Danielle Guzman
Global Head of Social Media for Mercer
Danielle Guzman is the Global Head of Social Media for Mercer. She is a seasoned financial services and insurance industry professional with rich experience in leadership positions spanning product development, marketing, customer insights and training. She has over 15 years of experience in international, multilingual and multicultural work. The majority of her career has been spent working overseas, helping organizations develop and launch products and services, and drive digital innovation in more than 51 countries. Today Danielle champions that experience in her role at Mercer, bringing conversations to life on social media through an integrated brand, employee advocacy and influencer marketing strategy. Named the Communicator of the Year by Dynamic Signal, Danielle is ranked number 1 for both the Future of Work and Finance in the Global Study into Consultancy Employees’ Online Presence & Influence by Onalytica, number 8 Women in Finance: Top 100 Influencers by Onalytica, number four influencer in The Future of Recruitment: Top 100 Influencers by Onalytica, and number 4 in the Top Social Media Influencers in Big Consulting by Jay Palter. Danielle strongly believes in giving back to the community, and dedicates time to mentoring Fintech and Insurtech startups and working with entrepreneurs and leaders to build their personal brands and social media presence.
How did you get to become an expert in your key topics?
I started in the Financial Services industry straight out of school and into the Insurance industry for 15 years before pivoting to Professional Services. Throughout my career experiences, I’ve been passionate about product development, marketing, digital technology and the importance these play in enabling organizations to bring consumer-relevant products and services to market. Equally so, I care deeply for people. Every team I’ve had the privilege to work with has helped shape who I am today, and has inspired me to invest deeply in what it takes to help people thrive, and how organizations and its leaders can shape that journey.
What topic areas are you most passionate about?
Right now, I’m most passionate about the future of work, what that means, the many forces shaping what the workforce of the future will look like for organizations and individuals, and the role that leadership, education (+ skills!) and culture play in the journey. Coupled with these dynamics is recognizing that employees are an organization’s most valuable asset, and they truly are an authentic marketing channel for brands – a very powerful one at that.
Which influencers influence you within those key topics?
There are so many incredible individuals that come to mind, many of which are not online, however influence me just as much. Online, Meghan Biro, David Green, Harold Sinnott, Theodora Lau, Antonio Vieira Santos, and Tamara McCleary are just a few of the brilliant individuals that come to mind.
Outside of your key topics who else influences you?
Every day I have the opportunity to engage with someone who enriches my thinking and impacts my perspectives. First, I work with the most talented global community of individuals at Mercer. Second, across every career experience I’ve had, I look to my team – my team today, my team 4 years ago, my team 10 years ago. They are all rockstars and to this day influence me. Third, when I reflect on my online journey, there are a few people that have each played a special role. Early in my journey, Spiros Margaris taught me principals I hold onto every day. Nigel Walsh taught me what it truly means to open the door for someone. April Rudin taught me the importance of being authentic, online and offline. And Jim Marous, he taught me to dream big, and to this day challenges me to push my own boundaries. I invest time in getting to know people every day, and with each connection I am reminded of why I love what I do.
How would you describe your offline influence?
I invest a lot of my time doing advisory work. This ranges from working with individuals one-on-one to help them build their personal brands, to mentoring startup teams on key topics including product development, marketing and social media, to helping entrepreneurs (and startups/small businesses) build their social media presence, and finally, mentoring college students as they navigate the fast moving ecosystem around the future of work. I also do speaking engagements across the globe, write for publications, and create my own content.
If a brand wanted to work with you, which activities would you be most interested in collaborating on?
I really enjoy speaking at events, participating in podcasts, webinars and live social media events. I also enjoy contributing to whitepapers/other written content.
What’s your best source of information for getting ahead of a story?
My best source of information is a large mix of resources, publications and people that I follow and read daily. I combine that with a handful of tools that I set up to aggregate content on topics that interest me. Things move so fast everyday that the best thing one can do is be equally dynamic with resources and methodology you use.
What brands have you worked with?
Many large financial institutions, plus a wide range of startups primarily in North America and Europe in the Fintech and Insurtech space.
Which non-paid activities would you be keen to take part in if the opportunity raised your profile or delivered value to your audience?
- Co-Create long-form content (blogs, white papers, ebooks, research)
- Provide a quote for content or news article
- Share / create a social post
- Speak at or attend an event
- Participate in online chat (e.g. Twitter chat, Crowdchat, Google Hangout)
- Create video content
What are your passions outside of work?
I love yoga, traveling and cooking. One of my greatest joys is bringing people together for a wonderful meal and creating memories.
What would be the best way for a brand to contact you?
Either on Twitter or on Linkedin .