Madeline Maguire leads the Corporate Marketing group at Grubhub. Since joining the business in 2016, Madeline has led the charge in transforming the Corporate Marketing & Sales strategy. In 2020, she was faced with the task of leading her team through the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19. Through identifying an opportunity for feeding virtual events and moving quickly to take this to market in March, Madeline’s team was able to find a new use case and vertical market for the existing product. Their initiative and quick action drove record-breaking growth for the business, with new business sales growing 109% YoY.

Can you share any particular achievements you are most proud of in your current role?

Since joining Grubhub in 2016, the corporate food delivery space has transformed and expanded dramatically. Staying closely connected to the changing needs of our customers and maintaining the mindset of an agile startup is the cornerstone of our strategy. This was never more critical than this year, when Covid-19 and widespread office closures significantly impacted our Corporate business that is largely geared towards catering meal programs. In addition to pivoting our pitch to cater to employees working from home, my team poured over our data and organic trends and uncovered a new opportunity for feeding the virtual events that would become prolific in 2020. We moved at lighting speed and mobilized our cross-functional partners to be the first to bring this to market before the end of March, finding a new use case and vertical market for our existing product. This initiative and quick action drove record-breaking growth for the business, with new business sales growing 109% YoY. This work not only helped Grubhub, but also supported our B2B marketing & sales peers achieve their goals and effectively transition in-person events to the digital world.

Can you share any details about how your team, or individuals on your team, have helped drive innovation?

Innovative B2B marketing is equal parts an art as well as a science. We are a highly data-driven organization, but it is the way we leverage our insights to fuel creativity that sets us apart. Staying close to our numbers is critical, but it takes emotional intelligence, intuition and originality to design a winning campaign. Creativity is about so much more than just our brand; it is about bringing that mindset into the way we work. We have fostered an environment where failure is not only viewed as a worst-case scenario option, but an inevitability when constantly trying new things. Maintaining a level of fearlessness and openness is what allows us to keep moving forward. We take risks, learn quickly, adapt and move on to the next big idea.

In the midst of Covid-19, what are some lessons you’ve learned that will impact or influence the future of your work

This year has been a learning curve for marketers across the spectrum, as we all continue to adapt to the challenges of Covid-19. While it is not a new lesson, a major theme for me has been the importance of empathy in how we communicate as brands. We may be “business-to-business” marketers, but we are still speaking to individual people living through unprecedented times. In a year that has highlighted our collective humanity, it has never been more important to keep the person in mind at the receiving end of a sales call, email or piece of content, understand their needs and mindset and come from a place of how we can help. It has also been critical for us as brands to walk the talk of our business values — authenticity matters and it certainly matters to our clients.

What sources for inspiration help you stay excited and invigorated in your work?

The biggest inspiration this year has been our Grubhub diner community. When Covid-19 hit in March, we established the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, a donor-advised fund, to support local and national charitable organizations that provide relief for those who have been impacted by Covid-19, including restaurants, delivery partners and those in need. With this fund, contributions through our Donate the Change program — amounting to nearly $14 million dollars raised to date — go to charitable organizations that support restaurants and drivers.