Social Responsibility Intuit’s Marianna Tessel on Her Trusted Advisers The chief product development officer at the software company’s biggest unit turns to four sources for career guidance Marianna Tessel A chief product development officer at Intuit When the veteran software engineer was hired last year as the first chief product development officer for Intuit’s biggest unit, she faced a tough task: Transform an Written by Intuit Blog Team Published Aug 20, 2018 - [Updated Nov 7, 2022] 2 min read The chief product development officer at the software company’s biggest unit turns to four sources for career guidance Marianna Tessel A chief product development officer at Intuit When the veteran software engineer was hired last year as the first chief product development officer for Intuit’s biggest unit, she faced a tough task: Transform an operation that develops software for QuickBook products while taking charge of the largest number of people—more than 1,500—she had ever managed. “I worked quickly to immerse myself in the team,’’ says the 50-year-old daughter of engineers. Here are four trusted advisers who have offered career guidance at critical junctures. Tayloe Stansbury Intuit’s chief technology officer Mr. Stansbury—who was Ms. Tessel’s boss at a small web-commerce company called Ariba—brought her to Intuit after she requested his recommendation for a position elsewhere. His best leadership tip? Face an issue head on by digging deep into details. You uncover solutions “that you didn’t see before,’’ she says. Bill Coughran Sequoia Capital partner; former Google engineering executive Mr. Coughran helped recruit Ms. Tessel to Docker, the software startup where he is a director, in 2014. He has urged her to maintain her technical expertise, no matter how many engineers she leads. ‘‘To be able to steer a ship in a particular direction, you need to understand the sea,’’ she says. Aileen Lee Partner at Cowboy Ventures Ms. Tessel tapped Ms. Lee’s startup expertise before joining Docker. The venture capitalist also shaped her view of career moves as a chess match. “It’s important to think several steps ahead,’’ Ms. Tessel says. Lee Franklin Executive coach at California Leadership Center Mr. Franklin taught her that effective leaders understand the importance of telling the truth without blame. In other words, Ms. Tessel says, be authentic and accountable. Previous Post National Inventors Month: 5 Customer-Favorite QuickBooks Features Next Post Coding With Compassion: Q&A with Intuit Accessibility Leads Ted Drake… Written by Intuit Blog Team More from Intuit Blog Team Browse Related Articles Social Responsibility Intuit partners with The Farmlink Project to address climate change and combat food waste Life at Intuit How to become a better trans+ and non-binary ally Life at Intuit Here’s how women at Intuit inspire inclusion Taxpayer Empowerment Powering prosperity for women means addressing gender inequities in the tax code Job Readiness Powering prosperity, one community at a time Taxpayer Empowerment Setting the record straight on tax preparation Small Business Intuit acquires IP and hires talent from Proper Finance Canada Growing with Intuit Social Responsibility Intuit and Khan Academy team up to offer free financial education to students and teachers Innovative Thinking A new tool to make taxes more transparent