In episode 174, Erik and Kerel talk with Ashley Holmes, Head of Marketing at LUMA Partners. LUMA Partners is the leading investment bank focused on digital media and marketing, composed of bankers and also trusted strategic advisors who have been around the block a few times. As an only child to a single mother growing up in Queens, NY, Ashley learned a lot about responsibility, hard work, self-reliance and her biggest passion - theater. After getting a Theater Management degree she found herself leaning towards banking, but unfortunately the year happened to be 2008, the big banking crash. She started in retail marketing and eventually moved herself up to where she is now at LUMA.

Ashley speaks on her career and the importance of self-sufficiency, taking ownership of projects, and leveraging team strengths. And especially after Covid, Ashley has learned how to set boundaries between work and life, so now she has more time to dip into her almost forgotten passion of theater and is now partaking in burlesque. She also shares struggles she’s had in her work and life journey, the perceptions she’s had changed from working with so many different people, advice for people who want to get into marketing and build their skills, the fun music she has in her rotation, and more.

Timestamps

0:31 : Ashley Holmes, Head of Marketing at LUMA Partners shares her experience of growing up in Queens as an only child to her single mother

1:31 : LUMA Partners is an investment firm in digital media and marketing technology that cultivates relationships between leading companies in the space to facilitate M&A exits

2:26 : Ashley shares insights on building relationships with powerhouses, including executives and industry leaders through research, active listening and tailored strategies

4:03 : What Ashley wanted to do before marketing, getting a degree in Theater Arts Management with a desire to run her own theater, then moving into retail marketing, and bringing all of those passions and interests as closely together as possible

5:37 : What a good day looks like to Ashley

7:03 : Between planning domestic to intercontinental events an all in between, Ashley shares her most interesting lesson she’s learned through that process, and how her team works by the way of “Baptism by fire”

10:03 : Something Ashley has struggled with throughout her life and career where she needed guidance and support, how she has kept her head high through those difficult times, and a great tip from her boss and mentor

12:02 : How Ashley perceives work-life balance, especially after Covid, jumping back into hobbies and passions of hers, and the importance of having goals even if they may keep you up til late at night or early in the morning

15:26 : Ashley looks back on her younger self as a pure theater kid, the responsibilities of getting a job to support herself, the people in her life, mostly art-driven people, who inspired her, and how being self-reliant has gotten the world in a place where we’ve lost community with one another

20:26 Advice from Ashley for anyone who wants to get into marketing, movies she recommends for storytelling, humanity discrimination and struggles, and perspectives to change ones view of the world

25:26 : What’s in Ashley’s music rotation right now including some Beyonce, musical theater favorites, a movie soundtrack and more

26:48 : How to get in touch with Ashley

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