Welcome to the first GMS alumni spotlight! This month, we talked with former GMS member Vanlizza Chau (class of 2019) about her experience with GMS, her current position at CVS, and what advice she has for current members.
Vanlizza is currently a Business Analyst at CVS Health for the Omni-channel Engagement & Growth Channels team. Her team is a part of CVS’ Digital Innovation Lab and oversees three main strategic initiatives for CVS.com: Marketplace Strategy (partnerships with Instacart, Shipt, and DoorDash), Monetization (Digital Coupons and Sponsored Product Ads), and Ratings & Reviews. Her most recent project worked on growing online ratings and reviews strategy. Specifically, the project included optimizing the digital ratings & reviews experience, leveraging reporting and insights, and launching sampling campaigns to collect reviews for new CVS products.
When asked how COVID-19 impacted her job, Vanlizza said her team was able to “play a part in helping shoppers get access to essential goods when they needed it most.” Her team had to adapt to rush-buying behavior, such as the surge in toilet paper buying that most people remember from the early days of COVID-19. Furthermore, Vanlizza said that “everything from web layout to messaging shifted away from being offer-driven to being COVID-centric and ‘consumer-first’ – ensuring all customers had the most up to date CDC updates and easy access to the product categories they needed most.”
Vanlizza’s experience as a GMS member provided her with skills to succeed in her job. She was able to learn how to manage client expectations, create presentations, conduct data analysis, and practice public speaking, all skills which she utilizes now. In addition, GMS was a topic of focus during job interviews which enabled her to display the skills she gained. When asked what advice she has for current members of GMS, Vanlizza quoted Uncle Iroh from ATLA “Don’t let the plan get in the way of the journey.” Specifically, she said to focus less on reaching an end point, and instead take time to enjoy “experiences, learned lessons, and people we meet along the way.”