| | 9TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY TECH OUTLOOKMARCH - 2022In the light of your experience, what are the trends and challenges you've witnessed in the MarTech space?Emerging technologies are increasingly being used to support the implementation of more flexible working practices; however, this will present several challenges with time and resources. Because it takes time and capital to implement anything, and a lot of times, they don't pay off right away. It takes a while for the payout to begin proving that juice will be worth the squeeze once we get it enabled and put into place.All of the trends that we've seen over the last six to seven years are big data and personalization, which are still trending. Also, AI when combined with Voice Technology can be the next big thing. As screens get more convoluted, we will need a medium to break through, and that's exactly what this combination will offer us.Could you elaborate on some interesting and impactful projects/initiatives that you're currently overseeing?Del Taco launched the Del Yeah! Rewards program in September, which is Del taco's first-ever loyalty program. Del Yeah! Rewards will offer Del Taco customers a variety of offers, rewards, and experiences, which increase along with usage of the app. So again, this allows us to ensure that the right message and offer gets to the right customer at the right time. And again, that's something that never existed before, and we're able to work with our cross-functional team of Del tacos for several rewards programs.Can you draw an analogy between your personality traits, hobbies and how they reflect on your leadership strategy?When I am not donning the cap of Vice President of Marketing Technology, I love to attend the musical theatre. I hold a degree in theatre, which helps me excel in my pleasure time as well. And then, when I'm not doing that, I start competing in ballroom dance with Fred Astaire dance studios, which has been a lot of fun and a very humbling learning experience. But, outside of that trace at work, I try and stay positive. We're not brain surgeons; we're having fun. We're selling tacos; let's have fun doing it. And, just keeping enjoying what I do is very important to me the day that I don't enjoy what I do. I don't want to do it anymore.What does the future hold for the MarTech landscape?Marketing technology has become a big business over the last couple of years, and then COVID accelerated it and pushed everything forward. And so, our goal is to continue to grow at that pace and be able to receive the buy-in that we need to implement things that help our customers and guests have a better experience.What would be the single piece of advice that you could impart to your colleagues to excel in this space?My advice would be to ask lots of questions and never stop learning. It helps you uncover the challenges you're facing and generate better solutions to solve those problems. It also helps to understand the root cause of why the technology works the way it does so that you can utilize it to the best of your ability in that space.
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