September Member of the Month, Kaitlyn Thompson, VP, Global Strategy Director, Energy BBDO

Hometown & Current City:

Hometown: Sarasota, FL

Current City: Chicago, IL

Current job title and company?

VP, Global Strategy Director

Energy BBDO

Describe your career journey.

My career journey has been a wild one since graduating in 2011 from The Medill School at Northwestern University with an undergraduate degree in journalism. I’ve worked across disciplines – from broadcast journalism to consulting, PR to marketing, non-profit to for-profit, client-side to agency side. I even threw in a brief academic stint back at Northwestern University in 2016-17, obtaining my master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with a concentration in brand strategy.

Since joining Energy BBDO in a strategic planning role in 2017, I’ve had the privilege of working with fabulous companies like Brown Forman, Molson Coors and Bayer Global Healthcare, and The Adler Planetarium. 

So far, it’s been a career of fun, variety, challenge, and hard work, with a continuous thread of storytelling and insights pulled through at every stage.

Which three words would you use to describe your personality?

Curious, empathetic, decisive

Name a woman who inspires you and why.

My mom Karen Thompson genuinely inspires me every day.

She gave up her dream of being a nurse to raise three kids. Then, after 20 years out of the workforce, she jumped right back in to rock a new sales and management career.

I channel her strength, courage, patience (and sass) every day.

Let’s also not forget that she put up with me, a very curious child who asked her “why, why, why,” multiple times a day since I could talk. I have my mom to thank for many things, including patiently cultivating my inner strategist from a young age.

What committees/programs are you involved in with She Runs It?

The Chicago SRI Leadership Development Committee

Mentor in the Mentor/Mentee program

What advice would you give to fellow new members in making the most of their membership?

Just jump in. This community is full of smart, influential, and lovely women who you can learn from and who can learn from you. What are you waiting for?

What do the words “She Runs It” mean to you?

In the simplest of terms, the words “She Runs It” to me means celebrating and igniting the inner boss lady inside each of us.

Your social handles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlynrebeccathompson/