Meet the Team:

Our meet the team series, ‘Coffee and a chat’, allows us to showcase our wonderful team and give prospective clients an insight into their lives; both at work and at home. We want our clients to be able to put a face (and a story) to the name. Here at SearchMax, we are one big family and we thought we would use this opportunity to have some fun and introduce our digital marketing experts to you properly. So grab a seat and let’s have a coffee and a chat while getting to know the team!

A person who has shattered many glass ceilings especially at such a young age. Being a master’s graduate at the early age of 22 and thereafter learning and working her way up to becoming the youngest associate director at SearchMax.

Raneesha is not only known for her expertise in the digital marketing field but is also a foodie expert and will introduce you to some crazy food outlets out and around Colombo.

Where there is food, there is a Raneesha 😉

01. Tell Us A bit about You

I was born and raised in the suburbs of Colombo, Sri lanka. Being the eldest in my family among my 2 younger siblings gave me all the motivation I needed to push myself and reach high goals in life.

If anyone was to ask me to describe myself in a few words, I would say I am a “risk taker”. From the time I started school when I was young, I always chose the road less travelled. I was given the choice between computing and french and having chosen french as a subject for my O/level and A/level examinations and I can now proudly say that I went onto be an award winner for french studies in Sri lanka. Just after my A/L I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the University of Plymouth for my Bachelor in Business Management & Marketing. After 3 years of being the batch top I was given a full scholarship to the UK to pursue my master’s degree. At the tender age of 22, I was a master’s graduate.

Having many career opportunities after completing my masters degree from being a diplomat, to work in the tourism industry, I was able to start my career at Searchmax as a digital marketing trainee and 4 years later I am now an associate director.

02. What was your journey like with Searchmax?

I remember my first day at searchmax walking into the office, I was quite intimidated by my boss and colleagues and second guessed the choice I made.  I had no background in digital marketing, but it did not take long for me to realise that I was surrounded by some amazing mentors who are highly talented in digital marketing. They not only taught me the basics of digital marketing but also pushed me to the deep end which helped to get to where I am today.

After just 3 months of joining Searchmax, I was given the opportunity to manage nearly 30 accounts by myself. I was then promoted to a digital marketing executive, where I went onto manage an entire agency for 3 years and also got exposure in building strategies for onboarding clients by doing company audits.

3 years down the line I shifted my focus on the e-commerce industry and today I am a specialist in e-commerce as well leading a business unit with many e-commerce clients.

03. What inspired you to get into digital marketing?

What mainly inspired me to get into digital marketing was my final project for my master’s degree which was based on a digital marketing proposal.

04. How would you define leadership?

For me, leadership is finding the right balance between walking with your team (so they don’t feel too overpowered) and establishing your ground as a leader to make sure things go as planned.

It’s also about maintaining open communication so that your team feels comfortable to approach you in times of need without much hesitation and it’s about being strong for your team and guiding them through when things don’t go as planned (which happens quite a lot in this industry!).

The most significant barrier to female leadership is people’s perception that women think too emotionally hence, they are not fit to make strategic or technical decisions. This is obviously changing with more women coming into power.

05. Any female leader from a TV show that you would emulate at work?

I think I’m already a mix between Bailey from Grey’s Anatomy and Daenerys from GOT. I can lead the pack when needed and come up with a strategic plan of attack to save what’s needed when someone least expects it. I’m also very sharp, independent and tend to establish my ground. However, just like Bailey and Daenerys, there is a soft side to me which you will rarely see at work & a lot of history as to why I am the way I am 🙂

06. What drives or motivates you everyday?

I am a learner. I focus more on learning rather than performance. The fact that there is room for me to learn more and more everyday motivates me to wake up and thrive. 

I am lucky enough to be working at a company like Searchmax where the culture promotes continuous learning and growing. I believe that everyday I can take home with me a lesson from my boss, my peers, and clients.

07. What were some make or break moments in your career?

Finding the right balance between my work and personal life was pretty tough. This was one of my “make or break” moments which got me to think twice about my career and choices. But I managed to get myself out of this thought and with the support from my colleagues I was able to find the right balance

08. What is your favourite food/music/place to go (pick one)?

Plus Nine Four Cafe is my “go to” place to wind down after a busy day/week.

09. For a person who has shattered many glass ceilings especially at a young age, what is some advice you can give someone moving forward in their career?

Digital Marketing is a job where every day is different for you. This industry requires passion and a desire to succeed, and taking the time to do extra reading and self learning goes a long way in this industry. If you are someone who is committed and passionate about Digital Marketing as a Career, it is a career with excellent long-term prospects.

10. What’s a fun fact about you that not many people know about?

I put my social media platforms into good use by support and promoting small local businesses.