VOL 10 | ISSUE 12 | 2020
WOMEN THE 10 MOST INFLUENTIAL
IN CLOUD IN 2020
Expert’s View
Tech Insight
Shepreneurs
What will the World of Commerce be like After the Covid 19 Crisis?
Fraud Detection And Prevention In Digital Customer Acquisition
Maternity Time to bring out Break the Entrepreneur in you
Editor’s Desk
W Leaders of Future
Leading through the roles of mother, sister, daughter and wife to CEO, Founder and Tech proficient
hen we talk about the industries like science industry, technology and engineering, the dominance of men is clearly visible. Most of the executive positions, such as CEOs, founders, owners, and so on hold by them. According to a report only 40% of tech start-ups in the United States have at least one woman on the board. But the change is coming as calls for more women participation in the tech industry have grown louder. Factually, companies with women leadership have performed three times better than those with male CEOs. This trend is continuing with startups, too. According to IDC, the percentage of women in senior leadership positions hiked from 21 % to 24% between 2018 and 2019. And that’s good news, because having more women in highranking leadership positions can positively empower female employee engagement and retention. A report shows organizations where 50% or more senior leadership positions are held by women, they’re more likely to offer equal pay. These companies are also having longer employee engagement, higher job satisfaction and feel the company is trustworthy. Women's businesses currently expand five times as much as the national average and women's businesses have more than risen since 2007. In
general, women entrepreneurs in corporate cultures worldwide are making tremendous strides and leaving an impact. This is what our latest and exclusive edition, “The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud, 2020”, is all about. These pioneers are not only revamping the industry with innovative ideas but are also paving the path for aspiring female entrepreneurs.
Editor's Note
Also, while flipping the pages, don’t forget to go through the articles and CXOs written by our in-house editorial team and industry experts respectively.
rohit.chaturvedi@insightssuccess.com
CONTENTS
12
Chaitra Vedullapalli
Empowering Women in Cloud Economy
16 Christine Puccio Bringing Ideas, People, and Technologies Together
22 Gavriella Schuster Working for Inclusivity and Collaboration in the Technology Space
30
Gina Fratarcangeli
Supporting Emerging Women Tech Entrepreneurs to be Successful
36 Gretchen O'Hara
A ProďŹ cient Business Leader
with Proven Track Record
40 Karen Fassio
Driving the Cloud and AI Revolution
48 Kimberly Smith Setting an Example for Women in Cloud
52 Renee Bergeron
Committed to Making Technology Accessible for Businesses of All Size
60 Senator Patty Kuderer
64
A True Leader, Putting People First
Sherlaender "Lani" Phillips Driving Digital Transformation
26
Expert’s View
What will the World of Commerce be like After the Covid 19 Crisis?
44
Tech Insight
Fraud Detection And Prevention In Digital Customer Acquisition
ARTICLES 56
Shepreneurs
Maternity Time to bring out Break the Entrepreneur in you
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Managing Editor Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Assistant Editors
Rohit Chaturvedi
Jenny Fernandes
Visualizer
Art & Design Director
David King
Asha Bange
Associate Designer Kushagra Gupta
Co-designer Kartik Balapurkar
Senior Sales Manager
Business Development Manager
Kshitij S
Andy Mitter
Marketing Manager
Sales Executives
John Matthew
David, Kevin, Vishnu
Technical Head
Business Development Executives
Jacob Smile
Steve, Joe, Alan, Anup
Technical Specialist Aditya
Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive Amol Wadekar
Research Analyst Frank Adams
Database Management Stella Andrew
Circulation Manager Robert Brown
Technology Consultant David Stokes
sales@insightssuccess.com October, 2020
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Chaitra Vedullapalli Empowering Women in Cloud Economy 12 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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oday, AI and Cloud technology are the words which represent the future. Together, these technologies possess the potential to improve the quality of life for millions. Every industry is now incorporating these cutting-edge technologies to achieve desired their goals. Meet Chaitra Vedullapalli, Co-Founder & CMO of Meylah, an enthusiastic women entrepreneur and an IT adept who is using AI and Cloud technology to help customers in attaining success. She is known for her expertise in Digital Strategy, Leading Digital Transformation, Cloud & Mobile Transformation, Channel Management; Strategic Partnerships; Product Innovation; Mergers and Acquisitions, eCommerce Excellence, Digital Marketing. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Chaitra Vedullapalli: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader in the IT and Cloud sector. Fashion, Sports, Music and Creative Arts were my groove. Engineering and Technology was a stretch for me. My initial encounter with Cobol programming in college assured me to never look in that direction. I was convinced I lacked the imagination to develop technology code until I learnt about Oracle Databases and Windows. The colorful and effective interface intrigued me to explore more. I could see the invisible with technology and I decided to defer my plans to pursue post-graduation in music to explore technology as a pathway for career opportunities. However, I desired to work with Microsoft since they were able to impact a billion lives with technology. When the opportunity came calling, it was beyond exciting since there was a sheer enthusiasm to learn about creating a billion-dollar strategy which Microsoft mastered. The shift from dismissing technology to now operating in the largest industry has been extraordinary. Today, at Meylah, my husband and I are striving to build an enterprise-ready business to serve our customers with Cloud & AI solutions. www.insightssuccess.com
How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? I run two organizations: Meylah and Women In Cloud. Both the companies strictly follow the motto to serve people and customers and are advancing their innovations with Cloud technologies. Meylah is a Cloud Solution Provider, with a mission to help companies have access to the digital economy. As Microsoft Gold Partner, we serve customers in two-fold, Ÿ SaaS Solutions – Our unique solutions such as SpeakerEngage, Merchant Management System help planners and decision-makers to automate their business. Ÿ Cloud Services - We provide digital transformation services starting from consulting, Cloud development, digital marketing to managing services in the enterprise market. Women in Cloud, is a community-led economic development organization, with a massive mission: to take action with global leaders, corporations, and policymakers to help women entrepreneurs create $1 billion in economic impact and opportunity by 2030. The intent of this organization is to help drive equity, economic parity and access to an inclusive economy. Both companies are designed to help customers create more access, value, opportunities and impact in the marketplace. Our signature Cloud automation framework allows any company to transform their business with ease. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? Every company in the market supports digital transformation. The key to being successful is to differentiate your offerings and services. I defy from competing on the basis of price and capabilities. Value, impact and access are our core pillars looking to benefit purpose-driven leaders and companies that drive inclusive growth and impact in the marketplace. October 2020 | 13
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Infinite opportunities are created when you are dedicated to serving people daily. - Chaitra Vedullapalli
Hence at Meylah, we focus on 3 core things: Ÿ SaaS Solution offering for enabling digital transformation within days instead of months. Ÿ Invest in public-private opportunities to build smart communities to accelerate economic development. Ÿ Enterprise-ready services to help enterprises to digitally transform their business through Blue Ocean strategies. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? The technology industry has not only taught me to adopt change but also embrace the rate of change. The rate of change in the industry is increasing by the hour and demands constant oversight of current trends. To combat stress and feeling overwhelmed, there are three key traits I believe each business woman should possess: Ÿ Situational leadership: This leadership strategy is extremely beneficial to be present and take decisions that a certain scenario requires. Ÿ Economic Access Creation: Access creation is another characteristic I passionately practice to unlock economic opportunities for people around me. My mantra is to help people achieve their highest level of growth on Maslow's pyramid. Ÿ Ultimately, acquiring emotional and relationship currencies to understand people and unlock blockers for them to realize their ultimate potential. I believe a leader's capabilities and achievements lie in the contentment of the people they are leading.
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As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? During the early years of my career, in the midst of learning technology, I struggled with a lack of equity. The lack of financial, leadership, and relationship equity led me to contemplate my decision to pursue technology. Furthermore, this contributed to no invitations to certain conversations. As an Indian-American woman, this experience had me question my capabilities as a technologist and a contributing member of the organization. In hindsight, however, these roadblocks helped me to acquire and structure my leadership style and qualities. Over the years, I have made conscious decisions to serve people and add value. I function with clarity and am critical about analyzing a situation if I am invisible. I believe in understanding ‘why I was not invited’, ‘why do I lack certain equity’, and ‘how can I do better to overcome challenges.’ Some scenarios simply require the courage to walk away. More often than not, the answer lies within you. Your dedication and determination will unlock almost any door if a growth mindset is employed. Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of Women in Cloud? My entrepreneurial journey revealed the lack of funding, customers, sponsors and community for companies like Meylah to access. This prompted me to propose a Cloudready program to educate companies about Microsoft channel opportunities as I had acquired a lot of tribal knowledge around tech channels. The pan-US program allowed me to interact with over 5000 companies, however barely 5 percent were led by women entrepreneurs or leaders; all hesitant, and shy to interact. A conversation with these women revealed a broader problem in the system, biases against women in technology. My instant response was, 'We need change.' There on, I and Karen Fassio, who collaborated on the Cloud-ready program with me, decided to build a community for women leaders, entrepreneurs, and technologists providing access to economic opportunities. Women in Cloud was born from ideas written on a napkin in a cafe by women who desired to create a different path in the fastest growing industry. Women in Cloud has an empowering effect on my personal journey. My passion for technology, my dedication to defeat 'What ifs' that I constantly encounter and my desire to transform the industry to be inclusive have increased over www.insightssuccess.com
the last three years. The constant energy I had to pour into this community initially, is now a way of life. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? A merit-based system does not exist in reality across all factions of life. Success is measured with two different elements; what and how. 'What' comprises the contribution, addition and impact through the work you put in. On the other hand, 'How', is the invisible factor which incorporates relationship dynamics, emotional currency, sponsorship aircover and the access creation. Ultimately, it trickles down to the significant inclusion you have designed for others through your work. I believe this holistic approach outdo plain hard work. Leaders, today, look for their representation or an individual to represent their company; the goal is to advance the company's ideals while successfully climbing the corporate ladder.
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What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? The Covid-19 pandemic allowed me to introspect and restructure the goals for both Meylah and Women in Cloud; we are now very focused on our objectives and impact. At Meylah, we are committed to providing innovative solutions to our customers to accelerate their digital transformation and drive societal impact to achieve UN Goals. Women in Cloud is a mission to transform the industry inclusivity, hence we are developing sustainable programs and solutions to equip women to access economic opportunities. Optimization is also on the agenda going forward. Mostly, I am determined to add value to our existing members rather than just grow the community in number. On my personal journey, I am looking to serve the people who put their faith in our expertise and add value to their journey.
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Christine Puccio Bringing Ideas, People, and Technologies Together 16 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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very journey inevitably has roadblocks,” says Christine Puccio. She is the VP of Global Cloud Alliances & GTM Programs at F5 Networks. She is known for her expertise in SAP and putting countless efforts on relationship management, strategic planning, and precise execution. Christine encourages every woman to make choices that will help them to create access to learning, opportunities, and growth. She asserts “I overcome my challenges by taking risks: this sometimes means diving into unknown situations where risks are high or not identified but with the confidence in me to come out successful on the other end.” Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Christine Puccio: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader in the IT and Cloud sector. My entry into IT began at the age of 25 working for Lockheed Martin. I had studied accounting in college and with Lockheed Martin, I had realized my dream of working for a Fortune 100 company. Soon thereafter, I was offered a job with sales at Pacific Bell Internet Services. After six months on the job, I would begin to outperform my quotas and quickly move into a lead role. In this role, I was always in the top three of ten sales agents on the company's sales whiteboard. Thus began my journey as a leader in the dynamic IT and Cloud sector. Throughout my 25 year career, I have embraced different roles in sales, marketing, contracting, and partnering, across companies like Sun www.insightssuccess.com
Microsystems, RedHat, and NGINIX, which was acquired by F5 Networks. This work has allowed me to work with SAP, Google, AWS and other software companies which have given me immense insight into market requirements and competition. How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? Diversification of offering starts with a cloud journey assessment. Because of my accounting background, I look at numbers around usage, impact and savings. Most of the companies we work with at F5 are in varying stages of cloud adoption. My barometer is to do an assessment of how much investment customers are willing to make to adopt cloud technologies. My method of engagement is driving mutual partnerships with an eye for strategic impact and digital transformation with cloud technologies. This is always a collaborative effort that usually consists of product engineering, marketing, sales, support, customer success and our cloud alliance partner to create a joint solution to make the adoption journey smooth for the customer. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? Customer service is the new formula for winning in the marketplace today. The good old strategy of overthrowing the competition by comparing yourself to them only generates free press for the other team. My approach is to highlight F5's unique features to our customers. In this regard, a thorough internal assessment is crucial in the October 2020 | 17
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It takes 20 years to make an overnight success. - Eddie Cantor
market where competition is inevitably high. Another unique business practice I advocate for is leveraging resources outside the company I work for. If there is scope for collaboration with an organization in the field, which will ultimately enhance the industry, we should utilize the opportunity. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? A journey of over two decades through an industry helps evolve your thinking process. Earlier in my career, I was shy, reserved and kept things to myself. I did not think it was important to voice my opinions. As time passed and I moved up the ladder, my perspective shifted considerably. My leadership encompasses the opinions and insights I bring to the table along with opinions and insights that I have learned from others. It's important to me to invite our team to think differently and to illustrate a different point of view. These ideas help us to reach higher and for management to have greater success in achieving organizational goals. Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of Women in Cloud? As a leader in the world's fastest industry, you need to participate in an active community to keep you grounded, focused and to expand your network. I am a strategic advisor to Women in Cloud, a Seattle-based organization dedicated to bringing $1 billion in economic access to 18 | October 2020
women-led STEM businesses by 2030. My introduction to the community was through an acquaintance, which led me to connect with Chaitra Vedullapalli (President & Cofounder, WiC). Chaitra recognized the expertise I could bring on board and encouraged me to contribute to the community through collaboration, storytelling and coaching other women. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? Statistics show that tapping into a diverse workforce makes good business sense. I am very fortunate to have worked for multiple companies that believe good ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, regardless of one's job title. I have always been a champion for diversity and inclusion. In 2017, I successfully launched neurodiversity at Red Hat – the first neurodiversity program in the company's history. I'm also an advocate for my autistic daughter. In this respect, I've spent over a decade working within U.S. legal and education systems to give autistic children the best life possible. The lack of diversity in the technology sector is a topic garnering increasing scrutiny. It's critical that we incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into corporate culture and business practices. Diversity coupled with a meritocratic culture will bring in many perspectives and ideas to inspire innovation. How do you cope up with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? Technology is ever-changing, so you have to be willing and able to change with the times and to keep up with the needs of your clients. I follow influencers, spend time reading, talk with customers and partners to keep up. For my work, I have been featured in the media by Bloomberg, NBC15, Wharton Business School, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to name a few. Given my industry expertise, I was recently quoted in the book You had me at Hello World alongside technology executives from Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. I continue to stay well versed in the constant news surrounding my industry. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? In the future, I see myself continuing to work on transformational projects. After all these years in the industry across various organizations I have the knowledge to contribute to solving complex problems and to equip people with ideas, and information to drive digital transformation.
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Gavriella Schuster Working for Inclusivity and Collaboration in the Technology Space 22 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
s leaders, it is critical to be open-minded, as it is essential to embrace unforeseen shifts in the plan rather than be stuck with a process,” says Gavriella Schuster. She is the Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner at Microsoft and has expertise in cloud & datacenter technologies, product management, product marketing, business model development, acquisitions, sales, digital marketing, social marketing, and channel programs.
A
and creativity. The desire to continually challenge myself to acquire advanced knowledge gave me energy and perspective. This curiosity gave me the confidence to jump from psychology to healthcare to technology. While that transition was unique, my psychology background has helped me very early in my career to differentiate between what people say and what their intentions are. It has served me to be a more analytical and inquisitive person, rather than taking things at face value.
Gavriella advocates the creation of an inclusive and collaborative environment at work. She believes, this practice significantly affects the team effort and dedication while empowering every individual.
My 24 years journey with Microsoft has taught me to pursue technology and get creative with it. I am currently in my 14th job role in the company after moving around six disciplines from Operations, Marketing, Sales, Training, Enterprise Services, Licensing, Product Management to now leading Partnerships here in Microsoft. It has been an incredible journey to witness the technology; the company and the industry grow to new heights over the years. Experience collector has been an interesting path for me because the fast-paced industry keeps you on your toes. I have been on a journey learning to build, sell and market and license software services.
On advising woman business leaders, she states it is important to be persistent. She opines “When you are the only woman in the room, there is a tendency for men to speak over you, and in some cases to even pretend you are invisible. Persistence allows you to express your point of view, gather allies in the room and speak up frequently until you break through the barrier and your ideas are acknowledged.” Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Gavriella Schuster: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader in the IT and Cloud sector. From a very young age, I was determined to be a collector of memorable experiences through knowledge, technology www.insightssuccess.com
How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? Microsoft operates in a broad spectrum of technologies; hence, our target audience varies. However, as a product planner and manager, I adopted the customer-centric approach. Placing the customer in the center helps understand their requirements, along with gaps in our portfolio. We continually diversify to fill those gaps by October 2020 | 23
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An inclusive environment empowers people to take on bold challenges. - Gavriella Schuster
building solutions or partnering to bridge that difference. I cherish my role as it allows me to constantly identify customer needs and build partnerships on behalf of Microsoft. The ability to support technology firms with investments in certain solutions or our ability to guide companies to pivot investments to compete in the market, allows us to collaborate, uplift, and transform the dynamic technology industry to provide the best for our customers. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? Everything in the market caters to the needs of the customer. A strategy needs to be centered around customer reach and customer satisfaction. As service providers, it falls upon us to lead the customer through the transformation in the industry which, over time, has resulted in building a trusted brand.
As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? The external challenges are inevitable. Our challenges define us. Personally, my roadblocks were internal; the limitations I set for myself were a challenge to overcome. As a young technologist, I desired perfection in my work and would obsess over the last 20 percent of the project, completely unaware that 80 percent was great. My impatience resulted in extra energy being poured where unnecessary. Soon with exhaustion, I had a revelation that perfection does not exist. Another roadblock has been to break away from the brand assigned to you by others for what you do. While attempting to transition from licensing to product management, I was constantly branded as a 'licensing expert' who could not shift the stream and learn product management. The reality was, I was good at my role as an experience collector and going forward I wanted to learn about working with developers, engineers and deliver there. After persuading a few sponsors to take a chance, I was able to make the transformation and I am here today. Most people hold themselves back because one must fight tough battles to convince others to believe in you. Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of Women in Cloud? Five years ago, I had an epiphany and was tired of being the only woman in the room. It was arduous setting up meetings with partners and never running into other women outside the Microsoft environment. I collaborated with Karen Fassio and then with Chaitra Vedullapalli and Gretchen O'Hara to build the Women in Cloud Movement. It was crucial for us to ensure Women in Cloud does not just focus on bringing women in the industry but also helps them mobilize resources to create a billion-dollar economic impact.
Competition in any market is inevitable, and dare I say desirable to push you towards excellence; it keeps you from complacency. Unless you are delivering the best experience and meeting the customer needs where they are either organically or through partnerships, you will fall short in the market.
This journey has led me to mentor, including joining the University of Washington Bothell Board of Directors, to help young women consider careers in technology. My reality could help young leaders find their path and enable them to succeed.
The ideal strategy is to keenly be aware of the market dynamics, course correct according to your customer needs and continually thinking 12 months ahead.
How do you cope up with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? Change is the only constant I have known. As an experience collector, I appreciate the dynamic nature of technology. The advancing space helps accelerate learning and
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promotes curiosity. This opportunity allows me to experiment and challenge myself. So, whether it is about learning a new technology, a new use case or helping organizations make a seamless transformation, there are always gaps to be ďŹ lled and it is a great opportunity to expand your scope. Embracing change increases my capabilities to think and it continues to put me in a place where what I do is new, exciting, interesting, and on the leading edge. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? 2020 was supposed to be the year of change at Microsoft. We had new technologies to launch, investments lined up and the ecosystem had a lot of momentum before the unforeseen health crisis crippled the health and social justice climate. Although this year has been a challenge, it has prompted me to internalize and ask myself ‘where are we heading?’
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The essential concern is to stay connected to each other and continue on the mission. My priority is to ensure the safety of my team and keep them motivated. Meanwhile, I am determined to continue my work with Women in Cloud and Women in Tech networks to focus on social justice in the industry. The recent Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has led us to introspect. As a leader in technology, I want to improve the experience of the African-American community in the technology space. There is a necessity to create communities, bring in role models, build programs, enable funding and power access to create a path for them to succeed; I am looking forward to being a part of that journey.
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Expert’s View
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Gina Fratarcangeli Supporting Emerging Women Tech Entrepreneurs to be Successful 30 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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omen in Cloud is a unique organization that has allowed me to surround myself with inspiring, talented female leaders,” says Gina Fratarcangeli. Gina further adds that through this organization, she has had face time with women who are building impactful businesses and driving real technological change. Gina's intention in joining this phenomenal community is to help women reach their goals by creating a conduit both within the Accenture network and through her association within the broader technology community. She asserts “My personal experiences and the energy within Women in Cloud have caused me to be extremely passionate about economic access and diversity causes. If I can introduce one female entrepreneur to a client or find one Board Member for a woman-led start-up, all the effort will be worth it. I would want my legacy to be -She did everything she could to help everyone she could.” Gina holds the position of Managing Director, and Market Unit Sales Leader at Accenture and has over 20 years in market development and complex solution offerings for global companies. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Gina Fratarcangeli: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader in the IT and Cloud sector. In 1995, as a recent college graduate, this new thing called the “internet” was all the buzz. While working at an advertising agency, I attended a presentation from an early internet streaming company and the power of the internet with its personalized advertising and information became clear to me. It was an impactful experience and I knew the internet and its underlying technology were something I wanted to be a part of. Hence, I began my foray into technology.
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When the dotcom bubble burst a few years later, I ventured into enterprise technology and learned about how it could drive real business change. Over the next two decades, I worked with tech giants like EDS, IBM and Genpact and watched the conversation really evolve. Technology is no longer relegated to the IT department and it is no longer just considered an enabler of functionality. The usage of technology to address business problems will determine the survival of the organization across all industries. Technology became fun again! Cloud technology has an impact on businesses and consumers alike that is nearly unparalleled. I am reenergized and eager to experiment with Cloud at Accenture. Cloud promises to bring drastic evolution and growth to a company's operating models - at a lower cost and with the support of legacy systems, resulting in innovation at an unprecedented rate. My journey has been an interesting one - with lots of twists and turns. I feel my experiences in advertising, consulting and technology have helped give me a strong base of knowledge and perspective to understand that to help companies in the future best serve their customers, technology needs to be leveraged in unprecedented ways - and the cloud makes that possible. How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? As a leader in the cloud space, Accenture helps Fortune 500 companies use cloud technology for business transformation. Many companies think it simply means moving legacy technology to the cloud to save money, but the opportunities are much more significant. Understanding how to use technology and its ability to solve business problems is what the C-suite now needs. One of my favorite parts of my job is helping them understand how the cloud can actually offer much more, such as the ability to accelerate innovation. It's really about complete enterprise transformation. We categorize the cloud transformation journey into three October 2020 | 31
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Life is not a dress rehearsal. You get one chance, so make the most out of ALL of it. - Gina Fratarcangeli
buckets: modernize (move legacy to the cloud for cost savings), optimize (gain efficiencies working in an agile development model to get products to market faster) and innovate (enable strategic innovation with AI, digital services and platform partners to generate growth). So, before we dive into the mechanics of cloud migration, we help clients understand the full power of what a cloud transformation could mean to their business, including the impact it can have on both the top and bottom line. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? At Accenture, we elevate the conversation to the C-Suite, thereby making the conversation about solving business challenges and adding value. Understanding the client's business requirements, analyzing their business challenges, and weaving a holistic solution encompassing strategy, technology, and ongoing delivery support is what Accenture does best. We have the industry expertise and the technology to deliver real transformation for our clients. This is just one reason why Accenture works with threequarters of the companies in the Fortune 500. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? It is crucial to stack your customer needs before your own. As a leader, it is important to practice honesty and integrity to serve your purpose. Personally, I always look to build a 32 | October 2020
relationship with my client, not just sell something. An open, honest, transparent conversation about what's best for your client will impact and grow that relationship tenfold. Over the course of my career, I've had to advise clients to work with other vendors from time to time – and that honestly was always appreciated. Another simple yet critical trait is to do your homework. You need to know your technology, your solutions, and your clients before every conversation. Constantly learning about current offerings and dynamic market conditions will allow you to be informed and provide the best solutions to your clients. Lastly - be fearless! Go out there and try new things to grow. Last year, I gave a Ted Talk on mentoring and supporting women leaders. I was nervous and excited at the same time because this was me speaking from the heart. I loved how that felt and now feel I am at a point in my career where I don't have to be “corporate Gina” when speaking in public – I am “real Gina”, it's a much more rewarding experience. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? Technology is an extremely complex industry. Women in this space encounter challenges from every angle. As a young professional, I chose a path in sales because I was good at it AND numbers define success unlike in other sectors. Typically, I was the hardest working person in the room and the results were obvious - I knew my achievements would speak for themselves. One of the biggest challenges throughout my career was the lack of other women in the room, which made it difficult to find someone to advocate for me. But at Accenture, ensuring diversity is highly valued, starting with our current female CEO. My four years here have shown me what an inclusive culture can be - and how important diversity at all levels is for a growth organization. I am very committed to this effort. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Accenture and am excited to embrace new opportunities within the organization and continue striving to solve customer challenges. Technology is transforming daily and the next decade will be an exciting adventure in this industry. I hope to be able to continue to support many of the start-ups that I do as both an official and unofficial advisor -- there are so many rising fearless female leaders out there!
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Gretchen O'Hara A ProďŹ cient Business Leader with Proven Track Record 36 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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uriosity, creativity, and my entrepreneurial spirit have shaped my journey from schooling, directly into the technology industry,” says Gretchen O'Hara. She says her passion for solving big challenges helped her utilize the power that lies within her to create a sustainable impact in the world. Currently, Gretchen holds the position of Vice President, US AI & Sustainability Strategy at Microsoft, and holds an experience of 25 years in the tech industry across the US and worldwide. Over the last 25 years of Gretchen's journey, it was her eagerness for the cloud market that prompted her to start in the hosting business before it became a mainstream phenomenon. As an entrepreneur, she witnessed the power of cloud computing and its ability to enable every person and organization to access enterprise-level benefits leading to the democratization of IT for all. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Gretchen O'Hara: How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? One size does not fit all. At Microsoft, we are committed to understanding our customer business objectives to ensure maximum growth and impact. An analysis of the customer industry, obstacles, target audience, and goals is necessary for customization to meet the needs of those cloud capabilities. That is our key to diversification and developing a strategic roadmap that leads us to our customer's success. For instance, without a structured plan and understanding of customer requirements, oftentimes, one can employ a cloud capability meant for consumers to www.insightssuccess.com
an enterprise that does not address critical requirements such as security, privacy, reliability, and mission-critical availability. On the flip side, one may offer similar solutions to the SMB market, which looks like a good fit on paper, but in reality, those capabilities are too complex, expensive and will not meet the specific needs of the customer. Hence, an insight into customer intention is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction and success. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? When you lead with a purpose-driven mission, bigger than a person or any organization, consequentially you tackle the competition. Every organization needs to instill a purposedriven mission into their business model. This captures the essence of growth and motivates every individual to contribute their best. My strategic approach to competition is simple but effective; address the customer and partner needs, combined with a purpose-driven mission - and you will effectively compete to be your very best. It is crucial to understand the ecosystem, capabilities, partnerships, and identifying solutions that will provide holistic value to the customers in a broader spectrum. Collaboration is key and ultimately it all comes down to customer and partner obsession. If you are consistently captivated by the customer and embrace a growth mindset, it shifts the way you compete. One focuses less on direct competition and more on providing the best experience and value for the customer. The purpose of the competition is to bring the best solution and experience at the forefront of the customer.
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Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. - Joel Arthur Barker
What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? Authenticity empowers people to deliver their absolute best to any mission. It is crucial that every woman brings her own unique leadership style rather than continue on a path already built, to ensure collective action and success. As a businesswoman, one must practice empathy while allowing room for experimentations and mistakes for the team to grow as individuals. A growth mindset is an attribute I practice professionally and personally since it is important to embrace change to deliver your best self. Lastly, I am always curious, celebrate the diversity of people, and practice grit. I believe these traits assist one to overcome the biggest obstacles, despite the failures encountered along your life journey. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? Throughout my journey, two specific roadblocks were common; Perception and Community. Perception is a market constraint. This challenge focuses on efforts to overpower/preserve a perceived appearance to accelerate opportunity and access for people in the business. Microsoft is a trusted brand, with ethics and responsibility upholding privacy and security, hence people invest in us. As an organization, we have to work really 38 | October 2020
hard to prove these presumptions through action to accelerate in the industry. The second challenge is creating a vibrant community. For women in the cloud business, oftentimes there is a lack of more women helping other women; to have an uplifting, supportive technical and business community. Social media campaigns around gender equality and closing the gender gap is a required step. However, the reality is we need to build a much bigger and broader network of female representation in technology, and it is an industry imperative task. The lack of female mentors and sponsors to help our entrepreneurs succeed is evident from the classroom to the board room. Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of Women in Cloud? Our mission at Women in Cloud is not limited to simply changing the conversations and bringing diversity, as we are taking it one step forward with economic development and access to opportunity. Economic access is a pivotal point in this critical movement as we try to make a sustainable change that will eventually trickle down into our education system for future leaders and innovators. The hard-hitting truth is that if female entrepreneurs are hurt in the area of building solutions, and female-run companies continue to go out of business, then filling the funnel all day long by bringing in more representation will not make a sustainable impact. Unlike any other organization, Women in Cloud has a unique strategy to build visible shifts around gender diversity, to create an ongoing cycle of opportunity and bring together allyship at a global level. I think that is the magic of Women in Cloud. Over the last three years, I have learned an incredible amount from female entrepreneurs and allies that have come to the table with me at Microsoft; women and men coming together to focus on education, access, and sustainable growth as an opportunity to grow our global economy. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? Meritocracy defines that hard work paves a path for success. But my perspective on the myth is exactly why Women in Cloud was born; there simply is not always equitable access for women today. Statistics tell us that women-owned businesses are currently on par with men, i.e., 40 percent or so; but we fail to disseminate industries and analyze women representation www.insightssuccess.com
from STEM which is less than 5 percent. Currently, there is less representation of females in technology companies. Even more troubling, less than 3 percent of C-suite female leaders are women of color. So, the idea that hard work results in triumph contradict reality, which is, there exist natural blockers that are ingrained in the system that we must change. How do you cope up with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? When you stifle innovation, you stifle personal growth. The nature of being in technology is that it is ever-changing. We are always innovating, and that disruptiveness is something that allows all of us to grow because we are forced to disrupt ourselves in the process.
I appreciate the industry for forcing me to accept these rapid shifts because it allows me to bring my best self to the community every day. I am a firm believer in the opportunity cloud allows, because it forces you to be the best that you can absolutely be at any given moment. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? Every leader has to ask where they want to be. A proactive plan helps a leader lead. From a leadership position, I am intrigued to explore the power of Artificial Intelligence. The democratization of AI and the ability for everyone to have access to information that was previously unknown is what I want to help democratize for all.
Technology forces you to be agile, have a growth mindset, and ultimately accept failure to improve learning because of the pace of transformation.
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Karen Fassio Driving the Cloud and AI Revolution
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echnology is embedded in how we live our daily lives so it's necessary to get to know it, how it works, where it's going”, asserts Karen Fassio. From owning her first desktop, Atari 600, to now being a part of Microsoft as Director of its One Commercial Partner Group, Karen has inspired many lives. In an interview with Insights Success, Karen Fassio shares her valuable insights of her journey and undulating moments. Below are the highlights of the interview: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader in the IT and Cloud sector. Technology has been an important part of my childhood and early adulthood. My first introduction to a personal computer was with the TRS-80, Atari 800 and Commodore 64. In addition to dial-up into random bulletin board services (BBS), I remember playing early online text-based MUX games accessed through very early Compuserve services. There were so many quests and online character drama! My online character's name back then was Javelyn. My first job in tech was with Aldus, a Seattle-based software company that produced an innovative product called PageMaker and coined the term desktop publishing, disrupting the publishing industry in the process. Back then companies were pushing user-level tech to its limits. Fonts had to be installed on your machine and your printer. Designers had to build to the tight limitations of their computer's memory capacity. You never knew if you would maintain print fidelity with what you saw on the screen. Back then, files produced couldn't be shared natively across Mac and PCs. While I was at Adobe, I witnessed the launch of Acrobat and PDF (portable document format) and that helped to close some aspects of the Mac and PC divide. It felt like new software innovations were announced daily. I found myself moving and growing with the times rapidly, participating in the early days of broadly available internet, technology outsourcing, scaling that capability as the customer demand grew exponentially. I created campaigns to increase access to technology education all connected to my passion for helping people access technology on their terms. Eventually my career moved in the direction of digital marketing which I see as enabling better communication between people in personalized, empowering ways—which takes me back to where I started in a way. It has been 21 years since my first day at Microsoft and since then, most of my roles have had some connection to the partner ecosystem, which I love. At Microsoft, we bring technology to people and organizations through our global partner ecosystem. Partners take the technology ingredients we offer and pull them together in a way that serves customers of all types with solutions in all forms. I know
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that sounds broad, but the fact is, the opportunity is vast and multi-faceted. And now with new innovations in Cloud, AI, intelligent edge, and quantum computing, the space continues to be full of opportunity. How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? It starts with understanding the lived experiences of your audience and then asking 'what can I do to improve it?” Fundamentally, be insatiably curious about your customers and the offerings will follow. Naturally, good companies listen to customer voice, observe the market, delve into how products are utilized and make corrections when they aren't. But how do you know what all that information really means if you don't know the question you're trying to answer? To get to great questions, you need diversity of perspectives and a way to invite more questions into the discussion. The right questions make a remarkable difference in what you eventually offer. It was in the book “A More Beautiful Question” by Warren Berger where he shares the concept of 'question-storming' rather than traditional brainstorming. This approach creates energy, deepens curiosity, and it's been a valuable tool for me in striving for limitless thinking. Marketing seldom focuses on the deep, embedded things that impact the quality of our customer's business and daily reality. What are we taught? Marketing is product, price, placement, promotion. It's so much more than that. Marketing can educate, connect, and reinforce your values. Rather than focus on what you can market, direct your resource to how you can add value to your customer's lived experience. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? Focus on your customer obsessively and you will outpace competition. The time you spend researching competition can be put instead on the things that increase trust and help your customers succeed. Think of yourself with them, helping them win a deal with a customer. Can you provide something they can use to help them bring more value in that relationship? Not every business has direct access to industry analysts, but everyone has the ability to pick up a phone and talk to their customer. For example, at Microsoft we have forums where users of our technologies have interactive dialogue directly with product developers. Even though I have access to many forms of insights including data, briefings, and analyst research, I make a point to have personal relationships with partners who help me see the space in between all of that. And they learn from my point of view too. I highly recommend creating a way to put yourself side by side with the customers you serve. Challenge yourself to
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Take your highest ambition and double it. If that makes you nervous, you’ve found a boundary to break. - Karen Fassio
get as close as possible to their day to day. Nothing is as powerful as the voice of your customer (or in my case partner) as you champion change and new ideas. Technology is all about partnership. In the places that you can't tackle yourself, can you partner instead? I think that's why I am so attracted to working with partners and why I love my role at Microsoft so much. As our collective landscape grows in complexity, no one company has all the answers. You need partnerships for innovation, for distribution, for capabilities, for access. It's through partnerships that we create better solutions and serve customers more holistically. I am constantly looking for ways to bridge those connections and bring more partners into the fold, so we can mix things together with more innovations and opportunities. It's why I am so passionate about increasing representation in the ecosystem so we can expand perspectives, unlock innovation, and serve more markets. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? I believe Emotional Intelligence Quotient, (EQ) is a leadership superpower. EQ is the ability to tune in to yourself and your emotional state and keep in balance the relationship impact you have on others. How to work with people, learn the areas we need to develop, and nurture is largely underrated in the workplace. There are small signs this is now changing so I'm encouraged. As we embrace rapid change from all sides, EQ is needed and generally, women tend to innately possess this capability. Over the years, emotional intelligence has given me a different perspective to champion and because it isn't often practiced in business, it has given me a way to differentiate my impact. I have often doubted the value of EQ because it felt like such a soft skillset. The Harvard Business Review first brought EQ into the limelight in their 1998 article on leadership and it's been a slow process to getting it fully 42 | October 2020
recognized as a valuable leadership trait. This may be a result of having so few women in tech leadership. While EQ is tricky to practice and apply in business, as a woman EQ has allowed me to be authentic and purpose driven in how I lead and shape success. I also encourage women to use their intuition. Most people assume intuition is a superficial attribute. Don't discount it. Intuition is derived from the synthesis of lots of data. When you consume stacks of information, observe patterns, develop insights over time, you basically create an internal library of reference points that can be applied to new and different situations. Data is the basis for intuition. It's not just some made-up feeling as we are often led to believe. As progressive women leaders, we should employ our emotional intelligence and intuition in our role as impactful, future-forward leaders. It's our superpower. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? I have often struggled with having to prove myself. An argument can be won when you are heard, but being treated dismissively or worse, hearing someone else use your words and get support is tough to deal with. When you are shut down despite your best efforts, it makes you question yourself. In essence you're made to feel excluded from the future. As a brown, plus-size woman, I am aware that I do not fit the conventional, C-suite executive image. Nevertheless, I am an experienced leader with a track record of doing things that bring extraordinary results and value. I had to set my own bar, find opportunities, and believe in my own value rather than let others define me. It's helped me see signals that others miss. I build my tribe and use my network to work at things from different angles and altitudes. The fact remains that this approach takes extra time, energy, and can demand the use of already limited political capital. I know I'm not alone in this experience. How much more effective could we be if we didn't have to spend time doing this extra legwork? If you notice someone taking a little longer to get to the goals you expect them to achieve, don't leap to the easy conclusion that they are ineffective. There's usually something more going on and you should consider the role are you playing in letting that interference continue. I keep a people-first mindset. I push myself to be the leader I want to follow. I try to do the things for people that I wish someone had done for me when I was in their shoes. When faced with a situation, I ask myself, “What would the leader of my dreams do?” Hopefully in that approach, I model for www.insightssuccess.com
The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020 my team the kind of leader they can also choose to be and when they move on from my organization and go on to lead elsewhere, they have plenty of experience in what empowerment looks like which should give them an amazing advantage. Have you in any way contributed towards the cause of Women in Cloud? Women in Cloud has had a huge impact in empowering women with a collective voice and providing access for women who have previously been shut out. Personally, this community has been one of the biggest professional growth accelerators I have ever experienced. The pace at which I have learned and tested myself through this work has been phenomenal. Women in Cloud not only aligns with my personal values but my career goals too. The process of access creation is harder to do than people realize, and it comes with lots of hard-earned learning. We strive for a billion dollars of economic access for women in this community. This contributes to local sustainability, jobs, and in our representation, we also enable inclusive impact. As a Women in Cloud founding member and board advisor our drive comes from understanding the lived experiences where women technologists with brilliant innovations were not included as they should have been. We have many decades worth of technology without women represented in it. Hence, as Women in Cloud, we kept learning and adjusting the approach until we figured out a model that works at scale. It's been 3 years since we started with an idea over coffee. And now Women in Cloud is successfully expanded into new markets. A community approach leveraging the power of collective action and creating alliances of influence is an essential system. Now that we have a model that works, it's up to all of us in the community to keep evolving it. It's not the founding team that drives this. It's the community that makes thing move faster, broader, more inclusive. I enjoy hearing of other communities tapping into our resources because that is the purpose of this network. There's plenty of opportunity for all. Use this model. Make it yours. Create impact. And keep it going. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? The myth of meritocracy reveals the many systems in place that prevent access. Most of us believe in putting in the work, but there are many more schemes designed to keep people in boxes. As we get better at talking about what is limiting progress as a society, it is becoming easier for us to identify these schemes and recognize that old belief systems about working harder do not guarantee success. www.insightssuccess.com
Where business can do better is to get curious about the daily working experience of their people. We need tools to help individuals understand their impact, their personal progress and how to apply their talents to the things that matter most. Why don't we have more women in management? Why are starting salaries so vastly different? Why are opportunities unevenly distributed? Why did it take the women in your organization 5x longer to achieve a promotion? Why don't women stay in roles as long as their male colleagues? We have words like 'glass ceiling' 'frozen middle' 'covering' that are a part of our language now because there are very real systems in place that limit access. A woman shared with me that she thought she was doing fine in her career until the day she wanted more. Bang! Her head hit a ceiling. She believed her remaining choice was to leave and start her own firm before she mistakenly agrees to the limited box they defined for her. Those of us who experience this are fatigued by having to explain it repeatedly. How do you cope up with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? We vote for what you want in tech by what we use and consume. I'm a digital marketer so I'm constantly looking for innovations in communication and user insight. Though I am in B2B marketing, I enjoy exploring new use cases at the consumer level, and I like to look at the fringes more than the mainstream for insights. If you are around younger people, observe how they use technology. Think about how painful it is to their personhood to be without tech. The pain rate is more acute for them than it is for my generation by far. What does that mean? How can that influence user expectations in the future? Where are the opportunities to anticipate future services? How will that factor in with your strategies as these users grow up to be your customer one day? What will that mean to brand loyalty, trust, and growth going forward? Is your roadmap accelerating faster than their growing expectations and needs? What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? I am dedicated to creating an inclusive economy. I am honoured to do this at Microsoft, and with Women in Cloud. 'How can we inspire the solutions that can help us solve the most challenging issues of our age? This is a question that keeps me thinking up new ways to inspire others to join in and participate. I am personally motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We can all contribute to one of the 17 SDGs to help make the world better for all. That's not just a lofty statement. It's a real thing those of us in technology can do for sustainability and inclusive impact.
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FRAUD DETECTION AND PREVENTION IN
DIGITAL CUSTOMER ACQUISITION
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he bricks and mortar retail model is being forced to embrace the digital marketplace. Consumers are tech savvy and expect innovative and creative solutions to remotely access and purchase products and services. There is an unfounded belief in the financial services sector that digital customer acquisition would suffer high fraud rates. With verification technologies this is no longer true. Financial products can take many forms. It could be the opening of a bank account, applying for a credit card or loan. It also extends to everything from buying life insurance to gambling using your phone for betting on your favorite Super Bowl team. All can be virtual, but all are subject to fraud. In the physical world customers must travel to your place of business and present their photo ID to an employee to verify their identity. In the digital world this can be done without the restrictions of business hours and geographical location and with greater accuracy and security than an employee can do manually. Verification technologies have become a reliable technology that is able to replace costly manual process with a digital touch that enables remote onboarding built with strong verification and fraud mitigation. Consumers are accustomed to providing driver’s licenses and similar photo IDs as proof of their identify in person. The problem is fraudulent or forged photo IDs can be easily purchased and are incredibly good and can easily fool a human. When it comes to verifying the owner of the photo ID the human compares the customer in front of them against the photo in the ID presented. This is equally flawed. There are three issues here. One is the ability to match. The average human is only 70% accurate! The second is the social awkwardness of the verification process and finally, the potential of a complicit employee participating in a fraud. Fortunately, technology has advanced to automate remote customer enrollment making it easy for customers to buy and at the same time protect against fraud. Verification technologies conduct the same process as an employee would manually that is delivered as customer self-service.
photo ID. Verification technology will process the ID by using a combination of technologies designed to spot and stop forgeries. For example a combination of OCR optical character recognition and bar code reading technology ensures what is printed on the front of the ID matches the data inside the bar code printed on the back. There are several other methods for ID verification with the result being photo ID verification with 99.5 % accuracy in just a couple of seconds. Something no human can do manually. After scanning the photo ID your potential customer will be guided to take a selfie, which includes appropriate liveliness and anti spoofing, that compares the selfie with against the photo printed on the ID document. Once again face recognition technology is more accurate, in this case an average of 99% that is more secure and cost effective than a human conducting the verification manually. Verification technologies have allowed consumers to have access to products and services that have previously been unavailable due to geographical, cost or logistical issues. Companies have the opportunity to de-risk their traditional brick and mortar models and move to a consumer-friendly digital delivery. And for that fraudster, they will find other targets to steal from rather than using their face to commit a fraud.
To verify their government issued photo ID, your customer will be asked to take a photo of the front and back of their
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Kim Smith with Sharon John, CEO Build-A-Bear
Kimberly Smith Setting an Example for Women in Cloud
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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echnology is an amalgamation of all industries since there is no sector which defies its power. Everyone is influenced and impacted by the technologies and technologists are builders of the new world,” believes Kimberly Smith, the Global Vice President of Cloud Innovation Service, Microsoft Cloud Alliance, IBM. In an interview with Insights Success, Kimberly shares her valuable insights on how she forged new paths in the technological arena.
Microsoft, Capgemini, Adobe, and IBM, has given me a broad spectrum of experiences that I apply in every aspect of my career. In my travels, I have found that being agile, flexible, and willing to take calculated risks has opened new doors to experiences and leadership opportunities I never could have imagined. In many instances, the role I took on didn't exist; there was no job description. Forging new paths can be daunting but I have found energy and passion in being willing to take on challenges and see the potential where it otherwise might not be seen to exist.
Below are the highlights of the interview: Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader in the IT and Cloud sector. I began my professional journey while attending college running data center back up processes in the Polymers Division for DuPont. Technology at the time was magnetic tape driven and moving data to different centers meant shifting tapes off a mainframe device and transferring them to another machine, we truly have come so far. I have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in the radical shift from on-premise environments to hybrid cloud-based technologies which has required transformation in every sense of the word. On my path, I went from manufacturing to financial services running risk management and FinTech efforts advancing the retail credit banking sector before moving into consulting and the high tech industry. Having the chance to work at companies like The Bank of New York, www.insightssuccess.com
30 years of culminated experience has resulted in my imagination knowing no limits to what we can achieve when we are empowered through technology and human potential. How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? Identification of your end goal can be determined by the impact you wish to achieve with your target audience. The spectrum of diversification that products and services IBM has to offer is unfathomable. We are a huge organization with a history of serving people, hence diversity is key to affect as many lives as we do. Every day, we must take into consideration the diversity of thought, action, behaviors, experiences, and backgrounds if we are to approach and solve complex challenges that have massive implications on humanity. As technologists, none of us fit in a box anymore; our ability to comprehend and value our differences results in better solutions and accessibility for all. October 2020 | 49
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Suspend disbelief long enough to let the art of the possible sneak in and let amazing things happen. - Kimberly Smith
One of the factors of success I have seen to achieve the desired goal in technologically driven solutions is to establish guardrails, apply governance without obsessing over the process. In my personal experience it all comes down to asking the question, 'How can we think outside the box to create convenience and value for all?' What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? As a female leader in an industry predominantly led by men, I have seen tremendous advancements. As an optimist, I believe in the continual change women lead with fortitude and allyship. Every generation of women faces their own roadblocks in this space. It is my responsibility to break the barriers I confronted, and sweep up the broken glass on my way up. I am only successful because of the women who have broken their backs carrying us here, and if I defy paying it forward, it is a disservice to the future generation. Women empowering other women provides an opportunity to pull those behind us along with us to demolish the walls ahead; since it is not justified for women of this generation to deal with problems of the previous generation. This is the easiest way to ensure industry-wide progress. Hence, if there is one trait I truly believe in, it is creating access and empowering other women. 50 | October 2020
As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? Each of us carries our own bag of rocks. The challenge is to put the bag down, take out a few rocks every chance we get and then move forward. Every day demands effort to continue on this journey. In a room full of people, I have been denied an opportunity to speak but the real challenge was to address the lack of more so than the discrimination itself. In this environment, I think being shutdown is inevitable, but if you let fear conquer your intention, failure is guaranteed. It takes endurance to identify your limitations and replenish your energy before fighting the system. The flawed structure of this industry forces us to face similar problems women have had to deal with for decades draining our stamina. Hence, knowing your limitations, restoring your bucket while supporting others and allowing yourself to course correct is the path forward. The ability to stop and look at the bigger picture prepares you to propel in this industry. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? Technology is a crucial necessity in the most diverse time There is a massive attic of junk and value both in our brains and our homes which will exhaust us eventually if we let it. I try not to lose perspective or get lost in the tools I use. If it doesn't provide faster time to value or remove a point of friction in my life, I let it go. If it does, then the technology becomes an enabler for my own empowerment. As a leader in the industry I encourage working smarter not just harder. To be thoughtful about what critical path will lead to higher quality results with enriched & relevant impact, that is what defines success for me. I do my best to maintain a consistent focus on the importance of these factors in my daily life. How do you cope up with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? The rapid shift in technological advancements is creating a state of cognitive dissonance in people. There are healthy fear and excitement; a never-ending cycle of this solution will be obsolete tomorrow but there is a dire need for it today. This industry has eased lives all around the world www.insightssuccess.com
while consciously embedding software and hardware that take over, it is a scary and breathtaking development. Technology is a desperate necessity in the most diverse time on this planet. Nonetheless, it is important to create sustainable advancements from here on. There is a massive attic of junk and value both in our brains and our homes which will exhaust us eventually. While I am excited for what is to come, I would prefer seeing my children's photographs on my phone more often than every other thing.
humbling to have the chance to be part of immense impact like that. Now, I am selective of my time and would really like to pay it forward. While technological solutions narrate my past, I want my future to be about empowering and paving a path for the next generation to experience this magniďŹ cent industry that knows no bounds.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? I have spent a lifetime advancing technological improvements that aect lives around the globe. It is www.insightssuccess.com
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Renee Bergeron Committed to Making Technology Accessible for Businesses of All Size 52 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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Radioshack TRS-80 Personal Computer led Renee Bergeron to technology. This machine arrived at her house through a family friend who gifted it to her since he saw no purpose in it. Toying around with that piece of hardware piqued Renee's interest in technology, empowered her to love technology and finally inspired her to embark to study computer science which led her directly into the technology world. As an enthusiastic young technologist, Renee was programming for clients like Air Canada, Hudson Bay Cap, National Bank of Canada which allowed her to glance into various businesses and amass knowledge. When presented with an opportunity, she moved to Australia as the CIO for the Bank of Melbourne. Operating in the service provider spectrum in corporate America allowed her to experience technology from the business aspect. As she progressed, her journey with Ingram Micro granted her an insight into technology supply chain management for SMB and building cloud businesses. Currently, she is the Senior Vice President & General Manager of AppSmart. “In retrospect, my life could have been drastically different if I was gifted with a stethoscope or if I was not passionate about technology in all its form. I am incredibly lucky to work in a technical field that excites me and motivates me,” she asserts. In an interview with Insights Success, Renee shares her valuable insights on how she is empowering businesses to soar through technology innovation.
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Below are the highlights of the interview: How do you diversify your organization's offerings to entice the target audience? We are all consumers of technology in the personal and professional aspects of our life. Consumers are sophisticated and differentiate solutions based on their needs and convenience. So ultimately, as providers, we focus on the customer experience. I invariably put myself in the customers' shoes to experience our offerings. If you do not appreciate your services as a consumer, why should a customer experience it? Hence, we internalize before we build on it. Businesses are essentially groups of individuals who employ technology to ease their workload, and I think about their goal to serve them. For instance, if our customers are dentists, as a business leader, my role would be to find what technology would enable dentists to serve their customers best. This process would involve me personally reaching out to my dentist to understand their requirements to build a roadmap of new solutions we can develop. Without the desire to solve customer problems, and deliver the best experience, your solutions do not make an impact. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? The general assumption suggests that tracking your competitors allows you to structure a better plan to get ahead of them. However, I believe that practice only puts you in a box with desperation to redesign the box, without scope for reinvention. Hence, I prefer market analysis; October 2020 | 53
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If you've never experienced failure, you're not taking enough risks. -Simon Slade
building strategies require market study, understanding complexities, and identifying opportunities. Data is my best friend. Slashing and slicing the market to understand the organizational type, their growth, and market scope gives me a unique edge. The market study also helps us predict future trends and equips us to transform the space. Looking at the overall space rather than constantly be engrossed by competition is essential to play the long game in technology. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? Intensity determines your success. Intensity is the key to success and is required to consistently and reinvent customer experience. Perseverance has been one of my greatest strengths over the years. However, investing the energy to consistently deliver and maintain pace requires intensity and passion. Perseverance has been one of my greatest strengths even at my lowest points. As a leader, a positive mental attitude is critical. Imbibing an optimistic outlook creates an uplifting environment for your team to deliver their best results. Optimism is contagious and should be adopted by every business executive for motivating oneself and others. Lastly, I follow True North; a concept of undertaking 54 | October 2020
decisions based on data rather than emotions. We are humans with biases, and business judgements made with emotions ultimately fail us. Data, however, are facts. Facts are essential for business development and sustainability. In my opinion this one of the most important characteristics one must strictly follow. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? My journey in this industry allowed me to experience some mainstream challenges, which I witnessed were the same obstacles faced by my peers irrespective of gender and nationality; like a board rejecting your proposal. In my opinion, these are roadblocks that are essential to transform into a leader. The most dangerous roadblock we face is the limitations we create for ourselves. Constantly questioning our capabilities, judging our experience, and assuming perception hampers inculcating a growth mindset. However, there are specific challenges, like communication gaps which could affect your performance and growth chart. In an instance, my manager was an outspoken individual to everybody on the team except me. The anger, the appreciation and the guidance were all out there for them, while I received passive-aggressive feedback leading to confusion. Transparent communication was the key to identify the root cause. He assumed that his being direct would make me emotional since I am a woman. This was an eye-opening perspective but my solution was to encourage him to accept my emotional response, if any. I presented him with piles of paper which said, 'This gives you a right to make me emotional', and normalized something he was terrified of. My communication abilities changed the relationship which led to him mentoring and providing growth opportunities for me. The intention of this story is to promote honest conversations to address awkward undefined problems. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? Working hard is a basic qualifier in the industry today. Beyond that, one must understand the stakeholders and their requirements. It is about demonstrating the ability to do your job under any circumstance. Often people overlook the dimensions of 'what' and 'how.' Our industry houses many credible and hardworking experts who are good at 'what' they do. But 'how' they do www.insightssuccess.com
their work sets them apart; not all hard-working individuals are agile, team-players, or the most efficient workers. Personally, your ability to present yourself also adds value. People will fail to recognize hard work if it is done behind closed doors. It is vital to draw a roadmap, present your outcomes and secure a sponsor, who will vouch for you. You have to chart a path for yourself surrounded by the right people that will help you expand your arena. How do you cope up with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? Technology forces change. As consumer demand increases, the market dynamics shift, propelling change; this cycle constantly helps me evolve. Being in this space, you inevitably embrace the role of being a change agent; which affects personal life as well. As we age, we are required to work our brain to stay healthy, and this environment of continual shift, helps us do just that.
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Seldom do we focus on the real forces behind this constant change, people. It is a beautiful cycle between humans and technology; one change forces the other. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? The perk of operating in the technology industry is, my future can take any glorious form. While I know what the next few years will look like on a broader spectrum, it will be exciting to be on that journey, as new opportunities emerge. The goals I intend to pursue, making technology accessible for businesses of sizes, will be constant; but my path to reach there will definitely take different forms introducing me to bigger and better experiences.
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Senator Patty Kuderer A True Leader, Putting People First 60 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
mom, attorney, and long-time community advocate, Patty Kuderer, the first female State Senator from Washington's 48th Legislative District, is setting an instance of dedicated leadership for aspiring women leaders. In an interview with Insights Success, Patty shares some valuable insights into her journey, full of passion, perseverance and undulating moments.
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From as long as I can remember, men - not women - were viewed as leaders. So to become one myself took practice. I stepped up to the challenge when opportunities appeared. Most of the time I felt I had done a good job, other times it was just painful. All of those experiences, however, helped me develop the leadership skills I would eventually need as a legislator to craft effective policy to help the working families of Washington.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
I have natural problem-solving skills and became a lawyer to help people. My law practice has been dedicated primarily to employment discrimination, addressing income inequality, the employment opportunity gap, and harassment in the workplace. The lack of women in decision-making roles in large corporations is a stark reminder of challenges we as women face to establish life on par with our male counterparts. My family taught me to help others, so I gravitated to helping women and children, supporting purpose-driven organizations and contributing to progressive campaigns. It was my contribution to creating the change I wanted to witness in the world - namely a progressive and inclusive society. And it remained my way until I was asked to run for the State Legislature.
Kindly take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader. In Vince Lombardi's words “Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” I was born on Election Day during winter in Minnesota. The sixth of nine children, my mom was in fierce labor when she insisted on stopping to vote before heading to the hospital, weather notwithstanding. Before I became a teenager, my dad was elected County Attorney in our small farming community just north of the Iowa border. I was told he was the first Democrat ever elected to any position in the County. After his years of public service ended, I heard from folks he helped through tragic and desperate occasions, oftentimes without asking for anything in return. While I was touched to hear these stories, they didn't surprise me because we all knew that being a responsible community member meant helping others.
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I always knew who I thought should run for office, but those thoughts did not include me. However, when friends from the local party chapter urged me to throw my hat in the ring, I realized that if I won, I would have the chance to effect real change on a much larger scale, and to help right the injustices I routinely saw in life. In 2015 I did “win,” through appointment to the House of Representatives where I served for a little over a year. Just after winning the October 2020 | 61
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The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. - Mahatma Gandhi
election as a House member, I was again appointed, this time to the Senate, where I became the first female State Senator from Washington's 48th Legislative District. I ran successful Senate campaigns in 2017 and 2018 and now lead as Chair of the Housing Stability & Affordability Committee and Assistant Majority Floor Leader. It was clear from both of my parents that people mattered more than things, the family was paramount, and that we were to “treat everyone with respect.” Those are values I keep with me to this day. What are the vital traits that every woman leader should possess? Leaders develop their leadership style and traits over time. Based on my experience, great women leaders possess the following qualities. 1. Passion to drive change 2. Determination to achieve their goal 3. Compassion to connect with people 4. Practicing effective communication skills As a rule, I find women are more collaborative than men and are more interested in solving the problems by putting people first. That attitude combined with a passion to drive change gets people's attention. Having compassion, or empathy, gives you a sense of what it is like to walk in another's shoes. Most of us weren't born on third base; and 62 | October 2020
understanding the challenges of working families from realworld experiences (including your own) brings authenticity to your work. Finally, being a good communicator is a great skill in any profession, but it is particularly so in politics. Being able to humanize issues through stories has changed more than one person's mind. And growing up with eight siblings, I have a lot of stories. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by your political journey? And how did you overcome them? I did not take the “usual” road to the Legislature. I had not previously held elected office, though I had served as a prosecutor and city attorney for many years and represented governmental agencies in complex, multi-party lawsuits in the courts. And never mind that the males who immediately preceded me had never been elected to anything before going into the Legislature. I was still expected to follow a set path up the political ladder. That argument was not effective. This idea that there is a “right” way for a woman to move up the ladder doesn't fit today's world. As women, we don't need to “suffer” or “pay our dues” to be a leader. Societal norms need to change to keep up with the rest of the world and bring more women into our politics, the judiciary, and all the industries, including technology and finance. Why do you think technology is an essential need people cannot ignore? The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we consume technology. Today, the internet and access to basic technology is a necessity like water and electricity. During the current health crisis, our children are educated primarily through the internet. Telemedicine is saving lives. Corporations rely more on remote work options enabled by technological innovations. However, this pandemic has also revealed the great digital divide like never before. Certain parts of Washington State are without access to high-speed internet, a pressing need that has only become more urgent since this health crisis hit. Along with my colleagues like Senator Lisa Wellman, I am working to ensure the digital divide becomes a relic of the past, so everyone has access to our 21st-century economy. What are some of the policies you have employed to ensure gender diversity? We created a Women's Commission in Washington State to focus on women's issues surrounding inclusivity, equity and diversity. We recently passed a law to incentivize corporations to employ more female leaders on their www.insightssuccess.com
boards. We continue to recognize the excellent eorts of Women in Cloud and the economic impact of technological innovations that create more jobs and access to role models. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? Following the birth of my daughter, I realized our healthcare insurance system was broken. My daughter was born extremely premature, weighed under two pounds, and spent ďŹ ve months in the hospital. Her treatment, including three surgeries, helped save her life. She was still medically fragile when I was ďŹ nally able to bring her home. And when we arrived, I found a letter from the insurance company telling me my tiny infant had nearly reached her lifetime cap of healthcare insurance.
lifetime caps and denials for pre-existing conditions. But millions are still uninsured and the law itself remains under assault today by those that believe healthcare is a privilege. I believe it is a right, and that everyone should have access to healthcare. Moreover, this pandemic has revealed the foolishness of tying healthcare to employment. We can cover everyone, make healthcare portable, and it doesn't have to break the bank. And I intend to keep working on that until it's a reality.
That is when I knew our healthcare system was irredeemably broken and my quest for a better plan started. Obamacare was a step in the right direction - it ended www.insightssuccess.com
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Sherlaender "Lani" Phillips Driving Digital Transformation 64 | October 2020
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The 10 Most Influential Women in Cloud in 2020
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s a Vice President of Microsoft's US One Commercial Channel Sales Organization, Lani Phillips is driving digital transformation across its customers in Commercial, Mid-Market and Regulated Industries in the United States with its partner ecosystem. As an inquisitive child, Lani Phillips was always fascinated with technology, so it was no surprise that she started her career as a systems engineer. Although it was an eventful career, it left her unfulfilled. She realized that she loved technology, but also had a passion for solving customer business problems, and she needed to be able to do both. So, she made the transition to a product specialist and an enterprise account manager, which allowed her to leverage her strengths in building relationships, understanding client business needs, and equipping clients with the technology to bridge gaps in their organization. This shift shaped her career and taught her a lesson that she needs to operate from an area of pursuing her passion and leveraging her strengths. Lani began to confidently declare her interest to take on more leadership roles, and she found that the company was willing to invest in her. Her second career led her to become a Microsoft Executive supporting a number of large businesses. In an interview with Insights Success, Lani shares some valuable insights on how she has been intentional around investing in herself, understanding her company's customers' business and their industries, while also keeping an eye towards the digital disruption and transformation that lies ahead.
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Below are the highlights of the interview: How do you strategize your game plans to tackle the competition in the market? My perception of competition has evolved over time. Identifying your competitors, determining their strengths and weaknesses is essential. Obsessing excessively over the competition, however, leads to loss of opportunity. Look inward instead. The key to tackling competition is to identify your unique value proposition and recognize there is always one key differentiator between you and your list of competitors. That will determine your relationship and connection with the customer. Furthermore, be an innovator and disrupt the space. Plug into the market, invest in research and development and anticipate the trends. This is my go-to approach to finding our unique value proposition that serves our customers. What are the vital traits that every businesswoman should possess? Over the years, I have realized as a businesswoman you need to develop some traits to continue working with precision. 1. Perseverance. Being persistent allows you to push through difficulties until success is realized. If you lack perseverance, you might stop short of making that final mile to reach your goal. 2. Strength and Confidence. Confidence is an essential tool to be able to face the challenges you may encounter. Strength equips you to deal with the adversity. As a woman, you have to fight for what you believe in and have the strength, confidence and ability to face all the things coming your way. October 2020 | 65
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Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. - Albert Einstein
3. Success and Failures. Studying failure allows one to course-correct to push ahead. But, studying successes helps you identify the winning formula, which can be replicated. 4. Growth Mindset and Inclusivity. An environment where people feel seen, valued, and heard, and have a sense of belonging is the success model. When people are allowed to operate from their strengths and approach situations with a growth mindset, there is no goal unattainable. 5. Personal Well Being. We are only human. Finding the balance and taking care of your mental, physical and spiritual health is essential to being more balanced. Personally, this is always my struggle, but prioritizing selfcare is the only way you can show up as your best self. As per your opinion, what roadblocks or challenges were faced by you in a corporate business? And how did you overcome them? In hindsight, all my struggles shaped the leader I am today. However, it is important for me to look in the mirror and own that I struggled with my confidence. As one of the very few women of color, I was constantly seeking people I could emulate while being surrounded by white men in IT. This led me to a period where I tried to model their strategies, desiring the same outcome, but was not reaching the same goals. My lightbulb moment came when I was in a customer situation that was quickly spiraling out of control 66 | October 2020
and I had to rely on my strengths to get us through this difficult time. My boss told me that I was unique and had something others did not, and that was the ability to have deep empathy for the customer and drive towards solutions across various organizations. At that moment I realized being different was okay. It changed my approach going forward. Perception is another wall I had to breakthrough. When I walk into a room, automatically perceptions are formed because I am a woman of color in technology. Without uttering a word, I have been labeled and judged, which consequently impacted my confidence. I would pull back versus asserting more. Over time I learned to not focus so much on people's perception and just let my actions speak louder than my words. I can't change how people feel. Career stagnation can also become a barrier for any leader, regardless of gender. When you stay in a role or group for a substantial amount of time, people start to develop a blueprint of who you are and what you're capable of and automatically put you in a box. The longer you stay, the more it will stagnate you because they can only see you in a certain type of role. I dealt with this by always challenging myself to sign up for additional challenges, taking on stretch projects, and expanding my network with an intention to add value in unique ways. What are your insights on “The myth of meritocracy”? And how it could bring a change in today's business arena? There is no substitute for hard work. Meritocracy suggests working hard ensures success. But the reality is quite different. In fact, sometimes you have to claim your success. I have learned that as women in leadership, it is important for us to represent our successes and share our accomplishments. Don't expect that everyone has visibility into everything you are working hard towards. Muhammad Ali famously said, “It is not bragging if you back it up.” Therefore, you need to market yourself as a leader with achievements, while acknowledging the team that led you to success. How do you cope with capricious IT and other technological trends to boost your personal growth? Technology knows no end. You cannot stop being a learner in this world, period. This dynamic industry allows me to develop business skills and technical skills. Technological developments are taking place at an unprecedented rate. There is no business conversation www.insightssuccess.com
without understanding the technology and its specifics. What is the solution? What is the value to the customer and their business? How does this help them on their Digital Transformation journey? As technology leaders, we must stay informed. Additionally, irrespective of your position in the hierarchy, there are professional business skills you must invest in to remain progressive. The modern leader will need a balance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Embrace both sides, and practice this throughout your career. I also have adopted a growth mindset because, with the acceleration of digital transformation, we must invest in both business and technical skills to stay agile and competitive. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future? “Goals on paper” limit mindset. Lately, checking boxes has not been on my agenda since it drove me to the next item on the list rather than letting me experience the growth I was undergoing. While my goals are defined, I am determined to enjoy the journey with room for experimentation and experiences. I am persistent in continuing my leadership journey in Corporate America to not only deliver exceptional business results but to make a difference with our most important asset -- our people. I am largely focused on giving back to the next generation of leaders in the pipeline. I am using mentoring/coaching, blogging, social platforms, and two passion projects: (1) Launch a podcast to share leadership wisdom to help educate, inspire and transform leaders and (2) My first leadership book.
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