“Throw the bold move,” Marissa Dacay from Adobe

Meet Marissa Dacay, VP of Global Enterprise Marketing at Adobe, a leader who turns big ambition into measurable impact.

Marissa leads enterprise field marketing and global campaign execution with a distinctive blend of creative instinct, data-driven discipline, and fearless innovation. She’s relentlessly focused on what works—and why. Her approach fuses data intelligence with bold storytelling, driving enterprise marketing strategies that consistently outperform. She leads with both edge and empathy, challenging her teams to think bigger, execute smarter, and raise the bar every time. Marissa isn’t just driving results; she’s cultivating the next generation of bold marketing leaders along the way.

This past January, Marissa joined Jocelyn Hudak, Senior Director, Content and Digital Marketing at SiriusXM Media in our Pass the Mic booth at CES. Together, they discussed how trust and bold moves lead to faster connections and greater outcomes.

Take a listen to her full interview below, and then check out some important takeaways from the conversation.

Be okay with falling.

Highlight: “Being in a sport that, literally, you have to go mind over matter… You have practice to improve. You have to throw the move when you're not ready. You have to be okay to fall—aka, fail. And I think so much of that as an athlete has informed just how I operate as a leader—not being afraid to take the risk, to do the bold move, to throw the big move, and being okay to fall.” - Marissa Dacay

Navigate against the curves.

Highlight: “The path to success isn't straight. It's shaped by the courage to navigate against the curves. It's shaped by making the tough decisions, by making the choice that scares you. I think when you do the thing that scares you, you'll most likely be absolutely fine—and you'll learn so much along the way.” - Marissa Dacay

Create relationships through trust.

Highlight: “I don't think you can have true connections in the workplace—or in your personal relationships—without trust. Those things go hand-in-hand. And at a place like Adobe, relationships are extremely important to be effective.” - Marissa Dacay

Take the feedback.

Highlight: “Take the feedback… I think there's something in athleticism, too, when you've been coached for a good portion of your life, where getting that feedback just makes you equipped to be like, ‘Okay, it's not criticism. It's there to make me better. How do I react to it very quickly and keep moving and improving?’” - Marissa Dacay

Focus on impact over applause.

Highlight: “There is a lot of opportunity in ambiguity. And I think if you focus on impact over applause, you will often be the one to kind of be able to create something that allows you to have a platform to make a name for yourself. I think if you’re focused solely on recognition or credit or the promotion or the next level, it may not actually result in the most impact for the business... And so if you can connect your impact to a company goal in an opportunity of ambiguity, I think that can be very meaningful”. - Marissa Dacay

Pick the choice that scares you.

Highlight: “When you're faced with two choices, pick the one that scares you. You'll learn more. You'll feel more courageous when you get through it, and it will just motivate you the next time to take the bolder move.” - Marissa Dacay

Don’t be afraid to be bold, learn from feedback, and navigate against the curves of your career. Ready for more inspiring conversations? Check out the Pass the Mic page.

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