Life Of A Lepayaan: Meet Charlotte!

Life of a Lepayaan: Head of Marketing Charlotte Eggens

Charlotte joined Lepaya at the height of the pandemic, but in her time here she has played a major role in Lepaya’s rapid growth as Head of Marketing. Charlotte and I discussed her unconventional journey with education, her published book and her favourite thing to do on a Lepaya Friday (hint: Charlotte’s kids love Lepaya Friday!). Meet Head of Marketing Charlotte!

Where did you study prior to joining Lepaya?

I had a somewhat atypical path in terms of education, I began with a 4 year MBO in Tourism and finished with a Master in Persuasive Communication Science. In high school I did not stand out academically, I existed in my own world of programming and being quite a nerdy student! So when it came to choosing the next stop I decided to follow a path of Tourism, during which time I was introduced to Communication Management which really appealed to me. I decided to follow an HBO in Communication Management in Fontys Hogescholen for 4 years which allowed me to do a short track Bachelor in Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam.

I kind of came into my element at UvA. I realised that skills I thought I did not have just existed in a different way, during my time at UvA I developed an interest in statistics that had never interested me previously! It took the right learning style for me to discover this. I finished up my time at UvA in early 2012 when I graduated from my Master of Persuasive Communication Science by which point I was 27. What stuck with me through my time at university, having had a unique journey to get there, was a goal oriented approach. I completed my courses in the set time and forged a path for myself that I was determined to succeed in.

Where did you work before Lepaya?

I began working in a marketing capacity at an email marketing agency called Hellodialog where I did content marketing. This was really the foundation of my marketing career. During my time here I actually wrote weekly blogs which we later decided to compile into a book! It was such an exciting process to do this and create a storyline that would appeal to the market. I remember when it was published I read through it endlessly and proudly, it was so delightful to see my determination and hard work pay off in such a tangible matter!

I also had the opportunity to write for external expert platforms such as Frankwatching, Emerce and Marketingfacts which was exciting as it really catalysed our growth to have such big names referring to us.

I worked there for 4 years and decided I wanted to challenge myself to work in a different field.

I started working at Speakap where we focused on providing HR Internal communication platforms. This was a scaleup and I was the first on the marketing team- seeing the team grow during my time there was fulfilling but I also learned valuable analytical skills during my time here. While I was not using my creativity as much I became adept at utilising our internal marketing software (HubSpot) to its most optimal performance.

While I did really enjoy my role and my time at Speakap, particularly watching the marketing team grow, when COVID kicked off, I left Speakap in pursuit of a role where I could utilize both my creativity and my analytical/technical skills.

Interesting! So how did you come upon Lepaya?

I wanted to take some time before starting a new role and I had a vision of the role I wanted. I was not actively sending applications but I made myself available for work on LinkedIn. I wanted to spend quality time with my kids and begin to follow my dream of writing a book.

But one day an old colleague asked me if I was interested in a Head of Marketing role at Lepaya. I checked the role and Lepaya out, the role seemed to perfectly fit my vision for what I wanted! I was able to utilize my creative content marketing skills as well as my analytical technical skills. I got to set up Lepaya’s marketing team from scratch creating marketing processes, implementing strategies and introducing HubSpot to Lepaya!

Lepaya had a next level opportunity for me to implement all my learnings and use my experience, that seemed to fall perfectly into my path- I had to give it a shot!

How would you describe your role at Lepaya today?

It’s about the buyer journey and making sure we make the right decisions for our clients, and ensuring we are appealing to the needs of organizations who are seeking our trainings. My first few months were focused on how we can bring in more leads and analyse where they come from. More recently we are focused on bringing marketing’s impact across all of Lepaya by looking at it in a holistic way. Focusing not just on where our clients came from but their journey to us and how we can ensure this journey is an optimal experience for them.

Why do you like working at Lepaya?

I love the versatility of my role. Everything is so well in place we can directly tie our actions to our impact when it comes to marketing. I was given the freedom to implement my vision for the marketing department and I was able to do so very hands on.

Being able to educate fellow marketers on what I have learned and seeing the puzzle pieces coming together is really fulfilling. The amount of trust everyone within Lepaya has in me means a lot too, it reaffirms for me that this role and company were the right place for me to be.

What makes Lepaya different from other employers?

Lepaya is unique in how people are regarded as a priority. We have such a diverse group of people working from all over the world to empower professionals to live happier lives. We work so seamlessly as a group because Lepaya brings together people with the drive and creativity needed to do this.

As well as that, the freedom to do your role in the way that best uses your skills and knowledge is excellent. This means everyone is given a level of trust to use their abilities without having confining restraints as to how they should do their job.

The feeling of community at Lepaya, especially within each team is so special and makes it such a comfortable place to work.

With so much versatility at play at Lepaya in many senses it becomes such an exciting place to work. There is always something else coming around the corner to highlight how our work is paying off. An opportunity to celebrate our growth is never far off and there is always a landmark to work towards with such a feeling of accomplishment when we reach it.

The feeling of community at Lepaya, especially within each team is so special and makes it such a comfortable place to work.

What is your favourite thing to do on a Lepaya Friday?

Well I am off every Friday as I take that day to spend time with my kids. More often we spend it outdoors, cycling, playing or at the beach! Sometimes I might spend the day on self care- doing some solo activities that I enjoy to relax and focus on my writing or just to recharge.

That is something I really appreciate about Lepaya, I was able to take that time to focus on myself or spend time with the boys. My role as a parent has always been the most important. At Lepaya, we are given the trust to do our work to the best of our ability focusing on the quality of the output rather than looking aimlessly at the time spent working

With that freedom, we have the opportunity to recharge ourselves on Lepaya Friday, making a working week more productive than you could imagine while working ‘regular hours’.

Become a Lepayaan!

Charlotte leads the marketing team and plays a crucial role in Lepaya’s rapid growth, if you want to know more about Lepaya’s marketing or have an enquiry for Head of Marketing Charlotte, reach out !

Lepaya is an employer that helps you discover your best place, as we have seen in these interviews (it is becoming a recurring theme!). If you want to join team Lepaya, check out our vacancies!