Stepping Into Strategy in the Age of AI

This second team faced one of the deepest product challenges in the project. Under the local-first model, search prioritized geography over relevance, something that collapses instantly in a global marketplace. The data team, matching squad, and product managers didn’t tweak the system or optimize it — they rebuilt it from scratch.

The work was technical, but the challenge was strategic. For the first time, our platform could evaluate talent based on true relevance while still honoring Malt’s long-held “local first” principle. The new system doesn’t replace that value; it builds on it. Local profiles are shown first when they are genuinely the best fit — but the moment a profile elsewhere is more relevant, the platform can surface it. This wasn’t just a logic update; it was an evolution in how we balance local strength with global opportunity, ensuring we can serve international clients without losing what makes Malt unique.

By October, the new malt.com was ready to be revealed. The CPO and I presented the vision at the company all-hands, and what struck me most was not the applause or the excitement, but the welcoming — the sense that this project belonged to everyone now.

The launch followed shortly after. Almost immediately, the results came in: 70% of users who had previously hit a dead end could now engage fully by signing up, logging in, searching, and beginning real journeys. For the first time, we had visibility into global demand at scale. For the first time, the product could reflect the ambition of the company.

In the weeks that followed, the conversation expanded even further. Early insights were shared in the C-suite weekly meeting. Sales teams began exploring how malt.com aligned with their structure and client segments. The initiative became a reference point in discussions about growth, positioning, and the future of our global strategy.

Today, the project may be “launched,” but it isn’t finished. If anything, its impact keeps expanding, shaping how we think, design, and plan for the next phase of international growth. The ripples continue outward, touching teams far beyond those that built it. And that, more than the launch itself, has been the most meaningful part of the journey.

Key Takeaways

Stepping into strategic work begins long before anyone gives you authority to do so. Strategy starts with insight, and with noticing patterns, structural gaps, or opportunities no one else has named yet. Early influence is rarely loud; it grows quietly through observation, persistence, and relationships. If you see something that matters, articulate it. Often, that simple act is the first step toward shaping direction.

Progress accelerates when you stop trying to convince people and start aligning with them. The most powerful alliances form not around shared opinions, but around shared needs. Strategic change happens when another team’s success depends on the same outcome as yours. Understanding their pressures, constraints, and objectives allows your idea to become their solution, and that’s when momentum naturally builds.

Data becomes essential in this phase. Executives rarely react to intuition alone; they respond to patterns, risk reduction, opportunity sizing, and user behavior. You don’t need perfect numbers, but you do need directionally meaningful evidence. Imperfect data, used thoughtfully, is often enough to shift a conversation or open a door.

As you gain clarity, design for the future you believe is coming. When you see a future architecture taking shape, start sketching it, even informally. The more tangible the vision, the easier it becomes for others to adopt, support, and champion.

When opportunities arise, say yes before you feel ready. No one feels prepared to lead a cross-functional initiative the first time they do it. The discomfort of not knowing everything isn’t a sign of incapacity — it’s a sign of growth. Leadership often begins with a willingness to step forward rather than a sense of mastery.

Along the way, distinguish conviction from ego. You can advocate strongly for an idea without believing you must own every part of it. Strategy is collaborative by nature; your role is not to be the expert in everything, but rather to connect the right expertise, the right people, and the right timing.

Strategic work also requires adapting your leadership style to the needs of each team you collaborate with. I learned this firsthand while working with two very different groups during the malt.com project. One team was proactive and solution-oriented; with them, a supportive and flexible approach helped accelerate progress. Another team struggled to move past obstacles and often focused on constraints rather than possibilities. With them, I had to be more direct, insistent, and structured to keep momentum. Their feedback later described this as “bossy” or “pushy,” and although it stung, it was also true. Had I taken the same gentle approach with every team, several critical elements of the project simply wouldn’t have happened. Strategy often means adjusting how you show up — not to overpower others, but to ensure the shared goal stays in motion.

Finally, prepare yourself for both success and failure. Before we launched malt.com, I made peace with the possibility that it might not work, and that I would be accountable for that. That clarity freed me from fear and allowed me to lead decisively. Strategic work will always involve uncertainty; courage, not certainty, is what sustains you through it.

Stepping Through the Door

Looking back, it’s almost surreal how quietly a transformation begins: one question in a meeting, one abandoned document, one conversation that lands differently. Then suddenly, you’re standing at the threshold of a project that changes your role, your company, and maybe even the way you see the industry.

AI pushed us to that threshold, but it didn’t walk through the door for us. That part is still human.

Localization professionals see patterns across markets, cultures, content, and product behavior that few others can see in combination. That vantage point is strategic, whether or not we call it that.

This project taught me that localization becomes part of strategy not by asking for permission, but by solving a problem the business cannot ignore. If one person can start the momentum to move a company from a fragmented, local-first model to a unified, global platform, imagine what we can do collectively when we embrace the new shape of our profession.

Localization has always connected worlds, languages, cultures, and contexts. Now it is being invited to connect vision and execution. This shift is not a threat — it’s an opportunity. I hope this story encourages you to walk through your own door when it appears.

Acknowledgments

I want to express my sincere thanks to Belén Alomar, CPO at Malt, whose guidance and support shaped every stage of this project. Long before malt.com became a priority, she kept the idea alive, looking for the right moment to bring it forward. When that moment arrived, she entrusted me with leading the initiative, not because I was the most senior or the most experienced, but because she recognized the passion and commitment behind the vision. Throughout the project, she made space to mentor me on strategic thinking, executive communication, and data storytelling, despite her demanding schedule. Her leadership not only strengthened the project, but also helped me grow in ways I will carry throughout my career.