Today, we’re excited to announce that Christina Fiasconaro, formerly Vice President of Customer Success and Business Development, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Freestar.
Fiasconaro has over 15 years of experience in Ad Tech and is committed to helping publishers thrive. We sat down with her to learn more about her experience and what she looks forward to in her new role.
Note: Responses may have been edited for clarity.
When did you start in Freestar? Were you new to Ad Tech?
I’ve been at Freestar now for almost 3 years and I wasn’t new to Ad Tech when I started. I’ve been in the industry for over 15 years. I initially started on the TV side of the business working for Nickelodeon and then moved over to the digital side where I’ve stayed all these years. I actually worked closely with Freestar and after seeing their potential, I saw it as a great growth opportunity.
What led you to this career?
It’s funny actually because it was one of those situations where I didn’t even know this industry existed. I was a PR major with a minor in Italian so nothing related to Ad Tech or Business. I just happened to know someone who worked in the industry, interviewed for a role because I needed a job and fell in love with it. It’s been an incredible career so far!
What behavior or personality trait do you most attribute your success to, and why?
Great question! I would definitely say being able to pivot and be flexible is a great trait to have. There’s always something new happening in Ad Tech so it’s important to be able to adapt when those changes occur. You can learn a job in two months and then a new law, process, or tech update happens and you have to be able to work with it.
This flexibility should also be applied to your mindset as you grow your career. As comfortable as it may be, it’s important to pivot to new ways of doing things and new ways of thinking. From experience, I’ve been able to learn from colleagues who are new to their roles who see things with a fresh set of eyes. I enjoy sitting and listening on every level and learning different perspectives and ways to do things more efficiently.
What energizes you at work?
I really enjoy seeing different people at Freestar grow in their own career. It’s a great feeling knowing that the changes we’re making at Freestar are creating stepping stones for our team’s personal growth. No one wants to start their day knowing that it’s the same as the last, they want to see a future and new opportunities ahead. At Freestar, there is so much ahead of us! Knowing that we have big things ahead is energizing!
What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?
For this role, it goes back to helping people grow their own careers. With the BDR team specifically, it’s exciting to watch people new to the industry start off at Freestar and go into the next role where they’re considered an expert and are more comfortable with the industry. Just in the past year, we’ve had close to 10 individuals transition to a team where they’ve felt good about their new role and are ready to start their career.
What’s one thing you’re learning now, and why is it important?
I’m currently learning to change my management style from a smaller team to a larger team. With this new role as SVP of Customer Success, I’ll be managing closer to 50 team members. In a smaller team setting, I was able to focus more on team building and that’ll be much more difficult with so many team members.
I think it’s important to build a genuine connection with each member of my team. I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with questions and ideas they have about their role, the company and the industry. I also want to be there to help them grow and succeed in their career, and I can’t necessarily be there to support them without that connection.
In this new role, what are you looking forward to the most?
I’m looking forward to really being able to have both of the teams (Yield and Customer Success) at Freestar work and come together to create better efficiencies for our publishers and improve how we go about Customer Success.
Lastly, for anyone looking to get into Ad Tech or grow in their career, what tips would you give?
That’s easy! Stay curious! It’s important, especially in Ad Tech or any new role/industry to always be eager to learn. Be hungry to have those conversations about the different topics/aspects of Ad Tech. It’s also important to keep an open mind because you’ll always learn something new and it’s not easy to learn Ad Tech. Even after 15 years, I’m still learning every day and I don’t know everything either.
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