Blog

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe fusion-dynamic-selection-upload=”” image_id=”2778|full” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Lisa Kearney” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://womentalktech.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Lisa-500.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” alignment=”center” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ /][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

On this week’s episode of Women Talk Tech, we speak to Lisa Kearney who is the President and CEO of the Women Cyber Security Society. The Women CyberSecurity Society is a registered non-profit society based in Vancouver, BC and their mission is to advance and increase the representation of women in the industry and fill the skills gap that’s existing within the workforce. There is an incredibly low percentage of women in CyberSecurity in Canada which sits around 10%. The Women CyberSecurity Society offers mentorship with a focus on women and minorities to help them advance a career in cybersecurity career.

To learn more about the Women CyberSecurity Society, click here.

When Lisa finished high school, she wanted to become an interior designer and pursued a certificate in interior design. Unfortunately, the pay in this industry was not great and Lisa wound up working three jobs to make ends meet including working as a janitor at a school board office. One night when she was working, she encountered a gentlemen who was impressed by her attention to detail. He suggested she enroll in a new program called network security and engineering. It was a growing field with a lot of demand. Lisa got accepted and earned a Computer Science degree. She was able to leave her three jobs behind and entered the tech industry full time.

Throughout the podcast, Lisa takes a deep dive into one of Women Talk Tech’s main tenets for success – Mentorship. Lisa has been mentoring women in cybersecurity for over a decade and speaks about the mentoring program she has executed in her own organization. Her mentoring program is a nine-month cohort that begins in March and ends in December. The program accepts 50 mentors and mentees that are matched based on a number of factors including domains of interest, age, region, experience levels and mentoring style. We encourage you to read more about this incredible program here. We salute and thank Lisa Kearney and The Women CyberSecurity Society for their hard work and efforts to help women advance in tech, specifically in the growing and demanding field of cybersecurity.

If you are interested in Mentorship in your organization, Women Talk Tech has launched a 2020 Action Plan Report that helps you develop a program to advance women.

Available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music.

ABOUT LISA KEARNEY

Lisa has been serving the cybersecurity community for over two decades securing networks, systems and data for hundreds of companies around the globe. In 2009, she started her own cybersecurity consulting practice which provides technical and business expertise to Canada’s largest security providers while working with governments, academia and fortune 500 companies. Lisa has a degree in computer science, numerous certifications and is active within the cybersecurity community. She keeps up to date on the latest trends and attack vectors currently used to compromise organizations and breach data and uses that information for threat hunting exercises. She continues to developed new products, services and processes to address the increasing threat levels of targeted attacks which affects Canada’s national and economic security.

Early in 2018, Lisa founded the Women CyberSecurity Society (WCS2) which is dedicated to providing services and support for women and minorities interested in a cybersecurity career. Their mission is to #recruit, #retrain, and #retain women within the cybersecurity workforce. The R3TM program is a collaboration of industry players who recognize the need to build capacity for the next generation of cyber warriors and close the gender gap for increased diversity and inclusion. WCSS offers mentoring, coaching, scholarships, career development, and more to address the growing demands and provide much needed support to this underrepresented group. WCSS is growing its network of partners and collaborators which include government, technology providers and educators.

To further the mission of WCS2, Lisa founded a global campaign, International Women in Cyber Day (IWCD) with two primary goals; bring awareness to the unique challenges women face in this industry and celebrate the achievements of women in cybersecurity. Our efforts to have Canada and the United Nations recognize September 1st as IWCD is well underway.

Help Create Change

Change is only possible when likeminded individuals and organizations work together to achieve common goals for the greater good of this industry and society. You can show your support by signing our petition, sponsorship or becoming an IWCD Ambassador. http://chng.it/ZWMmnVtG

You can follow Women CyberSecurity Society on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe fusion-dynamic-selection-upload=”” image_id=”2781|full” max_width=”” style_type=”dropshadow” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Fawn Annan” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://womentalktech.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fawn-500.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” alignment=”center” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ /][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

On this week’s episode of Women Talk Tech, we speak to Fawn Annan who is the President and CEO of IT World Canada / IDG Canada. She is also a partner and CMO for a digital content agency called Amazing! Agency, which is ITWC’s creative arm. Fawn speaks about her role at IT World Canada and some of the things IT World Canada has been covering in the tech sector.

Fawn was always passionate about creativity and going into the arts. Fawn initially graduated from university with a double major in communications and business and a minor in political science. One thing led to another and Fawn, like so many guests on the show, slipped into the tech sector. She recognized the crucial role of IT leaders in organizations. Fawn discusses the big movement for VP’s of IT, the journey of the role “CIO”, and challenges CIO’s face in a boardroom. Fawn addresses the struggle organizations have faced due to technology transformation.

Fawn is the Co-Chair of the Sara Kirke Declaration with CATA (Canadian Advanced Technology Association) for gender parity. Fawn emphasizes that we must change the way female entrepreneurs are financed today. The general idea is to get male and female executives signing on to the declaration that can be presented to the government bodies at hand to state that it is not good enough to just continue with the type of rules that are in place for hiring and funding. You can read the full details here and here.

Be sure to tune in and in case you missed it, Women Talk Tech has launched a 2020 Action Plan Report. Download this report to help develop a program in your organization to advance women.

Available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music.

ABOUT FAWN ANNAN

Fawn Annan is the President and CEO of IT World Canada/IDG Canada. She is also a partner and CMO for a digital content agency called Amazing! Agency, which is ITWC’s creative arm. She joined ITWC in 1995 as General Manager, Executive Programs, launching the publishing enterprise into C-level events and research projects. In 2008 she was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer, helping IT World navigate the turmoil that was descending upon the print industry.

Fawn is Founder and Chair of the Canadian Channel Chiefs Council, sits on the Ontario Board of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), Vice-Chair on the national board of Canadian Women in Communications and Technology (WCT), Co-Chair of the Sara Kirke Declaration with CATA for gender parity, as well as part of the Advisory Council for CATA (Canadian Advanced Technology Association).

Fawn has operated her own business and held senior positions in marketing and strategy with a variety of firms. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award for her contribution to the IT industry. In 2017 she was awarded the MISA/ASIM Dennis Steen Award and the RBC/CATA Sara Kirke Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, recognizing her contributions to the industry.

She received her education in Canada, attending York University, studying Communications and Business. She also studied at Boston’s famous Babson College, which houses the IDG Publishing Institute. Fawn is a firm believer in lifelong education, completing her MBA in 2017 on Media Leadership at Cumbria University in Northern England. You can connect with Fawn on LinkedIn.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe fusion-dynamic-selection-upload=”” image_id=”2784|full” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Nasheen Liu” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://womentalktech.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Nasheen-500.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” alignment=”center” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ /][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

“You really have to go after what you want. We all have fear and we all have concerns about what if something doesn’t work out and what if somebody says no. But if you don’t go after it and you don’t ask, you never get that yes.”

On this week’s episode of Women Talk Tech, we speak to Nasheen Liu, Founding Partner and SVP, CIO Program Strategy with The IT Media Group. Nasheen drives a mandate that underscores the profound impact of technology on business. She enjoys working extensively with the Canadian CIO community and plays a part in enhancing their collaboration across industries.

Do you want to know an incredible fact about Nasheen? Nasheen has lived in three continents, speaks three languages and according to her, has nine lives.

During the podcast, Nasheen covers three important topics:

1. Overcoming adversity

Nasheen speaks about her big move from China to Germany to Canada and having to learn two new languages and start up her career during the recession in the 90s.

2. Choosing a career path

Nasheen was always interested in a wide spectrum of subjects and this ranged from a journalism to medicine. She speaks about how she managed to break into tech without a technology background.

3. The switch from corporate culture to entrepreneurship

Nasheen speaks about what made her decide to take the plunge nine years ago and why she is so passionate about the mandate she’s driving at the IT Media Group. Nasheen also provides insights, lessons and advice for running a company.

The three key takeaways we want listeners to take away from this podcast:

• Our own narratives define our future

• Say yes to opportunities and work until you make it

• Always be kind to people and pay it forward

In case you missed it, Women Talk Tech just launched a 2020 Action Plan Report. Download this report to help develop a program in your organization to advance women.

Available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music.

ABOUT NASHEEN LIU

Prior to co-founding the IT Media Group in 2011, Nasheen had a successful career in the technology industry having held key marketing positions at several Fortune 500 companies. Nasheen’s strong reputation in the technology community is built upon her proven track record as a leader who practices what she preaches. She has two decades of success in strategy development, software marketing, and executive engagement. As a founding partner and SVP, CIO Program Strategy of the IT Media Group, Nasheen oversees the planning and implementation of the company’s strategic initiatives that impact the Canadian IT executive community. She chairs a cross-industry CIO Advisory Board that provides guidance on compelling issues and topics for CIOs and the IT vendors that serve them.

Prior to the IT Media Group, Nasheen was with Oracle (Sun Microsystems), heading up the company’s software marketing efforts in Canada. Previously, she held key marketing positions at leading technology companies such as Infor (Workbrain) and IBM (Platform Computing). Nasheen now lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter. She gives back by providing pro bono coaching, mentoring and sponsorship to her network and referrals, from new graduates to senior executives. You can follow Nasheen on LinkedIn and Twitter.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe fusion-dynamic-selection-upload=”” image_id=”2792|full” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Victoria Pelletier” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://womentalktech.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Victoria-500.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” alignment=”center” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ /][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

On this weeks episode of Women Talk Tech, we speak to Victoria Pelletier, Vice President, North American Talent & Transformation Leader at IBM. Victoria is also a board member at several organizations, an active mentor, and a champion for diversity in tech.

Victoria’s initial goal was to be a corporate lawyer but discovered how much she loved the corporate world when she was working in business. She decided to continue down the corporate leadership path. Throughout the podcast, Victoria speaks about the advantages of hiring women in tech, her journey as a board member and important success lessons she has learned as a leader in tech and business. Victoria also speaks about why it is so important to have a strong personal brand and network and she speaks about one of Women Talk Techs 4 pillars – Mentorship and Sponsorship.

One of the main reasons Victoria started working at IBM was because of all their work around diversity and advancing women in tech. In Canada, IBM has structured diversity programs in place at different career stages including entry-level and mid-level. Victoria is proud to say that in Canada, over 50% of entry level associates within the IBM Services business, which she was part of are women – so kudos to IBM and the talent acquisition team. At the mid-level, IBM has taken a very active role in identifying women that sit in that mid-level job band and pair them up with mentors from their executive leadership team across the country. IBM has done an excellent job creating coaching, mentorship and sponsorship programs within the organization.

Diversity is not a big company problem, it’s a small company problem as well and we asked Victoria to give some advice to small and medium sized companies. The three pieces of advice Victoria mentions are:

1. It may seem like a daunting process to create a diversity program yourself but there are so many resources out there to help you!

2. It might be hard to find proper mentors within your small or medium company that have the skill needed and time but you can always pair mentees with mentors from the broader eco-system!

3. This is a retention technique small and medium businesses need to invest in and there is great sponsorship opportunities in the broader eco-system as well.

Don’t forget to download our 2020 Action Report to learn about steps you can take to create action in your tech company.

Available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music.

ABOUT VICTORIA PELLETIER

Victoria is a corporate executive with IBM and she is also a board member of several organizations, including two technology companies. Victoria appears regularly on television and on stage as a public speaker. She is heavily engaged in volunteer and mentoring activities and is a huge advocate for diversity and inclusion, having just been awarded the HSBC Diversity & Inclusion Innovation leader as presented by the Digital Finance Institute. She is passionate about her family, health and fitness and great wine. You can follow Victoria on LinkedIn.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe image_id=”2938|full” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Claude Reeves” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://womentalktech.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Claude-New.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” alignment=”center” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ /][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

This is the second episode of Women Talk Tech where a male champion has stepped up to promote the cause of advancing women in tech and we are excited to have Claude Reeves on the show. Claude is the Country Manager for Red Hat and a champion for diversity and inclusion. Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of open source enterprise IT software solutions and services. In Canada, Red Hat has increased their representation of women from 5% to 30%. They are making real progress and we applaud Red Hat for their work.

Diversity and inclusion is a important part of Red Hat. Claude dives into the details of their diversity and inclusion program which includes ensuring that senior leaders have a plan around diversity and they must ensure pay equity. Because women tend to make less than male counterparts, Red Hat makes sure to not ask how much someone presently makes so they can focus on the value of the role without any bias. There are also programs inside of Red Hat that are making people aware of when they are showing unconscious bias.

Claude has been a passionate advocate of gender diversity and he has hosted a number of women and leadership events for female IT executives. A topic Claude loves discussing is “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable”. Claude speaks about how important it is to speak up and have that awkward conversation when there’s a diversity gap and figure out how to fix it.

“You have to look at the situation and look at the community you’re in whether it’s work or a different community and say, “Does this reflect the world around me? Is this reflecting my values? Am I part of a diverse group of people that have a diverse backgrounds and genders?”. You need to really step into that.”

Claude and Marie speak in depth about pay equity and we encourage you to look at Red Hat for best practices and also download our 2020 Action Report to learn about steps you can take to create action in your tech company.

Available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music.

ABOUT CLAUDE REEVES

Claude Reeves is Canadian Country Manager for Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open source enterprise IT software solutions and services. Together with his direct and extended teams, he is guiding Fortune 500 leaders as they navigate the new hybrid cloud-first world of open source applications and technology powering digital transformation. He believes bringing value to every conversation and creating win/win relationships are foundational to having great customer relationships and sustainable growth. Claude joined Red Hat Canada ten years ago as client executive with a deep understanding of the enterprise software sales cycles and strategies. He began his career in Boston as a consultant and developer focused on enabling applications in the early days of the web. Before joining Red Hat, he worked for HP, CA Technologies, The Citro Group, Datawatch Corporation, along with many Fortune 500 companies and most of Canada’s largest enterprises and government organizations. A passionate advocate of gender diversity, he hosts an annual Women and Leadership event for female IT executives and partners with clients on regular workshops to examine issues critical to closing the gender gap. He holds a degree in history and geography from Concordia University in Montreal. Born and raised in Toronto, Claude now lives in Montreal with his family. You can follow Claude on LinkedIn.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

On this episode of the Common Sense Marketer, we talk with Jenna Knoblauch who is the Vice President of Marketing at Dynamic Communities. Dynamic Communities creates technology-centric communities to exchange ideas on how to best maximize industry knowledge through education, enriched networking, and conferences. Jenna leads the team responsible for the strategy and execution of value-added membership programs for the Microsoft Business Applications Platform community.

(Read More…)

On this episode of the Common Sense Marketer, we talk with Jenna Knoblauch who is the Vice President of Marketing at Dynamic Communities. Dynamic Communities creates technology-centric communities to exchange ideas on how to best maximize industry knowledge through education, enriched networking, and conferences. Jenna leads the team responsible for the strategy and execution of value-added membership programs for the Microsoft Business Applications Platform community.

In this podcast we address:

1. The importance of requirements
2. Building the right implementation team
3. Checkpoints for success

We asked Jenna why she thinks a marketing automation tool is such an important part of a modern marketing program and we asked her what’s changed that makes this a necessity.

“The importance of marketing automation is to get to know your customers well enough that you can deliver a tailored personal experience but you don’t have to employ a staff of 1000 people to be able to deliver that. Automation allows you to store information about how people are using your site, how they’re using the pages, how they’re interacting with their content and store information on their role, their products, information that they’re evaluating and be able to deliver content in a way that is hyper focused and personalized to them without having someone sitting behind doing all the manual work.”

The key thing that has changed in marketing is the access of information that people now have. There is no need to go to a storefront and do the research with a sales person on evaluating a product or service. Customers can do this online and they don’t want to deal with irrelevant information. What they expect is a hyper targeted tailored approach to sales.

Marketing automation gives your sales team a competitive advantage. Ready to get started? Download our free guide.

ABOUT JENNA

Jenna Knoblauch is the Vice President of Marketing at Dynamic Communities. She leads the team responsible for growing Microsoft Business Applications user group communities globally and educating members about value-added training and educational opportunities relevant to success in their respective job roles and organizations.

Jenna has been working in the marketing industry for 13 years and has experience with B2B and B2C marketing strategy and execution. Data-driven marketing and continued evolvement of marketing technologies and channels continue to fuel her love of learning and drives her passion for marketing. In her spare time, Jenna enjoys spending time at the lake with her husband and two children, picking up a good book, traveling, and cooking. You can follow Jenna on LinkedIn and Twitter.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe fusion-dynamic-selection-upload=”” image_id=”2787|full” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Noureen Syed” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://womentalktech.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Noureen-500.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_separator style_type=”none” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” alignment=”center” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ /][fusion_text]

On this weeks episode of Women Talk Tech, we spoke to Noureen Syed who is the Director of Commercial Market Strategy for Microsoft Canada. When Noureen was in highschool, a few words of wisdom from a family member in computer engineering stuck with her and Noureen took her first computer science course in grade 11 and pursued Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo.

Throughout the podcast, Noureen speaks about her journey in tech and goes into depth about her role at Microsoft. Noureen also talks about why she believes girls and women in particular have stayed away from the tech sector. Noureen and Marie discuss the diversity and inclusion issues in tech today but highlight the support, programs, sponsors and positive action steps that are happening in the tech sector.

“…I feel innately girls have that problem-solving, creativity muscle and aptitude in them, and it’s a matter of them seeing that they can apply that in tech too but they feel like they can’t because all they think of tech is numbers, codes, 1s and 0s. It’s a binary view. If we can open up and inspire them and show them tech is also about creating and thinking outside of the box, it lines right back up to who they are…”

Women Talk Tech would like to applaud Microsoft for all the work they are doing in the tech sector in regards to diversity and inclusion. We also just launched a 2020 Action Plan that addresses what companies can be doing right now to attract more women to tech and keep them there. Check it out!

Available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music.

ABOUT NOUREEN SYED

Noureen Syed is the Director of Commercial Market Strategy for Microsoft Canada focused on ensuring the best value for customers and organizations across Microsoft’s platforms across Azure, the cloud for all, Modern Workplace and Business Applications. Previously, Noureen has been an Open Source Lead and spent over 10 years within Microsoft Enterprise Services in a variety of roles pursuing her passion of customer service ranging from working with customers as a Technical Account Manager, to program management of consulting and support services and sales of datacentre migration solutions. Noureen is a Computer Engineer with Management Sciences option graduate from the University of Waterloo. Outside of work Noureen is mom to a preschooler, traveler and loves staying active. You can follow Noureen on Twitter, and LinkedIn.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

We have a special episode today just in time for the holiday season.

On this episode of the Common Sense Marketer, we speak to Mrs. Claus from the North Pole about a few of the digital strategies she has been using to send holiday greetings. From traditional snail mail to email marketing, the transition for Mrs. Claus and her team of digital marketing elves, has been an important one for the North Pole to maintain engagement with good girls and boys.

(Read More…)

We have a special episode today just in time for the holiday season.

On this episode of the Common Sense Marketer, we speak to Mrs. Claus from the North Pole about a few of the digital strategies she has been using to send holiday greetings. From traditional snail mail to email marketing, the transition for Mrs. Claus and her team of digital marketing elves, has been an important one for the North Pole to maintain engagement with good girls and boys.

Listen in as Mrs. Claus explains her five strategies for executing email marketing best practices during the holiday season:

 

1. Make your list and check it twice with a list cleanse.

Tis the season for housekeeping. Most B2B companies lose 25% of their list each year to job changes and retirement, and before you send out your holiday card, it’s a good idea to check your list twice to ensure you have the best contact information for your key clients and prospects and improve your email deliver-ability.

2. Personalize for Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen.

Want to make your recipients feel truly special? Look for ways to personalize your holiday card beyond just the first name. Personalization can be achieved through variables pulled in from your CRM system that can help you create messages that speak to each person on your list as an individual. You can even look at incorporating variable images, like those offered by NiftyImages.

3. Santa Claus Is coming to your inbox, but only if you asked him.

The holiday season is a good time to check your email policies. Ideally, you should be asking for your clients and your prospects to sign up for your email communications throughout the course of the year. This makes it easier if you can demonstrate that the emails you’ll send them are worth their time and help not sell. When sending your holiday email, focus your send list to your opted in contacts, existing clients, and hottest prospects, not to all the people in your database.

4. Connect the email experience to your holiday gifts.

If you’re sending a gift in the good old fashioned mail (not using Santa), it’s a good idea to connect the theme of your holiday email with the holiday gift. This creates a seamless experience for your clients. Better yet, use a landing page from your marketing automation platform to customize a URL just for them to let each person on your list know how special they truly are.

5. What’s the reason for your season’s greetings?

The best performing emails are ones with a clear purpose: What’s your reason for the season’s greetings? Do you have an annual recap to share? Do you have a thank you discount for loyal clients? Have you made a donation to a nonprofit made possible in part by your clients’ support? Think about how many holiday emails you receive and how you can make yours a special experience for each person on your list?

 

Thank you Mrs. Claus for speaking with us!

---

ABOUT MRS. CLAUS

Mrs. Claus was played by Natalie Jackson and her real job is the Marketing Director at emfluence, a Digital Marketing Agency + Marketing Automation Platform. Natalie oversees lead generation, messaging, customer engagement, and brand awareness for both the emfluence Digital Marketing Agency and the emfluence Marketing Platform. You can connect with Natalie here on LinkedIn.

---