Author
December 2, 2022
I had the pleasure of sitting down with embroiderer, chef, gardener, and wellness Guru, Ana, for what felt like a virtual coffee with a chill life coach, as we talked about how she found her perfect career fit at Digibee.
Why Digibee?
Ana was working in a marketing technology company and knew firsthand the issues companies face with integrations. She knew our CEO, Rodrigo Bernardinelli, and was intrigued when she learned about the company he was building, the product they were creating, and the problems it would solve. A year later, Ana was looking for a change and spoke with our CRO, Ken Arrendondo, about Digibee. After 20 years in the field, she wanted to expand her skills outside of marketing. Her roles over the years had included interactions with operations, processes, technology, metrics and reporting, and sales and she felt she could transfer that experience to a new opportunity. Digibee offered her exactly what she was looking for: a change, the opportunity to work with people she admired, and the chance to utilize and expand her skills.
Life at Digibee
Ana has always been a problem-solver, or what an old friend of hers referred to as knowing how to “tame the chaos.” She’s always enjoyed work that requires her to identify issues and find solutions. As a start-up, Digibee allowed her the chance to create and implement new processes and practices, to create structure, and to troubleshoot ways to remain flexible and scalable as the company grows. In those ways, the role perfectly aligned with her professional goals.
Ana’s team is committed to ensuring our workforce is equipped with the tools they need to be successful in their roles. The challenge is thinking holistically about the processes so they can accommodate all the different working environments, learning styles, cultures, regions, and languages. But, according to Ana, she has two advantages that help her navigate the various challenges. First, she’s Brazilian-born but has lived abroad in the US and Canada, so she understands Brazilian culture and can help bridge those gaps. Second, she’s been fortunate that she’s had the right people join her team at the right time.
Like all of us, Ana’s past experiences have really shaped her into the type of person and manager she’s become. Most notably though, living in different countries has made her incredibly resilient and adaptable. She’s become comfortable with change, more resistant to pressure, and has learned that if you trust the process and give everything it’s due time, it usually works out. Ana likes to say “it’s not that the grass is greener, it’s what you make of the journey.” She added, “there will always be challenges in every job and in every relationship. You have to do your part to be adaptable, work through it, and allow things to fall into place.”
The Future Ahead
Digibee’s future and her place in it, are exciting topics to Ana. While she recognizes the US market is very saturated and building a brand takes time, she feels Digibee has a huge opportunity to flourish in the US and other regions. Why? Because she feels we have all the right building blocks in place: the right people and the right product to solve this universal integration problem. Ana is open to growing with the company in whatever way she is needed. She said “I look forward to seeing what that growth will give me in terms of opportunities to develop other skills and other teams within Digibee. I don’t have a set expectation. I am adaptable. But, I’m excited to see where I can contribute the most to the company that can also help fulfill my career aspirations.”
“I look forward to seeing what that growth will give me in terms of opportunities to develop other skills and other teams within Digibee. I don’t have a set expectation. I am adaptable. But, I’m excited to see where I can contribute the most to the company that can also help fulfill my career aspirations.”
She’s also very passionate about contributing to employee development at Digibee. Her management philosophy is based on helping others learn and succeed. She joked about the similarities between being a manager and a mom, saying that “you can’t do it for them, you have to teach them how to do it themselves. And, you have to keep challenging them to try bigger and bigger things progressively.” She believes in the importance of creating good learning experiences, providing healthy mentorships, and helping employees grow their skills both for their current and future roles.
Balancing Work & Life at Digibee
Balance is an important theme in Ana’s life. Over the last several years, Ana became very health-conscious and invested in her family’s wellness. Her and her husband do a lot of research about the effects of lifestyle, diet, sleep, and exercise on their well-being. They are passionate about utilizing nature’s resources (whole foods, hiking, etc.) to enhance their overall health. This past year, they grew a large variety of fruits and vegetables in their backyard garden. (I once kept a basil plant alive for two whole months, so obviously we have that in common.) Ana’s also been doing Keto for three years and loves experimenting with that style of cooking. For Ana, cooking is an exciting way to give back to her family – providing food that is both delicious and healthy.
Ana’s beautiful daughter, Sarah, also stopped in to our interview to show off her bear slippers before getting ready for school. It was immediately apparent to me how much Ana loves being a mom when talking to and about Sarah.
I have loved meeting incredible “Digibees” like Ana and getting to hearing their stories. Keep reading our employee highlights to learn more about this amazing team of people working to bring Digibee’s innovative enterprise integration solution forward in the US and globally.
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