CRO Pendo, Jennifer Brannigan: Un-designing Your Leadership Path

To make the leap from HR to sales may seem like a significant obstacle to surmount. For Jennifer Brannigan, CRO at Pendo, it was an easy choice to make. Her decision to pursue her own interests and passion over a high salary set her on a path toward where she is today. And for her, the journey still continues. 

As she puts it, her professional roadmap is much like a jungle gym, as it is varied and intriguing. In this episode, Jennifer shares why she transitioned to sales in the midst of an accelerating HR career, and what she learned from her time at NBC Universal and LinkedIn. She also brings a refreshing take as she explains her unconventional subscription to JOMO (the joy of missing out) and provides insight on why she focuses on cultivating potential over check-the-box skillsets.

In this episode, we cover:

• Jennifer’s exciting summer job in Ireland - and why she aspires to embrace JOMO (the joy of missing out). (03:18)
• A look into the neighborhood Jennifer grew up in, located in South Side, Chicago - and why Joubin thinks she would make a great podcast host. (09:07)
• How Jennifer’s experience at NBC Universal transferred into her next role - and what she learned from the challenges that came with her position at LinkedIn. (12:56)
• Jennifer’s perspective on leading LinkedIn’s large-scale layoff and how her HR experience prepared her for that difficult task. (17:54)
• From LinkedIn to Pendo: Jennifer’s journey towards her role as CRO - and her thoughts on her career trajectory. (21:55)
• Joubin and Jennifer explore the positive effect that running and exercise have on their mental health. (30:14)
• More on Jennifer’s path to Pendo: what she looked for in her search and how she spent her first 6 months. (35:15)
• Pendo’s cross-organizational hiring rubric - and Jennifer’s viewpoint on hiring potential vs success. (43:48)
• Jennifer uses her own experiences to rank career, money, company, and manager - and she shares her favorite simple habit and one she’d like to develop. (56:44)

Links:

• Connect with Jennifer
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Pendo
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: [email protected] 
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins