For most of my career, people assumed I had it all figured out.

I built an executive career leading people strategy, culture, and organizational transformation for some of the world's most recognized brands. Today, I serve as Vice President of Global People Strategy & Programs at Benefit Cosmetics, where I help shape the employee experience for thousands of team members around the world.

But behind every promotion, every opportunity, and every milestone was a question I know so many ambitious women quietly carry:

How do I build the career I want without losing the life I want?

That question has been with me since I was nineteen years old.

While attending California State University, Sacramento, I became a single mother to my son, Justin. Overnight, ambition became deeply personal. Success was no longer about titles or recognition—it was about creating stability, possibility, and a life we could both be proud of.

 

Over the next three decades, I learned that leadership isn't about doing more. It's about becoming more intentional.

I've had the privilege of leading global teams and transformative work at organizations including Benefit Cosmetics, Ritual, Stitch Fix, Gymboree, and The Walt Disney Company. Throughout my career, I've helped organizations develop leaders, build high-performing cultures, navigate change, and create workplaces where people can do their best work while feeling seen, valued, and connected.

Yet the most meaningful lessons didn't come from the boardroom.

They came from learning how to set boundaries without guilt. How to lead with both strength and compassion. How to redefine success as something that includes meaningful work, meaningful relationships, and a meaningful life.

Those lessons became the foundation for Grounded Ambition.

I created Grounded Ambition because I believe ambitious women deserve a different conversation about success—one that doesn't glorify burnout or ask us to choose between our careers and the people we love.

Here, ambition and peace can coexist.

Leadership begins within.

And success should never require self-abandonment.

Through executive coaching, speaking, corporate partnerships, and The Assembly—our community for ambitious women—I help women navigate leadership, career growth, motherhood, and life's transitions with greater clarity, confidence, and intention.

My work is grounded in a simple belief:

When women lead from a place of authenticity instead of exhaustion, everyone benefits—their families, their teams, their organizations, and most importantly, themselves.

Grounded Ambition isn't just a business.

It's the movement I wish had existed when I was nineteen.

And if you're here, my hope is that you'll discover what I've learned over the years:

You don't have to become someone else to build an extraordinary life.

You simply have to become more deeply yourself.

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All in,

Stephanie (Steph) Lucchesi

Founder