Q&A: Get to know Chief Transformation Officer Malorie Benjamin

One of our favorite ways to share more about DS+CO with you is to show you the people behind the work. After our Q&A with our president and CEO, Jessica Savage, we sat down with our Chief Transformation Officer, Malorie Benjamin, to ask her a few questions.

Get to know Malorie and how she approaches leadership, why she chose to work at DS+CO, ways she stays motivated to innovate and the little things in between.

Let’s get to it.

One of the things I enjoy most is that no two days ever look the same. Some days, I’m focused on technology needs and challenges. Other days, I may be working on client deliverables that help move their marketing and business needs forward.

Much of my work centers on connecting with teams and people, sharing ideas, hearing and responding to challenges, and seeking out areas of opportunity for our agency.

I was recruited here by Lauren Dixon from a 20-person agency in Buffalo. I said yes to her after several weeks of chatting and meeting the team. Everyone here was so kind and welcoming.

I also loved the entrepreneurial spirit of the agency. I’d grown up in a family business, studied business in college and I always loved entrepreneurship. The fact that even at our size, DS+CO could still maintain this strong sense of independence, innovation, resourcefulness, resilience, adaptability, flexibility and a focus on the client was something that intrigued me.

I strive to truly be a servant leader to our team. To me, this means that I’m prioritizing the needs and growth of team members and creating a supportive and empowering environment. I won’t ask anyone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. By actively listening and providing guidance, my goal is to nurture talent and facilitate personal and professional development.

I do my best to be accessible, offering constructive feedback and inspiring our team to achieve their full potential through shared knowledge and experience. Success as a leader looks like others around me succeeding and growing into their full potential.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” —Peter Drucker

I had a passion for innovation before I understood what it really meant. For me, I can’t see a problem and not look for a better way to solve it. This doesn’t always mean innovation in the sense of technology. It’s about significantly improving or transforming existing systems, practices or markets. It involves creativity and inventiveness to bring about positive change, create value and solve problems in novel ways.

This is truly what my role as chief transformation officer is structured around. I love looking at a problem that we don’t even know is a problem yet and identifying the ways to solve it. It’s what motivates me to do anything that I invest myself in.

I’m not the sort of person who set out with any specific career objectives I had to meet. I always just work to be the best that I can at whatever I’m doing at a given point in time. For me, personal and professional growth looks like supporting those around me with whatever I have to offer. I feel successful when our team feels successful, understands the collective vision and feels progress to our collective goals. I also believe that learning is a journey, and I continually strive to grow my knowledge from thought leaders and those around me.

I love animals, traveling and the outdoors. My dream is to visit as many national parks as I can in my lifetime. I never feel more at peace than when I’m in nature or in the presence of animals. My dream vacation is a several-day camping exploration in Wyoming or Montana on horseback.

I have so many, honestly. I think, for me, I had some experiences that left me with a clear vision of the type of leader I didn’t want to be. I love business and I can be very pragmatic, but I also truly am a companionate leader who cares for the well-being of my employees. I had a manager who told me I wasn’t good at building relationships, and they were interested in seeing how that would serve me in my career. It took me a long time of telling myself I wasn’t good at relationships to realize that I’m not good at superficial relationships. Authentic, genuine interactions with others are what I always strive for.

The people. Everyone who works at DS+CO brings passion to all the work they do. I believe we’re building something special together. Even though it isn’t perfect, I appreciate the freedom and flexibility that we’re all offered to share perspective and help shape our future.

A veterinarian. I love animals, so I wanted to work with them.

Give yourself some grace.

Right now, cold foam cold brew. I got hooked over the summer and it’s still my go-to.

An overnight somewhere new within a day’s drive. I love to travel and explore new places with my family.

I love to spend time with my husband and our two boys, ride horses and take walks with our dogs in nature.