Kirsten McMullen
Chief Privacy Officer / Sr. Director of Marketing
4INFO
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
At my first job out of college, I discovered that problem-solving was one of my greatest skills.
I knew that my problem-solving skill set could be applied across industries.
Identifying my strengths was a huge turning point; I started thinking, "What can I do next?"
I had been very steeped in the nonprofit world, but I decided to go into business.
I started out working in the semiconductor industry; from there I progressed into mobile technology.
I actually stumbled into the world of privacy by accident.
Privacy is the best of both worlds, blending my altruistic interests and my business background.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Henry M. Gunn High School
Henry M. Gunn High School
Career
Chief Privacy Officer / Sr. Director of Marketing
I work in marketing and privacy in the mobile advertising technology industry.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Design
Communicating / Sharing Stories
Day to Day
Day-to-day, I respond to inbound requests for information or assistance and I read, edit, and write materials. Those include anything from advertising materials to privacy documentation. I work with other teams, like sales, operations and product teams. A great day would include an in-depth conversation with others about how we can best achieve a goal. Any day where I can work on a variety of projects, especially if I get the satisfaction of completing a project, is a great day in my book.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
First, examine why you're interested in privacy: is it a profit-driven motivation, or is it an altruistic impulse to help protect consumers? Also consider whether or not you have international interests; privacy is very different from country to country, and you're going to need a wide breadth of education and knowledge to operate in international privacy.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Teachers:
"You're not good at math. You aren't at the top of your class."
