34 |
C H A M IN A DE MAGAZI NE
Coming Full Circle
KRISTINE STEBBINS ‘87 REMEMBERS COMPLETING A LONG LIST OF INTERNSHIPS AS A COMMUNICATION UNDERGRADUATE AT CHAMINADE, INCLUDING THE ONE THAT WOULD LAUNCH HER WHIRLWIND CAREER AND EVENTUALLY BRING HER BACK TO THE
ISLANDS FOR AN EXECUTIVE ROLE CREATED EXPRESSLY FOR HER.
Stebbins was recently named senior vice president and director of digital experience innovation and technology at Bank of Hawai'i. The position is an opportunity for the longtime marketing entrepreneur—who has been breaking ground in the industry for decades— to come full circle, returning to the place where she met her husband, attended college and
began to build her marketing philosophy. She described her work at Bank of Hawai'i as “one of those awesome roles.” “I have the opportunity to look five years down the line at the ways we’re planning to build these amazing digital experiences,” she said, adding that digital innovation is an exciting and growing area of the banking
sector that has been put on a fast track because of the pandemic. “Today when you’re looking at marketing in particular, you need to think of yourself as a marketing technologist." Stebbins said her projects at Bank of Hawai'i have allowed her to bring her marketing and digital innovation expertise to bear to create excellent digital customer experiences. Stebbins joined Bank of Hawai'i full-time after previously serving as a consultant for the company, including on a key digital transformation project that helped put the institution on the right footing for the pandemic. In other words, she was designing for the future. And that was a role she was completely comfortable with. After all, Stebbins likes to say the only constant in marketing is change. Every five years or so, there’s a big disruption in the industry—the kind of seismic shifts that companies can learn to dread. Great marketing strategy, she says, is about harnessing those moments and using them to create new opportunities to reach customers. “The pandemic has been a moment where it’s basically made digital interactions in banking a requirement,” she said. “So we’re trying to build out digital experiences that bring humans together.” Her message to young marketing professionals is one she learned early on, too, including as a Chaminade student: Be ready for those moments of disruption by embracing adaptability and change.
