Tina Gravel ─ Simplifying Complex Technology while Rolling Down the Road at 90 MPH...
June 16, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Tina Gravel
Senior Vice President, Global Channels and Alliances
Appgate
Are you looking for a leader who knows how to build partnerships, robust revenue pipelines, and communicate complex solutions in terms that non-technical customers can embrace? We know the person—Tina Gravel!
Tina Gravel is currently SVP Global Channels and Alliances at Appgate (formerly Cyxtera Cybersecurity), a secure access company built on the principles of zero trust. Tina is a well-known cybersecurity influencer and has a knack for making topics that are highly technical easier for those not technically inclined to understand. She also has a passion for advancing women in technology.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Tina Gravel!
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?
That I attended Skip Barber Racing School and ended up driving about 90MPH in the rain before wiping out!
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
Too many air miles to count but I would guess over 100,000 between the main carriers at a minimum each year.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
I loved the food in Istanbul, Turkey. It was all recognizable to me but so much better than anything I had ever had anywhere else.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
One great one was getting to know the management team at Appgate 20 years ago and working with them at various firms over the years. Their trust and faith in me, time and time again, has been the fuel that has propelled me in many roles over the years.
One not so great experience was being alive during the pandemic. Losing friends, living in fear, and having my travel and life change so dramatically caused an existential crisis.
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?
Carolyn Boyle was a CIO at a large insurance company who I met in my twenties. She became my mentor and is still a friend after 30 years.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
Do not worry so much. You have got this, stand tall and get out of your own head. Be confident and bold.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I am a mentor for five younger women and a woman that has returned to work after a long time out of the workforce. I am on the advisory boards of Cloud Girls, Women in Alliances, and Informa’s DE&I Board. At Appgate, another senior executive and I started “Women of Appgate.”
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
I wrote a chapter for the book called, “Leading through the Pandemic.” Writing it was very cathartic for me after living in crisis for so many months. The proceeds all benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
To properly get my information across on Zoom, I had to refine my public speaking skills to suit remote work. Most importantly, I am still working on being the most emotionally aware leader I can be and applying emotional intelligence skills.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
I am challenged by the enormous amount of information that crosses my path every day. Through my own firm, social media, emails, texts, instant messaging, phone calls, etc., I am curious and would like to review everything that I see, but it is not humanly possible with the personal and professional goals I have.
