In honor of Women's History Month, the Digital News Center is profiling female TD Bank leaders speaking about My Truth regarding their careers, work in the community and how they've overcome challenges
TD Bank's Head of Brand and Marketing Channels Arianna Orpello doesn't believe in the concept of work-life balance.
"I practice work-life boundaries. There are times when I take my husband and son with me on work trips because I have a boundary not to be gone for more than one night," she explained. "I leave the office at a certain time to put my son down, and then I am back online for a few hours. This is a boundary that works for me."
Arianna recently celebrated her third anniversary at TD Bank in what she describes as the "best job in the bank." She led the execution of the new Unexpectedly Human brand campaign and the WOW! Awards, making it quite a busy year. She's also a wife, a mother of two-year old son Nico and a French bulldog Jean-Claude, and expecting her second child.
Here are some more insights from Arianna.
Can you share a bit about your role?
I have the pleasure of leading our brand, channel and field marketing group – finding unique ways to tell our story, helping the bank keep up with the changing marketing and consumer landscape and more.
How was the concept of the Unexpectedly Human Brand campaign developed?
We spent time with employees, consumers, research and data and really tried to unlock what makes TD Bank special.
What do you think people would be most surprised about your career and personal story?
Because of how I grew up – watching my mother struggle to meet financial needs - I always wanted to be independent and never to get caught on my heels.
Here are the lessons, I have learned along the way:
- Establish a personal advisory board for yourself and also be willing to be on the board of others.
- Be engaged and work harder than everyone else. If you're going to do things – be really engaged or don’t do them at all. Work hard and do it consistently on the things you chose.
- Invest in others. Genuinely listen to and care about those who are senior and junior to you.
- Find sponsors that you admire. I have always found myself looking at those that really inspire me and learning everything I can from them.
- Make it your job to leave the world and workplace a better place for those that come next. Push the boundaries. Do things differently. Don’t just sit back.
What does Women's History Month mean to you?
I grew up in a single parent household watching my mother do everything she could to raise four children. We didn’t have a ton of money but we had love and family. Women are awesome. Limitless.
Women's History Month is about celebrating those that came before us and touched us personally and those that touched us indirectly with their courage.
How would you like to see it improve for future generations of women?
We still have so much work to do, and it's our job to ensure that women can be successful while still being mothers, while having a life beyond work. It's our job to create an equal playing field for those that come next.
How do you find time to commit to volunteering?
I want my son to see me volunteering and giving back – I want him to know the importance of caring about the greater good. I find time because we do it as a family, and we make the time.
I serve on the Please Touch Museum Board in Philadelphia as I believe learning through play and access for all children is critical to the learning journey.
We have one Mother Earth, and I want her to be a beautiful place for generations to come. I also serve on the board of the Fairmount Part Conservancy in Philadelphia which is all about keeping our parks beautiful.