The 10 Most Influential Women in Technology 2021

MAY 2021

VOLUME 10

THE

MOST INFLUENTIAL

WOMEN

IN TECHNOLOGY

2021

Addressing the Gender Bias in the Tech Industry

Women in Tech Companies should Receive Unbiased Support from the Peers

RANI YADAV RANJAN GLOBAL HEAD, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

EDITORIAL All The Many Advantages Women Bring To The Tech Industry

C

an you imagine this world without modern technologies? Can you let go of the convenience brought by them?

It's hard to picture life that way, and that is the power of technology. It has made its way in all parts of our lives,

be it leisure or work. We have voice assistants easing our lives at home, AI and robotics easing our lives at work,

and IoT connecting us all together. So why should such a dynamic field be male-dominated?

Information technology is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world with a huge job scope. Businesses in every industry require people who are aptly skilled, knowledgeable and have the enthusiasm to work towards the betterment of society. There was once a time when these roles would only be given to men, but things are changing now. Women who are interested in the STEM fields are getting recognized and innovative leaders are emerging who have the zeal to climb up the ladder of the corporate world. Thanks to the work done by such determined women, organizations are realizing that superior innovation can only be achieved when the team is diverse and are able to challenge each other with new perspectives.

Compared to companies that do not wish to let go of this archaic mindset, companies with diverse teams deliver better results and gain a competitive advantage via stakeholders. This is because diverse leadership teams bring innovation and improved financial performance. While brainstorming ideas and solutions, interacting with as many people as possible brings better viewpoints to the table. The presence of women, especially, leads to alternative ideas and change in perspectives. This difference in viewpoints between men and women enables better problem solving and can act as a powerful recruiting tool.

The gender inequalities in the tech industry are improving but not at the rate at which it signifies a drastic positive change, despite the many advantages. How can this be improved? One way is by encouraging women who are currently in the tech industry to speak up and inspire the coming generations. By becoming role models, more girls will have the outlook to pursue STEM education and navigate their careers this way. Not just that, having women role models will ensure they have a seat and a say in the discussion about gender equality along with men.

Credits Ashish Sukhadeve

Adilin Beatrice

Apoorva Komarraju

Priya Dialani

Editor-in-Chief

Senior Editor

Senior Analyst

Senior Analyst

Kushagra Gupta

Monomita Chakraborty

Satavisa Pati

Sayantani Sanyal

Crea ve Head

Content Analyst

Research Analyst

Marke ng Manager

Dharmendar Passi

Anusha Polneni

Jyothi Pandey

Sales Manager

Marke ng Analyst

SEO Analyst

Pravallika Thammana

Disha Sinha

Web Developer

Content Analyst

May 2021 177 Park Avenue Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95131, USA Tel : +1-408-380-2566 540/6, 3rd Floor, Geetanjali Towers KPHB, Phase-6, Hyderabad 500072 Telangana, India Tel: +91 40 23055215

Copyright @2021 Analy cs Insights. All Rights Reserved.

The content and images used in the publica on should not be reproduced or transmi ed in any form or by any means without the prior permission of Analy cs Insights.

GLOBAL HEAD, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

COVER STORY

08

Rani Yadav Ranjan Ericsson

ARTICLE 30

Addressing the Gender Bias in the Tech Industry

56

Women in Tech Companies should Receive Unbiased Support from the Peers

EXECUTIVE OF THE MONTH

18

24

Michelle Taylor

Jennifer Lee Intradiem

34

Elena Elkina Aleada

NSI-MI Technologies

40

Heather Pace Clark Gilytics

52

Sheri Atwood SupportPay

48

Marla Blaylock Blue Lotus System

58

Shiana Siruma Strata Results

64

Zara Zamani Meta Bytes

RANI YADAV RANJAN GLOBAL HEAD, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Ericsson 08

COVER STORY

A Fearless, Confident Innovator Driving Intelligent Transformation Across the Communications Technology Industry

W

omen in Tech is a widely discussed topic but is still infested with much gender

misbalance. The difficulty for women to break the glass ceiling has always

been present in the industry. While speaking about it, many women report a

lack of empowering leaders or role models for them to follow. That is the truth. However, the scenario is changing slowly and as evidence of this initial phase of evolution, we have here an experienced, brilliant, and influential woman leader who has brought in path-breaking innovations. Rani Yadav-Ranjan is the Global Head of Artificial Intelligence Technology and Innovation at Ericsson. She shares her inspiring journey and puts forward strong insights of the role of artificial intelligence in the present scenario.

Ericsson is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to service providers. The company enables the full value of connectivity by creating game-changing technology and services that are easy to use, adapt, and scale, making its customers successful in a fully connected world.

Lars Magnus Ericsson founded Ericsson 145 years ago on the premise that access to communication is a basic human need. Since then the company has continued to deliver ground-breaking solutions and innovate technology for good. Ericsson has always put enormous time and effort into collaborating with others to set the open standards that make global communications and connections possible.

09

“ Entrepreneurs make mistakes and hear lots of no’s - so resiliency, determination, and grit are some of the most important traits of a successful leader. Passion is a huge part of this as well, you have to have passion for what you’re doing to help fuel you through your journey.

- Rani Yadav Ranjan Global Head, Artificial Intelligence Technology & Innovation Ericsson

“

w w w. e r i c s s o n . c o m 10

An Innovative Leader Focused on Transformation Rani Yadav-Ranjan is the Global Head of Artificial Intelligence Technology and Innovation at Ericsson. She works across the whole company, supporting teams in developing industry-leading solutions that the customers expect. A key part of Rani's role is driving the innovation strategy for the artificial intelligence functions, including global operations. Moreover, she works to advocate for AI as something that underlines design elements, product components and infrastructure at Ericsson.

Over the past several years, Rani has focused on the evolution and growth of Cloud Computing architectures, Blockchain Data Lakes and Digital Process Transformation. This includes key solution offerings designed to help customers enhance their delivery of IT capabilities, improve business agility, and generate value.

Rani has also contributed to developing ecosystem catalyzation programs that placed Ericsson on the map as key global players and building sustainable new solutions through rapid prototyping and developing new AI tools on 5G and Edge computing.

Before working at Ericsson, Rani cut her teeth with a range of roles at Universities, startups, rapid growth and global companies. In these companies, she has handled various roles from being the CTO to President and as a Board member. These wide-ranging experiences have presented Rani with a reputation as a technologist with a track record of creating and growing startup businesses into internationally recognized organizations while leading world-class teams. Rani is recognized as a visionary who inspires the innovation that results in product transformation, drives improvements in security and privacy metrics, and addresses gaps and opportunities across product experiences. Rani is a leader in the artificial intelligence domain, who has been creating differentiating assets as well as driving market leadership for products. Rani feels proud to have filed and been issued over 10 key industry patents families.

Rani is an industry thought leader and a guest lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley and Merced.

Recently she has adorned with the position of an Adjunct Professor at Southwest Law School.

Breaking the Barricades of Patriarchy Rani reveals that her parents had a very different vision for her while growing up than they had for her brother.

The vision had picturized Rani's marriage and her being a good Indian homemaker. Unfortunately, growing up in Minnesota, Rani had different plans for her life. Rani states that through all the bumps, bruises, and devastations her desire for knowledge never quenched.

D u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l p h a s e o f h e r j o u r n ey a s a n entrepreneur, Rani was one of just three women in Silicon Valley looking for funding in the eCommerce space. Rani remembers being in the same room often, with what used to become PayPal. During these early days, Rani admits to being naïve enough to believe that the winning technology secured the most funding.

However, today Rani considers the strength of one's team as the key to winning funding.

At first, Rani worked as a programmer at a consulting firm that converted documents from IBM mainframe to VAX. She says that there were only two women in the space including her. The other woman was senior to her and hence became a mentor to Rani. She taught how to navigate the business and how to be patient as good things always come around, says Rani.

These experiences made Rani seek out and create safe spaces, which she says has people like her across the table and knowing her questions will get an honest response. According to Rani the invitation to join C200 was an answer to her prayers in this regard. She notes that it is a group of amazing women who are ambitious, driven, and brilliant. Rani says she learned a lot from these women, including how to be a good mother, team member, mentor, and leader.

11

Turning Weaknesses into Strengths Rani describes the challenges she faced with a story.

During one of the early meetings in her career, Rani let her CFO drive the investment they needed without meeting the partner. When Rani joined the meeting to execute the legal documents, the first question she faced was, how many children she has. Rani remembers replying by shooting the question at them. At that moment Rani says she knew the deal was off, no matter how well the meeting went. Rani admits that she went

home defeated and exhausted. While she opened the front door, her daughter went running to her and asked how the meeting went. Right then, Rani says she knew that she couldn't give up. Since then, Rani considers the beaming face of her daughter filled with faith and confidence as an inspiration to never turn back. It has been a memory she visits when things get challenging, shares Rani.

Empathy is Everything in Leadership Rani believes that the transformation of an organization starts with empathy. Empathy allows one to understand and see commonality, to build bridges and help eradicate bad behavior, which leads to the position they are in today, she comments. According to Rani, the most important qualities after empathy are honesty, trust, integrity, adaptability, and self-awareness that know they are responsible for everyone under them. As per Rani, this responsibility includes ensuring the team has the experiences, understanding of the root cause to aid decision-making, and the opportunity to grow so that they can become the leaders of tomorrow. She states that identifying such talent is critical to the long-term success of a business.

Rani observes that technology that used to solve

problems will be replaced in the coming future. Today devices with new capabilities are emerging all around, and artificial intelligence is driving rapid progress. She says that AI is redefining the way of life enabling machines to do what people once thought only humans could do. Nevertheless, most importantly, it has also revolutionized the way people do business. Rani says that Ericsson is enriching the customer experience by delivering a more engaging solution, transforming processes and businesses to drive efficiency. It is also hiring, retaining, and empowering talents, improving workforce efficiency, and developing intelligent infrastructure and delivering insights to make better decisions.

Disrupting the Industry with Legacy of Knowledge Rani reveals that Ericsson's products are a combination of 145 years of knowledge, experience, and innovation.

AI and machine learning are key factors to ensure the company's products appeal to its key audiences. The shareholders and collaborators have acknowledged the ways Ericsson is using these disruptive technologies to drive business outcomes. Rani says that how Ericsson manages data and builds AI/ML capabilities across its

12

portfolio products, solutions and networking, security, cloud, analytics on the edge with low latency, is the foundation of the company. This has helped the company in its Operating Support Systems (OSS) or Business Support Systems (BSS) solutions, which provides value to all its customers. With the formation of the Global AI A c c e l e r a t o r, E r i c s s o n i s l e a d i n g t h e w a y i n transformational change, and 6G, concludes Rani.

An AI-driven World is What Future Looks Like As the current scenario is exciting times for AI, it is transforming life, work, and play. Rani recalls how the PC brought a similar change during her youth, which witnessed the rise of the Internet and people were able to access knowledge faster than ever before. Then came mobile and cloud ecosystems where Ericsson led the way. In her opinion, by putting the Internet in the hands of people and expanding the processing power of their devices, information can be stored in a way previously unimaginable.

Although artificial intelligence in its current form is new, it is widely acknowledged to be capable of solving complex problems and taking appropriate actions in realworld issues. Rani says that tomorrow's leaders solve today's innovation. Hence, she believes that the methodology and skills that are intuitive to any good software developer translate to today's big data and neural network-driven world.

Rani is sure that nobody would have imagined the transformation in leadership is required to continue operations in a pandemic. Everything changed overnight and instead of working from the office, every business went over from being in an office to working solely via the internet. Rani says that this scenario required a new type of leader with deep empathy and understanding that the person is more important than the job. They should respect the person to respect the job and the company is responsible for both the person and community they live in, says Rani.

Rani believes that leadership is about providing the tools and building blocks necessary for the team to continue functioning as a team. Ericsson has put many resources in place to help people, families, and those who need a little bit more. This is because it is evident that for some people it is more than just a job and it is a way of continuity, she reiterates.

13

Going with the Wind and Innovating at Each Step According to Rani, the world has changed, and Ericsson has never moved away, from stepping up with innovative solutions to meet customer and global needs. The company has invested heavily in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Radio Access Network (RAN), Business Support Systems, AI-as-a-Service, and its people. Ericsson is in a position to tackle many of the challenges facing the world today, as a major supplier of communications and equipment to the world. The company realized the necessity of networks to connect schools, hospitals, laboratories, small and large businesses.

In today's complex IT world, Rani says modern telecommunications businesses are burdened. Many telcos are part of siloed organizations that are struggling to reap the benefits of digitization and the influx of data into their ecosystems, she observes. Organizational silos, the residual effects of M&A operation and a legacy corporate ethos of segmentation are in the background, are as fragmented and disparate systems across BSS/OSS environments and networks as far as Rani is concerned. She conveys that these companies need a scalable, comprehensive approach to monitoring their networks, support systems, and services. This requirement becomes even more important as software and networks merge in virtualized environments according to her. Telecom DevOps is a collection of technologies that have been developed to allow massive

scale deployments with lots of change and a high degree of automation, and Rani believes that those are necessary attributes 5G needs.

Rani asks the audience to look at the number of network functions that Ericsson has in 5G compared to 4G. She says that the number of network functions has grown significantly, and 6G will add even more. Rani is certain that the number of network elements is larger than before, but Telecom DevOps requires a microservice architecture that will result in a much larger number of objects to manage. While talking about network slicing, Rani explains that the goal is to be able to spin up a slice on demand, move workloads around, and scale when needed as more demand pours in or demand shifts. As a result, the network is not only created with a large number of elements, but it's also much more dynamic, Rani clarifies.

With 6G, Ericsson will be connecting IoT (Wearables, AR/VR/XR) and autonomous driving. The company's focus is making a digital infrastructure scalable, resilient, and reliable for networks and platforms. Superior efficiency and customer experience with automated, AIbased zero-touch operations and services are also in the plans. Ericsson is committed to empowering an intelligent, sustainable, and connected world as Rani puts forward.

Be Yourself and Never Give Up Rani advises the budding women leaders to never give up. She urges them to find a mentor in a role model that they want to be in 10 or 20 years from the present and have conversations with them. In her words, being brutally honest and not being afraid to state the ambitions are significant. Young leaders should not apologize for their work ethics or choices in life, and young women leaders should own their choices, conveys Rani.

14

Rani is aware that we all make mistakes and states that they are often doozies. However, Rani believes that life is forgiving, and one needs to learn to forgive themselves.

She asks to not turn away the successes as they come and directs to take every opportunity either difficult or easy, as it will shape the personality. Lastly, Rani opines that one should not forget that their family comes first as business issues can be fixed in one or two quarters, but neglecting one or family or the team may have impacts on the rest of the life.

Rani Yadav-Ranjan

Deborah Barrett

Head of Technology & Innova on

Chief Strategy Officer

Ericsson Rani Yadav-Ranjan is the Head of Technology & Innova on within Ericsson Global AI Accelerator.

She works across the whole company, suppor ng teams in developing industry-leading solu ons that the customers expect. A key part of Rani’s role is driving the innova on strategy for the GAIA ar ficial intelligence func ons, including global opera ons. She also advocates for AI to underline design elements, product components and infrastructure at Ericsson.

THE

Intradiem Jennifer Lee is the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Intradiem. She started as the Director of the customer success department in the company. In late 2019, Jennifer transi oned into her current role as the CSO, where she uses the learnings from her early years to help lead the teams responsible for Intradiem’s product strategy, product management, product marke ng, and marke ng departments.

MOST INFLUENTIAL

WOMEN

IN TECHNOLOGY

2021

www.intradiem.com

www.ericsson.com

Michelle Taylor

Sheri Atwood

Elena Elkina

Shiana Siruma

Partner and Co-Founder

Vice President – Customer Solu ons APAC

Director of Marke ng

Founder and CEO

NSI-MI Technologies

SupportPay

As the Director of Marke ng at NSI-MI Technologies, Michelle Taylor is responsible for all marke ng programs and brand management. She joined NSI-MI Technologies in 2010 with an extensive set of business skills which include 20 years of administra on and marke ng experience in an engineering environment. Michelle’s career choices have always steered towards engineering and she believes that engineers tend to have dis nct personali es.

Sheri Atwood is the Founder and CEO of SupportPay. Before SupportPay, Sheri was a Silicon Valley execu ve and divorced single mom juggling a career and raising a child. She realized the difficul es of managing the intricacies of child support.

Therefore, she launched SupportPay, an automated child supported app that makes it easy for separated and divorced families to exchange money.

Elena Elkina is one of the three partners or co-founders of Aleada. During Elena’s 20-year in the legal field, she worked with mul ple companies in various sectors including financial and healthcare ins tu ons, Internet of Things, logis cs management, and so ware companies, major law firms, and the government sector on both interna onal and domes c levels. Later, she set her career path in privacy and data protec on through her interest.

www.supportpay.com

www.aleada.co

Aleada

www.nsi-mi.com

Heather Pace Clark Co-Founder Gily cs Heather Pace Clark is the CoFounder of Gily cs. Heather has over fi een years of interna onal experience in technology, working for various well-known organiza ons including REC Solar, WEF, and Orange France Telecom.

Early in her career, she worked with UN and humanitarian organiza ons. In her current role, she helps Gily cs to grow and manage business development, marke ng, partnerships, and sales strategy to reach new markets. www.gily cs.com

Strata Results Shiana Siruma is the Vice President of Customer Solu ons APAC at Strata Results. She has been a people’s leader for fourteen years. Shiana is mo vated by the passion for a people-focused environment and flourishes in mee ng with global leaders and engaging for impact.

In her role, she manages strategies for brand awareness and promotes company offerings through various pla orms such as social media, TV, radio, and live web streaming. www.strataresults.com

Zara Zamani Head of Disrup ve Technologies Meta Bytes Zara is the Head of Disrup ve Technologies at Meta Bytes. She is a blockchain solu on architect and has been working on several blockchain projects since 2015. Zara has mul ple years of experience in entrepreneurship in the Fintech and Travel-tech industry, which built the founda on of her interest and passion for emerging technologies and specifically blockchain. She secured a Ph.D in innova on sciences, focusing on the adop on of blockchain. www.metabytes.se

Marla Blaylock

Deborah Barrett

CEO

VP and Chief Compliance Officer

Blue Lotus System

Qualcomm

As the CEO of Blue Lotus Systems, Marla Blaylock leads in the digital transforma on efforts for Fortune 500 companies around the world.

She is a passionate thought leader, providing strategic execu on of organiza on-wide business ini a ves that enhance produc vity, quality, digitally-enabled product management, technology, and bo om-line financial performance.

Marla possesses an impressive record and repeated success in fearlessly delivering transforma onal change.

Deborah Barre is the Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Qualcomm. In her posi on, Deborah is responsible for designing and integra ng Qualcomm’s Corporate Compliance program into its domes c and interna onal business opera ons. She also holds other pres gious roles including Chair of the Ethics and Compliance Commi ee, Execu ve Sponsor of Qualcomm’s Employee Network ‘Qwomen,’ Member of the Internal Data Privacy Commi ee, etc.

www.bluelotussystems.com

www.qualcomm.com

15

JENNIFER LEE Chief Strategy O cer (CSO)

Intradiem 18

EXECUTIVE OF THE MONTH

Changing the Landscape of Call Center and Workplace through Intelligent Automation

I

ntradiem provides Intelligent Automation Solutions

A Leader Born Out of Experience

for customer service teams. The company's real-

Jennifer Lee is the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of

time automation unlocks the value of contact center

Intradiem. She has been with the company for more than

data to maximize productivity, engagement, and

five years now. Jennifer started as the Director of the

customer experience. Intradiem's patented AI-powered

customer success department, where she helped in

technology processes the massive amounts of data

building the organization that aids customers in driving

generated by centers in real-time and takes immediate

adoption of its platform. The role was all about getting to

action to support the staff working in the center or

know Intradiem's customers and deeply understanding

remotely.

their challenges, then working with them to build

Intradiem's vision is to reinvent customer service for

automation solutions to address those challenges. In late

everyone. The company believes in the power of human-

2019, Jennifer transitioned into her current role as the

to-human connections and thinks that the best use of

Chief Strategy Officer, where she uses those learnings

technology is in service of, not in the replacement of

from the early years to help lead the teams responsible

humans. Intradiem's platform empowers hundreds of

f o r t h e c o m p a ny ' s p r o d u c t s t ra t e g y, p r o d u c t

thousands of service agents around the world while

management, product marketing, and marketing

saving millions of dollars annually for organizations and

departments.

streamlining the customer experience.

Jennifer doesn't come from a tech background. She is from the call center industry and would proudly say that

19

“ Reinventing customer service means a future in which humans and AI intersect with technology augmenting, not replacing humans.

- Jennifer Lee Chief Strategy O cer (CSO) Intradiem

“ w w w. i n t r a d i e m . c o m 20

she grew up in the call center. Jennifer started her career

that she took the job without a clear vision of where it

as a customer service agent for a computer company,

would lead, which was a little scary for a planner such as

helping consumers set up their home PCs and get their

herself. Therefore, she decided to start where she knew

dial-up modems working. She spent fifteen years in the

she could add value, by getting to know the people on her

industry in a variety of roles before joining Intradiem in

team and helping them succeed. Jennifer also decided to

2015.

say 'yes' to anything that was asked of her, even if it was outside of her expertise or comfort zone. That decision

From Call Center to Automation: Jennifer Wins it All

has led to so many opportunities with Intradiem, and the

Jennifer recalls that the first time she knew she wanted

willingness to stretch her capabilities has paid dividends

to be a people leader was when she first got a job as a call

over the last five years.

center supervisor. She worked the second shift (2 PM – 11 PM, Wednesday through Sunday). Jennifer

Breaking the Routine by Speaking Up

remembers that it was an exhausting and stressful gig.

Jennifer shares that many times, especially early in her

She adds that the team was under-resourced and

career, she found herself as the only female and the

constantly battling attendance and attrition issues

youngest person in a given meeting. Finding her voice

because agents didn't want to work that shift. Jennifer

and confidence in those situations were challenging.

reveals that despite the challenges, she loved every

Jennifer recalls that more than once, she listened in

minute of it! Jennifer thrived on the connections she

dismay as a colleague presented her ideas as their own.

built with her team members and the pride she felt

But she didn't speak up out of fear of appearing petty or

helping them grow and develop their own skills. The team

insecure. Over time, she realized that credibility can only

quickly moved up the performance rankings, and that

be assumed for so long before it must truly be earned and

was when she realized that the call center industry was

that the best leaders are those who seek to learn rather

ripe with opportunity if somebody was willing to put in

than tell. So she focused her efforts on listening to those

the work. She highlights that metrics are king in the call

around her, and seeking ways to build her knowledge

center environment, and no one cared if employees were

outside of work through courses, tutorials, and books.

young or old, male or female. If they could drive

This helped Jennifer establish her voice, instil

performance, they could advance through the ranks.

confidence, and create a habit of continuous learning,

Jennifer recollects that when she joined Intradiem, she

which she has kept to this day.

immediately recognized it as a rare opportunity to be part of something special. The culture grabbed her from

A u t h e n t i c i t y a n d Vu l n e r a b i l i t y, a M u s t f o r

day one. She found that Intradiem had a group of

Transformational Leaders

passionate and innovative people willing to do whatever

Jennifer asserts that authenticity and vulnerability are

was necessary to help customers succeed. She reveals

the lynchpins of transformational leadership. To drive

that the company's product was like nothing she had ever

transformation, one must be able to both articulate a

seen before. Jennifer says that she knew it was a game-

vision and get others to believe in and rally around it. She

changer for the industry, poised to help contact center

opines that if people don't believe in leaders as a person,

leaders elevate performance in a sector that was ripe for

they'll never fully buy into their vision. For Jennifer, being

change.

authentic starts with transparency. She strives to

Initially, Jennifer wasn't sure how she would fit in, but she

maintain an open and transparent relationship with her

was determined to be part of this great thing. She states

team members. She doesn't hide or sugar-coat anything

21

and has found that kind of communication always

done a certain way (their way) or no way at all. According

workable. When team members trust leaders, they will

to her, this kind of attitude may produce short term

bring forward new ideas and problems and be unafraid to

restuls, but it smothers innovation and hampers growth.

speak up when they know something is wrong. Jennifer

Jennifer avows that the best leaders understand how to

insists that this kind of insight into what is really

articulate a vision, build consensus and momentum, and

happening is invaluable. In order to embrace it, leaders

then get out of their team's way.

must also be vulnerable as a leader, meaning, they must be willing to admit that they don't have all the answers

Customer Suggestions as the Catalyst of Innovation

and actually listen to their team members who do.

According to Jennifer, the most important thing

Jennifer speaks of seeing so many leaders fall short

Intradiem does with its product strategy is listen to its

because they can't let go of a classic 'command and

customers. It sounds simple, but so many companies lose

control' style of management, where things must be

sight of this part of the equation, and then they find

22

themselves selling a product that is looking for a

industries. She states that Intradiem knows that the way

problem. She proudly says that Intradiem starts with the

people work is fundamentally changed as a result of

problem. The company constantly asks 'what challenges

2020. Therefore, the company expects to see a hybrid

do our customers face? What keeps them up at night?'

workforce, with a strong remote work presence across

Then the company builds the solutions to those problems

many industries. The intersection of humans and

and continuously partners with customers to iterate and

technology will only strengthen as organizations get

learn together.

their arms around data and AI strategies, and deploy new technologies. However, Jennifer remarks that she

Powering the New World with Disruptive Technologies

doesn't think the human labour in the service delivery

Jennifer averts that particularly, in the contact center

model goes away, but rather that they'll evolve. She adds

industry, 2020 forced disruption in all of these areas. She

that as machines and AI are used to take care of more

adds that contact centers have been notoriously slow to

routine tasks, humans will be freed to focus on those with

move to the cloud, but the rapid pivot to remote working

more complexity and nuance. Upskilling will be

changed that, and the sector is seeing a significant push

important and new and exciting jobs will open up for

on cloud initiatives this year as a result. Jennifer claims

those who are willing to adapt.

that the great thing about the transformation is it

Jennifer exclaims, “For Intradiem… the sky is the limit.”

inherently leads to innovative thinking around data

She highlights that the company is expanding its

strategy and subsequently ML and AI initiatives. One of

capabilities every day, shaping the future of customer

the benefits of the cloud infrastructure is data

service. And that future is one in which humans and

accessibility, so leaders are starting to think about how to

technology operate together seamlessly to enhance the

use data more strategically going forward, and that

customer experience.

opens up the possibilities around things like AI and hyperautomation.

A Piece of Jennifer's Mind for Emerging Women

Jennifer affirms that technology is advancing rapidly. In

Leaders

many cases, the capabilities of AI and ML technologies

Jennifer advices emerging women leaders to not try to

are outstripping the actual application of them. She

be anything they are not. She adds that women are

opines that everyone knows the future is in AI, but few

powerful because of who they are, not in spite of it. She

have really figured out how to harness that and produce

became a mother in late 2019 and she has found it really

real results to date. It is incumbent upon today's leaders

empowering to be open and honest about the challenges

to take a pragmatic approach in how they apply these

of being a working mother, rather than trying to

technologies, by stepping back and starting with the

downplay them and pretend she has everything figured

“why” versus the “what”. She highlights when one starts

out. Jennifer exclaims, “I don't! And that's okay.”

with the problem, one can tailor the strategy around it

Jennifer directs budding leaders to always say 'yes.' She

and understand, measure, and build upon the results.

adds that even if the project, role or opportunity sounds

Jennifer underlines the fact that innovation without a

'too big' or they feel they are not ready, still say yes.

purpose falls flat pretty quickly.

Jennifer concludes by saying that women leaders will never know what they are truly capable of if they aren't

Future Vision: Humans and Machines Work Together

willing to feel a little bit uncomfortable along the way.

Jennifer anticipates that the next five years will bring about a tremendous amount of change across all

23

MICHELLE TAYLOR Director of Marketing

NSI-MI Technologies 24

EXECUTIVE OF THE MONTH

Spearheading Teams through Technological Shifts for Innovation

W

ho is a good leader? Someone who

Leading Technology Development for Advanced

inspired the team to push the limits. Who

Engineering Solutions

is a good tech leader? Someone who

AMETEK NSI-MI, doing business as NSI-MI

takes the charge to be updated with the latest technical

Technologies, is a company deeply embedded in

knowledge and strategizes to incorporate it, easing the

developing radiated RF and microwave measurement

team's work and increasing productivity. While this

solutions. The company delivers precision test systems

might be common knowledge, it is easier said than

and products to customers operating in the areas of

done. Doing exemplary work in transforming the

aerospace, satellites, defense, vehicle, wireless, and

industry of material, production, and general

EMC. NSI-MI is the preferred global supplier of antenna,

automotive component testing, we interviewed

RF, and microwave testing equipment from world-class

Michelle Taylor, Director of Marketing at NSI-MI

in-house testing facilities to delivering industry-leading

Technologies, to know more about the industry, the

turnkey systems.

company, and its innovation.

Its expansive team of renowned technical experts is dedicated to delivering high-quality engineering

25

“ The future of the IoT, and wireless technology in general, has the potential to be limitless.

Recent trends appear to be making these applications more appealing to the user (UX). As more people are working remotely, preferring contact free interactions, and using wearable antennas, the use of 'smart' apps and products will become the norm for performing mundane activities in the future.

- Michelle Taylor Director of Marketing NSI-MI Technologies

“ w w w. n s i - m i . c o m 26

solutions and advanced products for a wide range of

math to solve worldwide problems. We can see

technical applications where precise measurement,

engineering everywhere in the world around us,

motion control, and data acquisition are required. The

improving the ways we work, travel, communicate, stay

company's vast line of products also allows it to offer

healthy, and entertain,” said Michelle.

solutions for production lines or general automated

In her experience, engineers tend to have distinct

component testing.

personalities. They tend to be investigative individuals,

NSI-MI predominately manufactures equipment to test

which means they are intellectual, introspective, and

and measure antenna characteristics. The last 20 years

inquisitive. They are curious, methodical, rational,

of technological advancements in satellite

analytical, and logical. As a result, knowledge has been

communications, automated vehicles, defense

the primary key to Michelle's success as a leader.

measures, Internet of Things (IoT), and wireless devices

Listening and learning from her peers, colleagues, and

continuously challenge the industry to create

customers, as well as self-educating, is what shaped her

instrumentation that has never been developed before.

personal journey to leadership.

Its products test and measure satellite payloads,

Apart from engineering, she also focused on

automated manufacturing, 5G technology, target and

communication. From the beginning of her career, she

motion simulation, GPS, radio (satellite and AM/FM),

realized it was critical to learn how effectively

wireless medical hardware, radar, and, in general, any

communicate. Michelle believes that clear

antenna with frequencies falling within the megahertz to

communication is of the utmost importance to ensure

terahertz spectrum.

that her engineer peers can provide the technical aspects as well as introduce and market the company's products

Being an Ace Frontrunner in the Tech Industry

and offerings effectively.

Michelle Taylor is the Director of Marketing, responsible

Michelle explained how her volunteer positions within

for all marketing programs and brand management. She

the industry (AMTA) and professional career (AMA) have

joined NSI-MI Technologies in 2010 with an extensive set

contributed to her success as a leader. Michelle held

of business skills which include 20 years of

several positions on the AMTA Board of Directors since

administration and marketing experience in an

2014, ultimately reaching the goal of President. As these

engineering environment.

positions are voted upon by the membership, achieving

Michelle has a Bachelor of Science from Georgia State

this level shows that she has become an accomplished

University with a major in sound engineering. She is

professional in her field. Her membership with the AMA

currently the President of the Antenna Measurement

is predominately to continue to keep up with changes in

Techniques Association (AMTA), an international non-

the marketing field. It also gives Michelle a forum to

profit organization dedicated to the development,

discuss, share, and learn with like-minded colleagues.

application, and dissemination of advanced antenna, radar signature, and related measurement technologies.

Navigating Through Industry Challenges

Michelle is also a member of the American Marketing

Industry knowledge has been Michelle's primary

Association (AMA).

challenge. According to her, it was initially difficult to effectively lead the marketing department in an such an

The Journey to Becoming a Successful Tech Leader

advanced engineering field. During the interview, she

Michelle's career choices have always steered towards

told us that mathematics and physics are not her strong

engineering. “Engineers use science, technology, and

points, therefore finding a way to learn specific

27

engineering aspects can be sometimes painstaking.

Ÿ

Being down to earth: She finds it important to learn

However, finding the right avenues to learn, as she did,

from the peers and industry colleagues, reading

can make this challenge into a success story.

articles, journals, attending seminars and webinars,

Starting the Marketing Department from the ground up

etc.

at NSI-MI was the most challenging phase of her career.

Ÿ

Being true to yourself: She asserts that if a leader is

“Prior to my transition to the Marketing Department, the

trying to be someone they are not, that person will not

company outsourced most marcom materials.

gain confidence, trust, or respect from others.

Additionally, the employees coordinating marketing left the company. Over time, I carefully added dedicated

Understanding Audience is Crucial for Innovation

team members, rarely outsourced, and developed a

When asked about how the company innovates its

brand strategy that matches our overall business

products and services, Michelle said that there are

strategy.” said Michelle.

several critical factors to consider when developing a

She faced many issues. Some of them were the need to

new product or solution.

fully understand the technology, accepting the position

“Understanding both existing and potential customers is

in AMTA Board of Directors, and learning how to

more than half the battle for marketing in a niche

effectively market in a niche industry. Therefore,

industry like RF and microwave measurements,” said

Michelle needed to learn not one, but two companies

Michelle.

that engaged in a highly educated field and, at the same

She further adds that knowing customers, knowing the

time, needed to change the mindset of the company and

market, and being able to predict future needs are critical

its views on marketing.

in a technology-driven industry. Although her organization does fulfill a unique niche, it is also

Attributes that Shape a Leader

important for her to know her competitors and, more

According to Michelle, these are the essential attributes

importantly, keep ahead of them, regardless of how many

that every tech leader should have.

there are.

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

28

Encouraging brainstorming and working in a team environment: She asserts that communication is a

Embracing the World's Technological Shift

two-way street, and collecting all ideas -- good, bad, or

“In both my company's industry and segment within the

indifferent -- can all eventually lead to telling the

company, technology is changing moment by moment,”

company's story.

said Michelle when asked how disruptive technologies

She stresses the fact that listening to every member

are impacting the business world. The upsurge in big data

of the team and motivating them to be creative with

applications is a direct consequence of the drastic boom

their ideas is important.

in information technology, as well as the growing number

Being confident and persevering with your integrity

of internet-connected devices, called the Internet of

and morals: She firmly believes in the phrase, “Never

Things (IoT).

let them see you sweat.”

To embrace the developing technologies, Michelle finds

Being self-aware: Michelle hasn't met anyone on this

herself reading journals and white papers on a number of

planet that is perfect. So, embracing both shortfalls,

topics, from analytics and SEO to drones and artificial

as well as accomplishments, will help a leader

intelligence. Due to the company's vast array of

continue to grow as a professional and as a human

customers, it is heavily invested in helping shape the

being.

vision of artificial intelligence, IoT, automation, big data,

machine learning, and the like. According to her, almost

research, and new technologies as we merge our

every device these days has some sort of antenna

resources with one of the largest companies in the world

involved. This means that from testing factory

driving engineering technology.” She reiterates the fact

automation, satellite communications, measuring

that communication is a key to success and leadership.

interference of WiFi in a medical device, using robots within its own systems, to working with customers to

Advice From One Leader to Another

figure out how to save, compute, and solve big data

In her own words: “Leadership means developing your

issues, NSI-MI Technologies is right in the thick of it.

own voice. It means remaining confident in your decisions in both your personal and professional life. Do

What Does the Crystal Ball Say?

not be afraid to make mistakes. As a human, this is

Talking about the company's future, Michelle says: “With

inevitable. You can create your own opportunities

our recent acquisition by AMETEK, I feel we have been

wherever your career path leads you, but you can't be a

given an accelerated pass to new insights, developing

leader unless you believe in yourself.”

29

ADDRESSING THE

GENDER BIAS IN THE TECH INDUSTRY

S

everal women face underrepresentation and

considered secondary to men. Gender bias can be

inequality in the workplace. There are

conscious as well as unconscious; sometimes people

employment gaps, wage gaps, harassment, and so

tend to nurture gender biases without their conscious

much more than is unsaid and kept hidden. Employed

knowledge. In certain industries like education, nursing,

women are frequently exposed to rude comments and

childcare, there are several prejudices against men. But

taunts by their male co-workers. Workplace inequality

in an industry like IT, where the number of male workers

dominates in every industrial sector. Similarly, the tech

precedes that of women, gender discrimination is quite

industry has been struggling with gender discrimination

common.

for a long time now.

Statistics Regarding Women in the Tech Industry Discrimination in the Tech Industry

A survey conducted in 2020 reveals that 49% of the

The tech industry is considered a male-dominated

employed women have faced discrimination in their

industry. Quite rightly so, 75% of the working employees

workplace and a fifth (20%) of this percentage had to

in the IT sector are male. Diversity is quite tough in this

resign due to harassment and discrimination. It also

industry. Diversity enhances work performance,

showed that 60% of the female respondents believe that

encourages employee engagement, and hires better

there is a lack of diversity in the tech work culture

talents. Since more and more women are choosing to

whereas 56% of the male respondents believe

study IT courses, there is an increase in the number of

otherwise. The results yield drastic differences in

female workers in tech jobs, encouraging diversity in the

opinions regarding the status quo they share in their

tech work culture; that can help fight gender disparities

workplace. In the UK, 77% of the directorial and

in the industry. But the percentage of female to male

leadership posts are assigned to men. Women in

workers is still disproportionate. This imbalance can

leadership positions can also become role models to

become a hotbed for gender discrimination.

their subordinates. The myth that women lack technical and analytical knowledge is a prejudice that is still

Gender bias stems from patriarchal prejudices against a

considered an important part while recruiting women in

particular gender. Years of stereotypical culturing and

these positions.

such behavioral patterns have led to women being

30

In any industrial sector, bias against a particular gender

major role in diminishing gender prejudices in an

may lead to people thinking that it is not qualified enough

organization. They can create awareness about such

for a certain industry. Stereotypical judgments and

incidents, incite conversations that can help women

behavioral patterns can cause depression and anxiety in

open up and talk about their past experiences. Male co-

an individual. Their intelligence, cooperation,

workers should understand the importance of

compassion, leadership, and communication skills are

empowering their female co-workers. The more people

affected due to these disparities.

talk about such incidents, the more awareness shall be created. Most importantly, women have to speak up and

Supporting Women and Preventing Gender Bias

stand up for themselves and their fellow female

Gender disparities end up hurting everyone, some even

colleagues. All of us as individuals can fight gender bias

lead to life-long traumas. It is essential to support women

and create a better work environment.

in the tech industry. Managers and directors can play a

31

ELENA ELKINA Partner/Co-Founder

Aleada 34

Helping Enterprises Simplify and Operationalize Privacy and Data Protection

E

very day, companies confront new data

privacy and data protection mean.

challenges around artificial intelligence, dark

Privacy and data protection is a matter that cuts across

patterns, and manipulative design, and

all industries, much like access to capital, recruiting,

navigating these issues requires good business instincts

m a r ke t i n g , a n d p r o d u c t d e v e l o p m e n t . W h a t

and good advice. Headline-grabbing data breaches, new

distinguishes privacy is that it goes hand-in-hand with

surveillance technologies, and interest among

cybersecurity and data governance, and these

lawmakers and regulators have heightened concerns

requirements affect the performance of all others

about privacy. Or rather, the lack of it. New privacy laws

business elements. The data that companies collect and

and growing customer expectations put pressure on

use to innovate now come with a set of strings attached.

businesses to protect data. Popular awareness of

Breaking down the complex regulatory privacy and data

privacy has reached a fever pitch. Easily

protection requirements helps build actionable privacy

understandable regulatory guidance is often lacking,

that can mitigate the risk of fines, customer scepticism,

and Elena empathizes that she is worried her clients

and negative headlines.

simply are being overwhelmed by an enormous deluge

Aleada is a minority-female-owned privacy and data

of information and lack of clarity how to proceed and

protection firm. It is not a typical consultancy and the

prioritize.

company's clients are unique. If you are looking for a

That is good news for Aleada's clients, where Elena

template, Aleada is not the firm for you. Its clients face a

prides herself on her ability to help companies grapple

m a z e o f c o m p l ex p r i v a c y l a w s a n d c o n s u m e r

with the influx of new technologies and the privacy and

expectations where data missteps can trigger fines or

security risks they present. “We're about to live in a

worse, leaving companies confused and overwhelmed.

world of talking refrigerators and flying cars,” she jokes,

Aleada steps into that compliance pain and gives its

and this rapid innovation is forcing big changes in what

clients peace of mind. Elena sees consultants as bridge

35

“ AI will reach wider operational use.

Companies that are not afraid to experiment and fail with AI will be part of the successful future.

- Elena Elkina Partner/Co-Founder Aleada

“ w w w. a l e a d a . c o 36

builders, helping businesses reach their goals and

and tools to address that imbalance.

mitigate their headaches. “We help companies

After graduating from a law school in 2000 and

prioritize,” she explains, “and shift their pain and

practicing law for some time, Elena found the legal

confusion onto us.” Helping clients to fill in a puzzle:

profession more reactive than her desire to build and

“Making informed assumptions, documenting our

innovate. She found her niche – privacy and data

reasoning, and building a program to address where

protection – where she is uniquely positioned to use her

companies see growing risks are all very satisfying for

skills and desire to engineer solutions from a proactive

me,” Elena says.

approach.

Elena praises the skills of her partners and the team

Over the past decade, Elena has been focusing on

they have built together. Whether it's the nuts and

creating global privacy and data protection programs,

bolts of privacy compliance, operational support, or

including developing and implementing regulatory

security controls, Aleada has tackled so many projects

frameworks, risk/gap assessments, maturity models,

that she is confident in her team's ability to help, no

long-term roadmaps, and data protection policies;

matter the challenge presented. “We offer speed to our

designing and employing de-identification and Privacy

clients and a track record of helping create actionable

by Design data handling processes; and building privacy

plans,” she says. “If it's a five-year plan or just six

and security training and awareness programs. She has

months, we want to give our clients clarity and focus.”

been working closely with development and business

It transfers its team's collective experience in

teams to build cloud, web, and mobile consumer and

technology, analytics, information security, IT, data

business products across the globe. Elena also served as

governance, privacy law, and consulting to the client's

a subject matter expert for companies that were subject

unique business needs. Ultimately, Aleada makes its

to privacy-related regulatory enforcement actions,

clients' privacy and data governance operational.

including consent decrees and cease and desist orders.

Elena received her law degree from the University of

Meet the Innovator

Russian Academy of Education in Moscow, Russia. She

Elena Elkina is one of the 3 partners/co-founders of

also received her LL.M. degree from Berkeley Law

Aleada and comes from a legal background. Elena used to

School, where she studied privacy, technology

practice law, but she left legal practice more than 15

transactions, and international law. Elena is also a

years ago. During her 20-year legal career, she has

Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US,

worked with financial and healthcare institutions, the

CIPP/E, CIPP/IT, CIPM). In 2018, she received a Global

Internet of Things, logistics management, and software

Mentor Financial Times award “HERoes Champions of

companies, major law firms, and the government sector

Women in Business 2018”.

on both international and domestic levels.

Before 3 of them founded Aleada, 3 partners, along

Elena's own career path in privacy and data protection

with 4 other women, co-founded Women in Security

was long and winding, though her ultimate interest in

and Privacy (WISP), a non-profit organization that aims

privacy and data protection now seems obvious in some

to advance women and minorities in the privacy and

respects. She grew up in Arzamas-16, a Soviet secret

security fields. Sharing knowledge and perspective, and

city instrumental in nuclear research. From a young

lifting up women and people of color, has been one of

age, she understood the ability of powerful institutions

Elena's biggest priorities, and this was a guiding

and governments to intrude into our lives, and learning

motivation for establishing WISP. After building a non-

about privacy and security gave her the perspective

profit organization together and working together on

37

complex privacy and data protection issues in the

According to Elena, it is hard to talk about challenges at

industries, they saw an opportunity to do privacy

the beginning of her career because she had absolutely

differently. Forming Aleada promised not only an

no fears. She had a wish and Elena always believed there

exciting new challenge but also an opportunity to put

was a way, and she was right. She never let “how's” come

her stamp on how the privacy and security profession

in the way. Elena believes execution is powerful; start

might develop. This is why they built Aleada Consulting

breaking down a complex problem into simple,

where they collected exceptional talents to build

actionable steps towards a goal and it always works.

privacy and data protection solutions that meet their

With age, Elena thinks there are more fears because the

clients' unique challenges.

more you know the more you are aware and that awareness can help and block you from your next win.

Guidance from People and Experiences

“Maybe this is the challenge – we tend to think about

Elena never thought about herself as a woman leader.

“how” and do not have enough leverage for our “what”

She tends to think about herself as a leader and not a

and “why” and it stops us. Oh, I remember one challenge, I

minority or female leader. Maybe because Elena is used

used to look at things that did not happen the way I

to being the only woman in the room, but she can

wanted them as failures. Now, I do not. I never lose; I

certainly appreciate the journey to where she is today.

either win or learn. This has been one of my primary

“One of them is that you are as good as your team. It

lessons in my career,” says Elena.

does not matter what you offer – a product, tool, or service, your team makes the difference,” says Elena.

Leadership Attributes One Must Possess

She learned to appreciate the uniqueness of individuals

Elena suggests

and this has been an important part of Aleada's DNA.

“You are as good of a leader as your followers. Do not

All three partners at Aleada believe some of the best

forget that your followers make you a leader. Amplify

talent can be found outside of the confines of a

others, help others grow, send the elevator back to lift

traditional legal practice. While the privacy profession

others.”

is often understood as something of an offshoot of a corporate legal team, Elena views privacy as something

Focus is the Key Ingredient for Strategic Innovation

far more than a mere legal role. “Privacy is about

“You cannot manage something you do not measure,”

understanding technology, coding, user experience, and

says Elena. At Aleada, the team measures everything

how the internet works,” she says. Her own mentality as

they do to stay focused on how they can make their

a lawyer had to evolve and shift to become a better

clients' lives better. “The more challenging something is,

privacy and data protection practitioner at Aleada.

the more fun it can be,” Elena declares. She describes

And lastly, Elena has been lucky with wonderful people

Aleada's ideal client as a company that is eager to grow

who are around in her life. Everyone teaches her a lesson,

and innovate the right way, while demonstrating its

it does not matter how old or experienced they are. Elena

values to investors and other stakeholders. “We want

thinks everyone has a purpose and she is aware of this

to help businesses do the right thing and hopefully get

when people enter her life. Elena is like a sponge – always

paid in the process!” she says. They listen to their

ready to absorb, learn, and share.

clients to deliver products that are important to them and not to the company. The team keeps an eye on the

The Bigger the Challenge, the More Honor in

industry news to stay ahead of the trends. Lastly, they

Overcoming it

experiment and dedicate resources to new things so

38

they can quickly identify things that do not work and

something complex quickly or face liability risk, it is

focus on things needed to do and execute.

common for companies to turn to the law firms, management consultants, and audit firms with whom

Disruptive Technologies can Make or Break Business

they already have relationships to pick up the slack. A

Leaders

reasonable reaction, but one that too often results in a

“We live in the world of flying cars and talking

patterned/checklist-driven approach is dealing with risk

refrigerators that are run by disruptive technologies,”

management that ignores the unique variables facing

says Elena. These disruptive technologies offer

individual companies. As a result, there is a growing

innovative solutions and new business opportunities,

premium placed not just on privacy-specific expertise,

but also fresh challenges. One of them is that the

but also on data protection, information security, and

regulatory privacy frameworks cannot catch up with the

data governance. These have become necessary assets

way technology is changing our lives, making it

for any company, no matter the industry sector, its

challenging for companies to adapt and protect data that

maturity or target market, and specifically for disruptive

drives such innovation. Data governance and data

technologies, that we will see more and more in the

stewardship have impacted the way consumers accept

future. As a privacy and data protection firm, Aleada

disruptive technologies into their lives, making privacy a

must focus on the intersection of technology, data

new digital currency of innovation that can make or

governance, data protection, and law to stay ahead of the

break a business leader. Those companies who can bear

industry and support business growth.

the brunt of disruptive technology challenges will stay as industry leaders driving innovation and the market.

Providing Valuable Advice to Rising Female Leaders

Lastly, it does matter how you approach disruptive

Elena advises emerging women leaders to not sit in the

technologies; clarifying your what and why will be your

corner, and grab a seat at the table or better yet, create

primary light house in your journey towards becoming a

one's own table and invite others to participate. She asks

business leader.

them to find people who support their growth and always search for new perspectives. Lastly, Elena concludes by

Intersection of Technology, Data Governance and Data

saying “Life happens for you; believe in it, and follow your

Protection

instincts with passion and integrity.”

According to Elena, faced with the need to set up

39

HEATHER PACE CLARK Co-Founder

Gilytics 40

Spearheading Transformation and Empowering Women in Tech

G

ilytics delivers a Cloud GIS-based platform and

Technology Policy from Harvard. She went on to study

service solution that allows users to calculate

MBA from Trium Global Executive MBA and possesses

alternative routes for powerlines, cables,

more than 15 years of international experience in

pipelines, roads, and railways. It helps energy,

technology. She worked as a senior leader at GE Power

engineering, and transport companies save time, money,

working in strategic marketing. Heather also worked as

and CO2 with better automation, data, visuals, and

head of marketing for the solar company REC Solar

communication. The company aims to become the

driving global expansion, and as a project manager at the

standard software solution for the planning of linear

WEF, building public-private partnerships with leading

infrastructure. Gilytics works towards a mission to

software companies like Intel, Cisco, and Microsoft.

accelerate the clean energy transition. Launched in

Working as the head of the sustainability strategy at

2017, the company is a Spinoff of the leading technical

Orange France Telecom, Heather launched mobile

university ETH. Gilytics has clients throughout Asia,

banking and other products building partnerships with

Europe, and the Americas with headquarters in Zurich.

Google and telecoms as part of industry associations.

By providing software and data services, Gilytics help

Heather began her career by working with the UN and

clients get more insight from data using environmental,

humanitarian organizations. As a Co-Founder of Gilytics,

engineering, regulatory, and other customized data

Heather says that her current focus areas are helping the

impacting project design and to find routes 5X faster

company to grow and manage business development,

using a unique automation process. The company

marketing, partnerships, and sales strategy to reach new

visualizes these using analytics, 2D, 3D, and augmented

markets.

reality to help managers validate and make better project decisions. According to Gilytics, better data aids

A Long Trail of Experience and Industry-Expertise

the clients to connect more renewable projects to the

Heather revealed that working at the World Economic

grid and save millions normally lost when projects are

Forum with a wide range of tech companies to launch

delayed due to manual processes and poor data quality.

global partnerships addressing the digital divide and

In an interview with Analytics Insight, Heather Pace

education gave her the opportunity to work with many

Clark, Co-Founder of Gilytics shares her journey and

inspiring leaders. Most of these leaders were women in

provides inspiring insights to emerging women leaders.

the corporate world, government, or were emerging entrepreneurs, says Heather. Having a lot of role models,

A Leader with Clear Vision and Eminent Knowledge

the chance to shape these global initiatives and on-the-

Heather Pace Clark completed her MA in International

ground projects helped Heather understand how

41

“ Big spatial data analytics are accelerating the energy transition, helping companies make better, and more sustainable decisions. Computational power and cloud computing are making this transformation faster. Combining this analysis with the realistic visualisation made possible with 2D, 3D, AR and BIM will bring e ciency to the next level for more collaborative and competitive projects.

- Heather Pace Clark Co-Founder Gilytics

“ w w w. g i l y t i c s . c o m 42

technology can transform communities. Heather finds

that she is proud to be helping larger companies to

that it was important to learn how one can start with an

transition through a crisis and to use data to be more

idea and then build it into a successful initiative.

competitive and customer-focused across their

According to Heather, working with the UN on

international footprint. Helping to shape the policy and

partnerships and helping to introduce new technology to

partnerships for these industries has also been very

manage health data, information sharing in disasters, or

interesting.

to improve education was also a great experience.

However, she is enthusiastic about the progress Gilytics

Heather considers her career in large corporates as

is making. The company was recognized as a Top 10

another important part of her training. She built global

Engineering Startup in Switzerland, a Top Ten Future

sustainability partnerships at Orange that brought new

Grid Start-Up, a Set 100 Global Energy Start-Up, and

products to market while helping clients to manage data

most recently as an Infrachallenge and Free Electrons

privacy and content standards. Heather says that this

Finalist. Gilytic's tool has been used to plan over 10,000

taught her the importance of working together with

miles of linear infrastructure.

academia, government, NGOs, and industry to establish partnerships and the standards needed to help new

Challenges Build Better Decisions

technology and the benefits of more data to scale.

She states that introducing new technology and a new

Working at GE was a great opportunity to learn how to

approach to data management within organizations

build a strong company culture and how to transform an

resistant to change is a journey that takes grit and multi-

organization to become more data-driven, digital, and

disciplinary teams. This journey, says Heather, makes it

entrepreneurial through a merger, says Heather.

important to show how one can empower teams to make

At REC Solar, Heather feels that the challenge was to

better decisions with a more data-driven approach.

help a smaller company with a relatively new technology,

Through her vast experiences, Heather learned that it is

growing 400% a year to reach more markets while

important to have clear goals while being open to change

managing a lot of regulatory uncertainty and

which can create new opportunities for growth. Good

competition from Asia. She notes that this was a great

mentors and partners to support one on the way are also

chance to learn how to build the right global team quickly

significant, according to Heather. She says that building

and build partnerships and products in Europe, Asia, and

internal and external networks is critical and it is

the US when tariffs made supply chains challenging. She

important to keep learning and trying new things to stay

found it exciting to bring the most sustainable solutions

updated on trends and drive innovation. Educating and

that met these requirements to market first.

listening to teams, and continually communicating to get

Heather spent the last few years helping start-ups to

them on board for new initiatives is the key, concludes

scale new data-driven technologies, working with mobile

Heather.

banking, AI for insurance, and now in spatial data. She considers the agility a company can bring to corporate

Empathy and Patience Complements a Leader

customers to help them innovate faster and make better

Heather says humor and honesty are important skills to

decisions an exciting process.

use when managing a crisis. Making change happen takes time and thus she suggests that it is important to be

Significant Achievements in the Journey

patient and to spend time managing stakeholders and

Heather considers the opportunity to work with the UN

listening to them to understand their fears and interests.

and the WEF immensely significant. Heather conveys

Setting a clear vision and showing how one will get the

43

team there while having the courage to pivot and

accessible to communities and other external

ex p e r i m e n t w h e n n e e d e d i s a ke y v a l u e o f a

stakeholders to get their input into the infrastructure

transformation leader, according to Heather.

design process to optimize projects. Heather believes that collaboration between start-ups and corporations

A Customer-Centric Innovative Approach

can aid companies to innovate quicker with the fast-

Heather reveals that the company spends lots of time

paced technology and processes that large organizations

talking to customers to understand their pain points. In

can often not manage alone. Leaders need to give their

her words, Gilytics usually starts with a pilot project

teams the freedom to experiment from the bottom up

using data from an existing transmission line project and

and accept that sometimes things will fail as well as being

works with them to set up a model, which the company

willing to listen and learn from employees, Heather

can use to show results in a few seconds. Once the

reiterates. According to her, a less centralized and flatter

customers see the metrics from their projects, with risks

approach bringing together teams with different

visualized with analytics and the project shown in 2D and

expertise and from different geographies will get the

3D that they can interactively update that saves months

best results. They also need to engage a wide range of

and millions in the process, they can really see what is

external stakeholders than ever before to identify risks,

possible, says Heather.

opportunities early and act fast, adds Heather. A growing

The company monitors policy trends and is active in

interest in net zero targets and sustainability as well as

industry associations and in academic discussions to

circular economy are making this kind of data more

better understand trends, comments Heather. She

important to clients as well.

considers the startup challenges in which the company is participating now as great ways to learn to innovate.

Taking Small Steps to Reach Success

Heather says that Gilytics also develops prototypes and

Heather feels that starting a network for women leaders

live demos to help clients see how different tools would

in an organization or community even on a small scale,

work and then collects feedback to co create products.

which includes male leaders, is important. According to her, GE did this approach quite well. Heather states that

Data is the Key to Transformation

matching leaders with mentors can be a great way to

Gilytics observes an increased interest in deep learning

help. Starting out with small steps, goals, and projects to

and in automation during the current crisis as companies

build confidence and not being afraid to ask for help is

are saving time and money to accelerate remote working.

very important at any stage in one's career, conveys

Heather states that cloud computing is scaling as

Heather. She says that more women need the confidence

Gilytics' clients could more quickly manage processes.

to apply for roles where one may not have all the exact

She reveals that many clients need help managing big

qualifications but can get feedback on what they need to

data and the company's tools can help them get value

develop in the process can be helpful. Consulting roles

from data, which is often collected without a clear

are yet another good step according to her, to try

strategy. Heather finds it important to collect client input

different areas and figure out what organization or area

into the models Gilytics provides a customizable model

could be a good fit and where one's leadership skills

and the company is capable to explain the logic used to

might be most needed. Lastly, Heather suggests

make decisions. It is important that the process is

emerging women leaders focus on what makes them

transparent, says Heather.

different and how these skills fit the need in the market

The next phase, as per Heather, is making this data more

while being flexible enough to adapt.

44

MARLA BLAYLOCK CEO

Blue Lotus System 48

A Fearless Leader Innovating and Empowering the Tech Space

I

n the current scenario, businesses are increasingly

Marla Blaylock, CEO of the company shares her journey

adopting technology to enhance growth and agility.

a n d ex p r e s s e s h e r o p i n i o n o n t e c h n o l o g i c a l

But many of these companies are lacking the best

advancements. Being an inspiring leader, she also

strategy to implement and streamline their business

highlights the necessary attributes of a transformational

operations. Blue Lotus Systems aims to provide best-in-

leader.

class consultation to identify the gaps and opportunities for the companies. The company aims to aid in keeping an

Confidently Delivering Transformation

organization state-of-the-art by enabling a better

As CEO of Blue Lotus Systems, Marla Blaylock leads in

business strategy and design software implementation

the digital transformation efforts for Fortune 500

process.

companies around the world. She is a passionate thought

Blue Lotus Systems is an established Austin-based full-

leader, providing strategic execution of organization-

service IT Services provider with 18 years of history in

wide business initiatives that enhance productivity,

enterprise platforms, bringing together world-class

quality, digitally-enabled product management,

experts in strategic IT disciplines. Blue Lotus Systems

technology, and bottom-line financial performance.

offers services in many key domains that are designed to

Marla possesses an impressive record and repeated

solve business problems and help elevate the maturity of

success in fearlessly delivering transformational change.

IT organizations. Its staff has broad experience in the

She has been delivering products to market through

High-Tech, Healthcare, Government, Telecom, and

i n n o v a t i v e h a n d s - o n o p e ra t i o n a l l e a d e r s h i p ,

Banking spaces.

relationship building, and project management that has

49

“ Disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and big data are moving the focus of leadership from the inside organizational view to the outside end-user view.

Marla Blaylock CEO Blue Lotus System

“ w w w. a l e a d a . c o 50

led to millions of dollars in revenue generation and

person contributes their piece to the solution and hence

expense reduction.

a leader needs to be able to trust them so that they may

Marla has the ability to communicate on both business

provide their piece.

and technology issues to all levels within an organization,

Marla believes that the most important thing a leader

bridging the gap between business teams and IT

should be able to do is listening. She interestingly notes

organizations through an understanding of history to

that listen and silent have the same letters. Marla

excel in current and future product requirements. Skilled

reiterates that one should allow the people around them

in platform technologies, Marla delivers successful large

to speak first and after everyone in the organization have

implementations that align business and IT objectives

spoken, and then the leader can quickly process and

with rapid applications and development results. She

respond at the end. This allows the individuals the

possesses a broad base of technical expertise, including

respected time and the leader will have a full view of the

full enterprise architecting for product and systems

issue that needs a solution, states Marla.

implementations in high-volume, worldwide corporations.

A Customer-Centric Perspective According to Marla, disruptive technologies like artificial

Always Learning and Exploring

intelligence, machine learning, automation, and big data

Over the course of her 30-year career, Marla states she

are moving the focus of leadership from the inside

had a lot of opportunities to do many things. The biggest

organizational view to the outside end-user view. She

and most impactful experiences, according to her, are

suggests that the acknowledgment that what is best for

focused on the ability to learn new things without living

the company is no longer valid. Now every decision needs

in a shadow of failure. Knowing that everything is not

to be based on what is the best for the company's

going to go according to the plan, that there will be

customers, concludes Marla.

problems of all sorts, and being allowed to tackle these challenges creates not only a positive outcome but also

New World Needs New Solutions

allows the teams to have the same opportunity, says

The future is extremely exciting for all business verticals,

Marla.

says Marla. These new technologies, Marla observes, will allow the company to deliver solutions that are

Woman in Tech as a Challenge in Itself

technically more viable due to the ability to run

Being a woman in technology in the early years, Marla

simulations and spot gaps. She reveals that the company

says that she had to learn to truly speak with authority.

currently has several projects that are on the bleeding

She reveals that it took coaching and guidance from her

edge and she reminds us that it is a completely new

female mentors to achieve this. Marla believes that one

world.

cannot be shy about who they are or what they believe to be, as the best decision in leadership positions.

An Inspiring One-Liner for Women Leaders Marla says that budding and emerging women leaders

Innovation Comes From Collective Effort

should believe in themselves, learn as much as they can,

Marla opines that a transformational leader should carry

use their voice and always remember that they matter.

the ability to mentor anyone in the organization. The ability to trust the people in one's organization is also a relevant attribute as per Marla. She says that each

51

SHERI ATWOOD Founder and CEO

SupportPay 52

Delivering Cutting-Edge Automated Child Support and Alimony Payment Platform

S

upportPay is the first-ever automated child

An Inspiring Leader

support and alimony payment platform that

Sheri Atwood is currently the Founder and CEO of

enables parents to manage child support,

SupportPay. Before SupportPay, Sheri was a Silicon

alimony, and shared expenses directly with each other.

Valley executive and divorced single mom juggling a

The platform helps children to get the financial support

career and raising a child. During that time, she found

they deserve, from both of their parents, while enabling

that it was difficult to manage the intricacies of child

parents to focus on what matters most: raising happy,

support and was certain there was a solution out there to

healthy children.

help - you get a bill for everything in life, but you don't get

Founder and CEO, Sheri Atwood built SupportPay from

a bill for child support.

scratch when she was going through this process herself

Sheri searched high and low for a solution and was

with her ex and needed a solution to help her track and

shocked to find out there was nothing available. At the

manage child support along with her daughter's

same time, her daughter had to have emergency brain

expenses. The overall process of this is complex, time-

surgery, which forced her to look at how she was

consuming, and stressful. The SupportPay app aims to

spending her time. Sheri realized then that if she was

remove the complexities, allowing users to manage

going to spend so much time away from her daughter, she

support, share expenses, and make payments, all with a

wanted to be working on something that made an impact

certified record automatically created for each one.

in the world. So the idea behind SupportPay was born: an

Everything is stored in one place via the web platform or

app to make it easy for separated and divorced families to

mobile app, so parents can easily access payments,

exchange money, without the drama of fighting.

upload receipts, and make payments - parents have a complete history of all child support payments made or

Learning from Real-Life Lessons & Experiences

received, and because SupportPay does all of the

One thing that shaped Sheri's journey as a successful

notifications and reminders, parents can worry less

female leader was being fired from her own company in

about uncomfortable financial conversations.

2017. After coding the app herself and working tirelessly to build her company from the ground up for years, Sheri

53

“ Entrepreneurs make mistakes and hear lots of no’s - so resiliency, determination, and grit are some of the most important traits of a successful leader. Passion is a huge part of this as well, you have to have passion for what you’re doing to help fuel you through your journey.

- Sheri Atwood Founder and CEO SupportPay

“ w w w. s u p p o r t p a y. c o m 54

was terminated from the CEO position. The more

Strategic Innovation to Boost Target Audiences

disappointing thing was that once she left, the company

As the CEO and a parent who faces the problems of

started a quick decline - losing most of its customers,

managing child support and sharing expenses with her

having a non-working product, and firing countless

daughter's father, Sheri has a unique perspective of truly

employees. And to add, just three months after her

understanding the customer as well as the way to deliver

departure, she found out the company was being

a beneficial solution.

liquidated.

Sheri knew she couldn't stand by and let this happen so

Disruptive Technologies Impacting Today's Innovation

when she offered to return and help went unanswered,

As the technological era continues to change and evolve,

she began her journey of buying back the assets herself.

Sheri believes she is always seeking better ways to

In 2018, Sheri took out a personal loan and used all of her

achieve the company's goals. “You have to continue to

remaining savings to purchase the SupportPay assets.

adapt your mindset to keep up with the changes and

Since then she focused all her energy on rebuilding the

never stop thinking of new ways to do things”, says Sheri.

product, winning back customers, and growing the business. Though it's been a long, hard journey to where

Path to the Future

she is today, Sheri hopes her story can inspire even one

Sheri says that in the future, the goal is to be successful

person not to give up, even when one feels all hope is lost.

and expand the company to not only help parents support their children but to take the same platform and

Combating the Challenges and Barriers

help siblings support their parents. She and her team

According to Sheri, during the initial phase of building the

want SupportPay to become the modern family finance

company, the challenge was a lack of capital to help get

platform.

SupportPay off the ground. Not to mention that, to this day, females still receive less than 3% of venture capital.

Essential Advice to Rising Female Leaders

Sheri worked hard from the jump to overcome this and

Sheri advises them to:

over the course of five years, she was able to raise over

“First and foremost, I'd tell emerging leaders to ensure

$7M in funding. Earlier, she also had to overcome the lack

their idea or company is solving a real-world problem.

of awareness that a solution to this problem exists. Many

Ask yourself the critical question “are people willing to

parents don't realize there is a solution to the problem

pay for the solution I'm offering?” If not, the idea is likely

and so they don't think to look for one. The company

not a viable venture. Beyond that, my best pieces of

overcame this by always seeking to educate parents and

advice are to be prepared for a long, hard ride and have

family law professionals about SupportPay.

tough skin. There will be challenges, successes, unexpected hiccups and so much more that you'll have to

Important Qualities Every Leader should Possess

deal with along the way. You may hear no's and you may

Sheri believes entrepreneurs make mistakes and hear

run into problems so continue to be resilient and hungry

lots of no's - so resiliency, determination, and grit are

to succeed to help push you through.

some of the most important traits of a successful leader.

In regards to female leaders, I'd also advise them to never

She also says passion is a huge part of this as well, you

be afraid to speak up. Women bring a unique perspective

have to have passion for what you're doing to help fuel

to the table, especially in industries like tech, and they

you through your journey.

shouldn't shy away from voicing that perspective.”

55

WOMEN IN TECH COMPANIES SHOULD RECEIVE UNBIASED SUPPORT FROM THE PEERS

N

o matter how modern society turns, gender

Encouraging and Mentoring

imbalance still runs deep into the veins of the

When a company has very few women employees, it

corporate world. Te US researchers have

sometimes becomes difficult for them to freely work and

revealed that a diverse team with male and female

find proper footing. If they face any doubts, they may not

employees has reportedly outperformed the non-

feel free to discuss them. So, other employees must try

diverse group of employees by 25%. However, on the

and extend help to support and make them feel welcome

other hand, companies headed by female leaders receive

in the company. A small word of encouragement may go a

only 2.3% of the venture capital funding. The irony of this

long way. They must be given the equal benefit of the

situation is reason enough why more people should be

doubt. They should get the chance to interact with

interested in supporting women in tech companies.

everyone as equals.

Giving a Chance

Support for Family

If companies start hiring more women, the gender gap

The majority of women are responsible for taking care of

would be easily filled. It is a false myth when people say

their families and this is why the CEOs of tech companies

that women are not into science or technology. The

should think more about parental incentives. The human

number of expert women in computer science and

resource department should be more compassionate

engineering is growing fast. However, it is not only the

towards female employees by understanding their

young women who need hiring. The older women and the

responsibilities towards families. However, it is in no way

mothers should get more chances to work. The Mom

a partial approach when women employees are being

Project is a recruitment company that focuses on getting

supported by the HR department. The salary gap

mothers back to the office. This will eventually grow the

between female and male employees only shows how

number of women employees. Women are organised and

men get paid more for similar jobs. This must be

more intuitive when it comes to making decisions or

prohibited in every part of the way.

solving problems. Having them in the tech team would be very beneficial for the company.

Getting a STEM Degree STEM is college courses on science, technology,

56

engineering and mathematics. Women should be more

a large scale. However, after witnessing so many

encouraged in getting these degrees so that they can

achievements of women around the world, the still going

move forward in the lines of technical careers. Having

obstacles in their careers seem too ridiculous to be true.

such a degree would increase their confidence to apply to

But it is the reality that shocks us more than any piece of

tech companies. Senior women employees must

fiction. The attitude towards female employees can be

encourage young ones to choose this degree for

improved only if people tend to possess more open-

studying. Men should also have an interest in

minded thinking.

encouraging women around them to pursue a tech career.

- Apoorva Komarraju A change in approach won't come in one day as the

Senior Analyst

personal values of people can differ from one another on

57

SHIANA SIRUMA Vice President Customer Solutions APAC

Strata Results 58

Assisting Iconic Brands to Achieve Business Objectives while Maximising Returns trata Results is an independent ICT strategy and

S

proven approach, using internationally experienced

business transformation services company with a

technology leaders.

their business objectives and outcomes on time and

Leading with Strength and Passion

within budget. Its approach embodies the human,

Shiana Siruma, Vice President – Customer Solutions

technology, information, and process capabilities, and

APAC, Strata Results has been a people's leader for 14

when combined with sound methodology, differentiated

years. She is motivated by the passion for a people-

thinking, and practices, produces profound levels of

focused environment and flourishes in meeting with

customer and business value.

global leaders and engaging for impact. She manages

The company's philosophy is to work collaboratively

strategies for brand awareness and promotes company

with its client to 'co-create' the strategies and operating

offerings through various platforms such as social media,

models, allowing each of the members to bring

TV, radio, and live web streaming.

experience and skills to bear. Its methodology quickly

Shiana is an industry-agnostic executive– having worked

creates aligned thinking while creating a level of

in various industries such as IT/Software Development,

challenge or 'stretch' for the client to maximize the

Banking, Hospitality, Telecommunications, Education,

benefits possible.

and Outsourcing in a B2B and B2C environment.

Strata Results' capability reflects a comprehensive and

She is responsible for forging partnerships and building

track record of assisting iconic brands to achieve

59

“ Disruption is the new normal. The ability to rapidly respond to change will move from thriving to surviving. An organization's fate will be determined by its ability to rapidly respond to change as operational resilience changes from being a competitive advantage to being a basic requirement. That's why automation is now a top strategic technology trend, according to major industry analysts.

- Shiana Siruma Vice President Customer Solutions APAC

“ c

w w w. s t r a t a r e s u l t s . c o m . a u 60

trust with new clients. Shiana represents SRG's

are inspiring and can motivate others to rise to the

transformative solutions that can fundamentally change

occasion.

the way a business goes to market, behaves as an

Ÿ

Ability to swim in any ocean of ambiguity – Adapt

organization, and makes strategic moves within its

quickly, think differently about the current situation

industry. She also provides her clients proven ways of

and see possibilities where others may see only

delivering mission-critical initiatives at a fast pace that

problems.

leads to a more successful and accelerated outcome.

Ÿ

Dealing with difficult situations with grace and dignity – Look challenges straight in the eye and never

Learning from People Around Her

lose sight of your values, vision, objectives, and goals.

“There's always room for learning. We spend years perfecting our craft and trying to be the best at it but it

Strategic Innovation through Researching Industry

doesn't mean that we should stop there,” says Shiana. The

Trends

main reason she sticks to her role is that it allows her to

Strata Results prides itself on working transparently and

meet new, brilliant people every day, and that allows her

collaboratively with its clients, supporting its individual

to learn about their business, their expertise, and their

and combined growth for sustainability. It constantly

skills, which helps her improve and in the end, share with

checks the “pulse” of its projects and the health of its

those who need guidance.

client, to ensure that it is delivering a value-added

Failing forward made Shiana resilient as she learned to

service. The company is not afraid to modify its approach

use failure to find success, get through the hardest times

based on new industry learnings or a specific cultural

without losing savoir-faire.

difference within its client's organization.

The team at Strata Results constantly asks “what is our

Crossing the Ocean of Barriers

differentiation?” The company runs regular planning

According to Shiana, creating confidence in speaking up

conferences within its organization, focusing on its

to prejudiced superiors who hesitate her potential

methodology growth. Topics such as Data mining, AI,

because of her title, educational background, race,

Automation, and Customer Experience drive its

gender, and marital status was a major factor that

discussions. Strata Results researches industry trends

created huge hurdles in her journey.

and ideas and attempts to expand on those concepts and

Being knowledgeable, becoming an expert in what

organize them into applicable strategies that it can

Shiana does and doing, every little thing with integrity

deploy whilst servicing a client.

and transparency paired with brevity and authenticity

The company runs “wild card” sessions, whereby its

propelled her status from being “seen but not heard” to

Executive Team discusses ideas that may have not been

“seen, heard and empowered”.

considered before – new offerings “….as-a-service”, and how that might benefit its clients, and how to leverage

Attributes that a Successful Leader Must Possess

existing data mining software to help optimize and

Shiana believes the 4 vital attributes below are crucial for

automate its client's business. It negotiates with data

leaders to be successful.

mining vendors to be able to provide cost-effective

Ÿ

Develop a strong sense of self-awareness – Do what

solutions.

you love and align your values with the organization Ÿ

you lead.

Disruptive Technologies' Impact on Today's Innovation

Passionate with people – Transformational leaders

Shiana believes that disruption is the new normal. The

61

ability to rapidly respond to change will move from

advising them of the way forward, even if it is not

thriving to surviving. An organization's fate will be

necessarily what they wanted to hear – but is truthful.

determined by its ability to rapidly respond to change as

Strata Results believes that it is time for the words

operational resilience changes from being a competitive

“ethical” and “consulting” to be placed back into the same

advantage to being a basic requirement. That's why

sentence. This will take courage, openness and honesty

automation is now a top strategic technology trend,

with its clients and staff.

according to major industry analysts.

This is where Strata Results is and will be.

The role of a leader has drastically changed – from seeing how things are going with their organization to being

Providing Valuable Advice to Rising Female Leaders

proactive, creating a sense of urgency to drive change by

On advising to emerging leaders, Shiana says “Self-

taking a stand for a better, future state while creating an

awareness is the first major step we need to take to reach

environment that fosters good relationships so that

our destination of choice. Yes, we must do our best but

great ideas can happen. As businesses adapt to

don't let “perfect “get in the way of being really, really

technology and innovation, leadership embraces more

good.”

personal interaction with every member in every corner

Shiana is an optimistic person and so she sees obstacles

of their organization – high tech perfectly pairs with a

not as torture or hardships but as ways to make her

human touch.

stronger and more capable. She always tells everyone, especially young women, to take time working on

The Route Towards the Future

themselves - know and own their mistakes, identify their

Strata Results shares its CEO's vision - to be the “go-to”

right and wrong choices. “That helps them know their

organization, to successfully deliver a business

worth and when they know their worth - they know what

transformation where the clients are left with the

they can do, what they can contribute to the workplace

sustainable skills to further run and improve their

and the community. That allows them to choose wisely

enterprise. The company believes that clients want to

and never settle for anything less than they deserve. The

engage at the Executive level to share “skin in the game”.

only thing left is to do all these with faith, a smile, and the

To this end, it creates partnerships with its clients –

wind in their hair.”, says Shiana.

62

ZARA ZAMANI Head of Disruptive Technologies

Meta Bytes 64

Transforming Global Enterprises Through Disruptive Technologies

D

ata and Artificial Intelligence are crucial

implementation as it also focuses on building long-lasting

factors for digital transformation. By

partnerships with its clients throughout their

embracing the power of AI and machine

digitalization journey.

learning, Meta Bytes is transforming lives through digital transformation and cloud infrastructure. Leveraging

Contributing to the Rapid Growth

data analytics and research, Meta Bytes is known for its

Zara works as the Head of Disruptive Technologies at

end-to-end digital solutions with strategy and planning.

Meta Bytes. She is a blockchain solution architect and

So what does it takes to be the brain behind this

has been working on several blockchain projects since

operation? In an exclusive interview with Zara Zamani,

2015. Zara has multiple years of experience in

we asked her few questions to know more about her role

entrepreneurship in the Fintech and Travel-tech

and responsibilities at Meta Bytes, and her inspirations

industry, which built the foundation of her interest and

along this leadership journey.

passion for emerging technologies and specifically blockchain. She started her education with electrical and

Insights about the Company

electronics engineering and pursued a Ph.D. in

Meta Bytes is a high-tech company based in southern

innovation sciences, focusing on the adoption of

Sweden that creates digital solutions through software

blockchain in small and medium enterprises.

development, disruptive tech, and cloud architecture.

The company takes pride in delivering amazing tech with

Experiences that Paved her Leadership Journey

good business impact, designing solutions to fit the

Zara began her career as a field engineer in the oil and gas

customers' needs, offering individual products, services,

industry; not only a male-dominated industry but also a

and end-to-end solutions. It offers an all-encompassing

tough place to start. It was a purely technical role as a

approach that covers strategy, analysis, and planning

wireline engineer in different countries, from Asia to the

alongside implementation and ongoing operations and

Middle East to Europe. Zara's international experience

s u p p o r t . M e t a B y t e' s s e r v i c e d o e s n' t s t o p a t

made her very patient towards various cultures and 65

“ As disruptive tech continues to advance rapidly, there's a great opportunity for us to help translate complex concepts into technical realities to benefit companies of all shapes and sizes, creating the best business impact for our customers.

- Zara Zamani Head of Disruptive Technologies Meta Bytes

“ w w w. m e t a b y t e s . s e 66

equipped her with communication skills. It helped Zara in

Leveraging the Power of Disruptive Technologies

her next journey in the Fintech and Information

According to her, disruptive technologies are changing

Technology industry. Since she moved to the IT industry

the world at a fast and dynamic pace. “We are no longer

in 2010, she developed from being a specialist to a

talking about the adoption of technology in an

professional.

organization but instead about adoption and re-

Zara says, “I learned to solve problems, design solutions

adoption, as emerging technologies like blockchain are

using the right technologies, look at challenges from

evolving daily. Therefore, digital transformation is not a

different perspectives, be innovative, manage people,

static event but a dynamic process today”, Zara asserts.

and in doing so I gained both technical and human skills

Consequently, leaders need to be more proactive,

that I constantly develop daily.”

innovative, visionary, forward-thinking, and less changeresistant. Companies either run fast in this era alongside

Overcoming Challenges with Confidence and Grit

emerging technologies or watch their businesses die.

Zara shares, “As a woman, the biggest challenge I faced when I started my career was my self-doubt, which is

The Future Ahead

rooted in how societies raise girls. I found myself

When asked about how the future would be she believes

constantly in a battle against my inner fears.” She also

that in the current business climate, it's a case of

faced external challenges like not being taken seriously,

digitalizing or die. This is how the company picturizes the

not owning her success, not being trusted as someone to

future for its customers and its role in partnering with

invest in and not being given equal opportunities just

them on their digitalization journeys.

because she was a woman. However, she got used to it.

She adds, “We're only just seeing the beginnings of use

She believes that these challenges were bigger or smaller

cases for disruptive tech and consider this a serious focus

based on where she was working, but they exist in

for growth and opportunities. For our company, this

different shapes or forms globally.

means building long-term partnerships with our customers to support them every step of the way,

Serving Customers through Innovative Solutions

building solutions using disruptive tech in the best way

The company focuses on acting in an advisory role for the

possible for their businesses.”

customers and their tech strategy. Digitalization comes with big opportunities but also new and unique

A Piece for Emerging Leaders

challenges for every customer. Meta Byte's goal is to

According to Zara, transformational leaders should be

make this process a little easier and help its customers in

reflective as they should know who they are, what they

their transition towards a more effective tech strategy,

are good at, where they need help and have high self-

rather than offering off-the-shelf solutions that aren't

awareness. They should be inspiring, innovative, and

tailored to fit their unique requirements.

visionary. Leaders have to be forward thinkers and

Zara added, “Very few of our customers come to us with

constantly try to be innovative in eliminating obstacles

finished specifications for what they want and our

on the way for their organizations to reach its goals. They

innovation lies in being able to combine our progressive

have to be collaborative and authentic, and ready to take

thinking with our cutting-edge expertise in disruptive

calculated risks.

tech to guide them to the best solution for their

She says to face your fears, be confident, learn, listen,

business.”

invest in yourself, get a mentor and prove them wrong.

67