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.
Our Cloud Expert of the Month is Lisa Noon.
Lisa Noon has over 25 years of experience helping major global enterprises manage technology-fueled transformation efforts for mission-critical elements of business and IT. Well rounded with global experience and international perspective; she has well practiced IT architecture, infrastructure, and developer skills. Lisa has designed and run board-level transformation programs for both enterprises and technology companies. She has led global BPM, SOA, Enterprise Architecture and Cloud product and services organizations. Today Lisa, is a managing director at Deloitte.
When did you join Cloud Girls and why?
Cloud Girls is a great group of leaders, each of whom are successful in their own right and motivated to improve the situation for others. I joined for the opportunities to help grow the community of influential women leaders and enhance my network at the same time.
What do you value about being a Cloud Girl?
Having access to the collective experience, energy, and ideas of such a phenomenal network of thoughtful and earnestly helpful people.
How did you find a career in tech? Did you choose it, or did you end up here and how?
I was drawn to technology at a very young age, in fact after building a small “computer” from a kit I took Introduction to Computer Science at the local Community College when I was 14 years old. My parents looked at it as a hobby and encouraged me to choose medicine, but that wasn’t for me. When I left college I found a job as a Data Center Operator and did some keypunching for extra money. That was 1982. There weren’t a lot of “technology jobs” around. You needed to find them – they didn’t find you!
What impresses you the most when you are considering hiring someone?
At this point we are so busy, and interviewing so many people, it’s really does the person interview well? Do they take the time to understand the role, the company, and tailor their resume to suit the job for which they are applying? Is their resume accurate, and polished? Do they treat the interview as seriously as they would a sales presentation? Are their answers crisp and clear and context-sensitive? Do they answer the questions that are asked? Do they present themselves as someone we could trust in the trenches – expect to handle themselves well in front of clients, operate effectively in complex / risky situations?
What one piece of advice would you share with young women to encourage them to take a seat at the table?
Don’t expect someone else to manage your career, not even for a single performance cycle. You own your career; no one else does. Map it out. Get advice (don’t be afraid to ask for it!). Ask questions. Share your plan and your expectations with your management and check in regularly. Think ahead – try to get there first. Negotiate when need be, but only when need be.