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Bold Leader Spotlight: Andréa Mallard, CMO of Pinterest

Andréa Mallard is known for her creativity and expertise in brand strategy. She is among the best in this regard. But her real talent is shown by the leadership abilities exhibited in her career. No one told Mallard how to be bold in leadership, but her philosophy and actions demonstrate just that. Her bold leadership is a key reason why she was recently named chief marketing officer of Pinterest.

cartoon caricature of Andréa Mallard, chief marketing officer of Pinterest, posing as the bold leader spotlight of the week
Indeed, Andréa Mallard has exhibited bold leadership throughout her career. But what exactly makes her the best choice to be Pinterest’s CMO today?

As a strong advocate for women, Mallard spends a great deal of her time empowering others to be their absolute best, while championing change and diversity. These traits exemplify her bold leadership style and are the reason why she gets this week’s Bold Leader Spotlight.

Change, Diversity, and Empowerment

An appreciation of others often comes out of personal experiences in diversity, and having lived in Paris, London, Toronto, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Munich, Mallard certainly knows all about that. These experiences fostered in her an attitude of respect and empathy for everyone. Thus, a major part of Mallard’s philosophy on bold leadership pertains to not only recognizing other voices but accepting them as well.

Andrea Mallad of Pinterest is a bold leader
Bold leaders inspire, which Mallard has done at Pinterest.

The inability to share knowledge undermines success at every level. Bold leadership encourages information-sharing and intellectual advancement. Mallad has achieved this in many ways. In addition to being a published author and international speaker, she constantly strives to elevate others in skill and knowledge. By sharing both her experiences and her insights, Mallard is a true catalyst for success everywhere she goes.

In considering this approach to bold leadership, it is intuitive that sharing knowledge and insights acknowledges a sense of humility. Knowing how to be bold in leadership does not mean sequestering knowledge that could serve others. It requires bolstering others’ abilities. But this action demands humility and self-confidence in the process, and Mallard certainly has those attributes. Much of her leadership success comes from her abilities as an effective mentor who is willing to give others recognition and guide them towards improvement.

bold leader Andrea Mallard
Empathy and empowerment are hallmarks of Andrea Mallard’s bold leadership.

Bold in Leadership by Taking Risks the Right Way

As a brand and marketing specialist, Mallard is accustomed to taking risks. Leaders choose strategies based on the knowledge available at the time. But such information is never complete, and risks are inevitable. Likewise, the dynamic world of marketing demands the ability to embrace change and think outside the box. This is an area where Mallard has excelled and a major reason for her leadership success.

But for Mallard, the risks taken have always aligned with her values. In fact, she chose to come on board at Pinterest because of their choice to grow the right way. By aligning business decisions with their corporate values, Pinterest has become a breath of fresh air. Similarly, Mallard believes that bold leadership means knowing your own set of principles. Taking risks is essential to grow and evolve, but risks without values can quickly undermine success.

Andrea Mallard's leadership style is bold.
Andrea Mallard’s bold leadership style has involved taking risks.

Embracing Bold Leadership Throughout a Career

Throughout Mallard’s career, she has served in leadership roles for many companies. In 2008, she served as the European Design Director for the global brand, IDEO. In 2013, she took a position as Chief Marketing Officer at Omada Health. And before coming to Pinterest, Mallard was CMO at Athleta—an affiliate of Gap Inc., the worldwide clothing retail company. In each instance, Mallard exhibited bold leadership capacities. And it is with little doubt that Pinterest made an excellent decision in having Mallard come on board.

To learn more about Andréa Mallard’s bold leadership, visit our exclusive story on Pinterest.

Pinterest Continues to Inspire Through Social Media Images and Practices

Preview image of Pinterest infographic

infographic about pinterest, a popular platform where people come to seek inspiration for everything.

When it comes to the biggest tech companies, you might not immediately think of Pinterest as one of the dominant players. It is often thought of as a visual discovery engine for finding creative ideas. But its 250 million active monthly users actually place Pinterest among one of the most impressive mobile application companies today. While the company lags behind Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in audience size, it clearly making waves. In fact, more than half of US millennials use its social media images to help find things they want to buy. But then again, that isn’t something necessarily new for Pinterest.

While other companies offer users a variety of sharing contexts, Pinterest’s focus is on the discovery of ideas others with similar interests have saved. This concept has been Pinterest’s unique approach from the very beginning. Pinterest sets itself apart by committing to the community and building upon inspiration. As a result, it has made the company exciting and attractive to millions.

Pinterest at a Glance – Positioned to Excel in Retail

Ben Silvermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp launched the company in 2010. The concept was to allow users to upload, save, sort and manage images onto virtual boards. These images, called “Pins”, could be categorized in different “Boards”, with users saving their inspirations in a way others could also get inspiration from. Like social media sites, anyone who finds another user’s saved Pins interesting could choose to follow that person.

Ben Silbermann - CEO and Co Founds of Pinterest
Ben Silbermann, CEO and cofounder of Pinterest, cited as an Inspiring Quote at InspiringQuotes

Therefore, unlike other platforms, Pinterest was able to create catalogs of visual ideas. Currently, the most popular Pins fall under categories like homes, food, style and fashion, travel and DIY. But what is noteworthy is that this approach aligns extremely well with a number of retail and consumer industries. When people are searching for ideas, visual content and content from brands are welcomed. As a result, people especially migrate to this particular type of platform when they’re shopping.

A Slow and Steady Approach to Success

Prior to 2012, Pinterest required users to join via invitation or request user access from the company. Later on, users could register and share social media images as a matter of routine. Likewise, Pinterest chose not to monetize their site with ads until 2014. And even when it did, it was selective about the categories of advertisements. These decisions highlight Pinterest’s commitment to its values and to the environment it creates for its users.

Though Pinterest chose to wait before monetizing its site, it didn’t lag behind in its global pursuits. Over the last few years, Pinterest’s growth in foreign regions has doubled and tripled annually in some instances. This is attributed to notable increases in the sharing of social media images on the site. After all, social media images don’t have language barriers.

Pinterest's CMO, Andrea Mallard
Andrea Mallard, Chief Marketing Officer, Pinterest, cited on Pinterest Newsroom

Taking Community and Social Responsibility Seriously

Though Pinterest specializes in sharing social media images, it remains a media company. At the same time, it wants to ensure a safe, positive and respectful environment for Pinterest users. This philosophy recently led the company to block all searches on its site related to anti-vaccination messages. Why? Because Pinterest did not wish to advance misinformation that could potentially harm its user community.

Naturally, such actions raise questions about censorship versus responsible behaviors. For Pinterest, the abundance of anti-vaccination social media images compared to pro-vaccination information portrayed inaccurate data for people. Thus, the company decided to simply block all relevant searches until a safer process is devised. This decision highlights its focus on values, and it also sets the company apart in its corporate social responsibility pursuits.    

Ifeoma Ozoma - Public Policy & Social Impact Manager of PInterest
Ifeoma Ozoma, Public Policy and Social Impact Manager, Pinterest, cited on All Things Considered, National Public Radio (NPR)

What 2019 Could Bring for the Social Media Images Icon

Pinterest remains on the track for steady growth. Meanwhile, the pressure to advance advertising revenues will likely increase, and shareholders may have different perspectives from that of the company’s founders. Nevertheless, by remaining committed to its values and community, Pinterest has the opportunity to stand out. It can inspire not only through its social media images but also through its social practices.

Andréa Mallard With Her Brand of Bold Leadership Joins Pinterest Cartoon

cartoon caricature of Andréa Mallard, chief marketing officer of Pinterest, posing as the bold leader spotlight of the week
Indeed, Andréa Mallard has exhibited bold leadership throughout her career. But what exactly makes her the best choice to be Pinterest’s CMO today?