Claire Spangenberg With Grace
Welcome to With Grace. This week, we feature Claire Spangenberg, SVP of Brand and Marketing at Alma. An early leader at Alma, she’s spent the last six years building one of the most recognized names in mental health, helping expand access to care while strengthening support for providers. She’s well-versed in leading industry shifts, with prior leadership roles at Caviar, Square, and Chipotle. Thoughtful and precise, Claire leads with intention—focused on response over reaction, clarity over control: “As leaders, we don’t need to be right, we need to get it right.”
What’s a recent aha moment you’ve had?
Not really an aha moment, but a personal mantra that grounds me: Do my best, be at peace.
What’s a daily ritual you swear by?
Yoga, or a walk. I experience stress somatically – a hot, tingling feeling in my face, a numbness in my fingers and toes, a tightness in my chest – which is another way of saying my body very kindly lets me know when I’m at my limit. Yoga (heated vinyasa is my go-to!) or a walk in nature with my dogs helps me reset.
What’s a habit or routine that’s been crucial for your success?
Being intentional about responding, not reacting. An exec coach of mine introduced me to this idea from Victor Frankl: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” On any given work day, let alone in times of high stress or high stakes, we are presented with so many stimuli. In the heat of “go mode,” it’s easy to react from a place of emotion, like fear or anger. I find when I take time to process and let the emotions settle, I’m always more confident in and proud of my response.
How do you see AI evolving in your industry over the next 5 years?
A threat and an opportunity. Threat: The impact of AI on how people seek and find answers to their questions. In the last several years, SEO has been a key lever for efficient growth. The landscape of how to capture high intent traffic is quickly evolving, and teams will have to adapt. Opportunity: Leveraging AI to augment workstreams across marketing, even and especially creative ones. I see some resistance here, and while I am personally not a fan of the idea of AI replacing the creative process, I am certainly a fan of AI augmenting it, especially where the team is rinsing and repeating or rapidly experimenting, like on paid ads.
What’s a key quality or trait you believe is essential for leaders?
Humility, which is not at all mutually exclusive with confidence. Instead, it’s about being clear about what you know and what value you bring, and being equally clear about what you don’t know and where you have room to learn and grow. As leaders, we don’t need to be right, we need to get it right. And we don’t need to have all the answers, but we do need to be good at organizing and motivating groups of people to find the answers.
What’s an inspiring book, podcast, or resource?
I absolutely love Molly Graham’s Substack Lessons, my go-to newsletter for digestible, actionable insights on how to build and scale companies well, what it takes to be a good leader and manager, and generally navigating the world of tech startups. Check out Some Lessons for Rapid Scale, or for more pointed lessons, Decision Making or Minimum Viable Process.
What’s a brand you admire right now, and why?
I really love Bobbie. They know their audience so well, they speak directly to them (with crisp, compelling messaging, but also visually), and they consistently show not tell, from lobbying for paid leave to their recent LA wildfire relief fund to lowering prices when inflation rose. Incredible.
What’s your favorite way to spend a solo day?
I recently relocated from Brooklyn to my hometown in Tennessee, so my solo time is looking very different these days. Before: catch me at The Met with a fast-follow to Bemelman’s for a martini, or taking myself to a Broadway matinee (everyone please go see Oh, Mary!). Now: Watch the sunrise from my back porch with a cup of coffee (plus a generous pour of half and half!), do a morning flow at my local yoga studio, tidy the house (I’m a Virgo moon), get lost in Architectural Digest Youtube, take my dogs on a walk in the woods nearby… It’s different, but I love it.
What’s one request you’d make of whoever reads this?
If you’re looking for a sounding board on building and leading companies, marketing teams, or brands from seed to D+, reach out to me on Linkedin! I’ve been very heads down for the last six years at Alma, and I am eternally grateful for the folks who supported me – with an ear or a story or a resource – along the way. I would love to pay it forward.
