Last updated: July 5, 2026
Who is Stephanie Smith, Business Operations Director at 3 Media Web?
Stephanie Smith is the Director of Business Operations at 3 Media Web, where she keeps the agency running efficiently so the team can stay focused on client results. She joined the Marlborough office in February 2019 as a Digital Marketing Project Manager and grew into the operations leadership role she holds today, drawing on more than a decade in affiliate marketing, display advertising, and SEO.
TL;DR: Stephanie Smith leads Business Operations at 3 Media Web, managing costs and process so the agency can scale without losing quality. She came up through digital marketing, moving from affiliate and display advertising into SEO and project management before stepping into operations. Her throughline is organization, the same skill that once kept marketing campaigns on track now keeps the whole agency on track.
Born and raised in Bolton, Massachusetts, Stephanie lives in Lancaster and started at 3 Media Web one day before her birthday. “It feels like I’ve been here longer; it was an easy transition for me,” she recalled. “This position is such a good fit that after just two hours, I was already jumping into client calls. I was able to hop right in and get going.”
What does a Director of Business Operations do at an agency?
A Director of Business Operations keeps an agency financially healthy and operationally smooth so delivery teams can do their best work. At 3 Media Web, Stephanie manages costs, refines internal process, and helps the agency grow efficiently, the connective tissue between strategy and day-to-day execution. The role reflects one of the agency’s core values: simplicity over complexity.
In our experience running a digital agency, the work that makes client results repeatable is rarely the flashy part; it is the behind-the-scenes discipline of forecasting costs, standardizing how projects move through the shop, and removing friction before it reaches a client. What we see most often is that when operations are quiet and predictable, delivery teams ship better work faster, which is exactly the outcome this role is built to protect.
“I feel like my work is valuable, bringing organization to the marketing team, and helping the team to do what they do best, which is to drive success for our clients.”
What skills does a Director of Business Operations need?
A Director of Business Operations needs three core skills: financial fluency to manage costs and margins, process design to standardize how work moves through the team, and cross-functional communication to keep strategy, delivery, and leadership aligned. Above all, the role rewards organization, the ability to hold many moving parts in view and keep them on schedule without dropping quality.
How did Stephanie move from digital marketing into operations?
Stephanie’s path into operations ran straight through hands-on digital marketing. She earned her Business Administration and Marketing degrees at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, then spent about eight years in affiliate marketing before broadening into display advertising and SEO. Project management came next, a natural fit for someone who credits organizational skill as the key to keeping complex work on schedule. That progression is why she understands the marketing work 3 Media Web delivers, from SEO strategy to the broader mix of strategic support services, not just the operations behind it.
Here is how her focus shifted across each stage of her career:
| Career stage | Primary focus | Skill it built |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate marketing (~8 years) | Partner and performance channels | Results accountability |
| Display advertising & SEO | Paid and organic visibility | Cross-channel coordination |
| Project management | Delivering campaigns on schedule | Organization and process |
| Director of Business Operations | Agency costs, process, and growth | Operational leadership |
Business operations vs. project management: what is the difference?
Project management is scoped to individual engagements, keeping one campaign or build on time, on budget, and on brief. Business operations works one level up, shaping the systems, costs, and processes that every project runs on. Stephanie’s move from project management into operations is that shift in altitude: from steering single projects to steering the machine that makes all of them run.
What is it like to work at 3 Media Web?
Stephanie describes the 3 Media Web culture as the most supportive and inclusive environment she has worked in. “Working at 3 Media Web is different from any other place I’ve ever worked,” she said. “I’ve never felt more welcomed. Marc Avila, CEO of 3 Media Web, is so accessible, there must be three of him. He is involved and is always available and willing to teach us all something new.” That people-first culture is a recurring theme across the team, including colleagues like Web Support Representative Clare Lewis.
On the personal side
Stephanie first met her husband, Scott Smith, in high school. Actually, she knew him, but he didn’t really know her. Scott was two grades above Stephanie, and they were in band and chorus together. It wasn’t until Stephanie joined Clinton Community Musical Theatre in the summer of her junior year of college that she “met” Scott during introductions at the audition for the show “Red, Hot, and Cole,” a musical about Cole Porter’s life.
They began dating and were married in 2016 at the Renaissance Boston Patriot Place Hotel. Both Stephanie and Scott are avid Patriots fans. Scott proposed right after the Patriots won the Super Bowl against the Seahawks in 2015, and they booked their wedding at Gillette immediately.
Musical background and an avid BSB fan
Stephanie minored in acting and opera in college, and together with Scott, a drummer, they started a band with Stephanie as lead vocalist and songwriter. They no longer have the band, but as Steph says, “I’m always up for karaoke.” In her spare time, she is also a devoted Backstreet Boys fan, the epitome of the most loyal follower, having followed the band for 25 years across six states and two countries.
Other hobbies besides agency life
Stephanie loves to travel, having visited 29 countries across four continents, and she adores her three pets. She and Scott have Riker, a black labrador mix named after Star Trek, and two cats, Riley and Xander, named after characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“We love our furbabies,” Stephanie said, “and I love what I do and going to work every day.” That blend of personality and operational discipline is exactly the kind of people-first partnership 3 Media Web is built on. Curious who else keeps the work moving? Explore more stories from the 3 Media Web team.