Key to success

 

 

Martha Reiss
Title: Senior Vice President, Field Marketing
Company: KeyBank, Corporate and Investment Banking Division
Education: B.A. Communications, Fordham University

Martha began her career in sports marketing – handling advertising programs, corporate sponsorships and promotional events for the United States Olympic Committee. She followed this up with several years in retail marketing, working with the largest mall developer in the Northeast. In 1998, she joined KeyCorp in Burlington, Vermont, and later moved to the Boston office to assume national marketing responsibilities for the corporate and investment bank.
 

 

Four years ago, amid reports of a ‘Brain Drain’ that was sapping the business community’s most talented workers, the Greater Boston Chamber created the Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program to identify the leaders of tomorrow and engage them in the business and civic life of our community. Every Monday, Chamber president & CEO Paul Guzzi has a conversation with one of the more than 200 alumni of the BFL program to introduce the region’s next generation of business leaders to Metro readers.

What is the coolest part of your job?
I enjoy supporting our clients and employees in markets like Dallas, San Francisco and New York. I love coming home the most, though. It’s always with a sense of good fortune for all that we have to be proud of and all we can enjoy in this very cool New England region.
 
What is your favorite thing about working in Boston?
Walking to work every day across the Common and the Garden, and then by the State House. I find it therapeutic to take in the mix of tourists, business people, and the less fortunate, while observing the passionate demonstrations, ceremonies, or even just the city workers busily preparing for a big event.
 
Favorite place to take a client for lunch?
Sel De La Terre
 
If you could have any job in Boston, other than your own, what would it be and why?
I’ve always wondered if I should have taken a path in education – both teaching and administration. Having a “Little Sister” (from the Big Sister program) in the Boston public schools has really opened my eyes to the challenges and struggles that our inner city educators are facing, and the opportunities to make a positive difference with a lasting impact on our future.
 
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Enjoying career, family and rewarding volunteer work here in the Boston business and neighborhood communities.
 
Favorite place to relax after a long day or week?
My yoga classes at Exhale.
 
What’s the best piece of career advice you have ever received?
Always strive to exceed expectations, and always, always, return a phone call. Even if it’s a salesman that you may think you might never have any use for, take just a minute for a quick professional courtesy and it will serve you well.

Best place for an after work drink?
Vintage Lounge. Very comfy furniture, pomegranate martinis, and mini kobe beef burgers to die for.

Who do you admire in the business world?
Vicki Donlan – publisher of Women’s Business, which she built from the ground up with a strong passion for helping other women succeed. I admire her impeccable business etiquette, networking skills, and professionalism – not to mention her always fun and friendly personality.

How can young professionals expand their networks and increase their impact in Boston?
Try to find the best events to attend that can broaden your mind and your contacts. If you can support a good charity in the process, all the better.
 
What reading material is on your nightstand?
Usually it’s just the pile of industry newsletters and white papers to catch up on, books by speakers I’m considering hiring for client events, and my monthly book club novel I’m desperately trying to finish in time.

Tell us something we should know about you.
My work is very important, but my family is my world. I have 8 siblings and 23 nieces and nephews. We share a “family compound” of sorts up in Lake Placid, New York, where we operate summer leadership camps for about 200 under privileged inner city kids who demonstrate both academic and community commitment. It’s a program my grandfather began in the ‘50s and we have worked to expand over the years, primarily in collaboration with Nativity School programs.