Tiffany Maines
Senior Manager Monetization & Portfolio Management, WarnerMedia
Mother knows best. It’s a saying as old as time but such was the case for Tiffany Maines. “My mother always said, ‘Do whatever makes you happy, don’t worry about the money. The money will come.’
And so Tiffany did, and thus began a storied career path spanning psychology, insurance, business management, and tech.
IN THE BEGINNING
Tiffany was born in Centralia, Illinois to a family she describes as “a musical bunch”. “My mom and her sisters were in a singing group, my cousins and I made up the church band, and my brother is still pursuing music so it’s kind of a family thing.”
Although Tiffany had an affinity for music —she played the saxophone, clarinet, and piano—she enrolled at Illinois State University and majored in Psychology intending to go to medical school to become a Psychiatrist. Despite having ambition and intelligence in spades, Tiffany lacked the finances and know-how to navigate the maddeningly complex student aid system. So she pivoted and took a job at Country Financial because, “In Bloomington, Illinois you really only work one of two places after graduation, Country Financial or State Farm.”
SERENDIPITY
Tiffany worked in insurance for 15 years as a customer service rep and then as a supervisor. “When my employer decentralized their customer service operations, I was transferred to a tech department only to realize that I had a knack for it. I’m a curious person and I thrive in environments that change and don’t allow me to get too comfortable or complacent. Technology is ever-changing, you will never learn everything but as a lifelong learner…it’s fun to try!”
Tiffany may have landed in tech by chance but it was her choice to become good at it. She went back to school for a Masters in Business Administration. “I wanted to learn more and make myself more marketable in this lane so I went back to school and spent the next 10 years as a Senior Business Analyst or a Technical Project Manager for two different companies including State Farm.”
After an adventitious phone call led to a job offer, Tiffany followed her intuition and heeded her mother’s advice one last time, leaving her home state of Illinois for Santa Monica, CA. Four years and two jobs later, Tiffany is now the Senior Manager of Application Development and Support in Monetization & Portfolio Management at WarnerMedia. She is responsible for defining the strategy and spearheading key technology initiatives across DC, WBIE Games and Consumer Products.
“We go into business units to assess their needs from a technology standpoint. We assist with system selection, implementation, upgrades, application support and integration efforts that will help increase efficiency and reduce overhead across the organization”, says Tiffany about her day to day functions. In addition to her work in tech, Tiffany is very passionate about DEI efforts and is very active in that space through the WarnerMedia Technology Org (WMTO).
ACCELERATOR
Tiffany not just found her lane, she’s excelling in it. The Executive Director and Vice President of Monetization and Workplace Tech have taken notice of Tiffany’s professional prowess and nominated her for several leadership programs including AWE’s Accelerator Foundations. “It’s important to feel valued in an organization. They both champion me as a person and a valued member of the leadership team.”
Tiffany jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Winter 2021 Accelerator cohort to “network and connect and learn from women from all different backgrounds, ethnicities and companies. That excited me!” When asked which session she found the most impactful she revealed this about the Branding session, “I hadn’t really thought about how I wanted people to see me. I now know I want people to know I appreciate the people I work with, I’m fiercely protective of my team, and I’m a strong leader. That’s what I want to be said when my name is brought up in a room.”
The impact of the program had immediate real life consequences for Tiffany. “I was promoted to Senior Manager on the heels of AWE Accelerator. I started to apply some of the techniques I learned and I believe it was noticed.”
TODAY
Tiffany learned early on to strive for success and monetary gain but to arrive at those opportunities by following her bliss. Today, she is living her best life; thriving in business while frequenting L.A. restaurants (her favorite is Bottega Louie) and learning to play the guitar. “My mom always said she trusted I would make the right decisions. I hope I’ve made her proud.”