DEEP DIVE

US ABOUT LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICE .

Can you describe your current job role ?

I am the Chief Business Strategy Officer at Hitachi Vantara , a role I ’ ve held only since February of this year . Before joining the company , I worked in roles spanning Chief Transformation Officer , Strategic Planning & Operations and Head of Customer Success , with 13 years of experience in the storage industry .

A key part of my role today is working to define a vision and strategy to accelerate growth for Hitachi Vantara and to help us to continue taking a leadership position in the storage and data management technology space . I ’ m still a relative newbie so I ’ m very excited about what ’ s to come !

What would you describe as your most memorable achievement ?

Being appointed to the C-suite is a huge honour . I ' ve been in these roles both here at Hitachi Vantara and as Head of Customer Success during the COVID pandemic .

Over the years I ’ ve been fortunate to work with a range of talented and passionate people , whom I ’ ve learnt a great deal from and been inspired by every day . I ' m really proud of this achievement .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?

I think it ’ s crucial to manage with both empathy and accountability . It ' s important to be prepared to understand that everyone works differently and that an approach that works for one person might not necessarily work for another .

Also , being prepared to be accountable for your actions is needed to build a trusted relationship with colleagues . This is essential in creating a successful working environment and to allow you to show up to work with integrity .

What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?

I think cloud management in hybrid cloud environments will continue its role at the forefront of the industry as this area continues to expand . While many workloads are shifting to cloud , hybrid cloud still remains an area of investment .

Some workloads ( applications ) run on-premises , others run on cloud and some need to run both onpremises and on cloud . In some cases , portability can result in an application running in part on-premises and in part on cloud . So , as we look to the future , it ’ s clear that hybrid cloud remains essential .

If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?

To be completely honest , I wouldn ’ t change a thing . I ’ ve learned from each and every one of my experiences and they have all played a part in getting me where I am today – so I ' m grateful for everything I ' ve been through in my career .

What advice would you offer somebody aspiring to obtain a C-level position in your industry ?

Firstly , make sure you always stay humble and remember that everything is about the team , not you . Secondly , always keep learning and , if possible , find a mentor to help you do this . We all have things to learn at every stage of our careers and this

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