IT Wondrous Women™ recaps CQ2’s 29 innovative and cutting-edge leaders...

Written By Vance Klein

July 14, 2021 • 2 Minute Read

Twenty nine women* participated in our IT Wondrous Women™ blog series in CQ2:21. These are truly awesome women who are leaders, mentors, and role models.

These global leaders are located in Australia, England, Germany, Scotland, Singapore, and the United States.

Each of these women answered the same set of questions. Some of our favorite excerpts and soundbytes are presented below. Enjoy!

(* The twenty nine participants in CQ2:21 are listed below with links to their blog post.)


As CQ2 closed, we are taking a look back at the powerhouse, innovative, and cutting-edge leaders featured in our IT Wondrous Women™ blog series. Below are some of the highlights that fuel these women.

IT Wondrous Women Q&A Recap

1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?

This is an amazing and interesting group of powerhouse women!  Some of the things their business colleagues don’t know about them include:

Ghostwriter of people’s online dating profiles; Formula 1 car racing fan; skilled upholsterer; Soprano singer in Barcelona in her 20s; studies improv and performed to live audiences; attended 13 different schools before graduating from high school.

2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you fly annually?

Most of these women are road warriors.  The average annual flight miles is 83k miles annually.  The highest was 200k+; the lowest 12k.

3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten, and what city/location did you eat it?

The exotic and adventurous foods eaten by these Wonderous Women shows their enjoyment for local delicacies…  The most unusual foods they tasted includes blended/juiced frog (Peru), snake gallbladder (China), Durian fruit (Asia), marinated thousand-year-old egg (Hong Kong), Caterpillars (Shanghai), Crocodile (Kenya), Chili peppers on rice (Bhutan), and Piranha (Guyana).

4. What are the top two experiences, achievements, or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?

Several of our favorite experiences, achievements, or failures shared includes:

“…I was asked to participate in a task force at Hewlett-Packard that was focused on understanding the cost to serve of various channel types, including direct sales. This became the foundation for how I later approached the economics of developing a partner ecosystem…” (Julie Parrish)

“Leading a news team during September 11th. We were headquartered in NY and had 1.5 days to create our weekly issue amid the shock and loss. Despite the situation, everyone rose to the occasion and produced their best work.” (Kelley Damore)

“There are no failures and only lessons... The opportunities I didn’t grab and missed are the ones I sometimes ponder about.” (Marlen von Roth)

5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?

Nearly every woman had one or more formal and informal mentors. Here’s what a few said about them:

“My mentor… taught me to pick my battles and make sure that if I was going to go to the “mat” over some issue, it was over the right issue that was most important.” (Anne McClelland)

“Be a champion of someone and, whenever possible, highlight their achievements and help make room at the table for them.” (Bonnie-Jo Salazar)

“My mentor used to always remind me do what you love, and the money will follow.” (Amy Wingate)

6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?

Every woman offered valuable career advice that they wish they knew as a young professional. Several notable pieces of advice include:

“Be deliberate and thoughtful about career path. Also extrapolate what you would be doing two roles later, not just the immediate job at hand.” (Pauline Tng)

“Everyone has a superpower... It might take time to learn what that superpower is but when you find it, use it, and it will have a major impact on your career and life.” (Michelle Chiantera)

“Always have a growth mindset and look for moments that can teach you something new every day.” (Marion Ryan)

7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?

The power of these leaders includes a strong commitment to making time and being a resource for budding professionals. Here’s how a few of them set the standard:

“I take as many speaking engagements with people exiting college or early in their careers as possible. My story is one of finding my way as opposed to an “up and to the right” trajectory.” (Gillian Munson)

“By being present when engaging in conversations and by being a good listener… I enjoy cultivating meaningful relationships with early in career talent that originates with a shared desire to be the best possible version of ourselves, both personally and professionally.” (Debbie Anders)

“Making time for people, helping them see the right way forward that they are comfortable with. I am always honest in my feedback, I listen and I never judge them.” (Deborah Bale)

8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?

Each woman shared notable projects over the past year. Here’s a glimpse of what a few of them have been up to:

“Making the pivot to an entirely virtual workplace overnight. We reimagined how we did business. Launched a new operating model, strategy and brand, entirely virtually.” (Ginny Cartwright Ziegler)

“Working with the federal government’s national counterterrorism group.” (Melina Anthony)

“I’m a volunteer on the distribution committee building the process of intake, prioritization, and evaluation of requests and distributing financial assistance to individuals and organizations that can do more good.” (Christine Linthacum)

“…the Fit Home project we worked on… provides smart housing to enable independent living… we have funded work to build algorithms to identify patterns in behaviour that, for example, would lead to an increased risk of falling.” (Gillian Docherty)

9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?

Every leader knows skills development is a never-ending road…  Some of the skills they are developing for the digital economy include:

“… I had to refine my public speaking skills to suit remote work…” (Tina Gravel)

“… we do not aspire and train to become a successful leader and wake up one day with the mission accomplished… I work hard to listen, read, self-learn, and above all be available to those who matter when it matters.” (Sabine Howest)

“Coaching Skills: Ask the right questions to let the coachee work out the solution himself. I am so often much less of an expert than my staff that I don't think it's right to prescribe the solution.” (Simone Heitmann)

“I have been learning Lean Six Sigma, which covers listening to and understanding staff and customer needs for rapid development and continuous improvement...” (Ayesha Liaqat)

“All of my team are virtual… I have never met face to face, and the risk is that your interactions can become rather transactional. It takes time… to build entirely virtual relationships from scratch and break through into something deeper.” (Rebecca Bell)

10. What is your greatest business challenge today?

Our Wonderous Women wrapped up their blog responses with their greatest business challenges today. A few favorites include:

“Equality and diversity issues in the workplace. I worry about the impact on our young people and any reversal of progress made on gender, ethnicity, or the participation of any minority in the workforce.” (Maggie Morrison)

“Live a more purposeful life, and how I give back in a meaningful way to the company and the people who got me here!” (Lisa Mackenzie)

“Building trust and strengthening relationships with new customers in the current remote environment.” (Mercy Manning)

“Work is a thing you do and not a place you go. So, with everything being at home, it is harder to find that separation between work and personal.” (Kerri Lampard)

CQ2:21 IT Wondrous Women Participants

About IT Wondrous Women blog series.

The IT Wondrous Women blog series showcases top and emerging technology industry leaders from around the world, all of whom are women! Some of these women are well known in the IT industry while others have “roots” in the technology market with roles in corporate customers or non-profit organizations. Each has the same thing in common: they are driving game-changing success.

Each of these women are expanding the future of the IT industry and opportunities for women through their prowess, intelligence, and impact. They are also inspiring those who will stand on their shoulders.

All participants in this blog series answer the same set of questions, which provides a glimpse into their careers and backgrounds and, more importantly, what makes them such wondrous and inspirational leaders!

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