Latest news with #Novoselsky
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meet the Ukrainian child refugee now CEO of $1bn Hootsuite
Forget politics, says Hootsuite's CEO Irina Novoselsky, the White House's crackdown allowing new media to have a seat at press briefings over traditional outlets should be a warning to global businesses that social media is now more than just a marketing tool. 'Five billion people around the world are spending almost three to five hours a day on social media,' Novoselsky tells Yahoo Finance UK, 'and I think it's about time that the White House is allowing that voice to be in the room to share what's being told." Novoselsky, who grew up in Ukraine and moved as a refugee child to the US, became Hootsuite's first female CEO in 2023 and is voicing her opinion at the helm of a $1bn global-leading social media performance engine, which helps its near 100,000 customers create, schedule, publish content and measure performance. Read More: 'After our £50m company collapsed I learned to be a wartime CEO' Last year, it acquired start-up Talkwalker, an AI-powered tool that allows brands to listen to audiences on social media and create impactful social content. Novoselsky, as a millennial, is also listening to Generation Z and believes that the White House move is less political, more where trust and influence now lie. Further, she is adamant that CEOs must be seen and heard on social media or face being ghosted by the current generation. "Gen Z makes most of their purchasing decisions based on the company's brand, what they stand for, the authenticity, and most of them go and look at what the CEO is saying,' says Novoselsky. 'Where previously CEOs could let their marketing and sales team drive revenue, acquire and expand customers, they're losing that ability to stand behind the door. 'You have to be out there on social, posting, having an opinion, interacting and if you're not, Gen Z's just not going to be picking your business.' Indeed, Novoselsky spoke with over 500 Gen Z to gauge more understanding. 'There are really powerful stats that almost 70% of all buyers are going to be Gen Z or millennials starting this year," she notes. Read More: 'Dragons' Den failure sparked my alcohol-free brand's rise' 'I met and talked to them and realised I didn't understand Gen Z at all,' she admits. 'I was very surprised by how different we are in so many ways. There are a few falsehoods that I kind of came across too, this narrative of Gen Z being lazy and I don't think they are. 'I think they're a generation that really appreciates figuring out how to balance work and life. They want to be able to research themselves because they grew up in this very B2C buying journey where they can go on Netflix and Amazon and search for what they want.' Conversation turns to 2024 acquisition Talkwalker where Novoselsky believes both listening and analytics will be pivotal to the future of any revenue channel, customer acquisition and expansion. She highlights one of its Fortune 50 clients who used the tool to test and determine whether to enter the Italian market with a specific coffee beverage. 'When they were forecasting off of the listening tool, it just landed flat,' she adds. 'They completely pivoted and saved themselves a whole amount of expense and time going into a market with the wrong product.' While Hootsuite's clients are listening to their customers' tastes as well as what competitors are saying about products, Novoselsky puts her company's own social team front and centre at meetings. 'What are they hearing? What are the analytics? What are our customers saying? The positive, the negative, what can we improve?' says Novoselsky, who oversees around 1,500 global employees. 'I don't know how executives don't have their social media team come in. 'I grew up in an Eastern European home and it's a gift that when someone gives you feedback, it's a sign of love of how I grew up and that they care enough to tell you. 'And so while customers are willing to give feedback, I think it's a gift and you should be out there listening to it. It's when they stop talking that you should worry.' Read More: How Jeff Dewing went from bankruptcy to £70m fortune Before her career blossomed on Wall Street to then become the first female CEO of jobs site CareerBuilder aged 32, Novoselsky's parents had left Ukraine for the US in the 1980s with a mere $300 when Novoselsky was aged four. 'There are two lotteries in life: there's your geography lottery of where you're born to, which I did not win,' she says. "And then there's the parent lottery. I won that and they took me from the wrong geography to the right geography. And I just had such appreciation for the potential of what you can do.'We have this rule on social media that we work with our customers on: how do you give nine times before taking once? So how do you help your customers on social learn something nine times before you ask them for one favour? Whether that's 'check out my demo, check out my new product release.' In order to earn the right to ask for that one, you have to go give nine. And I think it's really similar as team members and for people who want to be leaders. How do you give nine times to your leaders? Whether it's to your boss, peers, the team around you. How do you constantly think about how to help solve the problem, be helpful or valuable? I think there's also this misconception that when you have leaders or you work for leaders, that you're supposed to adapt your style to them. One of the things I learned is that it's my job to adapt my style to my team. Different people need different things from me and so it's about how do I learn to adapt to what they need.I love sleep and try to get eight hours every night. That's a priority for me. I exercise, I count steps and I'm pretty good about being between seven and 8,000 daily. I'm also a big reader, mostly non-fiction. Read more: 'I went to a board meeting days after nearly dying but I soon saw my purpose' Meet the CEO responsible for selling London to the world 'Want to grow an iconic brand? CEOs have to value CMOs as servant leaders'Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
‘They were always together': Revere community mourns 3 women who were found dead on vacation
The community in Revere came together Tuesday night to honor three women who were found dead while on vacation in Belize. Imane Mallah, Wafae El-Arar, and Kaoutar Naqqad grew up together in Revere. All three of them were found dead in their hotel room Saturday. Destiny Borges-Kelley is devastated after learning about the deaths of three of her friends. 'I was just with them like last week,' said Destiny Borges-Kelley. 'Unimaginable': Mayor questions investigators after 3 Revere women found dead at Belize hotel She says the girls were excited for their vacation in Belize to celebrate Wafae's 26th birthday. 'One day I was with Wafae shopping for the trip, and she was just showing me what she was buying and getting her nails done, she would not stop talking about it,' said Borges-Kelley. Hundreds of people came together Tuesday night for a vigil inside the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects Mosque in Revere. The three women all shared Moroccan heritage. 'It's just amazing how the community has come out for them,' said Ira Novoselsky, a Revere City Councilor. Police in Belize say the bodies of these three women were found inside their beachfront hotel room. A local news report indicated gummies and alcohol were found in the room, and authorities there believe they died from an overdose. 'It's hard to hear that when I know who they are, I know they wouldn't do the things that people are saying they would,' said Borges-Kelley. 'We're getting stonewalled, Belize people are just saying their side of the story, but I'm sure there's more to it,' said Novoselsky. Revere city leaders as well as the victims' families want more answers as to how they died. Councilor Novoselsky knew Kaoutar and lives next to her family. 'I was with them this morning, and I actually brought more chairs up for them because they had hundreds of people coming to their home,' said Novoselsky. He says the girls were young professionals in the medical field and part of a tight-knit community now shattered by this devastating loss. 'They were always together,' said Borges-Kelley. The mayor of Revere also says he's pushing for more transparency on this case. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
