Hamilton’s CMO on Career Advice, What’s Inspiring Her Right Now, & More

There are some people you meet along your career path who stand out, they make an impact, and they have a magnetism around them that makes you want to pick up the phone on a random Wednesday and just gab like old friends. Laura Matalon is one of those people. It’s likely there are arts administrators, media buyers, and Broadway adjacent staffers across the globe who share my admiration for this human. She is a mentor and career advisor to thousands and one of my few good friends in this crazy industry.

Laura serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Hamilton. Yes, THE HAMILTON, the international smash hit musical with 5 actively touring companies and, of course, a New York City sit-down at the famed Richard Rogers Theatre. While Hamilton rounds out the final couple weeks of its 6-week run here in Philadelphia at our Academy of Music, I thought it timely to sit down with my long-time idol and friend to chat about life, work, and what’s inspiring her right now.

Laura, in her previous role as President of Allied Live (formerly TMG, The Marketing Group), threw my hat into the ring for my current job here in Philadelphia. When, pre-interview, I expressed fear at the idea of moving my entire family out of Miami and to a new city, I’ll never forget her wise words that, to this day, I echo to my own mentees, “You should never say ‘no’ to a job you’ve not yet been offered. Always explore every opportunity that comes your way and make actual decisions when you have all the information.” Laura’s wisdom, wit, and passion for what we do has made her an absolute titan in the industry, which is why it humbles me that she was kind enough to take the time to chat with me as a guest in my new interview series featuring artists, arts administrators, and marketing leaders.

If you caught her walking down the street, you’d immediately describe her as hip and clearly an intellectual. But when I asked Laura to describe herself in just a few words, she said she is tragically unhip, entertaining, curious, a lover of travel, and a mentor. Don’t let her fool you, though - she is absolutely hip. And she makes a point to devote time to advising others in the industry regularly. Laura explained that this happened very organically and unintentionally, but she has found it to be a rewarding and central part of her life, intertwined with everything she does. In fact, she told me her most significant career accomplishment has been watching her mentees succeed and find their own passions. As she puts it, “It’s become my purpose, in a way.”

More than anything, Laura is inspired by her wonderfully independent 25-year-old daughter, Jordan, and the generation of young leaders who surround her. We talked a lot about the rising generation of leaders in the industry and how they are unquestionably different from our generation and the ones who came before us. “They are smart, engaged, curious, and passionate about the world around them. And I have to say it just gives me such a sense of pride having raised one of them.” She shared. Laura’s observation, one that I hadn’t thought a lot about until she mentioned it, was that this generation was raised with more support and encouragement to fearlessly speak their minds and follow their curiosity than with previous generations. They were given the foundation to be strong, independent thinkers and with that, we both agreed our industry would be in good hands once we both hit the eject button.

To her mentees, Laura always gives the same piece of advice: “Find a healthy work-life balance.” The arts can be an all-consuming, intoxicating industry, and it's easy to focus all your attention on it. “You don’t want to look back, years later, and have regrets about how little time you spent with your children or on developing your own interests.” So, Laura actively works to model a healthy example of balance to her employees, even if she doesn’t always have it.

When I asked Laura what artist(s) she was most excited about right now, she answered without hesitation that even though she’s been in her role for a few years now, it’s hard not to continue to be impressed with the artistic team behind the critically acclaimed Hamilton and their continued projects. With 11 Tony Awards, 1 Grammy, and even a Pulitzer, I suppose I can’t disagree with her. The co-creators, Lin Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler, and Alex Lacamire, also received prestigious Kennedy Center Honors as “trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category.”

Laura confided to me that if she wasn’t in her current role, she would have loved to have been a cartographer; apt, considering she has charted a course for many in our industry and she has a deep love of traveling. As with many of us, Laura took advantage of some of the quiet time associated with the shutdowns to achieve a more ideal balance between work and personal life. But with Hamilton returning to the stage, it hasn’t been that easy. Recently, she’s been trying to find that balance again by investing more in creative outlets. She and I talked about our shared obsession with tap dancing and she lit up when she talked about the fact that she was able to resume in-person lessons, which she was religiously attending pre-COVID (pretty impressive, right?). “You just aren’t human if you don’t find your whole body smiling any time a tap number shuffles onto the stage - it's just such a happy art form!” She talked at length about how this new hobby has made an immense difference in her mental health, prioritizing creativity and movement.

My immense thanks to Laura for taking the time out of her busy schedule to chat with me. It is always an inspiration to see a strong, intelligent woman at the forefront of our industry, and I am so excited to watch her continue to flourish in the years to come!