Meet Carolina Gonzalez-Llanos, alumna of the Integrated Marketing Communication master’s program & Director of E-Commerce at Five Ultimate.
The Basics
Name: Carolina Gonzalez-Llanos
Degree: Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communication, 2016
Hometown: Pembroke Pines, FL
Current City: Seattle, WA
Job: Director of E-Commerce at Five Ultimate
Meet Carolina
Who do you admire and why?
My grandma. She took no crap, fought for everything she had, loved to travel, experience new things, and was an overall badass. Fierce female athletes like Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe. They aren’t afraid to be themselves, fight the good fight and kick ass day-in and day-out.
What Jeopardy category could you clear, no problem?
Maybe Taylor Swift lyrics?
Favorite office snack?
I’ve been training for a Spartan Race, so lately is been carrots and string cheese. But I have a stash of chocolate always on hand in case the day gets rough. That’s definitely my favorite thing to snack on.
Best account to follow on social media?
I follow a bunch of pug pages. I love their squished little faces.
Best piece of advice you’ve received?
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. You’d be astonished with how much you can get by just asking.
The Career
Tell us about your job:
I run the online store for Five Ultimate, an athletic apparel company for ultimate frisbee players. We have a European branch, but we still have orders that go through our site for ultimate players around the world. Last week someone ordered something and had it shipped to Slovakia.
As Director of E-Commerce it’s my job to curate the products that we offer, organize new product launches, keep the site up to date and running smooth, order/reorder stock, work with graphic designers to design new collections, organize photoshoots, edit pictures, create and maintain relationships with partners and vendors within the ultimate community, customer service, and a million other things that affect the online store.
What does your average day look like?
The great thing about this job is that though much of it falls within a simple day, it feels new almost every time.
I get in around 9:30 and answer any emails in my inbox and customer service inbox. From there, I can do anything from writing reports to graphic design to strategic planning to product research. Today, I had to upload all of the new designs and sizing for three different launches so that our factory in Beijing can start production.
How did your education prepare for your career?
I received a project management certificate with my degree which definitely gave me some tools that I use from day to day. My visual communications course and subsequent Directed Independent Study centered around the Adobe Suite helps me with all of the design aspects of my job, and a lot of my foundational IMC courses help me to understand my target market, how to reach them, and how to interact with them on a daily basis.
Share a notable (funny, embarrassing, exciting) experience you’ve had at work:
We used to have a daily standing meeting where everyone would go into the conference room and we’d chat for 2 minutes about anything notable or important. We did away with that meeting and replaced it with a monthly meeting. Our CEO wanted to make it enjoyable, so every month he buys chips and dip, Oreos, sometimes pizza, and makes everyone gin and tonics. It’s definitely the best replacement meeting.
Who do you look to for inspiration?
I don’t consistently look at one person for inspiration. I look around me and get inspired by everyone’s successes.
How do you handle work-life balance?
Working for an ultimate frisbee company makes this easy, everyone is really chill. When I had to fly down to Argentina for a family emergency, everyone pitched in to help with my department. On a day-to-day: I workout and play Ultimate often, have specified date nights where I try a new restaurant with my SO, and I still travel every weekend I get a chance to. Last weekend I hit up Vancouver and this weekend we’re planning on going to the Olympics Peninsula to the west of the city.
What advice would you give yourself in college?
Join the ultimate team your freshman year, not junior year!
Connect with Carolina
Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // LinkedIn