Martha’s fervent love for music and technology has finally earned her a seat at the C-Suite.
“It’s an interesting journey. Mine is through sheer hard work and being disciplined. If you are not disciplined, your career will be short-lived. Work smart, then work hard.”
Did she have a Damascus moment that changed her career? “I’ve had a dalliance with music and tech, but my forte was marketing. My boss was the high priest who presided in the marriage of the two.”
There is an earworm in her ear, Champez by Khaligraph but if a song were to be written about her, what would the lyrics say?
"Patience and working with systems, structures are crucial in every facet of life."
“It would talk about my zeal; my discipline and my heart being in the right place.”
What is the hardest part of leadership for her? “The discipline and sacrifices, there is a reason they say it is lonely at the top.”
The Mount Kenya University Bachelor of Business Administration graduate has always been daring, a prodigious character that brewed in her since childhood.
Challenges for the Formula 1 fanatic were opportunities to shine because she does not follow scripts, she writes them.
She started at Neo Marketing as a project manager. She then moved to Mdundo as head of marketing East Africa. In 2017, she joined Boomplay as senior marketing manager before rising to managing director.
What has been the biggest lesson at Boomplay?
“Patience and working with systems, structures are crucial in every facet of life.”
Her biggest achievement has been heading a big company at 31, a position that is sometimes peppered with ageism, and that has forced her to come out of her shell.
“Some people tell me ‘Oh I was talking to your boss’ until they realise I am the said boss. Age and gender raise questions, sometimes, but the facts silence them.”
Eddy Ashioya
