Meet Diana, the vibrant Head of Product Marketing at IRIS, with an intriguing background and an exuberant zest for life. Learn about Diana's journey...
How would you describe your role at IRIS? What do you love most about it?
As Head of Product Marketing, I’m responsible for how we position IRIS and our products in the market, making sure that our unique selling proposition stands out and that we reach the right people, who need our solutions the most. This might take on the form of a product launch plan, onboarding and demos, case studies, website content, blog posts, etc. as well as product testing, roadmap contributions, and so on.
There are so many things I love about Product Marketing, but the main highlight is that I get to work across lots of different areas of the business: product, tech, sales, and of course, marketing. This means I’m never bored, I’m constantly learning, and I have lots of space to be creative, technical, and strategic.
You have an interesting background — both in your career and personally. How did you make your way to us at IRIS?
In a word (and one of my favourite ones at that): serendipity. I met Tom almost two years ago in a coffee shop around the corner, Alex Coffee, as I was catching Alex up on a client I’d just wrapped up with. I was 4.5 years into my freelance marketing business, and I was looking for a new and exciting project to dive into. Tom walked in, overheard our conversation, and on his way out, said “I’m sorry to eavesdrop, but I work for an audio technology startup and we’re actually looking for someone to help us launch our next product. This is my name, find me on LinkedIn, let’s chat.”
So that’s exactly what we did, and between my background in music (I worked for The Orchard for 6 years), my experience with tech startups, and the immediate connection I felt with the team and the vision, it was a no brainer. So much so that Tom convinced me to hang my freelance hat up and join IRIS full time a couple of months later, and I haven’t looked back.
You are a woman of many interests… When you’re not cycling to the office, you’re at a fitness class, dancing, or seeing the latest show on the West End. How did you get into all of these things?
Ha, that’s a good question! In a nutshell, I just love living life to the fullest, trying new things, and opening my mind up to different viewpoints.
My mum introduced me to the theatre when I was really young, and I’ve loved getting lost in the stories — dramatic and poignant like A View From The Bridge or To Kill a Mockingbird, or out there and fanciful — like Hamilton or Phantom of the Opera. From there, I became obsessed with music, I love to sing (mostly for myself and the occasional karaoke), and dance naturally followed (my latest obsession is bachata and kizomba). As for fitness, I just make a point of finding activities I love that help me stay fit and strong, both physically and mentally.
Some quickfire questions:
App you couldn’t live without? Spotify. And Shazam… connected to Spotify.
Your dessert island chocolate? This is going to sound so pretentious, but I’m Swiss, so I have high standards… Any Läderach or Sprüngli dark chocolate slabs with nuts.
Go-to party game? One Night Ultimate Werewolf and all of its expansions. It’s just the best.
You’ve lived in a few places across the world, what made you choose to stick around in London? London has the perfect mix of culture (I can’t live in a city without music, theatre, and art), social (friends are always visiting or moving here from all over the world), convenience (it’s easy to get anywhere in the world, which is very important for me so I can easily see my family), and calm (London actually slows down every now and then, and has beautiful nature nearby). I just love it here.
Something your colleagues don’t know about you? I used to work at a radio station, where I had three on air personas: Calliope for Rock, Mirage for Entertainment News, and White Chocolate for R&B/Slow Jams…