Monitor Women’s List 2019: Keelie Fitzgerald

by By Monitor Staff Nov/Dec 2019

 

Keelie Fitzgerald - Odessa.jpg

Keelie Fitzgerald

Vice President, Marketing, Odessa
Member, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Communications Committee
Odessa Foundation Board of Directors

 

 


When Keelie Fitzgerald started out in her career over a decade ago, she didn’t have much idea of what equipment leasing actually was. But as she enters her 11th year in the industry, she believes her tenure in it is a testament to how dynamic and engaging the business is.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE:

“Data from Catalyst tell us women make up 45-47% of the workforce, so it’s not that women aren’t here, but that they’re not in positions of power where you’re likely to interact with them. It becomes a question of how we change business practices to provide equitable tracks for advancement. ”

Her experience as a developing leader in equipment leasing and finance is atypical. Coming from the vantage point of a platform provider, she is interested in both the industry-specific business needs that impact leaders and the most efficient, exciting tech that can be brought to market to enable them. Beyond leading the Marketing vertical at Odessa, she focuses on enhancing the customer experience by building on traditional methods of messaging and brand promise to promote trust and customer success. And with the rise of CX as a more prescribed practice, Fitzgerald has found tremendous opportunities to influence the overall operation, such as when she led Odessa’s corporate rebrand two years ago, resulting in the company’s strong brand position today.

“Keelie translates complex technological concepts into simplified explanations that everyone can understand and right sizes cutting-edge digital strategies into practical application,” says Madhu Natarajan, Odessa’s co-founder and CEO. “She cares about user experience, not just in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of value added and does it all with a flair for creativity. Our company and customers benefit from the leadership she provides for our most transformative initiatives. Keelie has pushed Odessa and our customer community to reimagine how we interact not just internally but with each other as stakeholders on a common platform.”

Fitzgerald’s work doesn’t stop with just her official duties. She leads Women@Odessa to help promote awareness, challenge bias and empower the women in Odessa’s global workforce and also helped create the Odessa Foundation in order to better serve local communities where employees live and work. She spoke at the ELFA Annual Convention this year in Washington, D.C. and previously traveled throughout the U.S. and overseas for countless other global events. Outside of the industry, she helps develop leaders as an advisory board member of the Design Thinking Program at Rutgers University.

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