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Diva Tech Talk Podcast

Easy to consume Interviews with women in technology to share insights into leadership, innovation and breaking down the big issues women face in a tech-savvy world. We interview women leaders all around the world from CIOs and Founders, to creators and nonprofit executives, covering generations of innovation. Everyone with whom we've crossed paths has a story of success. Don’t get tangled along the way in your journey; listen in and learn from dynamic divas who share everything from balancing life duties, to negotiating, forging their way in their fast-changing industry, to (most of all) finding themselves. Follow along with us here at www.divatechtalk.com. Divas (Co-Founders/Hosts): Nicole Johnson Scheffler (@tech_nicole), Kathleen Norton-Schock (@katensch), and Amanda Lewan (@Amanda_Jenn)
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Now displaying: December, 2019
Dec 30, 2019

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Linda Rose, merger and acquisitions advisor at RoseBiz Inc., and author of GET ACQUIRED FOR MILLIONS ---  offering wisdom and a practical roadmap to business owners interested in divestiture.  Linda has owned four companies and has served hundreds of others. 

In 7th grade, Linda knew she wanted to become a CPA, after visiting with family friends in that field, who had an idyllic lifestyle. Fortunately, her PSAT’s pinpointed strong math proficiency. She graduated with a bachelors and a master’s in accountancy from San Diego State University and spent four years at Arthur Andersen “working on very esoteric tax applications and issues.”  Since her future husband was in the running for a partnership, and there were strict firm policies on fraternization, “I left and went to work for a customer of the firm.”  Then, many life circumstances converged simultaneously. Linda got pregnant; laid off; and became a Southern California homeowner, an expensive proposition. “I found myself implementing an accounting package for a company that needed assistance. That’s what got me into tech!”  Once in the technology field, “I never looked back. I didn’t aspire to have my own business, but I did like what I was doing.” She recruited others as independent contractors, and after several years incorporated. “I really liked the work, and the flexibility it gave me as a mom. And I hired a lot of other moms.”  Then, Linda got “the growth bug,” and began hiring other experts. Her clients spurred her to diversify into staffing, and data center hosting. “For ten years, I had three companies at three separate locations. That forced me to hire very capable people, to delegate, to not have the businesses centered around me.” Linda’s epiphany was “I loved the flexibility and the control that having my own company afforded me.”  Beginning in her 40’s, Linda took five years to self-reflect, analyze markets/trends, make hard decisions, and architect a plan. She sold her staffing company;  then the others, including her final 2017 divestiture of RoseASP, a Microsoft channel partner and MS dynamics hosting company, “which I sold for millions.”

“I was at a crossroads.”  Inspired by the self-discovery odyssey in WILD, Linda trekked 40 miles around Mount Hood and then took a 6-week 500 mile hike of the Pacific Crest trail. She concluded “I had this knowledge of selling three companies and buying another company. And I wanted to put that knowledge into the book.” Linda took 18 months to write her book, aimed toward an underserved niche:  smaller companies, in technology channels, “written from the owner’s viewpoint. It’s a book that prepares you for the process” of selling your business. 

Linda shared some wisdom for women in leadership roles.  Her advice included:

  1. Take control of your finances early. 
  2. “Find a mentor or mentors you can depend on, who really care about you.”  
  3. Build your “home team.”  This is whomever you can rely on to help with all aspects of life:  nannies, transporters, personal chefs, errand-doers and more.  
  4. Create your personal brand.

Linda’s own “brand” is centered on “always about being fair, ethical, and servicing my customer --- doing what’s right for the customer and doing what’s right for the employee.  It’s important to decide what you stand for.” One of her recent insights is that “each of us has our own ‘glass ceiling’ “and most of the time, it is lower in our minds than it should be, when viewed objectively. “So, it is important we break through our own limiting beliefs first” before tackling big challenges. During her 500-mile trek, Linda said: “I raised my own personal glass ceiling.” She faced bears, rocky trails, boulders, and other frightening challenges. She overcame them, and found a renewed, exhilarating empowerment, and new paths, including her specialty of consulting on mergers and acquisitions.

Make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. And please listen to us on SoundCloud, Stitcher, or your favorite podcasting channel and provide an online review.

Dec 13, 2019

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Jeanine Heck, Vice President, AI at Comcast, the world’s second largest broadcasting and cable television company; the U.S. largest pay television, cable TV and home internet service provider; and third largest home telephone supplier in the U.S. 

As a child, Jeanine sometimes felt like “the lone soldier” as a female “mathlete,” consistently drawn to numbers, and science. “I loved things that had to do with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Engineering popped up” as she chose a college major. “I loved programming.”  As an undergraduate, she felt fortunate to graduate with her BSE from the University of Pennsylvania, which also housed  Wharton. “I got a really good, well-rounded perspective on both tech and business.”

Post-graduation Jeanine spent six years at Gemini Systems (now EssexTec), serving the New York Stock Exchange, first as a programmer.  Then “my main responsibilities, over time, shifted. I raised my hand pretty often to become one of the people who decided what we were building: a business analyst role.” One watershed project was a Java-based visual tool/system that helped monitor and regulate the behavior of individual NYSE traders. “I liked all the technical challenges.  But I didn’t have a passion for the financial markets,” Jeanine admitted. With a “career switcher mindset,” Jeanine entered Columbia University to get her MBA, and “discovered that I missed technology.”  She landed two internships, first at Google in advertising sales and then at NBC, where she worked on an online Web video player. “In both jobs, I was not on the software team, but craving to be.”  The good news was “I found an industry that I loved: the digital media industry.”

Jeanine honed in on getting a role at Comcast. “It was more of a humble culture, which stood out in the media industry” and a great opportunity for her to return to Philadelphia.  Her first role was as a product manager for TV Planner, “the first time we brought together all content in one place.” With 1.5 million unique users, “when you have that kind of scale, you see amazing trends, patterns and data insights.”  Jeanine became impassioned about data discovery and “I have built a career, on that, since then. “ One of the key products that Jeanine managed is Comcast’s Voice Remote,  “the most loved” of Comcast products “synonymous with our brand.”

Shifting into team leadership, directing 70 employees, has been “a little bit bittersweet for me,” Jeanine admitted.  But she has enjoyed mentoring team members, sharing her experience, leading and learning from “the brilliant people” on her teams. Jeanine’s immediate Comcast goals include “developing products that people become attached to” like the successful Voice Remote. She is on a quest to find “the next big product that will take us to the next level of love from our customers.” She has tasked her team to discover “brilliant products” to bring to market. The biggest impact that Jeanine sees in AI developments has been in productivity, and quality. “It (AI) helps you do things more efficiently.”

Jeanine’s success-oriented qualities are optimism, collaborative inclination and urgency married to agility: “One of my philosophies is ‘no day but today.’  If we have an idea, I am constantly thinking about how we get that out to customers, sooner.” Jeanine has spent introspection on the essential role of women in business. Personally, she has inculcated wisdom from Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, and concentrated on being taken seriously as an executive. She has also stayed open to feedback in her evolution, going so far as to assess her vocal presence and presentation skills to achieve “gravitas” as a leader. Jeanine has also become a devotee of Brene Brown. “I think she has the right idea.  She talks about being a wholehearted person: being comfortable, taking risks and being vulnerable.” To achieve family balance, she works on putting down her phone, and assiduously listening to her 4 kids.

In her community life, Jeanine works with two different high schools to encourage young people to consider technology as part of their life paths: her alma mater, St. Hubert’s in Philadelphia and  Lower Merion High School.  “The fulfilling part for me is that you show them:  you can do this, too, and it opens their minds to the possibilities.” 

Jeanine’s pragmatic advice to women aspiring to lead is three-fold.  

  • Have a plan. “Ensure that you are ‘in the driver’s seat.’ Think about what you would like and a path to get there.”
  • Don’t be shy about stating what you want/need. “Speak up for the things you want, and someone will help you find it.” 
  • Cultivate personal resilience. “There’s always a way out of a negative situation. “

Make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. And please listen to us on SoundCloud, Stitcher, or your favorite podcasting channel and provide an online review.

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