Teresa Low is a former CMO with 25-plus years leading global brands and teams, including Hershey's, Beam Suntory, and Courvoisier. Originally from Singapore, Teresa spent three decades climbing the corporate ladder in the U.S. before stepping away to become an executive coach. She now helps high-performing women leaders articulate who they are, own their value, and be seen in the right light.

This episode of Lonely at the Top is about the invisible cost of carrying everything quietly, the good girl conditioning that keeps high-achieving women over-functioning, and learning to trust yourself enough to stop earning your belonging. Teresa opens up about being so good at appearing like she "had it all together" that people simply assumed she was fine, even as burnout and resentment built quietly underneath for decades. She shares candidly about being the only woman, and often the only foreigner, in rooms full of executives, the isolating feeling of not speaking the unspoken cultural language of a group, and the identity crisis that hit when she finally left her CMO title behind to build something of her own.

Episode Highlights

• Why Teresa became so skilled at carrying things quietly that people assumed she was fine, and the toll that took over decades of high-level leadership
• The loneliness of being the only woman and only foreigner in the room, and how "good girl conditioning" trains women not to inconvenience others or ask for help
• The identity crisis of letting go of a corporate title after three decades and learning to trust herself without a label to hide behind

Connect with Teresa Low

Website: Teresa Low Consulting: https://www.teresalowconsulting.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresalow/
Substack: https://teresalow1260.substack.com/

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Fernanda Brasileiro spent 20 years in global operations leadership, working in corporate supply chain planning for companies like Krispy Kreme, and serving major clients including McDonald's, Starbucks, and Chick-fil-A. After leaving her full-time corporate role, Fernanda now offers consulting, workshop facilitation, and coaching for supply chain analytics and leadership development.

This episode of Lonely at the Top is about the hidden costs of corporate leadership, the challenge of psychological safety, and learning to build self-trust after years of chasing external validation. Fernanda opens up about leading teams that ranged from 20 to 50 people, the thankless, unmeasured work of being a nurturing leader, and a psychological safety workshop that fell apart so badly it felt like an episode of The Office. She also shares candidly about the zero boundaries she held with work at the height of her career, the toll it took on her health, and how she's since redefined success through self-compassion and internal validation rather than proving her worth to others.

Episode Highlights

• Fernanda's experience leading teams of 20 to 50 people across corporate supply chain planning and the invisible, thankless labor of being a nurturing leader
• Why she pushed for psychological safety training at a company where leaders were quietly criticizing employees in real time during meetings, and how the resulting workshop fell apart
• The zero boundaries she held during the peak of her career, working 50 to 70 hours a week while managing her household, three kids, and her hobbies
• How chasing external validation and trying to "prove herself" led to declining health, and what shifted once she discovered IFS (Internal Family Systems)
• Why she now tells corporate employees to invest in their own development rather than waiting for their company to approve or pay for it

Connect with Fernanda Brasileiro

Website: Fernanda Brasileiro
Newsletter: Passion for People Development (on LinkedIn)

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Ricky Powell is a Happiness Architect, executive happiness coach, and culture transformation strategist who spent 25 years inside NBC Universal, including nine years working under a supervisor whose behavior left him questioning who he could trust. Behind his successful corporate career, Ricky faced workplace toxicity, betrayal, isolation, and the pressure of protecting his career while navigating a deeply difficult relationship.

This episode of Lonely at the Top is about standing up for yourself, finding strength through personal development, and how to respond when circumstances are outside your control. Ricky opens up about the nine-year experience with a toxic supervisor that ultimately changed the direction of his life, the meticulous records he kept to protect himself, and the moment those records became critical to saving his career. He shares how discovering the study of happiness, meaning, purpose, and personal development helped him move through an incredibly difficult period and eventually led him toward his work helping others create happier, healthier workplaces.

Episode Highlights

• Ricky's experience navigating nine years with a toxic and manipulative supervisor
• Why he began documenting lies, sabotage, and workplace incidents and how those records ultimately protected him
• How personal development and the study of happiness helped Ricky survive an incredibly difficult chapter
• The difference between feeling pain and practicing toxic positivity
• Ricky's philosophy that life is 10% what happens and 90% how we respond
• Why language matters, and how changing “I have to” into “I get to” can shift our perspective

Connect with Ricky Powell

Website: Lifelong Happiness
Cellphone: 805-279-4222

Have thoughts on this episode or the overall show?

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Discounted Magic Breakthrough session for listeners: https://rachelalexandria.as.me/magicbreakthrough100