Get to Know Amy Pisano, Chief Revenue Officer

Hi Amy Pisano! We’re excited to learn about your career journey. We have a lot of readers in the revenue, sales, customer success and experience teams space, who may aspire to a role like yours. Let’s begin! 

Before joining Hired (formerly Vettery) in 2020, you worked in sales and revenue. Were you always interested in roles like this? Please tell us about your career path. 

I majored in communications at Wake Forest University, and initially thought I was going to go onto a career in production for television and film. After some twists and turns, I ended up working in B2B marketing and communications.

I began as a Coordinator, then as an Event Producer. I did a lot of big product launches and marketing campaigns for clients ranging from pharmaceuticals, to tobacco companies, and large media organizations.

Moves into sales leadership role

That was actually how I ended up moving into sales as a lead on accounts. I started growing my business and eventually moved into an Account Executive role at an agency in B2B marketing and communications. I spent about three years as a salesperson in that space before realizing I wanted to do something different. 

While at the agency, I went to Columbia University for my Master’s in Strategic Communications to gain exposure to different things. During that time, I met an Ad Tech Executive on a project and I ended up taking a role in sales at an ad tech company called YuMe.

After about a year there, I was offered a role to manage key accounts at a company called FreeWheel. There, I combined my experience in media and entertainment, sales from my B2B marketing, and my knowledge of ad tech. That really kicked off my revenue career. 

Becomes a revenue leader

I spent seven years at FreeWill and was part of the Comcast acquisition. I was the Revenue Leader in a number of other acquisitions and went on from leading key accounts to running the Sales team and Business Development Partnership team, and directing sales, product, marketing, and account management.

When I left FreeWheel, I was running the full revenue team and again, got to a point where I wanted to do something new. At that point I made an intentional decision to be a Revenue Executive, versus an Ad Tech Executive. I took some time to really find my next opportunity and moved into the Property and Construction Technology space.

I worked with a company called Honest Buildings, which was quickly acquired by a Construction Technology company called Procore. I learned a lot about high velocity sales and more about who I wanted to be as a Revenue Executive.

Amy Pisano arrives at Vettery (which later merged with Hired)

After going through the transition and acquisition, I left and found a great opportunity with Vettery. It aligned with my focus on revenue growth; mentorship of young sales leaders in the tech space; and my identification as a more broad Revenue Leader, rather than one focused on a single vertical across tech.

Will you share more about how past roles not directly related to the “revenue team” taught you something you applied to your career later? 

In my first career in B2B marketing and communications as a project manager and producer, I worked for clients across every industry including M&M Mars, US Smokeless Tobacco, Pfizer, Nickelodeon, and Bank of America. With such broad access to various businesses, I learned a lot about different organizational structures, business strategies, and leadership styles. I think it’s the reason I’ve been able to take on leadership roles in numerous industries.

Your BA from Wake Forest University is in Communications and your MS from Columbia University is in Strategic Communications. How do you feel these degrees apply in your current role? 

I loved my experience at Wake Forest University both for the Communications degree and the Liberal Arts education. I am an advocate for learning how to think critically, getting exposure to various subjects, and the art of communications. 

Getting my Masters in Communications helped facilitate my career change. I use a lot of what I learned in that program in both sales and general leadership. My time at Columbia helped me become more data-driven in my decision making, improved my writing and public speaking skills, and taught me more about the marketing channels my team relies on.

You’ve contributed to several articles on strategies for driving DEI. Which strategies do you believe are most effective?

I am most excited about the opportunity remote work has brought to improving companies’ diverse hiring. 

Related – Articles by Amy:

• How To Drive DEI In Each Stage Of The Recruiting Process With Amy Pisano, RecruitingDaily
• 3 Ways Companies Can Implement and Measure Success of DEI Tools, Spiceworks Hr  

Do you participate in any philanthropic projects you’d like to share or promote?

Besides supporting various charities, I haven’t had as much time to give to philanthropic projects as I would like to. I am currently on the board of advisors and an investor in a start-up called The Zone, which focuses on making mental wellness accessible for student athletes. I am very passionate about the mission and the leaders.

What’s a fun fact about you people might not guess?

I’m a pretty fanatical Phish fan. My mom told me when I was 18 that I would outgrow following a band around to concerts but many many years later, it is still one of my favorite things to do. I’ve been to about 150 Phish shows in my life and am taking my son to his first show next week.

When it comes to working at Hired, what’s your favorite thing?

My team. It is such a privilege to work with an incredible team. They are not only exceptional at their jobs, but they are the most people-first leadership team I have ever had the chance to lead. 

You and your team recently attended the One Team, One Dream Hired Summit, the first offsite gathering for the company in more than two years. What was one of your takeaways? 

It is so important to invest in getting to know each other and have fun! Offsites used to mainly focus on big strategy sessions and company updates, but we have become pretty good at doing that via Zoom and other asynchronous ways. We made the conscious decision to spend the most time on team building and culture – it was well worth it.

What advice would you give to people who want to prepare for a leadership role like yours? Any book or influencer suggestions?

A few of my favorite books (or really, audiobooks with my schedule) include: 

• The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

About six years ago, I had the good fortune of working with Executive Coach, Mike Jaffe, and through a tool called HBDI, he helped me understand my thinking preferences. This work helped me realize the areas I needed to develop/focus and understand when I needed to lean on my team and peers.

As we all know, leaders are not perfect, so the more you know about where your blindspots are, the better you can set yourself up for success.

On a personal level, my advice is to learn to set boundaries early and be consistent. Not only is it good for your own mental health and work-life balance, but it also sets an example to your team and gives them permission to take care of themselves too.

Thank you Amy Pisano!

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