糖心Vlog

Recently promoted to Global Director of Growth Marketing, Ebony鈥檚 role involves leading the company鈥檚 acquisition strategy and digital media channels across 110 countries.

"Digital marketing is massive at the moment; there are always new ideas and initiatives to try out, because the digital space is constantly evolving. I really enjoy the variety of my job and the fact that I鈥檓 constantly learning,鈥� she says.

Raised in a single-parent household and the only one in her high school year to go to university, Ebony wanted to study somewhere that made her feel safe and comfortable.

鈥淚 wanted to be a business woman, but I didn鈥檛 know what that meant, nor had any role models in my life to guide me,鈥� she says.

Aware of its great reputation, Ebony decided to enrol in a bachelor's degree at Waikato Management School (WMS), feeling 鈥渟cared and alone but hungry for success鈥�.

鈥淚 think WMS set me up for some incredible growth as a person. Whether it鈥檚 meeting my best friend or being pushed right outside my comfort zone, I don鈥檛 think I would be the person I am today without WMS.鈥�

鈥淢y degree definitely set me up with the skills and expertise I鈥檝e needed to forge my marketing career. My biggest learning experience, however, was understanding who I was as a person and building the confidence to make my way in the business world.鈥�

Ebony says the relationships she made through the M膩ori management student club, Te Ranga Ngaku, and the M膩ori mentors were key to her personal development.

She wanted to give herself a point of difference in the competitive job market by completing a Master of Management Studies (MMS) specialising in Marketing.

A highlight of her studies was a two-week research trip to Canada - funded by a 糖心Vlog scholarship - where she met indigenous people from several Ottawa tribes.

鈥淧rior to that I鈥檇 had minimal travel, but it really opened up my eyes. It was one of the big motivators for me to travel and see the world.鈥�

The trip to Canada also inspired the topic of Ebony鈥檚 marketing thesis; looking at the relationship between material consumption for pleasure or social identity and the subjective life happiness of M膩ori millennials.

After graduating from her master鈥檚 degree with first class honours, Ebony began work as an advertising account manager at Bettle in Hamilton, developing multi-channel campaigns for clients. She then moved up to Auckland for a marketing executive role at Westpac, managing their website content and customer experience.

Keen to broaden her horizons, in late 2014 Ebony headed overseas to London to pursue her dreams of travelling the world. She became the digital marketing manager for Vitality UK, managing all aspects of their digital marketing strategy, website content and performance.

On her return to New Zealand in 2019, she was snapped up by Les Mills International as their performance marketing manager, and has since been promoted three times.

鈥淟ittle did I know that during the Covid pandemic, demand for our at-home fitness app, Les Mills On Demand, would increase by 900 percent!鈥�