Maria is a Performance Marketing Manager at Too Good To Go, where she focuses on scaling user acquisition and building processes that enable sustainable app growth across global markets.
With over eight years of experience in digital and performance marketing, Maria’s career spans CRM, B2B, and mobile app growth, including a role at data.ai (formerly App Annie) that deepened her understanding of competitive intelligence and app ecosystem dynamics. She is passionate about bridging data, creative strategy, and operational rigour to unlock meaningful growth for consumer apps.
In your own words, what’s your role in the app business right now?
I work in performance marketing for a global consumer app, with a strong focus on user acquisition, channel strategy, and measurement. My role sits between hands-on execution and building the processes that allow teams to scale efficiently, from forecasting and reporting to creative frameworks and experimentation.
How did you end up working in apps?
I started in digital marketing and moved through broader roles in B2B and CRM before finding my way into mobile apps and user acquisition. What pulled me in was how real and tangible the impact is. Apps are part of everyday life: everyone has a phone, everyone uses apps daily, which means you’re always working close to real behaviour, not abstract audiences.
I also loved that app marketing sits at the crossroads of performance, product, data, and creativity. The possibilities are virtually endless, even if measurement sometimes isn’t.
What are you most excited about in apps right now?
I’m most excited about how AI is reshaping both discovery and execution. From creative iteration to market selection and testing, we’re moving toward faster feedback loops and better decision support. At the same time, I’m interested in how brands balance automation with human judgment, especially when it comes to creative quality and user trust.
Is there anyone you’d like to shout out to who has influenced your journey in the app industry?
I owe a lot to the people I’ve worked with along the way. A big shoutout to my current team and manager, Eugenio Fasano, for creating an environment where trust and growth go hand in hand. I’d also like to thank my former managers, Tim Vogel and Lisa Kamphuis, for setting a high bar for leadership and shaping me into the professional I am today.
What’s in your app tech stack?
- UA mix: Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, Apple Search Ads, and programmatic platforms such as Moloco and Appier
- Measurement and analytics: AppsFlyer, Looker, Firebase, Power BI, AppTweak, and data.ai
- Operations and comms: Asana, Slack
- AI Toolkit: ChatGPT for copywriting and prompt generation, Gemini for analysis and creative iteration with Nano Banana, NotebookLM for synthesising large sets of documentation and notes
What do you like most about working in apps?
The pace and the feedback loop. You can test an idea, learn from real users, see results quickly and iterate endlessly. Apps sit so close to everyday behaviour that even small changes can have a visible impact, which makes the work both challenging and rewarding.
What one thing would you change about the app industry?
If I could change one thing, it would be making high-quality, decision-ready data more accessible and consistent across the ecosystem. Right now, a lot of time is spent reconciling different data sources, interpreting partial signals, and explaining why numbers don’t perfectly line up instead of using that energy to actually improve the product and growth strategy.
There’s a real opportunity for the industry to move toward clearer, more interoperable measurement frameworks that help teams make confident decisions, even in a privacy-first world. The goal shouldn’t be perfect attribution, but better clarity on directionality, impact, and trade-offs. Teams that can combine imperfect data with strong judgment will always have an edge, but lowering the friction to get to those insights would unlock faster, smarter growth for everyone.
If you weren’t working in apps what would you be doing?
I’d probably be running a small business. Either something handmade (I crochet in my spare time) or a beauty salon. I enjoy building things from scratch, whether that’s systems, products, or something creative.
iOS or Android?
iOS.
What apps have been most useful to you over the last year?
Opal to keep me distraction-free and Spotify to get me through long workdays and deep focus sessions.
What’s on your Spotify playlist?
A very mixed bag: metalcore and rock like Bad Omens and Skillet, combined with pop and R&B from artists like Lady Gaga and Doja Cat. It depends entirely on the mood.
Any Netflix/ TV show recommendations?
Ted Lasso for optimism and leadership lessons, and Mr. Robot for something more intense and thought-provoking.
Is there anything else we should know about you?
I’m one of those people with a slightly chaotic mix of interests. Outside of work, I crochet, do nail art as an amateur nail tech (yes, really), and get way too invested in perfecting small creative details. I am also a gamer at heart and thoroughly enjoy long story-heavy games (think Baldur’s Gate 3, Assassin’s Creed, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the like).
Do you know someone driving change and growth in the app industry? Nominate an app leader here.
