Maggie Lower describes herself as a Pop Culture Enthusiast and Music Lover as well as a CMO and Board Member. She was previously CMO for Hootsuite, a social media management platform where she fostered a collaborative marketing approach. She joined the Board of Directors of Grindr the largest LGBTQIA+ social networking App and has won multiple awards as an LGBTQIA+ advocate and been a keynote speaker. She also holds multiple roles as Senior Board Advisor.

We start our discussion with a quick run through Maggie’s childhood in Chicago and St. Louis, her love of sport and her early career in which she followed some inspiring leaders. In discussing work dynamics she makes the interesting observation that just as actors follow directors, employees will follow inspiring bosses and she charts some of the moves that have been pivotal in her career.  She charts the mentors who believed in her, and mentions some of less sensitive encounters that emboldened her.

Her focus on marketing was sealed with her MBA at Kellogg and I take full advantage of her insights as a CMO to ask her about some of her core beliefs with respect to marketing – the need for authenticity in adherence to values and to avoid “random acts of marketing” that are not linked to the overall purpose.  We hear about damage control and messaging, in particular around the Bud Light case study, and how it relates to brand voice. Social media too should relate back to brand identity and voice, and we move then to talk about Maggie’s role on the Board of Grindr and what she seeks to bring to that and other board roles.

In discussing her own personal story Maggie has some tales of her own coming out experience as well as the awkwardness encountered around pregnancy and parenting at work. This is all taken with a dose of humor however, and Maggie leaves us with gems of wisdom and strategies that everyone will be able to employ.

The 2023 Pride Series is kindly sponsored by members of our Rainbow Network including Laura J. LaTourette, who is a financial planner who describes her practice as one designed to enable LGBTQ+ folx make a plan to simplify their lives to enable them to live authentically and leave a legacy of love. Based in Dahlonega Georgia but with a national client base Laura has a particular interest in working with LGBTQ+ elders. You can find out more about Laura’s practice by following her on:

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