The Marketing Club of New York (MCNY) celebrates each of our Silver Apple honorees with a profile that dives into their career and goals. We spoke with honoree Michael Wooh, Global Head of Marketing, Gurobi Optimization prior to the Awards Gala in November 2022. This is his story.

The Customer (TC): What attracted you to the world of marketing?

Michael Wooh (MW): My interest in marketing started in college, through my coursework, but the real spark came when I started a college-based business.

TC: Name a pivotal moment in your career that redefined your trajectory or stood out most (and why).

MW: A pivotal moment in my career is when I transitioned from sales engineering to product management. Product management led to product marketing, which in turn, led to corporate marketing.

TC: Marketing is now more data-driven than ever before. How do you help clients get the most from their data?

MW: The first step to use the data to better understand the customer journey and the client’s needs — to address their pain points and understand their desired business outcome.

TC: What’s the best business/career advice you would give to someone looking to become a chief marketer or global head of marketing?

MW: Let me offer several bits of advice:

1. Lead by example. Integrity is a must. Do not create more followers, create more leaders.
2. Be a good listener. Listen to your customers, listen to your team, listen to the market.
3. Have functional hands-on experience with key marketing disciplines.
4. Build high-performing teams.
5. Be a visionary. Innovate, disrupt, be transformative, be a change agent. Challenge the status quo.

TC: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a person choosing to enter the marketing world?

MW: Start broad then specialize on what you enjoy. Learn, learn, learn, and hone your skills. Focus on continuous improvement. Incorporate strategic thinking and planning into every initiative.

TC: Tell us something surprising about you.

MW: Fun Fact: I won the NYC poetry contest when I was in elementary school.

TC: What are a couple of your favorite outside interests?

MW: Travel, archery, martial arts, helicopters

TC: Do you have a hidden skill?

MW: I have a black belt in martial arts.TC: We’re not sure if there’s a helicopter pad on the roof of the Edison – but we look forward to seeing you feted during the MCNY Silver Apples Gala.