired by our co-founders Catherine and Mark Graham and their vision for the future of this industry. They are focused and passionate, and have assembled a team of truly diverse and wonderful people. It’s an honor to be a part of their journey. I’m also inspired by the resiliency and persistence of the human spirit that we’ve witnessed during this time. It brings me hope that men and women around the world can prevail in response to this extraordinary challenge. What would you like to accomplish over the next 24 months? I would like to grow our marketing team so we can focus on producing even more educational resources for this industry through events, online education and written content. How can the industry attract, recruit, and retain more young professionals? By changing their priorities to being more inclusive, more environmentally conscious and embracing technology. What’s the best advice you can give others who are just starting out? Find a company with goals that align with what you’re passionate about. Work hard. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. Most importantly, have fun! | SEPTEMBER 2020 | 35