Karen Fiester
San Francisco,CA
Summary
Seasoned marketing and experiential leader with 15+ years of experience scaling teams, delivering flawless programs and driving impact. Proven track record of building and leading world-class teams, crafting winning go-to-market strategies, and delivering exceptional results.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
DIRECTOR, AMERICAS AND GLOBAL GO-TO-MARKET
Google
11.2022 - Current
- Lead Americas region for Google for Startups and a high performing team of 36 (17 FTEs + extended workforce); Oversee Accelerator programs, Founder Funds, strategic partnerships, ecosystem building programs and key industry relationships across the US and Latam.
- Lead global marketing and go-to-marketing which entails overseeing a global umbrella brand, campaigns and O&O channels for Google, global cross functional programs and business strategy for new markets.
- Own key internal exec stakeholder and cross functional relationships for our team.
GLOBAL HEAD OF SCALE, STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS
Google
09.2020 - 10.2022
- Led business strategy and global operations for Google for Startups, a team that runs programs, a global network of partners and physical Campuses to support entrepreneurs.
- Established the Central Team, built and nurtured a high-performing team of 18 responsible for global marketing strategy, brand, and operations, fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration.
GLOBAL HEAD OF STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS, GO TEAM
Google
07.2018 - 09.2020
- As the Head of Strategy and Operations for the Growth & Opportunities Team (GO Team), Served as Chief of Staff for the CMO of Americas Marketing who also leads Grow with Google, Google Career Certificates and Google for Startups. Sat on the leadership team and managed a high performing team of four strategy and operations managers.
- Worked with key cross-functional partners across Marketing, Finance, Comms, Policy, People Operations, and Sales diving deeply into complex issues facing the business to put together thoughtful POVs that advise and inform the VP and the marketing leadership team.
- Drove the global marketing strategy and led annual planning while managing the operating rhythm of a global marketing organization, and crafting compelling executive communications.
- Improved project efficiency across the org with strategic planning, resource allocation, and time management practices.
HEAD OF CLOUD EVENTS, EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Google
05.2016 - 06.2018
- Developed and led Google Cloud Next in 2017 and 2018, Google's largest and most complex event to date, growing attendance from 10,000 to 20,000 and overseeing a complex operation with a 60-person team.
- Led a team of seven experiential marketers responsible for Google Cloud Marketing events including Next, client summits and third party events.
- Oversaw annual strategy and acted as the Events & Experiences business partner to the Cloud Marketing organization working closely with leadership across the team.
HEAD OF BRAND MOMENTS, EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Google
01.2014 - 05.2016
- Led a high performing team of event marketers responsible for producing Google's marquee events including I/O, Zeitgeist and Brandcast.
- Lead producer for Zeitgeist, Google's annual thought leadership event for top customers and partners. Developed overall event strategy and narrative, audience development strategy, creative branding and production.
- Lead producer for our top internal events working closely with our company's top executives on their content and narratives.
HEAD OF B2B EVENTS, EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Google
01.2012 - 12.2013
- Led a team of 13 event marketers that managed all B2B events across Google (and YouTube's) Ads and Enterprise businesses
- Responsible for the delivery of 100+ annual events.
ENTERPRISE EVENT LEAD
Google
08.2009 - 12.2011
- Led a team of five event managers and overall annual event strategy for the Enterprise business (currently Google Cloud) in alignment with business executives and the Director of Marketing. Responsible for the flawless delivery of all of the team's events and to meeting the business' objectives for them.
- Managed the team's largest and highest profile events including Google Atmosphere, a CxO event for the business and an internal 3K attendee sales conference.
MARKETING EVENT MANAGER
Google
06.2007 - 08.2009
- Managed a broad range of events across Google products including Google's presence at industry conferences, sales events and product launches.
- Partnered closely with business and marketing partners on building event plans to meet the team's objectives and to bring the Google brand to life.
- Responsible for all elements of event plans from project plans, vendor management and execution of all logistics in a hands-on, scrappy environment.
EVENT PLANNER
Monster Cable Inc.
04.2006 - 05.2007
- Managed a diverse range of corporate events including sales incentives, conferences and employee events including Monster's presence at CES.
- Responsible for all aspect of event management including project plans, budget management, vendor management, managing logistics and post event reporting.
- Supported the partnership with the 49ers including co-marketing activations.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Urbana, ILSkills
- Business Strategy & Planning
- Team leadership and people management
- Communication
- Complex Project Planning
- Stakeholder Management and Influencing
- Navigating Complexity and Ambiguity
Timeline
DIRECTOR, AMERICAS AND GLOBAL GO-TO-MARKET
Google
11.2022 - Current
GLOBAL HEAD OF SCALE, STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS
Google
09.2020 - 10.2022
GLOBAL HEAD OF STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS, GO TEAM
Google
07.2018 - 09.2020
HEAD OF CLOUD EVENTS, EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Google
05.2016 - 06.2018
HEAD OF BRAND MOMENTS, EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Google
01.2014 - 05.2016
HEAD OF B2B EVENTS, EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Google
01.2012 - 12.2013
ENTERPRISE EVENT LEAD
Google
08.2009 - 12.2011
MARKETING EVENT MANAGER
Google
06.2007 - 08.2009
EVENT PLANNER
Monster Cable Inc.
04.2006 - 05.2007
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN