Sara Avery ─ Passionate leader using her breadth of experience to keep organizations secure and agile…
June 22, 2022 • 3 Minute Read
Sara Avery
Regional Sales Manager
Zscaler
Are you looking for a passionate leader who uses her breadth of experience to keep organizations secure and agile? We know the person – Sara Avery!
Sara Avery is the Regional Sales Manager for Zscaler. She is responsible for advising organizations on their technology modernization efforts and the elimination of technical debt and legacy platforms. She has leveraged her 20+ years of technical and business experience to achieve numerous business goals, including starting Zscaler’s State and Local Government practice in the Rocky Mountains. Sara’s tenured career has given her a strong understanding of the complex technology that it takes to keep an organization secure and agile, and she is a firm believer that emotion, passion, and compassion are valuable assets in business that should not be ignored.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Sara Avery!
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
I have more than a slight obsession with Freddie Mercury. I have seen Bohemian Rhapsody 15ish times. As an avid collector of Vinyl, I have more Queen vinyl than one should.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
It varied so much… I am a United Million+ Miler so A LOT.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
Rocky Mountain Oysters. When I was about 12, my family and I went to a Rodeo in Steamboat Colorado. My sister and I were hungry, so our dad looked around at the food stands, selected one and we followed. As he ordered he was chuckling, so we knew something was up. He received the order, we ate them, then he told us what they were. SO GROSS!
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
Achievements: Being a co- founder of two philanthropic organizations focused on empowering, educating, training and mentoring women who want to get into or are in IT/Cybersecurity field.
Failures: Presenting in front of a legislative joint tech committee for the first time. I walked into what felt like a courtroom, immediately heard the Law-and-Order theme song in my head, panicked and completely forgot what I was there to talk about.
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?
The mentor that stands out to me the most is Mike Reagan. From Mike, I learned the importance of leading with a noble heart. He always made the time for me and our conversations, and next thing I know, we were having the best hour-long conversations while delivering Meals on Wheels to the elderly. “Sara Marie, if you do the right things the rest will fall in place.”
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
Be you, authentically you, don’t let people change the best parts of you. Be the best version of you that you want the world to see….and don’t change for anyone. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard that I shouldn't expose my feelings at work, I would be rich.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I have passion for helping, guiding, and teaching both at Zscaler and through LIFT. I have also found that through mentoring, I learn so much myself.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
The Rebranding of Women in Security to LIFT, Empowered by Women in Security. With a group of fabulous women, including the next generation of leaders, LIFT was born. LIFT partnered with CSA (Cloud Security Alliance) so that there would never be a barrier for women to enter the organization.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I am spending every minute, second…with people in person. The connection you get with someone in person is hard to capture over Zoom.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
Well, I have this Work Wellness card deck sitting on my desk that has 60 tips to de-stress and recharge during the day. It has been opened once in four months.
