Lisa Ford

Lisa Ford

Lisa’s leadership and influence extends beyond the digital marketing space. She volunteers her time on boards and committees throughout the year, including the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, Meals on Wheels, UD’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship, and is the Vice Chair on the Board for Wilmington Flower Day. Last year she volunteered over 120 hours of community service.

Age: 37

Director of Digital Marketing

Capital One Bank

Wilmington

Social media you can’t live without:  Facebook. More than just a way to connect with friends and colleagues both new and old, Facebook is still my go-to social forum to catch up on news and follow trends.

Your biggest break:  In college, I responded to an old school newspaper ad (yep, we’re talking paper), in which DelawareOnline needed five news articles posted on the web daily. It was right as the dot-com era was ramping up. This part-time job opened my eyes to the potential for marketing and technology to work in concert in new and exciting ways – and it’s a skill I’ve continued to love and build upon.

Best career advice you ever got: It doesn’t matter who you are or how you’re ranked. What matters is the work product and ideas you bring to the table. Be a good listener. 

How you give back:  Using my passions for marketing, social and technology, I help nonprofits, friends, students and colleagues by offering advice and lending a hand with campaign work. Everyone can benefit from a helping hand and a little elbow grease, so I often dig in and help out where needed.

Your biggest challenge: The art of “no.” Sometimes the key to success is learning to say no at strategic times. Sometimes you do people a disservice by saying yes to every request and project proposal that comes along ““ I still need to remind myself of this at times.

Networking group you use the most: Taking at least one person per month up on an offer to do something, go somewhere or be in a group of new people. This practice expands my network and opens my eyes to all types of new experiences and situations.

Work-life balance technique you recommend: Find something you like to do and maximize it. For me, it’s being outside – therefore, I leave work before nightfall each day, and spend a few hours outside each evening before addressing any loose ends that may need tying up at work.