Vanessa D. Zambo, CPSM
Since 2022
Active
SMPS Kansas City member
AEC marketing professional
Vanessa leads national marketing strategy and client experience initiatives for Terracon, one of the nation’s leading employee-owned consulting engineering firms. As Chief Marketing Officer, she drives marketing excellence across more than 175 offices nationwide, positioning a multidiscipline firm comprised of engineers, scientists, architects, facilities experts, and field professionals serving clients from earth to sky.
Her expertise spans comprehensive AEC marketing including brand strategy, digital marketing innovation, client experience design, and integrated marketing communications. Vanessa specializes in engineering and technical services marketing serving infrastructure, environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services sectors across public and private clients nationwide.
With more than 27 years of AEC industry experience, Vanessa has driven marketing innovation at prominent firms including Terracon, HDR, and Turner Construction Company. She holds dual master’s degrees: an MBA with emphasis in International Business and a Master’s in Journalism focused on Marketing Communications, both from the University of Kansas.
Vanessa demonstrates exceptional professional leadership through her CPSM certification and transformative marketing initiatives that have earned national recognition. Under her leadership, Terracon’s marketing communications team has received national Excellence and Merit awards from SMPS, validating her strategic approach to positioning a complex multidiscipline engineering firm in competitive markets nationwide.
She led one of the AEC industry’s most comprehensive brand transformations, orchestrating Terracon’s first-ever brand refresh in the firm’s 55+ year history. This year-long strategic initiative engaged more than 600 employee-owners across all organizational levels, resulting in modernized brand positioning that authentically connects Terracon’s strategic plan with client needs through the compelling “Explore with us” brand story.
Vanessa’s thought leadership extends beyond her organization through industry presentations and published work. She has presented on social media strategy and employee engagement at Business Marketing Association events, sharing innovative approaches to digital marketing and content strategy that leverage employee-owners as brand ambassadors. Her expertise in integrated marketing communications has made her a sought-after speaker on modern marketing approaches in engineering consulting.
Recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Kansas for 2024 by Women We Admire, Vanessa serves as a Customer Experience Advisory Member for OU Outreach at the University of Oklahoma, contributing expertise in client experience design to advance educational programming.
Her marketing leadership philosophy centers on authentic storytelling through employee-owner experiences, innovative use of digital channels including early adoption of web applications and social media strategy, and data-driven approaches to measuring marketing impact and ROI.
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