Jennifer Lee is a seasoned adtech leader and growth expert whose work is always informed by the customer. Passionate about innovative leadership and human-centric personalization, she explains what it takes to deliver consistent experiences that make people feel heard and valued—on both the customer and employee sides.
Shiwon Oh: How has your leadership philosophy evolved from the beginning of your career to present day?
Jennifer Lee: Early in my career, my leadership approach was very execution focused. I took pride in being hands-on, solving problems quickly, and proving that I could deliver results. That foundation mattered, but it was also centered on what I could personally drive.
As my roles expanded and the organization scaled, my perspective shifted. I started to realize that my impact was less about doing more myself and more about creating the conditions for others to do their best work. That meant building strong teams, bringing clarity to complexity, and designing systems that allowed the organization to operate more effectively at scale.
Today, I think about leadership through three lenses: consistency, context, and commitment. Consistency in how I show up, especially during moments of change. Context in making sure teams understand the why, so they can make strong decisions independently. And commitment not just to outcomes, but to each other and to the standards we set as a team.
SO: You had to scale as your organization grew across multiple functions. What were some top leadership practices you learned along the way?
JL: As the organization scaled, one of the biggest lessons was that what works early does not always work at scale. The speed, flexibility, and individual ownership that drive early success can quickly turn into friction as complexity grows.
That forced a shift from optimizing what exists to constantly challenging it. Instead of fixing issues one by one, I learned to step back and reimagine how the system should work more holistically.
A clear example of that was during periods where resources were tight. The default response is often to add headcount, but that approach breaks quickly. Instead, I focused on redesigning the service model itself. We restructured teams, clarified ownership, and introduced more specialized roles so work could flow more efficiently and consistently.
That shift changed the conversation from capacity constraints to operating leverage.
Scaling, in my experience, is not about adding more. It’s about designing better.
SO: What were the most rewarding aspects of managing human-centered client partnerships?
JL: The most rewarding part is building relationships that go beyond the transaction.
At the start, every partnership is grounded in delivering results. But over time, the goal is to build enough trust that it becomes more personal and more open. You get to a place where you can pick up the phone, talk candidly, and work through challenges together in a more direct and collaborative way.
Those are the relationships I valued most. Not just when things were working well, but when there was enough trust to navigate the harder moments honestly. That’s often where the partnership deepens the most.
I also found it incredibly rewarding to really understand how my clients operated: what mattered to them, where they felt pressure, and how they made decisions. That context allows you to show up differently, with more empathy and more relevance in how you support them.
SO: How do you balance trust, innovation, and personalized experiences while still pursuing innovation?
JL: Brands that deliver truly memorable, human-centered experiences start with a genuine understanding of the people they serve. That requires staying close to real customer needs and continuously listening and adapting as those needs evolve.
But that understanding cannot happen in a vacuum. To create experiences that feel authentic, the perspectives shaping them need to reflect the diversity of the customers themselves. As a minority, this is something I have seen firsthand. The most resonant messaging and experiences come from having different voices in the room, challenging assumptions, and bringing lived experiences into how products and stories are developed.
Consistency is also critical. Memorable experiences are not defined by a single moment, but by how every interaction feels connected and intentional over time.
When brands combine deep customer understanding, diverse perspectives, and consistent execution, they create experiences that feel real, relevant, and lasting.
SO: What must leaders prioritize when striving to deliver memorable customer and employee journeys?
JL: Leaders need to prioritize trust above all else. Memorable experiences are not just built on great products or standout moments. They’re shaped by how people feel in their interactions with a company over time.
I’ve been thinking a lot about RQ recently, or relational intelligence. It builds on EQ and goes a step further. RQ is the ability to understand people in context, read dynamics, and build genuine connections across customers, teams, and partners. Leaders with strong RQ create environments where people feel seen, understood, and valued, and that translates directly into better experiences.
That applies internally as much as externally. The employee experience ultimately shapes the customer experience. When teams feel trusted, supported, and clear on how they contribute, they show up differently with customers.
Consistency also plays a critical role. Trust is built in small moments, repeated over time. It comes from doing what you say you will do, communicating clearly, and showing up in a way that is dependable.
In a world becoming more automated, these human elements matter even more. The leaders who stand out will be the ones who lead with trust and apply relational intelligence consistently. That is what turns interactions into relationships, and experiences into something people come back to.
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