Diva Tech Talk Podcast

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Microsoft (www.microsoft.com)'s Senior Director, Industry Product Marketing, Cloud & Enterprise, Kirsten Edmondson Wolfe. Passionate about politics, Kirsten graduated from the University of California, Davis in International Relations and Asian History, and then moved to D.C to work for an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) "whose job it was to help build democratic institutions in newly non-communist, countries." Kirsten's watershed moment was in 1997. She was "standing at the rooftop bar of the Hotel Aryaduta in Jakarta, Indonesia while the Suharto government fell." She "watched students use technologies to film what was going on in the streets. These students brought down a totalitarian government, using cell phones." She said to herself: "Wow, I need to get into technology because if I'm going to truly change the world, it's going to be through tech, not through politics."

Kirsten resigned her job; went back to Thunderbird International Business School, obtaining an MBA in business marketing; got a job, at the height of the "dot.com implosion" at a large Massachusetts-based consulting company, SETA; and subsequently joined Computer Associates, now CA Technologies (www.ca.com). Kirsten's initial role at CA was technology consulting focused on "how do we have the U.S. government invest in technology in developing countries so that we can bridge the gap." She recruited "a fantastic team" who took what CA was already selling to the U.S. government and "made it more impactful to their mission." In one year, Kirsten is proud that CA "went from not being in the Top 20 vendors in security for the U.S. government to #3, behind Symantec and IBM."

As a leader, Kirsten said "I learn every day." At CA, "the first thing I learned was that 'all boats rise together'. It is about collaboration. I succeed as a leader when my team succeeds." In 2009, she moved to Deltek (www.deltek.com). What attracted her was the newly-minted CEO "recruiting folks from other software companies to make Deltek more of a 'player' in ERP." But, Kirsten learned what she called "a really good life lesson: don't jump too quick." She said: "I realized, about a year in, that I needed to find a company that I could be happy at." So, Kirsten moved to Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/dynamics) and concentrated on business applications. Her Microsoft team works with engineering to "infuse industry requirements into the Microsoft platform. I can fundamentally change where we go, as a company. It's opened a whole new set of opportunities. This is the one company that if we can stitch all of our stuff together, we can do fantastic things in society."

Kirsten's advice to leaders:

• "Surround yourself with great people."
• "Listen. Learn from other people. Acknowledge that you don't know everything."
• "Admit when you are wrong, and that you screwed up."

In her philanthropic life, Kirsten works on children's issues through Donors Choose (https://www.donorschoose.org/). "It is an online network of educators," she explained. Through it, "I help fund some innovative education programs in less successful school districts. My son and I just picked one, yesterday."

Speaking of her family, Kirsten acknowledged the difficulty of achieving life balance. "There's a lot of non-traditional communication," and use of innovative technology to make it all work. She also commented, "at the end of the day, you have to be willing to shut off the laptop, and go for a bike ride!" She is "learning to walk away. I think gender roles, over the last 20 years, is allowing us to put the laptop down, and do things with your family." Kirsten strong parting words of inspiration are: "Keep the faith, keep driving. There has never been a better time to be a woman in tech. We can actually, fundamentally change all of it."

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Linda Daichendt, CEO and Founder of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (MTAM) (http://gomobilemichigan.org ), CEO of Strategic Growth Concepts Inc., executive producer for Michigan Mobile Musings audio cast, and Board Member for the Michigan STEM Partnership. Linda was not an early technologist. "I loved technology as a child but I was discouraged from going into it." She started out as a marketing leader in the retail industry. "I ran marketing departments for shopping malls and retail corporations for the most part" in her early career.

In 2002, she became CEO of Strategic Growth Concepts Inc. (http://strategicgrowthconcepts.com), a Marketing and Operations consulting firm providing services such as: marketing and business plan development, and implementation as well as employee recruitment to a variety of clients. Along the way, Linda found herself falling in love with mobile technology, which was dramatically changing the face of the U.S. economy in the early part of this century. In 2006, she became the national director of marketing for a country-wide chain of wireless retailers (Wireless Toyz). "I became fully entrenched and learned everything I could about what was going on in the industry." After Wireless Toyz was acquired, Linda focused solely on Strategic Growth Concepts Inc., and added her expertise in connected tech to her consulting practice. Finding no connected tech networking groups nor associations in the state to fill the mobility technology gap, Linda decided to start one!

To date, MTAM is unique: it is the only statewide trade association, dedicated to 'connected technologies.' It started by gaining the Michigan rights to an international program called MOBILE MONDAYS, meetups for those interested in mobility and connected technologies. Since "there was need for referrals, access to training, and all these other things," the non-profit statewide trade association was then born. Moving beyond the cell phone, MTAM is "about everything that 'connected technology' means --- from IoT (Internet of Things) to autonomous vehicles to augmented (virtual) reality." Linda is passionate about connected technologies because "I think it can change people's lives. I think it can change our economy, make it much more diversified. I think it can help Michigan attain a leadership role, nationally and internationally."

Linda's personal leadership traits include tenacity, dedication and focus. She stays current in her field of expertise by "constantly reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, attending Webinars and attending events." She recommends both THE MOBILE MARKETING HANDBOOK, by Kim Dushinski, and MOBILE MARKETING FOR DUMMIES by John Arnold & Michael Becker, for anyone who would like to begin their immersion in connected tech by starting with Mobile Marketing.

She has frequently been asked "You're a woman. How did you get involved in leading this organization?" The good news to Linda is that "Today there's a lot more attention to the fact that there needs to be more women and more minorities brought into technology." To help further the cause of diversity, Linda observed "We need to focus on bringing people along with us." She spreads the message to parents and educators to "encourage young women to pursue technology in their education and their careers." She is thrilled that she is in a technology-driven role now. "Somedays it drives me crazy. But I have said to many people, this is what I was meant to be doing. I think girls, if they see the power of what technology can do, can become someone who can change the world."

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed start-up founder Nicol Pasuit, CEO of TechStak (www.techstak.com), a company bringing needed technology assistance to small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. The only girl in a family of 8 children raised on a farm, Nicol embraced a strong work ethic early in life. She graduated from Michigan State University, in audiology and speech sciences, and took an entry-level position working in "outcomes assurance" and referral management at Concentra Medical Centers (https://www.concentra.com/) while simultaneously pursuing her MPA (Masters in Public Administration) at Oakland University. Promoted in 4 months, Nicol managed a 24 x 7 Concentra healthcare clinic. Then Concentra offered her an expanded challenge, managing the company's specialist services program throughout the Midwest, and eventually nationwide. Nicol grew as a strong leader, "building a high functioning, productive team" --- a majority of whom were women. She also led the buildout, development and project management of many operational tools and software.

Nicol left Concentra in 2015, as it was acquired by Select Medical, founded and "self-funded" TechStak. "It's one of those things where you look at the moment in time, and you have to be able to take a risk --- living in uncertainty."

Why TechStak? "There are so many small businesses (28 million in the U.S.) that need technology." Nicol's initial target market is 5.9 million small U.S. businesses with 10-499 employees. "They don't know where to start. They don't know what questions to ask. They need a way to connect to the right technology provider. One size doesn't fit all." Nicole made it her mission to ensure that "those technology services that were only affordable for large companies" can found and used by small businesses. "There's no Angie's List for technology," she exclaimed. "But TechStak can connect these businesses to the right tech providers."

TechStak relies on internally-created proprietary "matchmaking" technology, which Nicol continues to iterate to "change it up, using machine learning techniques" as the company grows. Nicol's initial key hires were in marketing, business development process-mapping, and database administration, supplemented by technology services firms, working under contract, to build out TechStak's solutions. From HR to business development to service and product development, Nicol manages it all.

Nicol characterizes herself as "a control freak." She credits her propensity for "being scheduled, and planning things out" as contributing to high productivity. Being a woman never slowed Nicol down as she has pursued her career to date. "I have never been told 'you cannot do something.' If I want something, I am going to go after it." Her lessons/advice to other startup founders include: ask questions; be a great listener; watch others and emulate them; connect with people who can help you; obtain a mentor; surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and bring different talents to the table; and step outside of your comfort zone.

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk was inspired by Dusty Welsh, co-founder of Cause Activators (http://causeactivators.com), a Web-based company that connects corporations/businesses with nonprofit opportunities, making it easier for those organizations to support their local communities, and empower their team members to do good.

As a girl, Dusty followed the example of her grandparents, active in nonprofits like Meals on Wheels (https://seniormealsonwheels.com). Later she worked with large nonprofits like Leader Dogs for the Blind (http://www.leaderdog.org), and found her passion in life. She moved to Colorado, for 8 years, where she worked for a nationwide wildlife center and sat on its Board of Directors. After moving back to Michigan, Dusty co-founded Cause Activators with her stepmother, human resources expert Dr. Mary Welsh. Dusty never intended to be a technology leader, but "I realized that nonprofit organizations and business donors were coming together in a very antiquated way. Technology could bridge the gap and bring this process into the 21st century. Similar to what Amazon has done for shopping, Cause Activators has brought nonprofits and businesses, together."

Launched in October 2016, the Cause Activator platform is based on "the same algorithms as a dating website. We ensure that recipients and donors are matched on over 25 points of interest, hitting the goals of both recipients and donors." Dusty manages the front-end user interface; supervises the back-end development team for the platform; and is the company's community engagement manager. Her personal strengths include "a gift of gab;" having the ability to "motivate people;" and skill in "connecting and uniting people around a common goal."

Dusty said that the #1 challenge she faced is funding. The company is less attractive to most traditional funders like venture capitalists, bankers or many "angels," so she looked for non-traditional funding sources. Cause Activators won a Michigan Woman's Foundation Entrepreneur New Business Plan and Pitch competition in 2015, receiving a technology grant. The company has also gotten over $100,000 in pro bono tech support from various companies, and a $150,000 technology subsidy through the Microsoft BizSpark program.

One key lesson that Dusty has learned along the way is "I always ask anyone and everyone for help." Additionally, her major leadership tips include: maximize your strengths; complement your team with strengths you don't have; "learn to become a better listener;" always "be positive and encouraging;" and don't be afraid of failing. For tech entrepreneurs, Dusty's strongest piece of advice is "I cannot stress enough the importance of doing the research to make sure you are developing something that the marketplace will want to buy."

With plans to go nationwide, soon, Cause Activators offers internships for university/college students.

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Jenny Coupe, Senior Director, Americas Marketing at Akamai Technologies (www.akamai.com). Jenny began life as an "Army brat," and moved 22 times in 18 years, forcing quick adaptation to new people, circumstances and venues. Jenny's father, an Army judge, encouraged her to "be who I wanted to be, irrespective of gender."

Jenny moved to Silicon Valley and graduated from The University of the Pacific, then began an entry-level position at Silicon Graphics Inc. (www.silicongraphics.com) in a "gender-blind culture." She credits her "fantastic boss" during her first 6 years for her swift career development. At SGI, she moved into marketing, followed her boss to WebMD (www.webmd.com) as employee #10 and became Director, Worldwide Corporate Marketing --- on the team that took WebMD to IPO status. After WebMD, Jenny had eight different senior level marketing executive roles with companies ranging from giants like IBM to startups like Tegile. Eventually, she migrated to Vice President of Customer Acquisition at Soasta, Inc. now acquired by Akamai.

Along the way, Jenny received many marketing awards including the distinction of being named to the list of the TOP 50 women in revenue you should know. "The number one value I bring to the table is hustle," she said. "I hustle 24 x 7. I think because I've done so many different types of roles, I can come in, assimilate quickly, assess the situation, figure out what to do and what not to do. "

To Jenny, tech marketing has "certainly changed a lot" from the beginning of her career to now. She sees it as evolved from "soft skill" ("providing air cover, brand marketing" but nothing measurable) to one that involves having a "science behind everything that you are doing." A big believer in diverse teams, Jenny "encourage folks to build teams that are different ages, different genders, different cultures." One of Jenny's favorite quotes comes from Silicon Valley veteran, Jim Clark: "Religion is death in a startup." In other words, "if you are wedded to one idea, and one way of doing things, you are not going to grow ---- as a business, or as an individual. Everyone is learning lessons, regardless of who they are, what they are, and what they are doing." Jenny's other great lesson is "Don't forget to have fun. Don't be afraid to try it. Try to minimize your regrets!"

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Rebecca Bray, Chief Sales Officer for recruiting/staffing company: Epitec (www.epitec.com). Rebecca did not start out intending to pursue a tech mission. "I just fell into it," she said. She graduated Central Michigan University with a marketing degree, but it was a college internship at Epitec that inspired her 19-year current career. After graduation, "I figured it would be a good way to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up," she said. She has remained with the company because "I love what I do. The opportunities have always kept me engaged, challenged and learning every day."

In her current role, with responsibility for a team of 50, Rebecca is thrilled to concentrate on challenging, inspiring and "growing our team." Focused on daily staff enrichment, Epitec celebrates each staff member's personal, as well as career, accomplishments every year. "Training and developing people takes a lot of understanding," Rebecca said. Giving people the leeway to fail, she believes, is "very important to let people develop and grow. We call it 'recovery-oriented'. "

Key personal characteristics that have contributed to Rebecca's success include patience and tenacity. "When I started, I looked very young. Having credibility was a problem for me." To overcome this, Rebecca stressed that learning "who my audience was, and what their needs were," was essential. Among the teams reporting to her is Epitec's training and development group, which has created and manages a three-week onboarding and training program for Epitec staff. She constantly ponders "what's going to motivate our staff, typically not the generation I come from or with whom I have worked. It's a new generation. So, overcoming challenges around different work expectations, different types of goal-setting, different types of reward and recognition programs," are issues for her.

Rebecca is also concerned with the looming large potential gap between the growing number of technology jobs, and skilled candidates to fill them. To address it, she said "We are partnering with organizations like the Michigan Council of Women in Technology to drive more exposure to young girls and people about technology. We are also working with colleges around some internship programs, and have a robust internal Epitec internship program."

Rebecca shared some very pragmatic tips for other budding leaders:

1. "Write down your goals. And put a plan, together, on how you are going to achieve them."
2. "Be 'recovery-oriented' and move forward."
3. "Invest in yourself. If you want to develop a solid career, it's really up to you."

Realistically, to achieve balance, Rebecca noted that "being in the present" is important. "When I am with my family, then I'm engaged with my family." Conversely, "when I am at work --- I'm focused at work," she said. In her philanthropic life, Rebecca is very involved in a volunteer role with Vista Maria (www.vistamaria.org), a Michigan-based nonprofit which offers community-based programs including education, general and treatment foster care, youth assistance programs, independent living, transition services and after school programs for "at risk" girls.

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed the mother/daughter data-driven duo of Amy O'Connor, Big Data Evangelist at Cloudera (www.cloudera.com), and Danielle Dean, Data Scientist Lead at Microsoft (www.microsoft.com.) Amy hails from the era where punch cards reigned supreme. Danielle experienced the dichotomy of more complex and paradoxically easier data. Both share a common fascination with how data helps humans make better decisions, in business and beyond

"When I first entered technology, I was much more focused on writing software that was used to run mainframe computers," Amy explained. When she started, it was well before computers became ubiquitous. She obtained dual undergraduate degrees in computer science and electrical engineering, and then her MBA, "so that I could really figure out how to apply technology to business opportunities." Amy migrated from software development to IT program management to engineering leadership to business strategy roles and marketing, and finally "landed" in the field of big data. At Cloudera, she works with worldwide customers in diverse industries, advising them on big data strategies to achieve successful goals.

While inspired by her mother, as she warmly notes later in this podcast, Danielle did not initially envision emulating Amy, at all. "I didn't purposely follow in my mother's footsteps," she said. "I was interested in psychology and human behavior: how people think and learn. And I really loved math, and statistics." That drew Danielle to data science, "the next big thing as I was finishing my undergraduate career." She created her own major field of study, while getting her degree at the University of Massachusetts, then pursued a PhD at the University of North Carolina in quantitative psychology, "where I really learned how to apply data models; how to use survival analyses to understand how social event processes unfold; looking at social networks to determine how people forge relationships. I looked at how all these things can be combined."

Danielle began with an internship at Nokia (www.nokia.com) where Amy was also working, then moved to Microsoft "where I am now looking at different industries and applying data science in lots of different ways. I work with Microsoft customers using analytics products, building real things to solve real problems." Danielle and her team operate directly inside Microsoft's product development teams to provide customer feedback, and improve the company's offerings. Both women, in their respective companies, work on projects that predict best processes in the future for everything from diagnosing the maintenance cycle of automobiles to better navigating maps to assisting financiers to better predict lucrative investments to helping physicians more accurately predict the cycle of optimal healthcare.

Mother and daughter discussed exciting future tech developments, including the democratization of data. Danielle is particularly mesmerized by developments in "deep learning", a subcategory machine learning technology, based on algorithms inspired by the structure and function of the brain, called artificial neural networks. She explained how much easier it is going to be to "get started, and do really cool things with artificial intelligence." Amy also highlighted the predilection of "people from all walks of life to create data, capture data, analyze data, and use that data to automate decisions and create better products and services that impact all aspects of our lives." She pointed out that many more will be able to use data "for much more productive, positive outcomes."

Amy and Danielle have career development/leadership lessons. "Don't get stagnant or complacent in any role," Amy advised. She also mentioned that sometimes you must take a risk and move on, when your role or project feels stagnant. Danielle exhorted professionals to "keep the end goal of the project in mind," ensuring that the impact of your work meets its objectives, by fully understanding those goals at the onset. Danielle also discussed the importance of technical leaders "being able to simplify very complex topics while really looking at the big picture to make sure you are making transformational progress, rather than really getting stuck on little details." Amy is grateful that "leadership, these days, is much less about hierarchy and much more about influence." Amy noted how important it is to have very good collegial relationships.

Both women have learned fundamental lessons from each other. For Danielle, her mother has taught her the importance of collaborating with "people from different backgrounds, and different roles." For Amy, Danielle is her role model for organization, and the resultant calmness and peace that this creates. Some very practical tips Amy and Danielle shared for other women striving in the tech field include:

1. Lean on other people for assistance
2. Simplify your wardrobe
3. Have set routines for the everyday challenges
4. Read all tech information that comes your way

For younger women creating newer career paths, Danielle exhorted them to "always continue learning, really broadening yourself, looking across disciplines," and "take opportunities that will purposely force you to grow", potentially those that seem "just out of reach." Both agree that taking risks and "keeping your eyes open" for other opportunities, and new approaches are paramount to success. In community life, Amy builds strong networks and Danielle mentors girls through the nationwide Girls Who Code organization. "I am always amazed by what these students are doing. They are really an inspiration." They also recommend several external resources and two books:

• www.deeplearning.com
• The Economist (www.economist.com)
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg

Amy has truly inspired Danielle to achieve, and Amy said that "I am lucky to have Danielle in my life, every day." Please feel free to connect with either at their respective Twitter handles: @ImAmyO, and @danielleodean.

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Susan Emerick, Global Marketing Executive at IBM (www.ibm.com), educator and author. Susan's expertise highlights how far the technology industry has come in empowering clients to transform their businesses and develop competitive advantage using advanced analytics and cognitive computing. Her book: THE MOST POWERFUL BRAND ON EARTH guides marketing professionals, navigating digital and social media.

Susan credits her bucolic Midwestern upbringing, as one of five children, in a "country" environment for starting her interest in tech. "Science was actually something that inspired me, concepts of nature and patterns and how you apply those patterns to life." Her first technology immersion was during two Michigan State University internships at General Motors (www.gm.com), in Flint, Michigan. Then after graduation, with a marketing/advertising degree, she migrated to Syracuse, New York where she worked on large brands including megabrand Snapple (www.snapple.com ). She then moved back to Campbell-Ewald (www.c-e.com), where she worked on direct response projects, developing customized consumer applications, for Planters Peanuts (www.planters.com ), Johnson and Johnson (www.jnj.com ), and GMAC (now Ally Financial: www.ally.com). In these experiences, "there was a thread of technology through how you are reaching customers directly, in personalized ways."

Susan then moved to Comerica Bank to work in the direct marketing department, responsible for the merger of the brands of Comerica and Manufacturers Bank. Susan then moved to Gale Research, (www.gale.com ) the largest publisher for school and university libraries when Gale was moving textbooks to CD-ROM. From there Susan jumped to being the Brand Manager for Thomas, The Tank Engine and Friends (™) for Handleman Company.

Susan was then recruited by IBM (www.ibm.com) to apply direct response expertise and data management practices to build their integrated marketing communications practice. At IBM, Susan loved "the ability to always experiment and evolve with emerging technology," that the company gave her. One of her favorite projects was building IBM's global Web presence, "and seeing how to take that global Web presence and localize it across the globe, into different languages, to be able to connect with customers and really help them to understand very complex technologies and break it down into meaningful experiences." Another key project that Susan worked on was building IBM's social media listening practice and influencer marketing practice.

Throughout her robust career, Susan has relied on many of her personal strengths including curiosity, not being afraid of change, open-mindedness and the ability to collaborate, well, with multi-disciplinary teams. "Women are always in a position of having to prove their strengths, and pushing boundaries. Modeling the way with professionalism, with poise and gratitude, always helps you get that step ahead," she said.

As a self-described technology pioneer, Susan believes in The Rule of The Internet: "One – Nine – Ninety." The rule states that one percent of people will be true innovative leaders spearheading engagement, nine percent are following those leaders, and 90% are slow adopters and skeptical. "I will always either be in the 1%, as I experiment, or in the 9%, emulating leaders I respect," Susan said. Her top three leadership lessons for women and girls include:

1. No one knows your passion better than you.
2. Lead by example and model the way.
3. Leadership is not a title; it is earned through trust, respect and inspiring a team.

Balancing her career, her extended family, and her professional development, Susan feels blessed by her husband, Mark ("a true partner"). Principles of always aligning her professional passions and her ethics have helped her achieve balance, supplemented by a very strong work ethic.

In addition to her IBM career, and her book, Susan is an adjunct professor at West Virginia University for the Reed School of Media, where she developed a graduate course in data-oriented social media optimization and is also a guest lecturer for the Carnegie Mellon University. She also serves on boards for many professional marketing, social media and marketing measurement associations. Susan's core belief, succinctly, is: "Everything you need is inside of you. Find your purpose; find your passion. Let it lead you."

Contact Susan Emerick at her personal email: [email protected] or Twitter handle: @sfemerick.

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Loretta Yakima, currently a senior project manager under contract at ZF TRW (www.zf.com ). Loretta credits her parents for all facets of her success. "They grounded me so much," she said. Her love for technology dated from her Michigan public high school's career preparation center where she enrolled in a data processing class. "It was new and exciting." She learned how to code in both RPG and Cobol, "two of the toughest languages" to master. With her programming proficiency, Loretta applied advanced credits to her college degree, and was offered a scholarship to a nearby business school. She matriculated to Oakland University, in Rochester, MI, with a major in Economics and a minor in Information Systems. She also worked full time first for a small consulting company, implementing "Y2K" code changes; and then in information technology for Tier One automotive supplier, Lear Corporation (www.lear.com). Later, Loretta would go on to get her MBA from Walsh College in 2009.

After graduating Loretta became a programmer/business analyst at Pulte Corporation (www.pulte.com), a U.S.-based home-building company, where she grew as the company did. She worked with ERP software, and then developed a wide variety of Web-based applications, supporting every operation inside the company. Loretta then evolved into a project management role, where "we didn't just focus on IT, but were engrained in the process side of things." At Pulte, as the recession hit, she also worked on "how to change our business processes to become more efficient." She moved from information technology, a few years later, and "hopped the fence" to Pulte's finance department where she then managed the national purchasing shared services group, a total of 65 people, who managed the administration for all labor and materials contracts for the company. A key lesson that Loretta learned from her 15 years at Pulte was the importance of strong partnership between the information technology group and the rest of the business. She benefited from strong leadership training, particularly based on Franklin Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (http://www.franklincovey.com/leadership/7-habits.php/).

When Pulte moved to Atlanta, Georgia, Loretta chose to remain in Michigan. She moved to a part-time role as a solutions architect, building customer applications for Detroit-based Digerati and then moved over to Chrysalis Global Consulting (http://www.chrysalisglobal.com), a company that specializes in change management and project management. Under the Chrysalis aegis, she landed her contract role at ZF TRW, a global automotive supplier. "My role is with the financial systems group. We are figuring out how to merge all the finance systems between ZF and TRW. It's huge, and it's exciting and it's fun."

Loretta would catalogue her personal strengths as being a good listener/diagnostician, a hard worker, empathetic and a skilled multitasker. ("I love being busy. I love having a lot of things going on.")

To accomplish everything well in life, Loretta said: "You must stay positive, and learn to smile," no matter what the situation.

Loretta's three main leadership lessons for other women and girls are:

• Don't be afraid. Try technology out.
• Know yourself and what is uniquely important to you, personally.
• Learn how to network.

Loretta would like to be involved with a company or an educational institution that "has enough financial backing to get started with students early on. I think back to the high school technology program in which I was involved. I would love to build more programs like that, because I think it's so important --- especially for girls." Loretta said.

For the full blog write up, make sure to check us out on online at www.divatechtalk.com, on Twitter @divatechtalks, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/divatechtalk. Follow our show and tell us what you like with an online review.

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Kimberly Kaminski, Vice President of Global Marketing for rapidly-growing TMaxSoft, a 20-year old worldwide software innovator focused on infrastructure and data modernization to support digital business. Kim's rich technology marketing career spans both Fortune 500 companies and emergent technology innovators. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, TMaxSoft (www.tmaxsoft.com) offers enterprise solutions to empower and modernize IT infrastructures, and dynamically drive competitive advantage.

Kim graduated Northern Illinois University in journalism with an emphasis on advertising. She began her journey, as a writer/producer for a post-operative medical products manufacturer. "The job was perfect for me because it allowed me to pursue my love of science, while also perfecting the craft of writing and learning marketing." Having "cut her teeth" in marketing, Kim then moved into advertising for several years including a stint in the tech practice for J. Walter Thompson (https://www.jwt.com/). Then she went to Texas Instruments (www.ti.com) as marketing communications manager. "It was at TI where my marketing career took off," Kim said. She was then recruited for Novadigm (later acquired by Hewlett Packard: www.hp.com ) and "I have been in the software industry ever since!"

From Novadigm, Kim moved to CA Technologies (www.ca.com), the 5th largest enterprise software company in the world. "It was an exciting time to join CA, who was trying to move from being a very technical company to being a customer-facing, market-driven company." Kim spent 11 years at CA, evolving into progressively greater leadership roles, and eventually became Vice President of Field Marketing within CA's Northern Division sales organization. Then she went to Avocent (acquired by Emerson Electric - http://www.emerson.com/en-us ) in Huntsville, Alabama, as Director of Global Field Marketing. After that, she became Vice President, Marketing for privately-held Vision Solutions for 2 years (https://www.visionsolutions.com/) leading their global marketing team. Subsequently, Kim worked for Infogix (http://www.infogix.com/) in global marketing leadership for 2 years, before moving to her current role at TMaxSoft.

Kim is having fun in her current job. "My personal mission is to grow the marketing discipline, grow the team" at TMaxSoft, she said. "We're working to create, within the company, a culture of customer-focused marketing." To achieve her success, Kim believes three key personal characteristics are essential: patience, tenacity, and a sense of humor. She stressed "it takes a lot of patience, diplomacy, tact, and tenacity to go around and through roadblocks that inevitably always pop up in business. When you're leading a team, it's the leader's responsibility to help the team navigate those roadblocks, to make their jobs fun and easy. "

For Kim, being a woman in tech has affected her "in both positive and not-so-positive ways." She shared a story from her early career where a male manager felt that women should be exclusively at home, raising kids. "Instead of reacting negatively, I decided to just do a great job, and prove him wrong. And I ended up becoming one of his most trusted employees!" Kim is thrilled she has had the chance to mentor younger women. "This has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career," she said. To her, "it's important for every woman not to measure themselves against another woman. You must find what works for you. That can take many different forms throughout your career."

Kim's three key pieces of advice, especially for tech marketing leaders are:

• Stay humble and be willing to learn from everyone.
• Continue to study hard. "Learn how to talk the language of development," and additionally "speak the language of business."
• Remember that "marketing has the responsibility to be the headlights of the business; really going out there, shining the light on the markets and the customers."

One precept Kim tries to live by is "everything in moderation." She advises to keep things simple.

Along the way, Kim worked with a coach at the Master of Business Leadership Program (http://www.masterofbusinessleadership.com/), which focuses on helping leaders find their unique value and capitalize on that. "That was pivotal for me to realize that no one was standing in my way, except for me." One of Kim's favorite current quotes is "You are a lot more powerful than that which scares you." Finally, for Kim, "my faith is my anchor in my work, and in my life. We are called to love one another, and this applies to all facets of my life, including working relationships." To sum it up, Kim says: "I approach everything with a spirit of kindness, loving what I do, and loving the people I am with."

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