Mayhem Makers: Grace Farley, Demand Generation Manager

“Mayhem Makers” is a Q&A series dedicated to our growing company.

For this month’s profile, we talked with Grace Farley, Demand Generation Manager on the Mayhem team, who joined the company in June, 2023. Grace is a digital nomad who can be found most often either in Chicago, Seattle, or Mexico City.

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1. Tell our readers a little bit about what your role as Demand Generation Manager entails.

I'm responsible for developing and implementing growth strategies that target various industries and address our different market needs. To do this, I build out programs that are focused on developing product awareness, revenue generation, and leveraging lead acquisition and activation. I implement programs cross-functionally across different departments to align and focus on the key initiatives and strategic programs of the company. I then use data and analytics to measure and improve the performance of these programs.

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2. What did your career path look like before you came to work here?

Before this, I was focused on engaging global partners at the nexus of tech and global security. I served on a global security team that included directors of President Obama's National Security Council and a Secretary of State. Through that, I was able to develop different cybersecurity, AI, and new nuclear prevention strategic programs, which was really exciting. I also served as the global communications liaison with projects that were partnered with the United Nations. 

I really enjoyed working in cybersecurity. So after that, I joined a company that was more focused on DevSecOps. Within that organization, I built the growth vertical for the aerospace, defense, and government vertical for an AI-powered DevOps platform. I oversaw all the DevOps portfolio, as well as the FedRAMP solutions. While I was there, the company became the first to achieve FedRAMP for an Agile solution. 

Outside of that, I was able to work with global markets and human rights a bit with different UN delegations. I got involved on the socioeconomic side by starting a nonprofit to fund different sustainable micro enterprises that are women-led, with the goal to address different renewable energy problems, while also trying to ensure economic freedom of women in more marginalized areas. So those are some things I did before I joined this organization. 

When the opportunity to work here as the Demand Gen manager came up, I was excited about the prospect of working in cybersecurity again and building out the growth vertical for Mayhem’s security testing solution. Mayhem is deployed in critical systems in the US Department of Defense and has origin stories with DARPA, so it aligns with some of the organizations that I've worked with in the past. 

I had also been looking for a work environment like this—something smaller, more innovative, and flexible. Additionally, what was really appealing was that I could develop this role with the team instead of just getting put into the role. I have really liked that and I’ve enjoyed working with the team at Mayhem.

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3. What is your typical day like?

Because of the more flexible, innovative environment, which I really enjoy, not one day is the same. But what my day often entails is having different conversations with team members to align on the strategic goals of the company and then from there, spinning more of a micro lens on it. So figuring out what growth programs that we can develop to lead into that larger vision and how to execute them in different timelines. 

These programs are diverse and can range from topic-focused strategic discussions to analyzing a variety of data analytics. The goal is finding ways to engage our customer base and implementing different initiatives that align with leadership and cross-functionally across the Mayhem team.  

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4. What has been your favorite project you’ve worked on since joining the Mayhem team?

One of my favorite projects has been speaking with the team, assessing what the needs are, and then formulating those needs into a quarterly plan. I've enjoyed being able to take the initiative of mapping out what a potential quarter could look like here at Mayhem and executing those projects. I really appreciate the initiative that the team has let me have in leading that. 

And then I've really enjoyed being able to execute the programs. One program that went really well was Black Hat. And that was not due to anything other than everyone coming together and executing that flawlessly. It was exciting to see the alignment between everyone on the team, the finished product, and how successful it was.

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5. When you are at work, how do you motivate yourself or what helps you focus?

Josh, our VP of Product and Marketing, has done a great job outlining what our goals are as a department. So understanding his vision for the quarter has been really helpful in keeping me motivated and on track to deliver the demand gen programs that align with that overall marketing goal. 

I also think Mayhem is a really unique product. And with that comes the motivation to put innovative programs out there to bring awareness to it, because I've truly never seen a product that's similar to ours.

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6. What has your experience been with our company culture?

The company culture is very positive. I love how well everyone works as a team. Since I joined a couple of months ago, I've only been welcomed. 

I feel very supported. And in turn, I've been able to take more of an initiative. I’ve been really excited about how helpful everyone is and how everyone takes the initiative to jump in on different programs that I'm leading and contribute different ideas about those programs. It's been a team effort, and I really enjoy that aspect of working here. 

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7. What advice can you offer to someone looking to get into a role like yours?

When looking for jobs, something I’ve done is focus on the organizations that I'm interested in. So for me, I enjoy early stage companies that demonstrate a lot of growth potential. What I look at is different VC firms, and I see where they have their investments. From there, you can see what the affiliated companies are. It's interesting, because you can find really great companies that you've never heard of, but they have funding and they're trying to scale up, so there are usually position openings. And most of the time they have a viable product if they're getting investors.

You can then look at who the company's competitors are and narrow down the scope of companies and products that you want to work in. From there, I would just network, reach out, leverage LinkedIn, leverage any connections you have, to then hopefully get an interview for the type of role you want. 

Also, everyone that I've worked with has been very receptive to getting on the phone and giving advice. For me, something that has been helpful has been having more of a strategic comms and business background. I would heavily suggest taking classes or majoring in something with a business focus. Learning data analytics and knowing what you’re looking at is also really important.

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8. Tell us about yourself outside of work. What are your hobbies?

I have so many hobbies, and I joke that there is only room for growth in all of them as my skill set with my hobbies is average at best. 

I really enjoy exploring remote locations with friends and family, which has led to me being sponsored by sustainable brands for trail running and backcountry skiing. Some recent adventures have included sailing through the fjords of Norway and backcountry skiing down them; kite surfing in Brazil; and running across the Grand Canyon. I'll be featured in some upcoming campaigns focusing on low carbon emission adventures and exploring sustainable places, which is exciting.

I also really enjoy film photography, attending concerts, and trying new restaurants. The best concert I have ever attended was in 2011 when Cage the Elephant performed outside during a storm; it was incredible!

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9. I heard you recently ran across the Grand Canyon. Can you tell me how you ended up doing that?

Both of my parents are very adventurous! A bucket list item of my mom’s was to run across the Grand Canyon; however an ACL/MCL tear and a broken leg last year led to her pushing the run to this year. 

To support my mom and celebrate her full recovery, a group of friends and family decided to run Rim2Rim of the Grand Canyon with her. The sustainable brand PANGAIA sponsored me for the run, so I ended up doing Rim2Rim2Rim which consisted of a 48.3 miles, 20,000 ft elevation change, and a 48 degree temperature range. For the run, we also partnered with the nonprofit “Run 2 Revive” due to their health care focus and were able to raise over $125,000 in medical research for ALS and Alzheimer’s research.

I think it's really cool to be able to show up for your parents and support the things that they’re doing. Especially because my parents have always been very supportive of me and my interests. So in this case, I literally ran across the Grand Canyon twice to support my mom, which was an incredible experience and the perfect blend of community, sport, and adventure, which is something I enjoy. 

10. What is something unique about you (a fun fact) that few people know about?

People might not know that I have three passports: Australia, the UK, and the United States. I was born in London and lived there for several years. My parents are from Australia and the United States, where we still have family in both countries.

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