Name: Kofi Jones
Age: 40…and happy to say so!
Job Title and Description: Executive Director, Commonwealth Marketing Office
The Executive Director of the Commonwealth Marketing Office (CMO) is responsible for the coordination and oversight of all business, entrepreneurship, and student focused marketing efforts on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As the chief marketing officer of the state, the Executive Director of the CMO promotes Massachusetts as a globally competitive, innovative, and opportunity-rich state by establishing marketing initiatives that support business growth, talent retention, regional prosperity, and advances in technology and innovation throughout the Commonwealth.
College/Major: Salem State University/Psychology
Website: massitsallhere.comÂ
Twitter Handle: @massitsallhere
Her Campus: What is a typical day like for you?
Kofi Jones: What is most typical about my day is its unpredictability; this is also what I love most about my job. I begin my day with a clear outline of what deadlines are before me—from upcoming events to pending announcements. However, each day brings with it breaking news, three busy phone lines, emails, social media accounts, and new ideas and collaborations which inevitably turn my day in new directions. The key is to remain focused, organized and flexible all at once.
HC: What was your first entry-level job in your field and how did you get it?
 KJ: My first job in the field of communications was as the political coordinator at WBZ-TV in Boston. I was offered the job after meeting with the news director while pitching an event I was coordinating on behalf of a non-profit, student run organization. The news director, in his words, “saw something” in me. At the time, the station was building a team to prepare for the 1995-1996 election cycle, and I was asked to join on a temporary basis. I ultimately stayed at WBZ for three years and in the television news business for ten. The job changed my life and set the path of my career. To this day, I think of the team at WBZ-TV as my family.
HC: Who is one person who changed your professional life for the better?
KJ:Â Peter Brown, the former News Director of WBZ-TV who gave me my first shot in the communications business.
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HC: Is there a particular quote or mantra that you live by?
KJ: Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.
The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours. – Ayn Rand
HC: What is one mistake you made along the way and what did you learn from it?
KJ: The greatest mistakes I’ve made along the way came when I was trying to “do it all” myself. Forgetting to collaborate along the way will usually leave your work product lacking.Â
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HC: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
KJ: The most rewarding part of my job is working with every element of the Massachusetts ecosystem. From businesses leaders, to entrepreneurs, to students, to academic leaders, my job offers me the opportunity to learn, each day, exactly why this state is such a global leader, and then, in turn, use my creative and collaborative genes to promote the fact that it is, in fact, all here. It’s easy to be the state’s “chief cheerleader,” if you will, when you have the opportunity to see firsthand, every day, the sheer talent and ability that surrounds me.
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HC: What do you look for when considering hiring someone?
KJ:Â I look for passion, drive, hunger, and a desire to build real partnerships with those committed to a shared goal. I also look for someone with a genuine sense of direction and purpose in life, even if that purpose is not necessarily relevant to the position.
HC: What advice would you give to a 20-something with similar aspirations?
 KJ: Create, innovation, and collaborate. This is a can’t lose trifecta.
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