Alarice's Authentic Journeys

After more than 20 years at IBM, I’m closing one chapter and getting ready to begin another.

Even writing that sentence feels a little surreal.

Twenty years is a long time. Long enough to build a career, build a family, make some mistakes, celebrate some incredible wins, get on more airplanes than I could possibly count, and meet people who change your life.

When I joined IBM, I never imagined where the journey would take me.

I had opportunities to work with incredible clients, tackle some really hard problems, build businesses, lead talented teams, and constantly learn something new. I grew as a professional, but more importantly, I grew as a leader and as a person. And yet, when I think about what I will remember most, it isn’t a particular project, promotion, client meeting, or business result.

It’s the people.

The mentors who saw something in me before I necessarily saw it in myself. The leaders who took a chance on me. The teammates who rolled up their sleeves when things got hard. The colleagues who became friends, and the friends who eventually became more like family.

We didn’t just build careers together. We built lives. We got married. Had children. Watched those children grow up. Celebrated promotions and new opportunities. Navigated losses and disappointments. Changed roles, changed leaders, changed offices, and somehow kept finding our way back to one another.

It reinforced something I have believed for a long time:

Careers are built on relationships.

Yes, the work matters. Results matter. Ambition matters.

But years from now, you probably won’t remember every presentation you gave or every late-night meeting you attended.

You will remember who was sitting beside you. That is what I will carry with me.

And maybe that is also what makes leaving after 20+ years feel so significant. There is comfort in what you know. There is history in it. There are people you love and a version of yourself that grew up there.

But there also comes a point when you have to ask yourself a different question:

What else might be possible?

I have spent a lot of my career encouraging other people to stay curious, take chances, get comfortable being uncomfortable, and keep growing.

At some point, you have to be willing to take your own advice.

So that’s what I’m doing.

I’m leaving this chapter with enormous gratitude for the people, experiences, and opportunities that shaped me.

And I’m stepping into the next one at KPMG with curiosity, energy, and a healthy dose of PMA.

Stay curious. Stay connected. And always lead with kindness and a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA).