Charles Sturt University Alumni Magazine
Small but growing: Tara’s tech marketing niche Bachelor of Business (Marketing)
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I like being in small but growing companies. I think this is where marketers can have a big impact. Tara Salmon
Dubai, Munich, San Francisco, Melbourne. For the past 15 years, Tara Salmon has traversed the globe helping to-market growth-oriented tech innovation companies. Armed with a Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Tara got in on the ground level as digital marketing began to emerge. Straight after graduation she joined a small, promising Aussie tech company called Aconex, which provides a construction and engineering platform to help clients manage complex projects. “Initially, my role with the company was as a generalist marketer but as the company grew, we added more marketers and that gave us the chance to specialise. It was 2006, and I remember thinking ‘this online marketing thing has legs’, so that’s where I headed.” Tara would eventually head a team of 12 digital marketers, a role which saw her conquer challenges abroad. “I did a couple of stints in Dubai and Munich and spent seven years in San Francisco. It’s the centre of all things tech and
innovation. And as marketing has become a really tech-focused, data-driven discipline, it was an amazing place to work.” Tara’s San Fran adventure ended when she was asked by the CEO of Aconex to take on the role of his chief of staff, but as fate would have it, the successful Aussie tech company was acquired by Oracle for $1.6 billion soon after. “It was a pretty amazing journey, given I started with the company when we only had about 25 people.” In January 2019, Tara joined MessageMedia – a mobile messaging solution helping businesses better connect with customers – as their chief marketing officer. “MessageMedia is another Australian-founded tech company that is experiencing growth and expanding globally. "I like being in small but growing companies. I think this is where marketers can have a big impact."
