TheBridge profile: M. Alejandra Parra-Orlandoni

Name: M. Alejandra Parra-Orlandoni

Current city: Marblehead, MA

Current job: VP, Ethical Innovation & Privacy, Global Portfolio Division at Takeda

Past job: Data & Privacy Policy Innovation at Meta

Q. How are you currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? We strive to make decisions about innovation that reflect not just regulatory requirements but ethical norms. In fact, everyone in the company from the most junior to executive levels uses our unique framework — Patient-Trust-Reputation-Business, in that order — to make decisions and take actions. The framework is designed to bring our corporate values (Integrity, Fairness, Honesty and Perseverance, with Integrity at the core) to life. It’s a cool approach; I’ve never seen such a simple yet effective approach to embedding values and ethics into everyday activities, big and small.

Q. Job advice in three words? Always be learning.

Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Innovators can learn how to think about the impact of products and services beyond the individual user level and at the broader community and societal level. This wider lens is crucial for building products responsibly – and it’s precisely the thing that policymakers are good at.

Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Policymakers can learn more about the on-the-ground experience for innovators navigating regulatory requirements. ‘Only one more process’ or ‘just one more requirement’ adds up quickly. Policymakers must keep these realities front of mind to design policies that incentivize the behaviors we want without deterring promising innovation.

Q. Can you describe a skill you have carried throughout your career that has always proved to be valuable? Systems thinking! To be fair, this is how my brain naturally works. But I have continued to cultivate and sharpen this skill over the years. Systems thinking has been especially helpful for spotting trends, anticipating opportunities and risks, and designing solutions that are robust to disruptions.

Q. What is the best job interview question you have ever been asked? This might sound boring, but I love the usual intro question, ‘Tell me about yourself.’ I’m a big believer in the value of self-reflection but don’t always make enough time for it. This question is an opportunity to develop a narrative about myself that requires synthesis, making sense of past experiences, and in a way acknowledging and celebrating my journey to date.

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Any place with an ocean view!

Q. Favorite books and podcasts you recommend? Book: Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow (nonfiction). Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching book series (fiction), and Brian Christian’s The Alignment Problem and anything by the late Professor Clayton Christensen.

Podcast: I listen to SO many great ones! Two of my favorites include Fixable with Frances Frei and Anne Morriss and The TWIML AI Podcast with Sam Charrington.

Q. Why are you part of TheBridge community? Why do you think it's important this community exists for tech, policy and political professionals? We are all working to solve complex and complicated challenges at the intersection of tech, policy, and society. None of us can solve these challenges alone, so this community is a critical resource to cultivate and develop impactful solutions.

Q. Everyday is probably different, but are there certain skills you think are essential to your job? Listening. And as a naturally impatient, biased-for-action type of person, I’m constantly working on this one.

Q. What's one piece of advice you are still trying to master? Don’t tie your identity to your job.

Q. Favorite app? Apple podcasts. Easy to use, and makes it easy to learn from others.

Q. If you had to live in another city, which would it be? Not a city but a region: the Dolomites in Italy.

Q. Last time you were completely unplugged? When my husband and I climbed Mt. Washington in New Hampshire in 2023. It was tough, but we loved the challenge. (By the way, what this says to me is that I’m way overdue to unplug!!)