What People Say About Working With Don

Luis Ruvalcaba, VP Worldwide Creative Director @ IDC

As a Creative Director one often has to always look beyond the immediate core Marketing Creative team for talent. Sometimes you find a diamond in the rough and when you do it’s a responsibility as a leader to pave the way for these individuals. Such is the case with Don Kianian, Customer Marketing Program Manager at Gigya.

When I first arrived at Gigya Don had been reassigned to another role outside of Marketing. It was clear that Don was not satisfied with his current situation and he made the effort to reach out to me expressing his desire to do whatever it takes to become part of the core Marketing team.

Given the opportunity Don dove in head first at everything that came his way, from shooting and editing in-house videos, assisting in photo shoots, doing research, jumping in on PPT presentations, writing content and articles, reaching out to clients/customers and key stakeholders across the organization. Whatever the task Don found a way to overcome roadblocks and knew when to seek out assistance and counsel when needed.

Within a few months Don was reporting directly into my group and we quickly mapped out and defined his growing role as Customer Marketing Program Manager. Needless to say, with his growing knowledge and understanding of the Product, Content and Operations, people began to witness Don reach escape velocity as his career growth took off. His attention to detail along with his ability to understand and grasp complex issues and write well researched Cases Studies and content uniquely positions Don for greater challenges and even greater rewards.

It truly has been my privilege to be part of Don’s growing Marketing career, I’ve seen him do some incredible stuff but I know that the best is yet to come.

Rachel Serpa, Content Marketing Consultant

I had the pleasure of working with Don for more than two years at Gigya, first as his peer and then as his manager. During our time together, I watched him develop into a top-notch marketer and become the heart and soul of our team. Sheer competency and intelligence aside, what always impressed me most about Don was his absolutely tireless work ethic.

In an atmosphere of constant and rapid change, Don was always up to the challenge, taking on whatever was thrown his way and completing tasks with grace and excellence. Often the first in the office and the last to leave, Don approached challenges with an infectious dedication and positive attitude.

Honestly, he made my job as his manager easy. I never had to ask him to do anything twice, and more often than not I didn't have to ask at all because he would simply see what needed to be done and do it. While he required minimal guidance and assistance, he knew exactly when to escalate an issue and ask for help. I relied heavily on him and trusted him implicitly, as did every other member of our team.

Don is truly a superstar, and any company would be extremely lucky to have him on board. I can't wait to see his career continue to skyrocket, and can only hope that I have the good fortune of getting to work with him again in the future!

Julia Gidwani, Founder @ Day Digital Marketing

I am delighted to write this LinkedIn recommendation for Don Kianian. During our time working together, Don consistently impressed me with his exceptional skills and remarkable dedication. Don's primary focus was on product, but what truly set him apart was his active involvement in marketing efforts.

He understood the importance of a holistic approach and actively sought to contribute to our marketing strategies. His ability to ask insightful questions and delve into the intricacies of marketing showed his keen interest and dedication to achieving outstanding results.

One of the qualities that truly stood out about Don was his attention to results. He was not content with just going through the motions; instead, he meticulously analyzed data (created his own results spreadsheets to analyze specific time periods) and paid close attention to the impact of our marketing initiatives. His dedication to tracking and measuring results was impressive.

In addition to his exceptional professional skills, Don was a true team player. He consistently went above and beyond to support and collaborate with his colleagues. His positive attitude, willingness to help, and work ethic made him stand out.

Don is an outstanding professional with a unique combination of intelligence, dedication, and solid work ethic. Any company and team would be lucky to have him on board!

Not only was Don able to work on various projects for key stakeholders and executives, his curiosity and innovative thinking was contagious. Great people skills, adaptive, and SALES MINDED!!!

Don can execute anything really...Digital, content, product, brand, event, marketing all along with market analysis. It truly was a blessing to have him work for Sherpa and Telestream and I can't wait until I am able to work with him again.

He's an excellent presenter and speaker, passionate about the go-to-market cycle, analyzing markets and empathizing with customers and their needs. He's cheerful, pragmatic, supportive and exudes a positive attitude within the organization.

Don's work with the launch of Wirecast Gear 3 at Telestream was instrumental to its launch and winning awards across two different markets (broadcast and proAV). The same can be said for other solutions and how he ran with them and drove them to success.

I very highly recommend Don for any trade show, event planning, training, promotion and other marketing-related work.

Don can easily go from brainstorming, to setting priorities to taking action. I've always seen him spend the time required for planning without getting bogged down, and I've seen him in action just "getting it done."

The amount of content Don is able to create in a short amount of time is incredible. He is skilled at being on camera and at generating value-centric written content. My concern was typically that Don might be taking on too much, but he always came through.

Don is a fantastic Marketing team member, and I am thankful I had the privilege to to work with him.

On top of high performance work, diligence, and hustle, he is a catalyst for positive team culture and attitude. I've watch him lift and inspire the entire team. Don is a true 10/10 on both performance and trust, which makes him a very rare a valuable team member with the highest of standards.