My journey

“A career path is rarely a path at all. A more interesting life is usually a more crooked, winding path of missteps, luck, and vigorous work. It is almost always a clumsy balance between the things you try to make happen and the things that happen to you.”

- Author: Tom Freston

My life has been a winding path. It’s not been a straight line in any sense; it’s been fun and experiential. Frequently moving (30 homes and counting), my “world tour of military dictatorships,” and taking advantage of opportunities have all strongly impacted my approach to be resilient, take risks, and connect with others.

My Personal Journey

A citizen of the world, I live near Cleveland, OH, with my husband, two sons, and two dogs. Previously, I lived in Taiwan, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, and 8 US states and speak Spanish, some Portuguese, and a little Mandarin. I am studying German and Italian.

The average American lives in 7 homes in their lives. I’m living in my 30th home now - and we’re not done moving yet. Yes, I’ve moved a lot (mostly in my teens to mid-30s), which taught me how to be resilient, take risks, and connect with others.

Be Resilient

Life happens. Adjust as quickly as you can. Look for the positive (or, at least, find a learning opportunity).

  • 3 years old: My father died. He was a brilliant electrical engineer, had 2 patents in his name, and almost completed his PhD before he died at age 28. —> Take advantage of my time on earth to create innovative new solutions to consumer and business problems.

  • 12 years old: We moved to Taiwan for my step-father’s 3-year work assignment (7th to 9th grades for me). Previously, we’d only been outside the US to see Niagara Falls, Canada. —> Things are different in other places. Be open to new ideas and diverse ways of thinking.

  • 17 years old: I was an HS exchange student in Chile. General Pinochet was in power. This was the 2nd military dictatorship I’d lived in (Taiwan also). —> We have a lot of freedoms as US citizens, and we should not take them for granted.

Take Risks

Life is an adventure. Explore the unknown. Make the best of all situations. Nothing is going to last forever (the good and the bad). Enjoy it.

  • 16 years old: President Carter recognized China, de-recognizing Taiwan as a country. We watched the US Military troops withdraw and how the Taiwanese government was given one day’s notice of its change in circumstance. —> Sometimes, big political things happen for the right reason, but it’s not always a smooth process.

  • 17 years old: President Reagan wanted to balance Social Security by cutting dependent benefits if they weren’t in college full-time on May 1, 1982. It was the Spring of my Junior year. I decided to double enroll (a.m. HS, p.m. college) to get SS benefits for 4 more years. —> Adjust my plans as situations change.

  • 24 years old: I was teargassed in Chile. I was back in Chile, visiting my host family. There were frequent human rights protests. We heard about one. It lasted 8 seconds. The police teargassed the center of town. We weren’t prepared for the mayhem. —> Be prepared for the worst possible outcome and hope for the best.

Connect with Others

We are all humans with unique experiences and diverse points of view. Listen and learn. Find a personal connection to make the world a little smaller.

  • 28 years old: I enrolled at Thunderbird to get my MBA in International Management and found my tribe: People who think globally and want to have an impact. Moving back to the US in 10th grade was tough. I’d suppressed that part of my life to fit in. —> I am a TCK, and my tribe existed. We are citizens of the world. Just look for them.

  • 35 years old: I met my future husband at a Tbird alum event. We’d both lived in Asia (Japan & Taiwan, previously a part of Japan), Chile, Mexico, Spain, and Oakland, CA. Until we finally met, we’d chased each other worldwide, separated by months or years. —> Sometimes love finds you when you’re not looking.

  • 45 years old: I was having coffee with a new colleague. He was shocked when I asked him if he was Curacao. He was proud of it but didn’t think many people in Charlotte, NC knew the island. He totally didn’t expect me to have friends living there. —> Find a personal connection to a core value, and you have a friend for life.

My Career Journey

As a former bank executive and cross-functional leader, I have the proven ability to think strategically, execute tactically, and lead change across channels by building digital-first strategies and consistently managing multi-year financial plans to grow the business leveraging my 30 years of experience in Product Management (Growth strategies, P&L responsibility, New Product Development), Product Marketing (GTM strategies), Digital Transformation (Software Development), Operations, and Risk. My career experience has taught me to be resilient, take risks, and connect with others.

Be Resilient

Life happens. Adjust as quickly as you can. Look for the positive (or, at least, find a learning opportunity).

  • When I joined Key, the branches were actively selling 7 checking products. We needed time to rationalize, build & sunset to get closer to the industry average of 3. —> We launched EasyUp(R), an exclusive patent-pending digital tool to help 200k+ consumers save $40mm+ (70 Net Promoter Score, 90% customer satisfaction score).

  • Digital is the way of the future, so I decided to get certified in Design Thinking and Agile Scrum. —> I was asked to lead a team of 6 Digital Product Owners who designed modern account opening experiences. The new multi-product Small Business Lending application improved banker adoption 3x and reduced turnaround times by 39%.

  • A few months ago, I was laid off at the height of the banking & tech sector layoffs. I’d planned on coaching, consulting, and being on boards when I “retired” and was working on a 3-year transition plan. —> I quickly pivoted that to a 2-month action plan. I am now coaching, consulting, and on the Cleveland Council of World Affairs board.

Take Risks

Life is an adventure. Explore the unknown. Make the best of all situations. Nothing is going to last forever (the good and the bad). Enjoy it.

  • One day, a senior executive at Citi asked me if I wanted to manage 100 people. My response was that I didn’t manage anyone. He told me to think about it, and he’d be back at 430 p.m. for my answer. —> I managed a credit card collections call center with 121 people for 3 years and learned a lot about motivating people.

  • At Thunderbird, I was selected to interview for a job that required a “male Mexican engineer.” I was none of those, so I took the challenge of doing the interview 100% in Spanish. —> I was hired to manage the Latin American distributors for Gore-tex Medical. I’d never visited a patient in a hospital; I was scrubbing into surgery in this role.

  • My last role at Bank of America was as the Head of Marketing for Checking and Debit. I’d hit a ceiling and looked for roles at smaller banks where I could have more influence. —> We moved to Cleveland, where I ran the KeyBank Retail Bank Growth Strategy, focusing on growing relationship households through marketing and sales.

Connect with Others

We are all humans with unique experiences and diverse points of view. Listen and learn. Find a personal connection to make the world a little smaller.

  • During one BAC reorg, I was asked to lead Merrill Edge Sales Support. I knew nothing about sales collateral or Investments. I did know how to talk to clients. We humanized a mutual fund brochure (4 pages text -> 1 infographic) —> We won the Clear Mark award by improving understandability by 41%, appeal by 48%, and transparency by 23%.

  • Shortly after moving to Cleveland, I was accepted into the Lead Diversity program class of 2019 —> “Grandfathered” is a common term in banking; It is not a legal term. After checking with stakeholders, I started a movement to remove that word from our vocabulary by educating teams on its racist origin and suggesting alternative terms.

  • KeyBank purchased a FinTech for financial wellness. It wasn’t resonating with our bankers or clients. We used design thinking practices to redesign the Financial Wellness Tool, focusing on the reason for the client’s visit to the branch. —> The new discussion flow generates 70% more units sold in a discussion that is 80% shorter.

My Mission

My mission is to help leaders and entrepreneurs thrive and flourish.

My superpower is operating at the intersection of strategy, leadership, marketing, and communications

— skills I built over my 30-year career at top US banks and tech companies.

  • As a coach, I ask questions to help you critically think through a situation from various angles.

  • As a consultant, I advise or manage DFY projects that move your business forward, as an extension of your team.

  • As a fractional executive, I lead a part of your team, responsible for achieving strategic and execution goals.

Clients tell me they feel like they can slay dragons after working with me. Let’s slay dragons together.

Elizabeth

PS. If you ever want to hear more about my business, life, or any of the adventures I referenced above, reach out. I’d love to connect.