Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Timeline
Generic

Milana Kurchenko

Partner, Associate Search Director
Stamford,CT

Summary

Strategic and results-driven Paid Search leader with 10+ years of digital marketing experience and a proven track record of scaling budgets, driving high-quality leads, improving ROI, and leading global, cross-functional initiatives. Expert in Google Ads, SA360, automation, analytics, and campaign architecture, with a passion for testing, mentorship, and leveraging innovative tactics in the evolving AI-powered marketing landscape. Obsessed with understanding user behavior and client goals to design lead generation strategies that convert.

Overview

14
14
years of professional experience
3
3
Certifications

Work History

Associate Search Director

GroupM
07.2016 - Current
  • Led SEM strategy for IBM Cloud, Cybersecurity, Analytics, and Automation product lines leveraging Google AI with smart bidding tools such as Target ROAS and value-based bidding in SA360, driving high-quality leads, improving ROI, and scaling budgets from $4K to $6M+
  • Developed testing and measurement best practices, enabling scalable experimentation and case study development across the Paid Search team
  • Acted as the primary client contact, leading reporting discussions with a focus on storytelling and strategic budget planning
  • Collaborated with Paid Social, Programmatic, SEO, and Analytics teams on reporting, creative strategy, web content, budget recommendations, and forecasting to ensure cross-channel alignment
  • Led Japan market onboarding to a new Paid Search model, ensuring alignment on structure, workflow, and goals
  • Strengthened team collaboration and morale by leading topic-focused knowledge-sharing sessions
  • Executed A/B tests to boost performance and Quality Scores by aligning campaigns with the most relevant landing pages
  • Ran GDPR-related campaigns, increasing budget by $200K/quarter for IBM Cybersecurity
  • Launched cyber attack campaigns during internal system shutdown on a mobile device to maximize leads in real-time
  • Promoted from Supervisor to Associate Director in 2017; took on full ownership of IBM Cybersecurity
  • Restructured MaaS360 post-acquisition, implementing keyword governance and bid strategies that prevented overlap
  • Trained and mentored over 20 associates and managers, many of whom were promoted into leadership roles

Sr. Associate, SEM

eBay Enterprise
07.2015 - 01.2016
  • Managed ROI-focused SEM campaigns for women's fashion and toy brands, optimizing spend and performance to meet brand-specific goals using Kenshoo

Search Analyst

MediaVest (now Spark Foundry)
09.2013 - 06.2015
  • Executed $2M+/month SEM campaigns for Walmart's broad consumer goods portfolio, with accelerated pacing and budget allocation during peak seasonal periods

SEM Analyst

ASME
09.2012 - 09.2013
  • Created keywords and ad copy, provided SEO recommendations to optimize pages, and set up tracking in Coremetrics

Digital Marketing Associate

Clinical Fellows Inc.
04.2012 - 06.2012
  • Analyzed user behavior with Google Analytics, developed keywords, ad copy, and web content

Marketing Coordinator

NopSec Inc.
11.2011 - 03.2012
  • Expanded keywords, assisted with SEO, edited site content, generated new leads, and built client relationships

Education

Bachelor's Degree - Business Communication

Baruch College
New York, NY
05.2001 -

Skills

Google Ads

Certification

Google Ads - Search Certification

Timeline

Associate Search Director

GroupM
07.2016 - Current

Sr. Associate, SEM

eBay Enterprise
07.2015 - 01.2016

Search Analyst

MediaVest (now Spark Foundry)
09.2013 - 06.2015

SEM Analyst

ASME
09.2012 - 09.2013

Digital Marketing Associate

Clinical Fellows Inc.
04.2012 - 06.2012

Marketing Coordinator

NopSec Inc.
11.2011 - 03.2012

Bachelor's Degree - Business Communication

Baruch College
05.2001 -

Similar Profiles

CREATE PROFILE
Milana KurchenkoPartner, Associate Search Director