Senior PM Lynne Castronuovo chats with Emily Brouwer about her work, her 21 marathons, and her favorite CMB memories.
EB: What is your favorite part about being an employee at CMB?
LC: I’m fortunate to work on the Travel and Hospitality team here, I love to read about travel, learn about it, and travel myself, so the research has a lot of personal interest for me One of my favorite trips is when I get to fly down to Miami and meet with one of our long standing clients there! Working at CMB lets me look ‘behind-the-scenes’ of travel businesses and agencies. In working with our clients I am able to see how a premium experience is delivered to the guest.
EB: How would you describe our office?
LC: Our team is special, we have a lot of really kind and intelligent people. The office environment is relaxed and laid back, and as a result we have a lot of fun. We work in teams, which fosters collaboration, so you never feel like you’re alone. There’s a real sense of camaraderie.
EB: How have you grown during your time here?
LC: I’ve been here 4.5 years, one of our key differentiators is trying to get to the heart of the matter and answer clients’ burning questions. Working here has really helped me learn how to focus on that to produce compelling reports that answer questions. I can turn reports and mass amounts of data into stories that answer most important questions for clients. The reports we produce here get used; they’re not just data-dumps.
EB: I know you’re an avid runner, has that skill come in handy at CMB?
LC: I began running marathons in my late twenties and have now completed 21 of them. When I began, it was with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training program; every year I was matched with a patient battling a blood related cancer, and ran in his or her honor. I did this for eleven years. When I came to CMB, one of my co-workers was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I told her I wanted to run for her, and did. This was the beginning of many meaningful relationships here. I also co-captained our Light the Night team and over the past four years we’ve raised over $35,000. We have come a long way with this fundraiser, and I particularly enjoy being able to bring my background in fundraising to promote a successful, company-wide event.
EB: What is your favorite memory associated with CMB?
LC: This is a toss-up between my husband singing karaoke at the annual summer party, and running/coaching a corporate challenge for CMB with two colleagues. Another favorite and very meaningful memory was just this past year, when my colleague Diego jumped into the Boston Marathon in 90 degree, record-breaking heat to run the last seven miles with me. He really had the crowed going and got me through the last leg of the run.
EB: How is CMB different from other jobs you’ve had or companies you’ve worked for?
LC: One key differentiator I see is our focus on business decisions; but I also am constantly impressed by quality of our graphics and that we have a dedicated graphic designer who not only ensures that all of our documents have a standard look and feel but who also works with us on creating very compelling, specialized graphics as needed.
EB: And now for the fun questions, if CMB had a mascot what would it be?
Hmmm, I’d describe us as Questioning Quigley… We’re always pushing the envelope.
EB: Knowing what you know about CMB what else could “CMB” stand for?
LC: Constantly Making Breakthroughs
EB: If CMB won an academy award what would it be for?
LC: Best Costume Design because we dress up our reports so well. ;)
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Posted by Emily Brouwer. Emily is CMB’s marketing intern, this fall she'll enter her senior year at Connecticut College, where she'll be writing her thesis on Portuguese migration, women’s rights, and education. She'll also be rowing, sailing, singing, and working as the news editor of Conn’s college paper, and when she has a free moment apple picking. She's been an absolute pleasure to work with and the marketing team will miss her terribly.
One of the great things about managing the Voices of CMB Blog is getting to hear perspectives on market research (and more) from CMBers at every level and across our company. The expertise, insightfulness, and creativity of our employees makes editing and reading this blog a real pleasure. And before we gear up to meet 2012, we thought we’d take a look back at just a few of our favorites: