Natalie Shpiegel has never stayed in one place for long. Born in Israel, she spent much of her childhood moving across the world because of her father’s work with Motorola. Every few years meant a new city, a new school, and a new culture. She lived in Toulouse, France, Scottsdale, Arizona, Austin, Texas, Seoul, South Korea, and Beijing, China before returning to Israel at the age of fourteen.
Those early years shaped how she sees the world. Learning to adapt quickly and connect with new people became second nature. That mindset would later define her career.
After finishing high school in Israel, Natalie earned a BA in Economics and Business Management from Tel Aviv University. She then worked at a boutique consulting firm, supporting leading Fortune 500 companies like P&G, Intel and J&J. Inspired by her experiences working with brand leaders at these companies, she pursued an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she sharpened her skills in strategy, leadership, and business growth.
Her career continued in brand marketing at Miller Coors, where she worked on the Blue Moon brand and later helped launch Saint Archer Gold. From there, she moved into program management and strategy at Redfin, where she worked on large-scale projects and helped teams operate more efficiently across markets.
Natalie later joined Carvana as Associate Director in Market Operations, focusing on last-mile execution and the systems that support fast-growing companies. Today, she serves as Director of Sales and Marketing at RIGID Industries.
Along the way, Natalie has built a career that crosses marketing, operations, and strategy. Her path reflects curiosity, adaptability, and a belief that the best leaders understand how the whole system works.
Outside of work, she enjoys skiing, snowboarding, traveling, exploring restaurants, and juggling activities with 3 kids.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My days start early because I have three kids. Mornings are usually a mix of getting everyone ready and checking emails before the workday really begins. Once I’m at work, I try to block time for focused thinking before meetings take over the calendar.
Most of my day involves connecting different teams. Sales, marketing, customer service, operations – those groups all have different priorities. My role is often making sure everyone is working toward the same goal. I keep things productive by focusing on clarity. If people know exactly what we’re trying to achieve, things move faster.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I usually start by asking a lot of questions. I like to understand the problem from multiple angles before jumping into solutions.
Then I break the idea down into smaller steps. Big ideas fail when they stay abstract. If you can turn something into clear actions, teams can move quickly.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The blending of marketing and operations. For a long time those functions lived in separate worlds. Now they are becoming tightly connected.
Customer expectations are higher than ever, so brand promises and real-world execution have to match perfectly.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Writing things down. I keep a very simple running list of priorities every morning. I keep a list of things that must get done that day. If most of those get done, the day is productive.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t worry so much about having a perfectly planned career path. My career moved across industries and roles, and that ended up being a strength.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
Besides that I don’t like Chipotle, I think people have a habit of taking the “safe” option and are afraid to switch industries. Many professionals stay in one sector for decades. I think switching industries forces you to think differently and ask better questions.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Talk to people outside your function. Marketing people should talk to operations. Operations should talk to sales. The best ideas, that can actually be executed effectively, usually come from those conversations.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I step away and move my body. Even a short walk helps reset my thinking. Also my kids humble me really quick – it doesn’t matter what is going on at work, they need your attention and they center me.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Learning new industries quickly. When I moved from beverages to real estate tech and then to automotive logistics, I had to ramp up fast. Curiosity helps a lot. Ask questions and don’t pretend you know everything.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Early in my career I tried to push a project forward too quickly without thinking about all of the different edge-cases or scenarios that could go wrong. We were surprised after the launch. It taught me to always build in time to really think through and plan for every scenario in advance.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A vacation compound for multiple friends and everyone’s families – each family gets a bungalow right next to each other and there are tons of activities for kids. Maybe even throw in a kids club or nanny.
I’d love if someone figured this out for me. It’s already hard to get all my girlfriends together from across the country, but if it was easy to have all the families join and hang out – I would love that!
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
AI tools are kind of obvious these days, but what I think helps me the most is utilizing my calendars (both personal and work) – if it’s not on there I won’t remember about it. I try to put everything on my calendar including important reminders.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
I’m usually really busy and it’s hard to find time to read a physical book, but I utilize my commute to catch up on podcasts and audiobooks. I love listening to Pivot with Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher – it helps me keep up to date with all things business, technology and politics.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I watch a lot of serious shows, but one show I recently loved was The Studio. It was so hilarious that I found myself laughing out loud. I couldn’t wait for the following week’s episode. You need a good comedy to lighten things up in this crazy world. RIP Catherine O’Hara.
Key learnings
- Career growth often comes from crossing functions and industries rather than staying in one lane.
- Strong execution happens when marketing, sales, and operations work toward the same goal
- Big ideas succeed when they are broken into clear, actionable steps.
- Curiosity and adaptability help professionals learn new industries faster.
- Conversations outside your department often lead to the best insights.