GET TO KNOW their leader truly cares about them and their career development and growth .
What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?
Then there ’ s cloud . . . it ’ s been big for a while but there are still a lot of organisations , particularly in government , operating on-premises infrastructure and their migration to cloud or hybrid cloud models is accelerating .
Artificial Intelligence is definitely number one right now , particularly since the emergence of ChatGPT .
Go to any cyber vendor right now and you ’ ll find they ’ re developing some form of generative AI capability to support their offering .
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?
I do cross fit , swim and generally try to keep as fit as possible . My other outlet is music : I really like going to gigs and shows .
And travelling . Being part of the global leadership function at SentinelOne means I clock up a lot of air miles for work , mostly travelling to the US and up through Asia . Whenever possible , I try to tack on a couple of rec days at the end , to go skiing or diving – anything in nature that takes me away from the computer is good .
If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?
I don ’ t think I would . You always have goals and aspirations and things you want to do in your life and I ’ ve been very lucky and privileged to have reached certain milestones in my career much quicker than I was anticipating . Every decision you make obviously has the potential to help or hinder your progression but living with regrets is a futile exercise . I try to be grateful for the opportunities I ’ ve been given and focus on being present in the moment .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
AI and automation are massive at the moment . That ’ s largely due to economic pressures – if you can utilise them to scale then your margins are going to improve .
And , of course , cyber-security .
What are the region specific challenges when implementing new technologies in APAC ?
The localisation of language is a biggie . APAC is the most diverse region in the world , with dozens of countries and multiple mother tongues , so building a product with an English interface will only serve a certain percentage of the market .
Cultural approaches to doing business vary wildly too and being able to adapt to those different mentalities and sensibilities is vital .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
Determining how best to lead a team post-COVID remains a work in progress .
As a leader , I ’ ve become much more conscious of the welfare of ‘ my ’ people . You need to think about whether staff who now work from home all the time are maintaining some separation between work and family life , for example , or if they ’ re getting enough physical interaction . It will be interesting to see how the continued adoption of AI impacts people ’ s productivity and their ability to work more flexibly .
What advice would you offer to someone aspiring to obtain a C level position in your industry ?
Always hire people who are smarter than you or who have skills you lack . A lot of leaders fall down because they ’ re afraid of being challenged or outsmarted but , at the end of the day , your job is to get the most out of people for the good of the business .
Landing a leadership role at a young age – I was only 26 when I was first tapped – forced me to adopt this mentality . A lot of the people in my team were much older than me and it would have been impossible for me to function effectively if I ’ d felt like I had to know as much as they did about every aspect of the business . p
80 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www . intelligentcio . com