Innovation Through Resiliency: How This Senior Director Fosters Collaboration and Drives Results

Krista Rapatski has worked at Altria for over 20 years, but she’s still discovering ways to expand her skills, sharpen her strengths, and cultivate creative ingenuity. Although Rapatski began her Altria career as an engineer, she’s worked in various roles during her tenure, including value strategy, marketplace analytics, consumer research, brand development, digital marketing, and e-commerce. Today, Rapatski is the Senior Director of Innovative Products, and taking up the mantle of leadership has brought a new set of challenges—and possibilities—that she’s eager to explore. Throughout her four years in this leadership role, Altria’s long-standing dedication to employee growth has fueled her enthusiasm and willingness to embrace the unknown.

“Altria’s commitment to employee development—from job deliverables to leadership skills—has been an impressive part of the company culture,” she says. “They’ve offered me stretch assignments that have allowed me to shine and supported my success.”

Here, we caught up with Rapatski to learn more about her role, the innovative products she’s currently working on, and the valuable lessons she’s learned as a leader.    

Tell us a bit about your job. What’s your current role, how long have you been in this role, and what’s your day-to-day like? 

In my current role, I’m responsible for delivering the business strategy and brand marketing for a category of innovative products within Altria’s future product pipeline. My day-to-day is never the same. I partner with our Product Development, Consumer Research, and Operations teams daily to create new products that offer alternatives for adult smokers. We’re constantly looking for new technologies, consumer insights, and ways of working that will lead to fresh, creative ideas.

At Altria, you’re focused on driving the business strategy for a pipeline of innovative products that will create a potentially reduced harm portfolio, increasing choice and responsibly leading the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future. Can you explain why this work inspires you? How does it align with your specific personal and professional goals?

I was never a smoker, and I didn’t think I’d ever work for a tobacco company. However, I’m excited to be part of a company dedicated to responsibly marketing existing products and creating alternative options for consumers. 

Altria is moving in a new direction—from a tobacco company to a tobacco harm-reduction company. To be part of that change is inspiring. Change isn’t easy, but our leadership consistently encourages us to do things differently, meet the consumer’s needs, and take calculated risks that drive creativity and great ideas. Every day, I’m challenged to focus on the future even when the outcomes are unclear. The push toward innovation has inspired my resiliency, grit, and collaboration skills and has made me a better leader. I’ve learned that perfection gets in the way of progress; you need to be comfortable taking risks, even if you don’t have all the data or answers beforehand.

How does your work reflect Altria’s core values, such as delivering for your customers, rising to the challenge, and continuous professional growth? 

Altria’s culture is based on how we behave as a collective. We not only hold ourselves accountable for the innovation pipeline of the future, but we do so in a way that anticipates and embraces change while operating with integrity. Opinions are welcome, and we encourage challenging debate. We work hard to exceed consumer expectations, delivering the highest quality products, unparalleled brand experiences, and superior services. Above all, we remain focused on Altria’s vision to move beyond smoking. We’re agile and resilient; we embrace necessary change with discernment. We grow as people and teams when we trust one another and overcome challenges together.

How are innovative products brought to life at Altria?

I’m excited to be part of Altria’s Innovation System, a cross-functional business process supporting how we collaborate to define, design, and deliver innovative products aligned with our enterprise strategy and vision. The system was designed to bridge gaps between strategy and execution through visibility, insights, and performance in a measurable and repeatable manner. 

When we rolled out these processes a few years ago, we did so to ensure that innovation guarantees cross-functional alignment throughout the development and implementation process. We’ve approached this system through continuous refinement as we understand what works best for the enterprise and our teams.

What innovative products are you currently working on? What challenges have you faced during the ideation, finalization, and implementation process, and how did you overcome them? 

Currently, I’m working on the business strategy and brand marketing to support our enterprise portfolio of smoke-free products. Our portfolio approach expands choice for adult tobacco consumers across three of the most promising smoke-free product platforms with the potential to reduce harm: oral tobacco, e-vapor, and heated tobacco. By putting the consumer at the center of everything we do, we aim to effectively and equitably transition smokers to less harmful alternatives. Our goal is to provide adult smokers with a variety of satisfying smoke-free options and guide them responsibly toward these alternatives. We have a powerhouse of employees excelling at the ideation and finalization of new product pipelines, but major challenges exist in implementing these plans. While we continue to design and create a portfolio in the interest of consumer wants, we’re held back due to regulatory complexity and intense hurdles in bringing these products to market. I’ve learned resilience, collaboration, and the importance of prioritizing consumers’ desires above all else. 

We understand you’re dedicated to enhancing Altria’s culture and organizational development. You’re the Senior Advisor for Sí!, the Employee Resource Group (ERG) that influences business and organizational decisions for Hispanic talent to thrive at Altria. You also serve as an advisor for HOLA!, Altria’s Hispanic Leadership Academy. Why did you choose to join these internal groups at a leadership level, and why are they important components of Altria’s overall cultural fabric and employee experience?

I’ve had amazing leaders coach and advocate for me along my career journey, and I see my involvement as a great opportunity to help others showcase their talents. As a white non-Hispanic woman, I’ve always been passionate about being the best advocate and ally that I can be for underrepresented and marginalized groups in the workforce. 

Since Sí!’s creation at Altria about 10 years ago, I’ve been an active member who supports their vision to influence business and organizational decisions for Hispanic employees to thrive at Altria. Sí! strives to drive culture, career, community, and commerce at Altria with all four pillars critical to Altria’s future success—for our employee community, customers, and consumers. In 2024, I joined the advisor team of HOLA!, a program designed to build community among Hispanic talent and equip them with the skills necessary to leverage their cultural leadership strengths at Altria. 

This year’s class is the fourth cohort, and the alumni network continues to grow and drive the enterprise. I’ve been able to coach these future leaders, and they’ve continued to coach me, heightening my cultural and intersectional awareness. I think leaders often undervalue the importance of multicultural awareness when supporting their teams and understanding how to best engage with their consumer base. This program continuously strives to retain, develop, and advance the talent pipeline of Hispanic women and men throughout our organization, and it has allowed me to grow as a leader.

What has your involvement with the innovation system and Sí! taught you about being a successful leader, and how have you applied this to your day-to-day role at Altria?

The two most important leadership skills I’ve learned have focused on adaptability and empathy. An effective leader must drive innovation and change and be open to collaboration, unprecedented ideas, and new methods of working. The ability to embrace change and pivot when needed generates resilience and the foresight to take reasonable risks in the organization. 

Empathy is a vital skill because establishing trust with your team is critical to the success of an organization, especially during times of uncertainty, change, and disruption across the enterprise. A recent study by Catalyst shows that empathetic leadership significantly increases innovation, retention, and engagement throughout an organization. This focus on empathy, vulnerability, and trust has made me a better leader, whether the end goal is a business objective or fostering organizational growth in future leaders.