Fast Track Marketer

Laura Sclafani has a well-defined mission. She would like to be chief marketing officer of a professional services firm by the time she is 32.

The new business development and marketing specialist at Whittlesey & Hadley P.C., a 15-partner CPA firm in Hartford, is well on her way because she has her master's in integrated marketing communications from Emerson College in Boston and she's only 22.

She completed her undergraduate degree in three years at Florida State University in social sciences and economics and then finished her master's in 11 months. "It was the way I was brought up," said the affable young woman. "My dad did the same thing. I did this because by the time I [reach] 30 I want a lot of experience in the field. By the time I'm 30, I'll be a decade in the field."

It's a field that is relatively new. Her father has his MBA and odds are pretty good he had never heard the phrase "integrated marketing communications" in grad school.

"People do turn to me and say, ‘What is it?' when they hear what my degree is," Sclafani said. "More schools are offering it now for a master's degree. You can do just public relations or direct mail. You have to incorporate the Internet and social networking into what you do. It all has to connect. When you execute a plan, it has to incorporate all these things.

"The umbrella of event planning, public relations, marketing, advertising are all combined under one thing. You use all of that when you create a marketing plan. Integrated marketing is everything that has to do with marketing and communications," she added.

After just a few minutes of conversation, it's clear why Sclafani pursued this career. "It fits my personality. I'm very outgoing and a good communicator. I love everything about marketing. It was a great thing to do," Sclafani said.

Only one month into her new position, Sclafani looks forward to embracing Whittlesey & Hadley's non-profit niche. "I think that's a great thing" because of the changing economic picture and the increased demands on nonprofits, she said. "We can help them get every dollar possible."

The adjustment from Boston to Hartford wasn't a difficult one for Sclafani, a Long Island native. She does admit to a sense of difficulty acclimating to the cold Northeast after three years in Florida.