Maria joined Kearney as a senior business analyst in 1999 after a stint with the Austrian Broadcasting Company. She wanted more exposure to an international environment—and she got it. Her projects took her to countries across Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Eventually, Maria decided to transition back to industry, and she was quickly recruited by the CEO of T-Mobile as vice president of strategy. Since that time, she has steadily broadened her experience through a variety of roles, including executive vice president of consumer markets (where she had profit and loss responsibility), chief marketing officer, and executive vice president for wholesale markets. In December 2015, she was promoted to chief commercial officer. With more than 600 employees reporting to her, Maria is responsible for marketing, sales, service, B2B, B2C, and wholesale sectors of T-Mobile Austria.

Maria says her years at Kearney were extremely beneficial, and she recommends spending some time in consulting to anyone starting out in their careers—or even to those with a few years of industry experience who ultimately want to transition back. She points to the rapid learning curve as one of the biggest pluses to working in consulting: “It takes at least two to three years in industry to learn what you learn in a single year of consulting,” she says. “Not only do you acquire basic skills, like how to put together a good presentation, but you also learn how to structure problems and deal with complexity.”

For those who do want to transition to a career in industry, Maria has this important piece of advice: Don’t lose the network you’ve developed over the years of working with different clients and colleagues. Make an effort to stay in touch through email, regular phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and industry events. Otherwise, you won’t hear about the best opportunities. It works both ways: staying in contact with her Kearney colleagues is what led to Maria’s supporting the firm to conduct projects at T-Mobile.

Maria also cautions those who make the switch that they may need to recalibrate when it comes to the pace and rhythm of work. In consulting, the pace and the hours can be intense. Those same expectations don’t always exist in industry, and imposing a consulting mindset on coworkers and direct reports may not be advisable. You need to learn to adapt.

For example, although Maria holds a position of high responsibility that sometimes calls for long days and evenings, she draws a line at weekends whenever possible. Those are for family and enjoying her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter. As an Austrian born and bred, skiing is also often on the agenda. “It’s important to have downtime," she says. "It makes me a more effective leader.”

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