Two Wheel Drive at Specialized

I'm the marketing integrations manager for Specialized Bicycles in Morgan Hill, Calif. The company produces a complete line of bikes and accessories for road and mountain environments. We sponsor more than 300 athletes around the world, including many Tour de France racers, pro mountain bikers, and even a few of the world's top motocross stars who rely on their bikes for cross training.

I pitched the idea of creating a position that didn't exist at Specialized Bicycles, and then convinced the company to hire me for it. That's why it's not uncommon for me to proactively expand my role every so often, either to fill a void or seize on the latest opportunity. Locally, I'm involved in our overall marketing plans, as well as some more traditional marketing communications, from collateral to the occasional press release.

Most important, I must make sure that all the marketing departments worldwide have access to the support they need from headquarters to keep the brand globally consistent, while also allowing for local market needs. We've got subsidiaries in Canada, Germany, Italy, Britain, and Spain, in addition to a flock of distribution companies in many other countries, so my role relies very heavily on communication and collaboration. Recently, I've been traveling often.

Here's a snapshot of a typical day in my life:

6:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. -- I think about getting up. I'm usually up and out the door pretty quickly, and typically enjoy listening to NPR during the 20-minute commute to work.

8:00 a.m. -- Arrive at work. During my early mornings, I spend a fair bit of time on the phone with my counterparts in Europe, where they're just ending their day. At some point, I've made the trip to our community espresso machine for the morning cappuccino. That's essential.

9:30 a.m. -- My time window to talk to Europe has mostly closed, and I'm taking a look at my notes and contrasting them against our global marketing schedule...

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