By Alimey Díaz | Szymanka, an expert in marketing and leadership, PR-Marketing at WIRAM UK Chapter, defines herself as passionate about marketing strategy, overcoming limiting mental paradigms, and using AI and human intelligence to achieve exponential growth.
Strategic marketing, bold ideas, and the ability to listen in order to transform are the waters that Karolina Szymanska has been navigating for more than 25 years as a marketing consultant, neuromarketing specialist, and business leader coach. This ability to understand what clients need and create strategies based on innovative ideas with impressive results has led her to develop her career in the areas of global technology, engineering, SaaS, and asset management, directing international marketing and brand revitalization campaigns in several countries.
An expert in marketing strategy, growth marketing, digital marketing, leadership, and coaching, Karolina is also an important member of Women in Reliability and Asset Management (WIRAM), the organization that, under the umbrella of the Association of Asset Management Professionals (AMP), works to highlight and elevate the role and contributions of women and female leadership in the business of industrial maintenance and asset management. Despite her busy schedule, Szymanska, who also serves as PR-Marketing for the WIRAM UK Chapter, has granted us this interview, sharing a little about her work, her passions, and her personal vision of the world and industry.
AMP: Karolina, tell us about your job and your current responsibilities, and tell us a little about your professional experience.
KS: I blend strategy, creativity, and coaching, working as a Fractional CMO and strategic marketing consultant. I primarily assist technological companies in aligning their marketing strategies with the organization’s goals, whether it involves go-to-market execution or realigning their exit strategy. I’ve co-created a human-centered digital transformation framework, RISE, which focuses on people within an organization harmonizing culture and using communication as an amplifier to ensure user buy-in and engagement. I also co-founded Hatch Your Potential, a program designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs transition from an employee mindset to entrepreneurship, blending soulful coaching, AI tools and anchoring the purpose-driven business in the power of supporting community. I believe that organizations on a macroscale and employees on a micro scale must think and act like entrepreneurs—taking responsibility for their growth and careers from a place of purpose and passion. My unique blend of strategy, creativity, and coaching is centered on empowering people and organizations to thrive.
AMP: You have worked in marketing and have extensive experience in the field, and you are also a member of the WIRAM UK Chapter. What do you like most about asset management, and how do you think the two careers are related?
KS: What I love about asset management is that it’s ultimately about stewardship and care—ensuring resources are reliable, sustainable, and aligned with organizational goals. Marketing and asset management may seem unrelated, but at their heart, both are about alignment and values. In marketing, I align brands with their audience, and in asset management, we align assets with business strategy. Both require clarity, trust, and compelling storytelling to create a lasting impact. This shared focus on alignment and values is where these two worlds meet, creating a sense of connection and engagement.
Marketing and Asset Management: Connecting the dots
Karolina’s comment is central to this interview. Asset management is a complex discipline that cuts across all layers of an organization. Its holistic vision and set of strategies enable teams and facilities to reach their maximum operational and financial potential in a safe and sustainable way. But organizations and companies are, in principle, made up of people.
Therefore, communication, leadership, and mindset are essential to any successful asset management strategy in order to align strategies, resources, and objectives. These principles, essential in asset management, are also present in marketing. Karolina bases her work on “deep listening, conscious strategy, and a holistic approach to business that values people, results, and relationships.”
This ability to connect the dots is part of her professional success, developing successful strategies, driving mindset change, and leveraging the advantages of AI to create exponential growth projects. It is this same ability that has also allowed her to find parallels and analogies within asset management, making her work at WIRAM particularly valuable to our organization.
AMP: Let’s share with the audience a little about your work at WIRAM UK and what you hope to achieve this year.
KS: The WIRAM UK is still a relatively young chapter, having only been fully formed in July. Currently, we are shaping our rhythm as a team. We are a wonderfully diverse group that bridges generational gaps—from young engineers to experienced global reliability leaders and a variety of skills. We share values and advocate for strong women’s voices in the space of reliability. At WIRAM UK, my focus is on building visibility, engagement, and opportunities for women in the reliability and asset management sectors. This year, I aim to establish a stronger foundation for connection, knowledge sharing, and confidence-building—so that UK (and global) members not only find their voice but also feel empowered to lead change in the industry. Our goal is for WIRAM UK to evolve into a community of innovators, inclusivity, and collaboration across the asset management sector.
AMP: Karolina, you will be our speaker at the WIRAM Lunch we will hold at IMC2025. How do you feel about it, and what can we expect from this conference?
KS: I’m deeply honored, humbled, and filled with hope! Speaking at the IMC2025 WIRAM’s community lunch is a true privilege! My keynote, “The Hidden Currency: Purpose as the Catalyst for Human Potential and Entrepreneurship in the AI Era” explores how rigid paradigms are shifting as we navigate the frontier of human and machine collaboration. When individuals and organizations connect to their purpose, they unlock untapped reserves of creativity, ownership, and entrepreneurial drive. I’ll share my vision of the conscious economy movement. What can you expect? Hopefully, a nudge to rethink what drives you and your organization forward.
AMP: In a few words, what does Asset Management mean to you and how does it impact organizations?
KS: Asset management, to me, is about stewardship—taking care of the resources entrusted to us so they remain reliable, sustainable, and future-ready. When done well, the organization is resilient, builds trust, innovates and grows with confidence.
We would like to thank Karolina Szymanska for her time in this interview, and we look forward to her upcoming presentation at the WIRAM Lunch at IMC2025. To learn more about the work of Women in Reliability and Asset Management (WIRAM), click on this link: https://assetmanagementprofessionals.org/wiram/about-wiram
