Oct 2, 2024
GET TO KNOW KERRY MCGOVERN, POWER’S CHIEF BRAND OFFICER
Kerry McGovern has helped build a few big brands in her day, from the likes of RE/MAX, Under Armour, the National Hockey League (NHL), to the alcohol delivery service app, Drizly. Her latest challenge? Building a brand as big as POWER’s business.
Since joining in 2022, she oversees POWER’s communications, marketing, and creative teams, helping to drive our long-term brand strategy.
We sat down with Kerry to learn more about her impressive career roadmap and the woman behind it all.
FAST FACTS
Places lived: Poughkeepsie, NY; Leeds, England; Seattle, WA, Los Angeles, CA; Detroit, MI; New York, NY; Brooklyn, NY; Baltimore, MD; Denver, CO; Media, PA
Bucket list: Have my kids continue to be happy and healthy throughout their lives.
Secret obsession: It’s most definitely not a secret…I’m addicted to TikTok
Favorite show: My husband and I still watch Survivor and we love it. There’s a lot to learn about life from that show. I’m also a big Real Housewives junkie and love Ted Lasso. Ted Lasso is life!
Favorite movie: The Goonies
Favorite sports team: The New York Rangers
Hobby: Putting on my headphones and walking for hours.
Go-to candy: Swedish Fish or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Paving Her Way
My own Eras Tour through my career… spans two and a half decades and is all about professional maturity. In my 20s, I was full of ambition. I was willing to do anything and be anywhere to be able to support myself in a job I was actually interested in. It was also a decade of learning how to show up. My 30s were like those awkward teenage years — kind of an adult, but not. I had more opinions, but I still didn’t see my own faults completely yet. Now in my 40s, I’m confident in what I know, open to what I don’t know, and try to take it all in stride.
A moment that shaped my professional experience… choosing to spend my college spring breaks down in Austin volunteering at SXSW instead of going with my friends to Cancun.
Going from a national brand (NHL) to a startup (Drizly)… was a big risk. I was going from an internationally recognized sports league that had been around for 100 years to a startup created by a few 25-year-olds. My gut said to do it, and I’m so glad I did. Drizly had a great story to tell. It was really rewarding to be the first one to help them tell it, and put them on a national stage.
Being an in-house publicist… is the best job at any company. It comes with a lot of access to information and executives, which, on your way up really accelerates the learning curve.
Relationships… are everything. Not only do they make your day-to-day more enjoyable, but the larger your network, the more the world opens up to you.
Sometimes doing the scary things… have the biggest payoff. Moving cross country without a job or knowing anyone; going from an established company to a startup; working in an industry I never saw myself working in — these were all scary things to do, but some of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
My ‘pinch me’ moment was… getting to watch Metallica from the side of the stage at MetLife Stadium. It was part of this tour called Tattoo the Earth, and was a stacked lineup of heavy metal bands like Slayer and Slipknot. I showed up wearing a polo and khakis looking like someone from Geek Squad. I was working for the concert promoter, and didn’t wake up that day knowing I was even going to the show. If I had, I clearly would have dressed differently.
My favorite job I ever had… was a camp counselor. Those were the best times of my life, getting to live away from home at 16 and 17 years old with people from around the world for a summer.
Powering Our Brand
A Chief Brand Officer is… someone who’s guiding the public perception of a company through our look, our words, and our actions.
My typical work day is… is full of conversations, correspondences, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
A company’s brand… is how it makes people feel.
A brand I admire is … Trader Joe’s. The food selection feels healthy enough, it’s a fair price point, and the staff are always friendly and happy. When I retire, I plan on taking on a few shifts a week working at Trader Joe’s.
For brands to be relevant nowadays, they must… be exceptional. Relevancy comes to those who can capture the attention in a noisy world.
The best part of my job is… seeing members of my team find fulfillment in their work and gain their own wins and achievements.
My proudest POWER accomplishment is… not yet achieved!
In five years, I hope… that when people think of the number one company for exterior home remodeling, they think of POWER. And when people think of one of the greatest places to work in this country, they think of us too.
Expert Insights
Messing up… is part of the game. What you learn from it is what matters. In my first six months at the NHL, I distributed a press release where I misspelled the Montreal Canadiens. Not only did I spell it ‘Canadians’, but I sent this press release to all the media, everyone at the League office, and the front office staff of every club, including the Montreal Canadiens. Let’s just say they were less than pleased. I thought my life was ending. I was 27 years old, hyperventilating on the streets of midtown Manhattan. I remember thinking, “I can’t go back to the office!” It was a very uncomfortable week, but it wasn’t the end of me. I learned that you can come back from mistakes, and how to spell the Montreal Canadiens.
The guiding principles for me in business and success are… discipline equals freedom, and there is no such thing as over-communicating.
To overcome imposter syndrome… you need time and experience under your belt. I never found a secret fix; telling myself all the things I wanted to believe didn’t make me actually believe it. One day, I woke up and I didn’t have it as much any more. Eventually, you become the adult in the room — and you don’t know when or how that happened.
Sometimes great ideas… are the most obvious. Don’t overthink it.
The best advice I ever received was to… do what you say you’re going to do. If you don’t, your word doesn’t mean anything.
A piece of advice I’d give my younger self is… use sunscreen.
Challenges make me feel… alive. It’s so satisfying to look back from the other side of a challenge and say “I did that.” If you live permanently on the bottom of the mountain looking up, that’s where imposter syndrome and self doubt happens. I’d rather take my shot at climbing than staying down there.
A newsletter I read every day is… Morning Brew.
There’s a wise saying that goes… listen more than you talk. I’m still trying to implement that one.
The Person Behind the Title
My walk up song would be… Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill.
The best concert I’ve ever been to… was ironically during a dinner. I was eating at a restaurant in LA and Billy Joel was there. There was a piano in the restaurant, and at one point he got up from his meal and starting playing songs for everyone. He played his hits and some covers. It was also before smart phones, so everyone there was experiencing it in the moment. No phones recording it, or photos being taken. Just a shared experience amongst strangers. That, or Green Day at 9:30 Club in D.C., or Radiohead at The Gorge in Washington state.
My go-to podcasts are… WTF, Armchair Expert, and SmartLess.
I drink… a lot of coffee! At a minimum, six cups per day. I start the moment I wake up, and I don’t finish until 1 o’clock. My cup is never empty. Always hot, never iced. I also take it black.
The hottest level of the Hot Ones challenge I’ve reached was… the Last Dab. Bring the heat.
If I won the lottery, I would… buy my parents a house and give them a luxurious lifestyle with a butler, chef, driver, and housekeeper for their remaining years.
From watching me find success, I hope my kids take away… a strong work ethic and self reliance.
The best jokester in the c-suite is… J.D. Though everyone has a good sense of humor, J.D. is hands down the funniest. I love watching him and Asher interact.
My dream Quest lineup, dead or alive… would be Prince, The Beatles, and Grateful Dead (that last one is for my husband).
One word to describe POWER’s culture is… inspiring.
Sounds like a leader you want to work for? Check out open positions to join our community.
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