Alex Pregnolato, Group CFO of Liberty London, has built a career by staying curious, taking calculated risks, and refusing to get too comfortable. Born and raised in Italy, Alex’s finance journey has taken him from Ferrero to Prada, MCM, Versace, De Beers, and now Liberty London, with stops in New York, China, and London along the way. His experience has taught him that functional expertise is only part of leadership. To have real influence, leaders need to understand the business, connect their work to the bigger picture, and be willing to adapt when the plan meets reality.

Episode Takeaways

• Strategy needs execution. Organizations can spend enormous energy creating a three-year strategy, but the hard work is breaking it into clear actions, assigning accountability, and maintaining focus long enough to see results.
• Don’t confuse transformation with change. Alex argues that “transformation” has become an overused label. A turnaround, digital initiative, or new sales channel may require very different leadership, so clarity about the actual challenge matters.
• Expect the plan to change. No strategy survives exactly as written. Strong leadership teams learn, adjust, and pivot without abandoning the larger ambition every time something goes sideways.
• Manage expectations with truth, not optimism. Especially with boards and investors, Alex believes leaders build credibility by being clear about what a strategy will require, how long it will take, and where investment must come before returns.
• Make the bigger picture visible. Alex keeps teams connected by explaining why the work matters, sharing broader business performance, and connecting with people as humans. People are much more likely to align around a goal when they understand the context, not just their assignment.

Alex’s ideas reinforce a central theme of Make HOW Matter: knowing WHAT you want to accomplish and WHY it matters is insufficient without alignment around HOW leaders will deliver together. His final challenge gives us something refreshingly tangible to align around: cleaner streets and cities. It’s a reminder that alignment becomes meaningful when agreement turns into individual action. And, conveniently, picking up the occasional piece of trash requires considerably less effort than most three-year strategic plans.

To connect with Alex Pregnolato outside of this episode, connect with him on LinkedIn here.

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Dr. Julie Williamson wrote the book on how to Make HOW Matter. After working with hundreds of executives and leadership teams at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, she created the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™ to bring the power of leadership alignment to more leaders at every level.

Grounded in both real-world business experience and social science, this virtual, self-paced program helps you turn the principles of Make HOW Matter into practical leadership skills you can use every day. Whether you’re a small business owner, leading a division, or simply looking to increase your influence and drive better results, you’ll learn how to close the gap between agreement and true alignment, and turn priorities into action. Ready to make HOW matter? Explore the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™.

Learn more about Julie and Karrikins Group:

• Connect with Julie on LinkedIn
• Follow Karrikins Group on LinkedIn
• Check out Julie's book, 'Make HOW Matter: Key Conversations for Leaders to Build Alignment and Accelerate Growth'
• Learn more about how Karrikins Group helps enterprise teams drive better results

Susan Lintonsmith has built a career by saying yes to opportunities that stretched her leadership. From marketing roles at Pizza Hut and Coca-Cola to leading Quiznos as CEO and now serving as President and CEO of Regis Corporation, her journey reflects a commitment to learning, enterprise thinking, and leading through change. Along the way, she has also served on multiple boards, bringing a broad perspective to leadership across industries. One lesson is clear: if you want the next role, start leading like you're already in it. It's easier to ask for the marker when you've already been sketching the future.

Episode Takeaways:

• Think beyond your function. Enterprise leaders stand out by understanding how decisions ripple across the entire business, not just their own department. Silos might keep your inbox organized, but they rarely grow great companies.
• Alignment requires clarity, not just agreement. Teams move faster when everyone understands the why, their role, and how progress will be measured. Getting in the boat is agreement. Picking up the oar is alignment.
• Create a culture where respectful challenge is expected. Strong leaders invite pushback, reward curiosity, and make it safe for people to question ideas in the room, not after the meeting in the hallway.
• Look for the real source of resistance. What appears to be reluctance is often a communication gap or an operational concern. Leaders who stay curious uncover the invisible barriers instead of assuming people simply dislike change.
• Courage starts with the leader. Alignment grows when leaders model openness, ask thoughtful questions, encourage healthy debate, and build an environment where the best ideas win, regardless of whose idea they were.

Susan's perspective reinforces that leadership is less about having every answer and more about creating the conditions for better conversations. Enterprise leaders who make the invisible visible, stay curious, and invite honest dialogue build stronger alignment and achieve results that no single function can deliver alone. The work is not always easy, but as Susan reminds us, progress usually starts with someone willing to pick up the marker.

To connect with Susan Lintonsmith outside of this episode, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

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Dr. Julie Williamson wrote the book on how to Make HOW Matter. After working with hundreds of executives and leadership teams at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, she created the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™ to bring the power of leadership alignment to more leaders at every level.

Grounded in both real-world business experience and social science, this virtual, self-paced program helps you turn the principles of Make HOW Matter into practical leadership skills you can use every day. Whether you’re a small business owner, leading a division, or simply looking to increase your influence and drive better results, you’ll learn how to close the gap between agreement and true alignment, and turn priorities into action. Ready to make HOW matter? Explore the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™.

Learn more about Julie and Karrikins Group:

• Connect with Julie on LinkedIn
• Follow Karrikins Group on LinkedIn
• Check out Julie's book, 'Make HOW Matter: Key Conversations for Leaders to Build Alignment and Accelerate Growth'
• Learn more about how Karrikins Group helps enterprise teams drive better results

Kristen Russell’s leadership journey is anything but linear. From managing engineers at Sun Microsystems to leading global operations at Oracle, serving as Colorado’s first Secretary of Technology, and now guiding CBTS as CEO, her career has been shaped by two questions: Can I learn? and Can I contribute? That curiosity has helped her lead large-scale transformations across industries and navigate the often-messy space between agreement and alignment.

Episode Takeaways

• Transformation is emotional, not just strategic. Leaders often focus on the intellectual side of strategy while overlooking the emotions people experience during change. As Kristen puts it, “strategy is intellectual, transformation is emotional.”
• Communication is never one-and-done. Alignment requires ongoing dialogue, listening, and clarification. If you're tired of repeating yourself, your team may just be starting to absorb the message.
• Focus on advocates, not just skeptics. Early in her career, Kristen spent too much energy trying to convert the loudest detractors. She learned that investing in champions creates momentum that helps bring the broader organization along.
• Clarity is a leader’s primary job. In the absence of clarity, people fill in the blanks themselves. Transparency about what is working, what is not, and what remains uncertain builds trust and keeps teams moving forward.
• Work on the team before the strategy. At CBTS, Kristen prioritized leadership team alignment, role clarity, and shared ways of working before tackling ambitious transformation efforts. Sometimes the fastest path forward starts with slowing down long enough to get aligned.

One of the most memorable ideas from this conversation is that leaders cannot simply sponsor change for others. They must change how they lead. Alignment is not a presentation, a project plan, or a motivational poster collecting dust in the break room. It is the daily work of creating clarity, building trust, having the hard conversations, and keeping your hands on the wheel as the road changes.

To connect with Kristin Russell outside of this episode, connect with her on LinkedIn here.
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Dr. Julie Williamson wrote the book on how to Make HOW Matter. After working with hundreds of executives and leadership teams at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, she created the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™ to bring the power of leadership alignment to more leaders at every level.

Grounded in both real-world business experience and social science, this virtual, self-paced program helps you turn the principles of Make HOW Matter into practical leadership skills you can use every day. Whether you’re a small business owner, leading a division, or simply looking to increase your influence and drive better results, you’ll learn how to close the gap between agreement and true alignment, and turn priorities into action. Ready to make HOW matter? Explore the Make HOW Matter Accelerator™.

Learn more about Julie and Karrikins Group:

• Connect with Julie on LinkedIn
• Follow Karrikins Group on LinkedIn
• Check out Julie's book, 'Make HOW Matter: Key Conversations for Leaders to Build Alignment and Accelerate Growth'
• Learn more about how Karrikins Group helps enterprise teams drive better results