Determined to make the most of her two years in the program, Storin seized every opportunity and has since encouraged other Trojans to do the same.
“I think MBAs are what you make of them,” Storin said. “If you’re expecting to go in and be given this path to follow, then you’re going to be disappointed. You should go in with the [mindset] that this is two years of my life that I get to take advantage of everything that this school and this environment have to offer.”
Storin took on leadership roles in the Graduate Women in Business and the Challenge for Charity. She attended lectures by prominent figures such as Warren Bennis and conducted in-depth research into change management, organizational culture, and business models. Storin also spent significant time networking with Trojan alumni.
“Being a student gives you a lot of permission,” Storin said. “It gives you permission to be curious. It gives you permission to network in a way that you will likely never have again. Taking advantage of that is really the advice I give to every prospective and current MBA. Don’t think that business school happens to you. You have to be the one to control that destiny.”
After graduation, Storin joined Deloitte as a manager of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. As she moved across companies, her enterprising attitude and business acumen earned her leadership roles at some of the tech industry’s largest corporations: Dell, AMD, and IBM.
No matter how high she’s risen, however, she continues to draw on lessons she learned at Marshall.
“Marshall really provided me with an environment to put my curiosity first,” Storin recalled. “I think people don’t always understand how hard the MBA program is. I really believe that my ability to be agile and to multitask and to be as efficient as I am stems back to the lessons I learned over those two years. And right now in this AI-enabled world that we’re living in, agility is everything.”
Artificial intelligence represents the latest challenge for Storin and Zoom. Nevertheless, the CMO pushes her team to face the disruptions head-on, incorporating AI into workflows and marketing efforts based on user feedback.
“Our job as marketers is to be the voice of and the voice to the market,” Storin explained. “I’m constantly talking to customers, talking to the market, understanding where AI can help solve their problems and make their lives easier.”
As generative AI adoption grows, Storin warns of increasing uniformity across brands. That’s why she’s maintaining an emphasis on soft skills — such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and collaboration — that drive creativity, innovation, and the personal touch that makes campaigns unique.
“We still need humans to bring those human attributes to bear,” Storin said. “And those are going to be the folks that really excel in marketing moving forward. Because even though yes, we are going to be engineering and orchestrating the heck out of marketing, we are also still marketing to humans and those buying decisions are still made by humans.”
Storin’s drive has earned her a reputation as a visionary, innovator, and risk-taker, culminating in her inclusion on the Forbes list. The CMO didn’t anticipate receiving the honor but says she’s grateful for the people in her network who have encouraged her to find success by taking on new challenges.
“It was a testament to the strength of my team and their willingness to take a really big risk,” Storin said. “I also immediately sent a note to my CFO and CEO thanking them for giving me the permission to take risks … And, of course, I had to send a text to Colin Jost as well.”
