Women in the spotlight: Carleen Hughes
A summary of your role and time at Kainos
I have worked at Kainos for four years now, and my current role is the Director of Demand Generation within the Workday Practice. I'm also an active chair member and co-founder of Inspire; our women's employee network group.
Who is your biggest role model and why?
I’m a massive fan of Sheryl Sandberg, who has led and continues to lead some of the world’s biggest companies. She was named as one of Fortune magazine’s most powerful women. Sheryl has authored several best-selling books which have had a huge impact on my personal development and perspectives of leadership. I really recommend you read 'Lean In: Women, Work and The Will to Lead', or 'Plan B' - which has some great stories about the importance of resilience. Why does she inspire me? Aside from all of her accolades and lessons learned from her books - Sheryl is an activist and role model for women’s equality globally.
Why did you choose a career in tech?
I’ve been in the technology industry for seven years now. Although I’m not a technologist per say, for me the tech space has a fast-growing, fast-changing environment that rewards innovation; which is an environment that I thrive in. As a marketing leader, technology and SaaS in particular provides valuable benefits and ROI to our customers, allowing marketers to be creative and results driven.
Why do you think it’s important for more women to join the tech industry?
Women think differently. By nature, having diverse teams invites different viewpoints and perspectives - and in my role, this brings great advantages for creativity and innovation. Secondly, we need more role models in our industry. By highlighting female tech leaders and their successes, it can help encourage more girls to consider a career in the industry.
What advice would you give to young women who are just starting their careers in tech?
The tech industry is renowned for companies who have created positive, inclusive, and unique cultures. If you look at the top companies to work for list, you’ll see companies like Workday, Microsoft and Google. Women thrive in this kind of environment as it provides flexibility, work-life balance, and continuous opportunities for learning. My advice to those considering a career in technology is to be curious, never stop learning and don’t let self-doubt get in your way. The world is your oyster in this industry, with huge diversity in role types and endless possibilities!
How has Kainos helped you to develop your career?
From day one, Kainos has continually supported my career progression in a variety of different ways. Whilst there has been lots of valuable training and development opportunities, the key thing that has helped to accelerate my development has been the belief in me and my capabilities. I truly believe that my managers and the leaders in the business believe in me - and that is more encouraging than anything else. Since joining Kainos, I’ve had several promotions - moving from an individual contributor role to leading an entire function in just four years. Throughout this time, Kainos has provided me with powerful mentoring opportunities which have been invaluable to supporting my step-ups in responsibility.