Katrina Craigwell is VP, Global Marketing Innovation at GE Digital, where she leads brand and digital marketing for the new business unit. Her team is responsible for driving innovative storytelling and generating commercial impact for GE Digital across visual and digital mediums. Prior to that, Craigwell was Director of Global Content & Programming for GE Corporate, where she spearheaded new programs at the intersection of technology and brand, including GE’s work on Instagram, YouTube and across virtual reality platforms. Prior to GE, she was Associate Director at social media agency Attention, working with clients including CNN, HLN, WE tv, A&E and The Guardian. Craigwell began her career in public relations at the Independent Film Channel, working on some of IFC’s first social media campaigns. She was named to Adweek’s Most Influential Women in Marketing and Media in 2016 and Young Influentials and Creative 100 in 2015, Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Marketing & Advertising in 2014, and AdAge’s Creativity 50 in 2012.

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Here are the highlights of our conversation with our guest:

Katrina came from Canada and went to New York right off college as she wanted to work in television. She was very interested in media and had been in the city for more than a decade now. She is passionate about the way information flows over the net and the value that we can drive out of that. On the human side, she passionate about diversity and leadership and how much it serves as all.

As a 10-year-old, Katrina was always been a sci-fi nut so she has dreamt of creating things which never existed before. She was very curious about the future and just how far we, and the technology we built can, get. The older she gets, the more she appreciates the impact that she is creating.

She started as a marketing intern at The Independent Film Channel in their video department so departing for GE seemed to be a very different side. As she understood what GE does though, she realized that it was a very good playground as the brand has so many rich stories to tell. About a year ago, she joined their software business (GE Digital) dedicated to the internet industrial of things. There is an opportunity here to build your brand and talk about what you are doing.

Katrina’s focus is building the connection between brand and business becoming more and more tangible. She also constantly thinks about brand strategy and how they can continue to evolve GE, who is known and trusted for industrial work, to be a brand viewed as digital as well. Getting this right and delivering on this is really essential so the look at the data and think about the customer first.

Mobile, for Katrina, is another way which we can think about utility and which forces us to stop bad behavior. So when she thinks about connection and connectivity, she aims for the results which it should garner: to be faster, to be more efficient, and be more productive.

Rapid Fire Questions

• What is your definition of innovation?

Innovation is breaking apart and building it all over again.

• Would you put more emphasis on the idea or the execution? How would you weigh each of them and why?

I would put more emphasis on execution as it’s easy to get lost on ideas. To actually make things work, you have to execute. It’s going to be 65% – 70% execution and 35% – 30% on the idea.

• What is your biggest learning lesson on your journey so far?

Relationships matter. Your work can be great but you are only as good as your ability to make relationships work and build trust.

• What is your favorite business book?

The Seventh Sense

Creativity Inc

The Boys in the Boat

Quiet

• What is your favorite digital resource?

Adlandia

Pod Save America

Twitter

Facebook

• What is your favorite app and why?

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle