As Team Lead (and Interim Senior Manager) for Paid Search at 2U/EdX, I managed and help direct the enterprise Paid Search strategy and operations for a diverse portfolio, including technology Bootcamps, online Degree programs, and Executive Education courses offered in partnership with leading universities. My focus was on driving profitable revenue growth at scale across these distinct global lines of business, optimizing large budgets, implementing cutting-edge AI/ML automation, and leading a high-performing team through significant organizational changes. This role involved deep collaboration with product, data engineering, analytics, and social teams to ensure cohesive campaign execution tailored to each product vertical.

Managing paid search for a large, varied portfolio within 2U/EdX presented unique challenges:

Diverse Product Lines: Operating across Bootcamps (career changers/upskillers), Degrees (long-term academic pursuits), and Exec Ed (professional development) required distinct strategies, targeting, and messaging for vastly different audiences and conversion cycles.

Scale & Complexity: Managing 65+ accounts globally across these verticals demanded sophisticated optimization techniques.

Profitability at Scale: Driving significant revenue while simultaneously improving margins and achieving cost efficiencies across large, varied budgets for each LOB.

AI/ML Adoption & Implementation: Integrating new AI-driven bidding strategies effectively across diverse account goals and conversion types (leads, applications, enrollments).

Team Leadership & Stability: Maintaining high productivity, morale, and strategic focus during periods of high attrition and organizational change.

I combined strategic planning tailored to each LOB with hands-on execution and leadership:

Enterprise Strategy: Developed and executed the core GTM Search playbook for new product launched, ensuring alignment with overarching business goals and specific product positioning for the Bootcamp, Degree, and Exec Ed verticals.

AI/ML Bid Strategy Implementation: Spearheaded the complex, large-scale transition to tCPA smart bidding within Search Ads 360 across the diverse portfolio of 65+ accounts, requiring meticulous planning, execution segmented by LOB needs, and performance monitoring.

Budget & Margin Optimization: Co-led major budget optimization initiatives with Analytics leadership, leveraging data analysis across product lines to identify inefficiencies and reallocate spend effectively.

AI Upskilling & Workflow Optimization: Initiated and led an internal AI Taskforce, training team members on AI platforms (like OpenAI) to optimize workflows for analysis and creative tasks relevant to all LOBs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered closely with Product, Data Engineering, and Social teams for end-to-end campaign planning specific to each product vertical, ensuring messaging consistency.

Team Leadership: Provided stable leadership as Team Lead and Interim Senior Manager, maintaining 100% team productivity and morale while managing a significantly increased workload covering multiple LOBs.

Revenue Generation: Generated an estimated $20MM+ in revenue (H2'22 - H2'23) through strategic paid search execution across the managed portfolio (Bootcamps, Degrees, Exec Ed).

Cost Savings: Delivered over $400K in marketing and operating cost savings ('21-'24) through strategic management of AI/ML (tCPA) bid strategy transitions across the diverse account set.

Operational Efficiency: Reduced time spent by the team on data analysis and creative generation by 80% through the AI Taskforce initiative, benefiting all managed LOBs.

Enterprise Paid Search Strategy & GTM Execution (Multi-LOB: Bootcamps, Degrees, Exec Ed)

Google Ads & Search Ads 360 Platform Mastery

Large-Scale Campaign Management & Optimization (Diverse Portfolio)

AI/ML Smart Bidding Implementation (tCPA, Portfolio Strategies)

Budget Management & Optimization ($20MM+ Revenue Scale)

Performance Analysis & Reporting (GA4, Looker Studio, Tableau)

Team Leadership & Mentorship (including Interim Sr. Manager)

Cross-Functional Collaboration (Product, Data, Analytics)

AI Integration & Workflow Automation (OpenAI, Prompt Engineering)

Data Analysis & Analytics

Google Ads, Search Ads 360

Google Analytics 4

Looker Studio, Tableau, Excel

OpenAI

Internal MarTech/Automation Tools

Why This Matters: This experience highlights my ability to lead complex, large-scale paid search programs within a major enterprise across diverse product lines (Bootcamps, Degrees, Exec Ed), delivering substantial revenue growth and significant cost efficiencies. It showcases my capability to blend strategic leadership tailored to different business units with hands-on technical execution, successfully implement cutting-edge AI/ML solutions, and guide teams effectively through change to achieve exceptional results across a varied portfolio.