Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Technology Proficiency
Timeline
Generic

Heather Harreld

Summary

Accomplished marketing professional with demonstrated success developing and implementing strategic approaches that exceed target metrics to drive market growth. Strong communicator with natural leadership talent and high energy. Impactful and successful manager talented in building teams and motivating personnel to new levels of performance.

Overview

29
29
years of professional experience

Work History

Senior Director, Marketing Communications and Brand

RTI International
10.2018 - 06.2025
  • Responsible for marketing communications teams including digital communications, Account Based Marketing, brand strategy, product brand management and conferences and events.
  • Promoted 3 times in 3 years for performance during fast-paced organizational growth with revenue increasing from $957 million in 2018 to $1.5 billion in 2024.
  • Identified as successor for senior vice president; participated in year-long strategic talent training in 2024.
  • Launched RTI’s first SEO strategy in 2019; this drove 30% average YoY traffic growth every year. By 2025, RTI ranked first in SERP for more than 5,500 terms.
  • Managed RTI’s launch of generative AI search strategy.
  • Designed and launched a Covid research and services hub in 2020; outranked CDC, WHO and all competitors in search.
  • Launched account-based marketing initiative in 2021; directed creation of strategic account lists and personalization of 15 personalized versions of the home page by account.
  • Strategic client engagement with personalized content increased 30% compared with generic onsite engagement.
  • Launched RTI’s first brand identity toolkit, brand architecture and product naming guidance. Staff engagement with internal brand resources averaged 3,000 visits per month.
  • Strategic leadership of external conferences and events strategy for between 50-100 events annually, including immediate transition to virtual during Covid and return to in-person events.
  • Developed comprehensive marketing strategies to enhance brand visibility and market engagement.
  • Led cross-functional teams to execute integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
  • Developed and implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy to increase brand awareness.

Senior Manager, Digital Content and Personalization

Cognizant Technology Solutions
04.2017 - 09.2018
  • Company Overview: Global Marketing
  • Lead content marketing and personalization strategy across all business units for data-driven marketing on Cognizant.com to ensure the most engaging thought leadership and content are delivered to the right user at the correct time in the digital customer journey to increase leads and revenue.
  • Certified Account Based Marketing Expert, Demandbase, April, 2018.
  • Creator and Leader of CMO Analytics Advisory Board to track prospect and client online behavior; manage recommended marketing strategy adjustments at account marketing level.
  • Direct thought leadership strategy for Account Based Marketing/personalization targeting prospect clients.
  • Communicate global brand narrative to business units; translate into Web copy.
  • Manage offshore team for development/editing.
  • Mapping personas in digital customer journey.
  • Lead for analytics and account-based insight.
  • Set goals/responsible for Web results on Integrated Marketing Performance efforts.
  • Web site writing/editing.
  • Content project management/collaboration with external agencies.
  • SEO strategy.
  • Global Marketing

Digital Content Manager

Cognizant Technology Solutions
01.2015 - 04.2017
  • Company Overview: Global Marketing
  • Develop the content marketing strategy for the entire business, including services and products.
  • Map content to customers based on target accounts and personas in the buying journey.
  • Work with line-of-business owners to translate business objectives into content strategy and digital content.
  • Web site writing.
  • Manage SEO strategy.
  • Global Marketing
  • Achievement Highlights:
  • 25% increase in Request for Services via Web.
  • 40% increase in traffic from organic search.
  • 40% increase in Web page views.
  • 20% increase in time on site.
  • 20% increase in daily unique visitors.
  • 20% increase in content consumption.
  • In its first month live, the new digital practice Web site exceeded traffic from the previous nine months combined.
  • Managed content management process in transition from SharePoint to Adobe Experience Manager, resulting in reduction of content deployment time by 80%.

Social Media Marketing Strategist

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
07.2013 - 10.2014
  • Develop the content and social media marketing strategy for the Blue Cross brand to increase awareness, enrollment and renewal.
  • Capture corporate objectives from line of business stakeholders and advise them on digital marketing strategy, tactics and metrics to meet goals.
  • Manage social media strategy for the firm’s retail, mobile experiential, student, Medicare, group insurance, individual insurance and other core lines of business.
  • Develop social media strategy for sports marketing – including campaigns for professional and collegiate sports teams, associated celebrity endorsements and partner events.
  • Design digital cross-promotional marketing strategy with corporate partners.
  • Manage multiple outside vendors working on different campaigns.
  • Achievement highlights:
  • Managed company’s first targeted social advertising campaign that successfully obtained health information on new member population added under health care reform.
  • Referring traffic from social channels to the corporate Web site more than doubled.
  • Successfully obtained stakeholder buy-in for firm’s first content marketing initiative; led implementation of that project, working with multiple groups including creative, digital marketing team and health policy.
  • Facebook engagement increased by 2,000% in three months.
  • Exceeded sales and attendance goals from social communications for multiple events.

Director of Public Relations and New Media

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
12.2008 - 07.2013
  • Development and management of school’s content marketing, media relations and social media strategy for the U.S., China, India and Brazil.
  • Work with executive leadership to ensure their communications effectively meet corporate business objectives.
  • Manage content development strategy and write for school Web site, e-mail newsletters, social media outlets and print publications.
  • Expertise using technology for communication measurement, keyword development, search engine optimization and inbound marketing.
  • Editor of alumni magazine; Successful manager and coach of multiple freelance writers.
  • Proficient user of different, media measurement and content management systems.
  • Achievement highlights:
  • Developed and launched the business school’s first media day in India, resulting in coverage in multiple national mainstream and business publications in India.
  • On-the-ground networking and outreach in India and Brazil led to multiple media placements in the market, including coverage in the world’s largest English newspaper and a series of articles in India’s equivalent to Fortune magazine.
  • Developed and led school’s social media council, obtaining buy-in from multiple stakeholders and growing council from three members to more than 20.
  • Launched 7 blogs. Manage content development for 12 blogs: Blog visits up 103% over two years, unique visitors up 136% and page views up 54% for same time period.

Senior Reporter/ Web Site Editor

Computerworld
09.2004 - 12.2008
  • News and feature research, writing and editing for print and online covering wide variety of technology and business topics.
  • Managing portion of Computerworld site by editing content and posting it to Web site.
  • Consistent leader in story page views.
  • Research, writing and editing for public speaking presentations at a variety of trade conferences.
  • Achievement highlights:
  • Consistent leader in story page views.
  • Wrote news/analysis piece awarded bronze in the American Society of Business Publication Editors regional editorial awards, 2007.
  • Wrote cover feature story for Computerworld issue awarded Folio Magazine's 2006 Eddie Gold Award in technology category.
  • Awarded silver and bronze awards for best news section by American Society of Business Publications, 2006.

Senior Editor

InfoWorld
12.2000 - 01.2003
  • News and featuring writing for online and print technology publication.
  • Awarded top beats for consistent performance.

Senior Reporter

Federal Computer Week
08.1996 - 05.1999
  • Reported on White House policy, critical infrastructure protection, Defense Department, Internet products, IT security hardware and software, NASA, information warfare and e-commerce.

Education

BA - Journalism and Mass Communication, news/editorial

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill

Skills

  • Brand strategy
  • Account-based marketing
  • Digital communications
  • SEO strategy
  • Marketing analytics
  • Content marketing
  • Integrated marketing campaigns
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Leadership skills
  • Strategic planning
  • Data analytics
  • Key performance indicators

Technology Proficiency

  • Content Management Systems- WordPress, Adobe Experience Manager, SiteCore
  • Marketing Systems- Adobe Experience Manager, Demandbase, iContact, Bronto Software, HubSpot
  • Social Media Marketing and Measurement- Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Sprout Social, Simply Measured
  • Analytics- Google Analytics, Omniture, Adobe
  • Microsoft Office

Timeline

Senior Director, Marketing Communications and Brand

RTI International
10.2018 - 06.2025

Senior Manager, Digital Content and Personalization

Cognizant Technology Solutions
04.2017 - 09.2018

Digital Content Manager

Cognizant Technology Solutions
01.2015 - 04.2017

Social Media Marketing Strategist

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
07.2013 - 10.2014

Director of Public Relations and New Media

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
12.2008 - 07.2013

Senior Reporter/ Web Site Editor

Computerworld
09.2004 - 12.2008

Senior Editor

InfoWorld
12.2000 - 01.2003

Senior Reporter

Federal Computer Week
08.1996 - 05.1999

BA - Journalism and Mass Communication, news/editorial

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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