Tina Nolte ─ a technology geek with corporate strategy experience…
March 2, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Tina Nolte
VP Product & Marketing
Spectro Cloud
Are you looking for a technology leader with experience in cloud and data center product management and strategy consulting experience, plus a PhD in fault tolerant distributed computing? We know the person—Tina Nolte!
Tina is currently the Vice President of Product and Marketing for Spectro Cloud in the Silicon Valley. She juggles product management and marketing to get technology to market as simple products. She has over a dozen years of experience in strategy and product executive roles. She describes herself as a certified geek (who happens to have a Ph.D. from MIT!), wine collector, and hiker.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman—Tina Nolte!
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 LOVE books and have literally thousands in my library. A lot of sci-fi and fantasy.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
All over the map! I’ve gone years with multiple flights a week but other years where I’ve only traveled maybe once a quarter
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
A bowl of habanero veins at a Thai restaurant in upstate New York. There may have been a contest involved.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
I worked at a strategy consulting firm as a first job, and it taught me just how valuable an analytical approach was in finding solutions to problems. Subject-matter expertise matters so much less than a good approach to breaking down a problem. I also saw firsthand how much a high performing team values that.
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?
I've had several, but each of them told me to collect data and then trust my gut (and not the other way around). Our brains are amazing machines that can assimilate data and reach conclusions, but you should be careful to reach those conclusions after considering the data.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
On career it would be “there is no plan”. The really interesting opportunities are rarely something you could map beforehand.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I try to listen, and to connect people. People oftentimes figure out their own solutions if they have the opportunity to reflect out loud and answer questions you frame. I also love introducing people to somebody else they can learn from.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
The company launch for Spectro Cloud was fun because it is in a space I have knowledge in, but I was working on things where I have not had to be hands on before. I was fortunate to learn more than I have in years from some of the best people in high tech marketing.
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 and will continue to focus on improving the use of my ears. Customers, colleagues, family… you’re only really positioned to improve situations for others if you can hear and understand what their problems are.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
Focus! Life is full of noise and people that claim that they need all manner of things, many of which don't move the ball. You only have so much time, so you should guard it.
