When Shekinah Glory Macalanda stepped into her first marketing role eight years ago, she didn’t expect the field to move as fast as it did. What drew her in was the creativity — the thrill of crafting messages that could shift behavior. But what kept her in the industry was something else entirely: the constant evolution, where curiosity isn’t optional and “good enough” is already outdated.
“I was drawn to how the right message, placed at the right time, could move people to act,” she says. But the turning point wasn’t a big campaign or a promotion — it was a moment early in her career when she had to adjust a strategy mid-rollout because the market changed overnight. It forced her to decide: react with panic, or respond with data.
She chose the second. And that decision became the foundation of her career.
Today, Shekinah is the Director of Marketing, overseeing digital and traditional strategies, leading cross-functional teams, and shaping campaigns that drive measurable results. But she’s quick to point out that none of it happened by accident.
Her rise came from understanding one truth: marketing isn’t just creativity — it’s business strategy.
She learned to see marketing beyond aesthetics and messaging. Every campaign, she says, must answer one question: How does this move the business forward? That shift in mindset opened doors to bigger responsibilities, and eventually, leadership roles where strategy mattered just as much as execution.
Her day now is a mix of planning, analyzing, troubleshooting, and mentoring. She describes marketing as “a balance of creativity and numbers,” and she thrives in that tension. Data fuels her decisions, but empathy keeps her work human — because at the end of every campaign is a real person making a real choice.
The industry’s rapid transformation excites her. AI, automation, and analytics don’t intimidate her — they inspire her to innovate. But she’s cautious, too. “There’s always a risk of losing the human touch,” she says. And in her view, the fastest-growing brands today are the ones that know how to blend personalization technology with authenticity.
That blend is part of why she has led campaigns that not only hit targets but strengthened brand credibility. One project she recalls with pride is a unified digital-and-offline strategy that drove conversions higher than projected. “It showed what can happen when storytelling and execution work together,” she says.
Her ability to switch between big-picture strategy and hands-on leadership comes from continuous learning. She reads the shifts in consumer behavior, tests new ideas, and learns from the platforms shaping the future of marketing. And when she wanted to sharpen her foundation even more, she earned her Certified Marketing Professional (CMP) credential — a move that strengthened her credibility and, ultimately, her career trajectory.
For her, the CMP certification didn’t just validate experience; it upgraded how she saw the industry. It pushed her to think globally, lead with strategy, and align her work with international best practices. That shift unlocked new confidence — and new opportunities.
Looking ahead, Shekinah knows marketing will keep changing. That’s what excites her. Evolution, she says, is the only constant — and the only way forward is to stay adaptable, stay curious, and never stop learning.
“Marketing will always reinvent itself,” she says. “And if we want to keep growing, we have to reinvent ourselves with it.”
