Brianne Boles-Marshall is the diverse media strategy and investment lead at General Motors, working with GM’s global marketing and media operations team. She brings more than 15 years of media and marketing experience, with proven success in strategic planning and investment across various industries and consumer segments.
What are some of the responsibilities of your role?
I’m a part of the team that works with media strategy and investment. In my role, I am responsible for ensuring that or investments and our commitments that we’ve gone public with – and we’ve made some very public and aggressive commitments in this space- that we’re meeting, if not exceeding those goals, and that the strategy in the way that we’re executing media across the brands is in line with what each brand’s objectives are. This connects the dots between media and the multicultural marketing teams, and it also helps us to make better relationships in the diverse-owned space. It’s been just a pleasure since I joined and look forward to continuing the growth there.
What would you suggest to someone looking to be in your field?
I would say depending on where you’re starting out in your career and if you’re very young, internships are key. I would say start researching and looking for the companies that you would want to work for. If you’ve got a little bit of time underneath your belt in the industry and you’re looking to pivot a bit, look for companies like GM who are very serious about their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, because then you’ll be working for a company whose putting down roots in this thing, and who are looking to grow many trees. We are not here today gone tomorrow, this is something that will be a part of our DNA.
Why is it important for African American women to be in roles that have decision-making capabilities?
African American women bring to the table — in any industry — a very unique perspective. Our cultural and historical experience in this country dictates that to a greater or lesser degree, but then also, we as individuals carry our own stories. We all have our own pail, and it’s filled to the brim. African American women in particular haven’t been as present in leadership roles historically in this country. It’s important to bring our thoughts and ideas forward so that we have a different perspective at the table so that we are stimulating that growth, and so that our voices are heard. I think that it helps to do away with a lot of the stereotypes about what women and Black women, in particular, are capable of. We have long since heard the myth of the angry Black woman. It’s about time for all of that to be dispelled, and it’s about time for Black women to be seen as who they are, which is bright, funny, beautiful, full of ideas and creativity, and very much capable of leading and making decisions.
