thebiginterview
What is your professional background and how has this contributed to your current working position? My career has spanned nearly 20 years in the technology industry,
having held posts in Finance, HR, Sales, Account and Relationship Management and D&I. I have a BA in Psychology and an MBA with a focus in Finance and Organisational Behaviour from the University of Massachusetts, USA. I have worked at BAE Systems since 2010 but my career has
concentrated on enterprise customer satisfaction and relationship management. Tese are proactive, success driven roles. I developed my D&I strategy with the customer in mind - the ultimate customer – the employee. I have a strong belief that employees that are well looked aſter and confident in their roles will deliver their best every day. Tis ends up providing a better service to our end customers as well, but I focus where it matters – building rewarding, fulfilling careers where our teams feel heard and understood. As a core part of that I ensure that our entire company understands and executes on the principal that everyone, no matter their gender, background or experience has an opportunity to progress in their careers and go for – and get! - roles they want. I love driving change. Most of what I’ve done throughout my
career has focused on taking or developing a business area and working with others to build a sustainable culture of forward thinking change. I enjoy actively sharing, collaborating and working in partnership to empower everyone around me to deliver powerful results. When those around me are being rewarded, I know I’ve done my job well.
What experiences and challenges have you encountered being a female in the tech sector? I’ve had a quite an imbalanced experience, if that even describes
it. I had a very senior female role model early on that coached, mentored and empowered me from an early age and through to my later years. I’d still call on her today if I needed advice or guidance. I have also spent some time working with my two older sisters who held senior roles in tech companies as well. We all supported each other. For a while I had a very strong band of people around me and a great group of women at some career defining moments. I also had a relaxation around C suite
execs that I’ve only realised in my later years was not a common approach. As a result, I’ve had some great support and mentorship from high levels throughout my career that I consider myself lucky now to have had.
What does the tech industry stand to lose if it does not look to encompass a more diverse workforce? Simple. It stands to lose great, committed talent that would propel the industry forward.
www.pcr-online.biz September 2022 | 19
What are your interests and passions in regards to working in the tech industry?
I try to never describe my approach to work as a passion for anything. It’s with no disrespect to people that use that word I’ve just found in my career that a great deal of people describe themselves as passionate but never get a great deal done. It’s oſten those with passion that get lost in that passion and can’t see their way out to the results. What I can say about working in tech is that I fell into it. I will
never describe myself as a techie, as near as seven years ago my Internet cut out every time I answered the landline in my house and I never figured out why? Over the years though I’ve come to understand the technologies my company, our customers and now our employees are using. Tere are some I’ve worked with that I had little interest in and others that I learned to have an admiration for. I oſten tell the story of when I interviewed for my first role with BAE Systems Applied Intelligence (then Detica and now Digital Intelligence). When the soſtware was described to me and the jaw dropping things we were doing to protect nations but also, people – like me – I was
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