Alessandra Tieghi-Krakowiak on the three principles that have guided her journey: Learn. Grow. Help.

Turning Curiosity into Purpose and Possibility

Some careers follow a definite plan. Most, however, are shaped by curiosity, adaptability, and the willingness to take unexpected risks. Alessandra Tieghi-Krakowiak’s journey clearly reflects the latter. She did not begin her career to become an international marketing leader. A computer science graduate, she started her professional journey with a strong foundation in logic, data, and structured thinking.

However, her career soon took an unexpected direction, moving from technology to marketing and then from Semiconductors and Oil & Gas into Healthcare. Alessandra did not begin her professional life knowing exactly where it would take her. Her journey crossed disciplines, countries, technologies, organizations, and leadership roles she could not have predicted when she started.

Looking back, she believes that not knowing was not a disadvantage. It was part of the journey.

Today, as she looks toward a new chapter as International Marketing Director and Digital Healthcare Leader, she brings more than just extensive experience. She also brings a philosophy shaped by the unpredictability of her journey: nothing is set in stone.

Alessandra sees this quote as more than a personal saying. It reflects the mindset that has enabled her to remain flexible, adapt to change, explore uncharted territory, and grow without having everything figured out in advance. Her journey shows how her analytical foundation evolved into a broader understanding of people, purpose, and leadership. “You don’t need to know your entire journey before you take your next step,” she says.

Alessandra often describes her professional journey through three words: learn, grow, and help.

LEARN

Stay Curious, Especially When You Don’t Know the Answer

Alessandra’s early academic background shaped the way she approaches problems. She learned to break them down, gather the facts, and find a solution. This analytical approach served her well in computer science. However, as she moved into international marketing and then into leadership, she discovered that complex business decisions rarely have clear answers. Decisions are often made with incomplete information. Different perspectives compete, and data alone cannot always explain what people need.

Instead of leaving her technical background behind, she built on it. Technology taught her how to navigate complexity. Marketing taught her how to understand people. Healthcare allowed her to bring both skills together with a meaningful purpose. What initially seemed like a detour became the combination that now defines her approach to leadership.

“I use data to understand complexity, but people give it meaning,” she says. That combination feels particularly relevant today as artificial intelligence rapidly transforms marketing and the way organizations operate. Alessandra believes that understanding AI is becoming essential for modern marketing leaders. Rather than watching this transformation from the sidelines, she actively explores emerging AI capabilities and the latest trends to understand how they can enhance insight generation, productivity, personalization, and decision-making.

In some ways, her career has come full circle, as the worlds of computer science and marketing that once seemed separate are increasingly converging. Yet the more she explores AI, the more convinced she becomes that technology makes distinctly human capabilities more important, not less: “The more technology can do, the more important it becomes to know what questions to ask, how to challenge the answers, and how to understand the people behind the data.”

This mindset also shapes the advice she gives to younger women entering the workforce. A first degree does not define a career. A first job does not determine its potential. A current title does not limit what comes next. Her advice is simple: stay curious and allow that curiosity to lead you toward new opportunities.

Curiosity has been a constant throughout every stage of Alessandra’s career. When situations become difficult, she asks herself one question: “What am I learning?” This question helps her move beyond frustration and focus on growth and new possibilities. It is a question that has carried her through uncertainty, challenging relationships, career transitions, and moments when things did not unfold as expected. The question does not make a difficult situation disappear. Instead, it changes the perspective from which she approaches it. Rather than asking only, “Why is this happening?” she can also ask, “What can I learn from this?”

For her, learning does not end with formal education. It continues through colleagues, customers, managers, teams, difficult conversations, mistakes, new technologies, and people with different perspectives. She believes seniority should never reduce curiosity. In fact, greater responsibility should make curiosity even stronger.

GROW

You Don’t Have to Be Ready for Everything That Comes Next

A former General Manager once gave Alessandra an important piece of advice: “Hire for attitude. People rarely arrive in a new role 100 percent ready,” he told her. “Skills can be developed. Knowledge can be acquired. People learn on the job.” The idea is simple. Skills and knowledge can be developed, but qualities such as curiosity, accountability, resilience, openness, humility, and respect for others are harder to teach.

This advice changed not only how she evaluates candidates, but also how she evaluates herself. Instead of asking whether she is fully prepared for an opportunity, she asks whether she has the right attitude and the ability to learn what she does not yet know. This approach is especially important for women.

“I do not wait for certainty before I take action,” she says. Women can sometimes focus too much on the qualifications they do not have. They may see two missing requirements in a job description and overlook the eight they already meet. Her advice is clear: do not reject yourself before someone else has the opportunity to consider you. Apply for the role. Raise your hand. Be part of the conversation. For Alessandra, being completely ready is not always the most important requirement. The willingness to learn is.

Growing Through the Difficult Chapters

Not every chapter of a leadership career is smooth. Alessandra is open about how difficult managers and challenging work environments have shaped her career. She feels fortunate to have worked with strong and supportive leaders early in her career. This gave her a clear understanding of what good leadership looks like before she encountered more difficult workplace situations.

Those early experiences showed her the importance of trust, constructive feedback, high standards, and mutual respect. They also gave her a reference point. When she later experienced a different work environment, she was able to recognize that it was not the standard she wanted to accept.

“Corporate life is not free from toxicity,” Alessandra says. “What matters is recognizing when you are in that kind of environment, knowing your value, and understanding where you draw the line between what you will and will not accept.”

One of the most important lessons she has learned is to know your value and understand your boundaries. It is important to be clear about what you will accept and what you will not. A difficult manager is only one person, and a toxic workplace is only one chapter in a career. Neither should define a person’s value or abilities.

Early-career professionals may have limited experiences to compare. They can sometimes mistake one difficult workplace for the reality of the entire corporate world. They may also accept one person’s criticism as an objective judgment of their abilities. Her advice is to learn from the experience, set clear boundaries, seek perspectives from trusted people, and recognize when it is time to move on.

Nothing Is Set in Stone

One piece of advice from an early manager has stayed with her: enjoy your role while you have it because it will change. If you do not enjoy it, do not worry too much because that will change too. Over the years, she has seen organizations evolve, strategies change, and managers move on. “Organizations change. Strategies change. Managers change. Technology changes. Priorities change. We change,” she reflects. These experiences taught her to view change as a constant rather than an exception.

Protect What Matters

Leading at a global level requires managing two timelines at the same time. Alessandra believes leaders must deliver on today’s commitments while staying alert to changes that could shape tomorrow’s success. In large international organizations, schedules can become demanding. Meetings, different time zones, and urgent requests can quickly compete for attention.

One piece of advice changed the way she manages this pressure: block time on the calendar for family. She sees this as more than a scheduling technique. If something is important, it needs a clear and protected place in the calendar. This applies not only to family time, but also to quiet thinking, reflection, and time to step back and regain perspective.

“I make space for what matters, not just what is urgent,” she says. For Alessandra, being busy is not the same as being effective. Sustainable leadership requires clear boundaries. Ambition and accountability can exist alongside a fulfilling life outside work.

Over the years, Alessandra has learned that success depends not only on what is achieved, but also on how it is achieved. She sees ambition and authenticity as complementary qualities. A person can pursue demanding goals while remaining generous and empathetic. It is also possible to build a successful career without allowing work to define every part of life.

The advice she received about protecting family time reflects a broader principle: know what matters and make time for it. She applies the same principle to her professional values. Careers span many years, and roles, organizations, and circumstances change along the way.

For Alessandra, knowing who she is provides a sense of continuity as everything around her evolves. It helps her remain grounded while adapting to new responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges.

HELP

Success Becomes More Meaningful When You Use It to Open Doors

If learning is about what we absorb and growth is about what we become, helping is about what we do with that experience for other people.

Over time, success also brings a responsibility to help others by sharing knowledge, supporting colleagues, and making their journey easier.

“I measure growth by what I learn and what I give back,” she says.

Working with large, cross-functional international teams has taught Alessandra that authentic leadership begins with a simple principle: leaders manage people, not functions on an organizational chart. International teams bring different cultures, communication styles, and professional perspectives together. Her role is not to make everyone think alike. It is to create enough trust for people to share their different views openly.

The managers who influenced Alessandra most combined high expectations with genuine understanding. They challenged her while also investing in her development. They gave her space to learn rather than expecting immediate mastery. She aims to bring the same approach to her own teams, with a strong focus on hiring and developing people for their attitude.

” Some of the best leaders I worked with challenged people to do their best while genuinely caring about them. That’s something I strive to emulate,” she says. For Alessandra, empathy does not mean avoiding difficult conversations or lowering standards. Leaders can set ambitious goals while treating people with respect. They can challenge employees while supporting their growth. They can also say, “I don’t know,” without losing their authority. For her, strong leadership combines high standards with trust, respect, and a genuine commitment to helping people grow.

Healthcare has given Alessandra a clear sense of purpose in her work. She recognizes that behind every technology, strategy, and business goal are real people. Strong performance remains important because organizations need results to invest, innovate, and grow. Numbers have greater meaning when teams understand the people and outcomes behind them.

For Alessandra, this includes clinicians working to provide better care, healthcare systems managing constant pressure, and patients and families who ultimately depend on these efforts. This perspective helps her connect business performance with a larger purpose.

As she begins a new chapter in her career, Alessandra wants to continue connecting her team’s daily work with the reason it matters. She sees purpose as something leaders should make clear and meaningful throughout the year, not simply a message reserved for an annual presentation.

Beyond the Room

Alessandra encourages young women to build a strong professional support system before they need one. She also encourages them to look beyond senior contacts who can help advance their careers. A strong network should include mentors who have more experience, peers who understand the daily challenges, and people who are willing to offer honest and constructive feedback. It should also include at least one person outside the workplace who can provide perspective during difficult times.

This support becomes especially valuable in a challenging or toxic work environment. Isolation can affect how people view themselves and their situation. Trusted people can help distinguish constructive feedback, which is important for growth, from behavior that should not affect a person’s self-worth.

For Alessandra, supporting other women often happens through small actions rather than formal mentoring programs. It can mean mentioning a woman’s name when an opportunity arises, encouraging someone to apply before she feels completely ready, or giving someone meaningful responsibility instead of only offering advice. It happens when an opportunity is being discussed and a leader says the name of a talented woman who isn’t in the room. It happens when someone says, “You should apply.” It happens through introductions, honest feedback, visibility, encouragement, and sponsorship.

And once women progress into positions where they can influence opportunities, Alessandra believes there is a responsibility to turn around and extend a hand to someone coming behind them.

So, What Does It Really Take to Keep Moving Forward?

As Alessandra begins a new journey as International Marketing Director, she is thinking not only about what she can achieve next, but also about what she can share with others. She hopes readers take away more than the story of a successful career. She wants young women to see that she did not have everything figured out from the beginning. She continued to learn, accepted new opportunities, worked through difficult situations, protected what mattered to her, and kept moving forward.

As she puts it, a meaningful career is not a straight line toward a predetermined destination. You can be uncertain and keep going. You can encounter a difficult manager and keep going. You can be missing some of the qualifications and still raise your hand.

She hopes her story encourages others to do the same. If it gives even one woman the confidence to take an opportunity, apply for a role despite not meeting every requirement, set a boundary in a difficult environment, or recognize that today’s circumstances do not determine tomorrow’s possibilities, she considers the story worth sharing.