Cloud Girls is honored to have amazingly accomplished, professional women in tech as our members. We take every opportunity to showcase their expertise and accomplishments – promotions, speaking engagements, publications and more. Now, we are excited to shine a spotlight on one of our members each month.
April’s Cloud Expert of the Month is Leigh Ann Campbell.
Leigh Ann Campbell is director of business development for Quest Software where she is responsible for the organization’s strategic alliance with Microsoft and service provider programs. Campbell has spent her career in Silicon Valley and has 20 years of sales, marketing and channel experience. A graduate from San Diego State University, she is passionate about women’s and children’s causes and is active with several non-profit organizations, including Diablo Vista Foundation, Autism Speaks and Cloud Girls where she is co-chair of the Membership Work Group.
When did you join Cloud Girls and why? I joined in 2010 before cloud adoption was as popular as it is today. At that time, it was common for me to be the only woman in a cloud-related meeting or event. Cloud Girls was created by pioneering women – each with amazing backgrounds in cloud computing – and the chance to network with and learn from such leaders was, and still is, a great opportunity for me.
What do you value about being a Cloud Girl? It’s an honor for me to be a member of this organization. Cloud Girls brings women together from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, and I always learn something from them. As cloud technology continues to expand, Cloud Girls is expanding as well to include emerging areas such as cryptocurrency, AI and IoT. My participation helps me stay connected to new trends and areas of focus for cloud-related technologies and applications.
What advice would you give to your younger self at the start of your career? If someone offers you a job that feels like it’s a stretch or out of your comfort zone, take it! It’s OK if you don’t have all the answers … nobody does, especially the people that tell you they do.
How do you avoid being complacent in your role? The tech industry moves fast and is constantly changing and I’ve learned you must keep up and change with it or you’ll get left behind. I like to continuously learn new skills that are relevant to the role I have or for a role I’d like to have. I also find ways to go beyond my job description like volunteering to be a guest speaker, join a tiger team to help launch a new initiative, or to be a mentor for new hires early in their careers.
What are the most exciting opportunities for women in tech? Thanks to the trailblazers who came before us (e.g., Ada Lovelace, Lynn Conway, Meg Whitman and so many more), women are now involved in all aspects of technology. I am seeing more women in engineering, product development and the C-suite. There are more women in venture capital as well. I’m very excited to see women investing in women-owned or women-run tech startups.