TRAILBLAZER
Creating a space for women in the AI industry GfK’s VP, CTO Office, Cheryl Rosenthal-Warlow reflects on her experiences as a woman in tech, balancing work and home life as well as being an advocate for junior employees
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een technologist and selfproclaimed “geek” Cheryl Rosenthal-Warlow spends her time at GfK connecting people, processes and systems to ensure the smooth running of the technology department at the AI company. “I'm very logical. But, the biggest asset I bring is that I try to understand everybody, what different teams need, and then translate that to other people,” says Rosenthal-Warlow. “My role's more about trying to make sure that there aren't people doing double work. I make sure that, if you're an engineer, you can just focus on your engineering and my team and I deal with the other stuff. Dealing with all the processes means that you get information from all ends. From a management point of view, you've got information upon which you can base decisions,” she adds. Although the VP didn’t initially envision herself in this role, Rosenthal-Warlow explains that it’s the perfect job for her: “I love technology. I love the people who work in it. There are loads of smart people. I love the logic.”
16
August 2022
4
Years at GFK – Queensland University of Technology graduate
“There are so many things that change. I like being at the forefront of what's going on,” she adds. Explaining that she feels lucky to do something she enjoys, Rosenthal-Warlow shares what is most important to her in her career: “Mainly, I want to do a good job. I want to make a difference, do good work and produce stuff that's going to be useful, with integrity. I want to actually make a difference.” Having been in the technology industry for over 30 years, RosenthalWarlow has seen the technology and AI space change dramatically as it strives to become more inclusive and reflective of society. This continuing transformation in the industry has meant some opportunities have been more difficult to reach for Rosenthal-Warlow than her male counterparts, as she notes: “You definitely have to work harder. There's definitely a different perspective. Not so much these days, but even now you'll see a woman being quite strong and forceful with her opinion, and it's seen as just being very abrupt, which is different for men.”
