SPOTLIGHT: GEORGIA GALANOUDIS
Director of Marketing & Communications, idealist.org
Georgia Galanoudis is an independent consultant and Board Director who leverages her corporate and marketing agency experience to help business leaders make decisions with confidence. She has expertise launching products, scaling operations, and directing client engagements to drive sustainable growth and measurable competitive advantage. Georgia is a trusted advisor on strategy, growth planning, and transformation, adept at driving change with keen attention to balancing business and humanity
Georgia is a skilled consultant with proven B-to-B-to-C marketing capabilities across health care, financial services, banking, consumer goods, nonprofit and retail. She’s managed marketing solution agencies within large publishers, ran the strategy practice for a full-service digital agency and led new business efforts for best-in-breed content agencies.
She’s held positions with publishers such as Time Inc. and Meredith, and agencies such as Rauxa (now FKA) and MXM (now Accenture) and has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Stony Brook University.
NYWICI WANTS TO KNOW:
If you could have one superpower, which would you choose?
A super powerful ability to soothe and inspire others when they are worried and uncertain about where they belong in this world.
Tell me about the first job you’ve ever held.
My first job during high school was developing film at 57 Minute Photo, the type of small business that doesn’t exist today. And, yes, you read that right, not 60 minutes but a time-crunching 57 minutes! I saw lots of happy-family holiday pics, a few rather weird images, but what I loved most was that 57 Minute Photo was a woman-owned business.
What energizes and drains you when you’re at work?
I’m energized when I am in a room with a group of colleagues working together to solve a thorny problem. The ability for multiple, diverse perspectives to be heard and synthesized often creates the best solutions. Conversely, I find it draining when time and effort is focused on finger-pointing when things go wrong. Life is complicated and humans make mistakes, it’s much better to embrace errors and leverage these messy moments for positive change.
What’s your process for turning a bad day into a good one?
If I feel the potential of a bad day creeping in I focus on three things: gratitude, compassion and curiosity. First, I pause and remember that any problem in my life is insignificant to what others in the world are tackling. If the negativity is being driven by another person, I stop to consider their motivations and what they must be going through. Finally, I stay curious about what’s happening and consider if I can do anything to help solve it, or do I just need to move on.
Why NYWICI?
My relationship with NYWICI began with a desire to support other women trying to get the most out of their careers, especially those that are just getting started. Friends and colleagues often seek my advice when needing to pivot to meet new challenges. NYWICI does this at scale. I feel right at home.