Alessandra, global super user network lead for organizational change management at 3M, and her brother, Toni, have shared a lifetime of experiences together, including attending the same schools from kindergarten through post-grad. Today, Toni is a professor, making him the perfect person to explain the importance of the training his sister has received throughout her 24 years at 3M. Check out what he had to say:

An In-Depth Look into Alessandra’s Career

Alessandra’s 3M career began in the labs while she was an undergraduate student at Macalester College studying math and physics. Post-graduation, she continued her career with 3M part-time during the summer while pursuing a master’s and Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics from Northwestern University.

Five years into her career, Alessandra took a 3M course called Applied Leadership Principles, which changed the course of her career from being an individual contributor as a scientist to a team leader. “For the first time I was learning about defining a vision and how to build an organization to get there; assess strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats; and put a project plan together with a full team,” she says.

Building on her skills as a leader, Alessandra sought out a mentorship to help her better understand how to run a business. Through monthly meetings over the course of a year with her mentor, she discovered how she could leverage her own experiences to be a business leader, while building valuable relationships. “This mentorship launched a very exciting career for me in International Business Development where I got to work with 3Mers all over the world; build diverse and inclusive, high-performing teams; and work closely with customers to grow our business,” says Alessandra.

Once settled into her role as a leader, Alessandra wanted to help her team increase their selling effectiveness, so she looked into getting certified in Customer-Focused Selling, a 3M-specific methodology. She gained the knowledge necessary to smoothly transition into her next position as a global strategic accounts leader. In this role, she was responsible for six global accounts and developed “corner office” selling skills while coordinating teams around the world to best serve these customers and grow with them.

Now almost 25 years into her career, Alessandra hopes that one day her brother will be hired at 3M, so that she can be a mentor for him and pass down what she’s learned.

Learn more about a career at 3M by visiting 3M.com/careers.