The Only Woman in the Room
Usa Sangchantrarin, Systems Engineer GSI, JAPAC
I started my journey with Palo Alto Networks in October 2020 as a GSI Systems Engineer supporting the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. My main responsibility is to work with our GSI partners and customers to accelerate their security transformation through Palo Alto Networks’ comprehensive portfolio of technologies and expertise. It’s my pleasure to join one of the fastest growing and most innovative cybersecurity companies in the world.
My Cybersecurity Journey
Two decades in cybersecurity – a male-dominated industry — has rewarded me with invaluable personal and professional experiences in life, from being the only female in a boardroom with military generals to having a husband working for a cybersecurity competitor. I grew up in a family that upheld a typical Asian culture and beliefs. I still remember the day when I gave my mom a shock by saying that I wanted to be an engineer. She replied, “That’s a man’s job. Why would you want to do that?” She then tried to persuade me to become a lawyer or a doctor instead. Clearly, that was a failed attempt.
Now that I am an adult professional, I am in a cybersecurity family. My husband and I both work in the cybersecurity space. In fact, there was an interesting time when we were competitors bidding for the same project. That’s when we introduced a ground rule at home to completely avoid talking about work. I can’t imagine how we would manage such a situation during Covid-19 when we are both working from home. Trying to manage the same deal without leaking information while in the same house would definitely have interesting implications for arranging conference calls, remote discussions, etc.
For the past two decades in this field, I have been exploring the many aspects of cybersecurity, from being a network security engineer to a cybersecurity consultant, to a technology risk-management professional, to, now, a security architect. It’s true that in almost every engineering team I have been part of, I have been either the only woman or just one of two women. This lack of gender diversity becomes really apparent when I attend large-scale cybersecurity events where men make up the majority of attendees.
As I mentioned earlier, being a woman in tech is rewarding personally and professionally. For the past 10 years, my job has required me to travel more than 50 percent of my time. Travelling has been an eye opener for me. I have gotten to meet with many people from diverse industries and backgrounds, especially in the past five years. My account manager and I were assigned to grow the business and partner ecosystem in emerging countries such as Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Vietnam. There were multiple interesting situations in which I found myself.
One of the most memorable of these situations was when I was the only female in a war room with my customers — a group of security experts from the Ministry of Defence. Everyone in the war room was in their uniform discussing a security incident. My role in that meeting was to become a trusted advisor and help them handle the incident and escalation to the forensic investigation team (if required). In such situations, it’s important to establish your leadership presence in the room and get your voice heard. We hear women say that they feel less effective in meetings than they do in other professional situations. Others say that their voices are ignored or drowned out.
So what can we do? We can’t afford to sit back and wait for someone to ask for our opinions. Instead, we need to empower ourselves and learn strategies and techniques to make ourselves heard. One useful trick is to overcome your lifetime of negative inner talk and use a confident tone to communicate in a short and precise manner. Put your main point up front and follow it with precise supporting details. Women tend to use too many words in an attempt to soften what we are saying or avoid coming across as aggressive. This tends to distract your audience from the main message. And this makes you less effective in appearing as the subject-matter expert who can provide them with a confident action plan to resolve a problem.
In my opinion, cybersecurity is an amazing field for women. There are so many opportunities, and the careers are so diverse. Women are definitely an asset to the industry, and I would strongly encourage women to seek out the many career opportunities in the field.
Building Community in the Workplace: The Power of Employee Network Groups
For today’s tech companies, fostering inclusion and diversity are top priorities. Diverse and inclusive teams are simply stronger and more capable than non-diverse teams. But how that works in practical terms varies from business to business.
It isn’t simply a matter of hiring more women, people of color, or individuals with different abilities or backgrounds. It also goes way beyond the hiring process, to ensure those employees continue to feel included, heard, seen, and valued. This is where employee network groups, or ENGs, can be invaluable.
At Palo Alto Networks, our numerous ENGs provide individuals working at all levels of the company an outlet where they can share concerns, seek advice or input, forge connections with like-minded people, strategize ways to support and grow our inclusion efforts, and learn from each other. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of the leaders of our ENGs and have been blown away by how amazing they all are and their dedication to helping their colleagues. The value they provide led me to volunteer for the role of executive sponsor for our women’s ENG, the Women’s Network Community (WNC).
I’ve been colleagues with several of the members of WNC since the company’s early days. But getting close to their work in this way has given me insight into the value of this group, not just the members, but for the entire company. In the last year, I’ve seen the WNC offer tremendous moral support and needed human connection at a time when many women felt isolated and overwhelmed. I’ve also found they provide a critical perspective of what’s working and what’s not that provides me and others in leadership positions actionable insights. And its commitment to bringing in speakers and creating professional development opportunities have been incredibly valuable.
ENGs like this one are powerful for companies in a number of ways:
- They help people to see the breadth and strength of people like them in the company. One of the things WNC does really well is showing how vibrant a community of women we have at Palo Alto Networks. At one of the group’s last in-person events (pre-COVID), about 500 people — most of them, but not all, women — came together. It was a great reminder of the diversity we have within the company and that although we have a long way to go in terms of attracting more women to the field, their numbers are strong and growing.
- They identify and share challenges — for the good of the whole company. For example, in recent months, a lot of the group’s discussions have related to challenges in working from home, including the difficulties involved when the boundaries between them are blurred and work-life balance is disrupted. Some of our discussions have centered on finding ways to encourage people throughout the company to take more time for themselves, to disconnect and find more balance. And in my role, I can take that message to the Product team as well as the executive staff to amplify it across the organization.
- ENGs also help create a sense of place, comfort, and familiarity that comes from talking with others who have had similar experiences. And they do a phenomenal job of including other genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds so that we can all learn from each other. Although they’re affinity groups, ENGs are not — and never should be — exclusive. The whole point is education and connection, which can’t happen in a vacuum.
As with any ENG, this group gives women a voice to enhance their visibility, which sends a powerful message that these are voices the company truly wants to hear. In this way, ENGs can help attract prospective employees by demonstrating our diversity and our commitment to inclusion.
I urge all companies to discover for themselves the power of ENGs. For those already utilizing them, I encourage everyone, whether you consider yourself a part of that affinity group or not, to participate in whatever way you feel comfortable — by listening to understand, joining a conversation, attending an event, taking a leadership role, or advocating as an executive sponsor.
Motivated By Challenge
By Pratthana Suppradith, Systems Engineer, Thailand
Life is about choices and changes.
Life has never been easy for me, I could say. There were so many changes and challenges I needed to go through. This even proved true when I needed to choose between passion and practicality.
Since I was young, singing and music have always been my refuge and delight. However, as I was approaching my high school graduation, I realized my dream of pursuing further education in music was not worth considering. I was born the third child out of four in a family in which money was sometimes scarce, and majoring in music education required spending a lot of money. Therefore, during my senior year of high school, with determination to prove my educational potential and reduce financial stress on my family, I decided to apply for a scholarship to pursue my higher education at a private university. I didn’t know at first which education program would be the right fit for me, but being a mathematical-arts student, I had gradually formed motivations and aspirations to learn about numbers and formulas. After studying the course syllabi of all programs enrollable in the university, I found that a degree in telecommunications and computer networks engineering could be my best choice.
Difficulties you face will ultimately trigger determination to succeed.
Being an engineering student brought about challenges and opportunities concurrently. When I was a junior, there was a subject that was compulsory for all students, which was called Data Communications. Here was my turning point. The subject was primarily designed for students in the computer engineering program and was not an ideal course for students in other fields. However, I proved to myself that nothing was beyond my abilities as long as I aimed to achieve. I got to class one hour earlier than everyone else throughout the semester, focusing on the content and studying hard. Thankfully, my hard work paid off with the highest score in the section as my reward.
Being a female engineer was never easy.
In Thailand, it’s undeniable that people do prefer a public university to private ones. Graduating from a private university was therefore one of my greatest two challenges in my professional life; being a woman in the engineering field was the other one. In Thailand, this occupation is still dominated by men, making many people perceive that only men can be successful as engineers. So there were several times I needed to prove that those perceptions were wrong.
I began my career path by working for a local internet service provider as a network engineer. During that time, I worked closely with other vendors on several projects to exchange expertise and best practices to improve and enhance our capacity and achieve best results. I did not see many women in my field, though. As time passed, I realized that my desired optimal career goal was to be and to work like those vendors. Among those with whom I worked was a systems engineer from Palo Alto Networks. He had demonstrated his prowess to an extent that I considered him a role model. Aspiring to be like him, I intended to make everyone focus on my expertise instead of my gender. I spent six years gathering experiences, achieving each target set and going beyond limitations, telling myself to be the best I could be.
Happy family, happy me.
My determination was formed when I realized how dire my family’s financial status was. Back when I had been in high school, we did not even have a house of our own. My parents did not have money to support my education. As the third child of the family, I wanted to be successful in my life and be someone my parents could rely on. I worked seven days a week after school to finance not only my own lifestyle but my family’s as well. With all my perseverance, I managed to buy a house two years after my graduation, enabling me to create certainty for my loved ones.
The route to success is your own.
Even though working for Palo Alto Networks has contributed a great deal to my success, the world of technology and cybersecurity still has something new for you to learn and develop yourself every day. What’s important is that you never let anything stop you, and never forget to be thankful for everybody around you and even for all the obstacles and opportunities that emboldened you.
Optimize your skills, turn your dream into a reality, and be confident in yourself. I wish you all the greatest success in life!
Giving Cheers to Peers
A little over a year and a half ago, Palo Alto Networks launched a peer-to-peer recognition platform called Cheers for Peers, which enables our employees to give on-the-spot recognition to their peers who have embodied our core values: Collaboration, Disruption, Execution, Inclusion, and Integrity. Out of a desire to encourage such recognition and celebrate the day-to-day contributions made by our employees, we’ve taken Cheers for Peers to the next level by highlighting one winner for each value every quarter and giving them an extra-special surprise recognition, in the form of an announcement during each quarter’s Company All Hands meeting.
So how do we choose the top five from among the hundreds of amazing recognitions our employees and managers give each other every quarter? We’ve created a global nomination panel that is presented with the names of the top 10 employees for each value, based on the number of recognitions received, along with other mitigating factors such as location and position, to ensure an equitable distribution of winners from across the organization.. The panel then meets to have an in-depth discussion about each candidate. By no means is it an easy process to select the top employee for each of these values. Not only do all the nominated employees truly personify the values they represent, but their contributions are all incredibly valuable.
In the first quarter after this program was started, 33,000 recognitions were sent from roughly 8,500 employees. Every quarter since, we have seen the amount of recognitions increase by 20% or more. This last quarter, more than 114,000 individual recognitions were exchanged between the nearly 9,000 employees here at Palo Alto Networks.
Our employees are the driving force behind what we do, and we love to brag about them. Please meet our most recent Cheers for Peers honorees!
INTEGRITY
Hardeep Kaur, Senior Deals Desk Manager
Integrity is one of those words that’s hard to define — but we know it when we see it. Hardeep Kaur’s peers certainly see it in her.
In her role as Senior Deals Desk Manager, Hardeep structures deals that meet agreed-upon terms of sale. She must constantly strike a balance between the needs of the company and Sales team with those of the customer. It’s a balancing act she performs with finesse, exemplifying honesty and uprightness of character in every interaction to ensure she’s doing what’s right for all concerned. Her embodiment of the value of integrity has led her to become everyone’s go-to resource when it comes to the Deals Desk, explains her supervisor, Emily Weigand, VP of Finance & Operations.
“Everyone looks to her, including myself, to make the right decisions for the company and our customers,” Emily says. “I always know that I’m going to get a very honest and upfront answer from Hardeep — there’s no beating around the bush. She takes her own ethics and morals very seriously, and that’s projected in her work.”
Hardeep’s keen understanding about this company and the nuances involved in making deals help her to be successful. She’ll advocate for what’s right, even when challenged, because she deeply understands what’s at stake. This has earned her respect from her supervisor and her colleagues around the globe, many of whom enthusiastically shared that she is a true asset and partner, one who is willing to support them during challenging times, especially as they seek traction in new markets.
“At the Deals Desk, Hardeep always has to say yes, but she also has to say no. With that comes the need to generate trust and accountability,” Emily adds. “But she doesn’t waver, and in her role it’s important that she doesn’t. I know I feel much better having her on our team. I know she’s always making the right decisions for us.”
DISRUPTION
Chirag Aswani, IT Software Engineer II
Palo Alto Networks’ commitment to disrupting the cybersecurity landscape has made it a standout global leader in the industry. This doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from a ground-up and top-down philosophy that great innovation can — and does — come from anywhere, and great ideas are nurtured, celebrated, and given wings to fly. Chirag Aswani is just one example of this.
If there’s one thing Chirag is known for, it’s his persistent belief that there must be a better way to do things. Whether it’s his background in user experience or his endless curiosity that fuels his commitment to disrupting the norm, his colleagues are incredibly grateful. Thanks to Chirag’s enthusiasm for innovative thinking, employees are reaping the rewards of several groundbreaking in-house applications that have recently revolutionized the way Palo Alto Networks employees work and connect.
“On projects like these, if you’re just one developer, you might just write code. But Chirag went above and beyond, not just writing code but writing the requirements, the documentation. These things were about 99.9% done by him,” says Chirag’s supervisor, Garen Azizian, Senior Director, IT Applications. “In fact, one of these apps was the one tested by our InfoSec organization that did not have high or medium risk issues … So although he has held a more junior role and is still early in his career, he has been one of the best team members I’ve ever had.”
Chirag’s peers have been vocal in recognizing his contributions too, thanking him for his willingness to create great experiences with his apps, for setting top security standards for app development, for navigating a maze of integrations and challenges, for guiding others, and for generally being ready to jump in and help whenever needed.
“When he makes something, whether it’s a new feature or a whole new application, he thinks about the user experience,” Garen adds. “He puts himself in a user space and thinks how differently he can do things to make them better for the end user.”
In fact, Chirag’s energy and ingenuity have recently earned him a new role as Product Manager, where he will continue to impress his peers with the insights he brings to every task he completes.
COLLABORATION
Nikola Markovic, Escalation Engineer, E-TAC
When it comes to addressing problems on the job, as far as E-TAC Escalation Engineer Nikola Markovic is concerned, there are no stupid questions, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to help a colleague. He’s always willing to step in and provide assistance to anyone who needs it — even when doing so isn’t officially on the list of his responsibilities.
Though his official role is one of support and enablement for a Technical Assistance Center (TAC), Nikola is widely recognized as a subject matter expert in Palo Alto Networks’ GlobalProtect platform. But his helpful demeanor and ease at establishing relationships mean that others feel extremely comfortable seeking out his input in any number of subjects.
“In addition to helping TAC folks, we are dealing on our team with a lot of escalations with customers, and many have executive visibility,” explains Nikola’s supervisor, Igor Tudjarski, Senior Manager for ETAC EMEA/APAC, Global Customer Assurance. “He’s so good at handling escalations that he will jump on things that aren’t in his job description.”
In the company’s second quarter, Nikola’s peers repeatedly expressed kudos for his work, all echoing a similar sentiment: thanking him repeatedly for his valuable help, his stability, his willingness to lend a hand with anything, and his important input into product development — all of which reflects positively on them and the company as a whole.
“Nikola is one of the most knowledgeable engineers in ETAC, tirelessly helping TAC engineers by answering questions and providing guidance, assisting Sales and even the Product teams with his highly sought-after expertise. It is no surprise that he is so often recognized by his peers for his collaboration efforts!”
INCLUSION
Suchi Annasami, Senior Manager, Collaboration Solutions
Palo Alto Networks’ commitment to inclusiveness means recognizing and celebrating the individual efforts of its many employees to be champions for inclusion. One such champion is Suchi Annasami, whose peers were particularly touched recently by her efforts to spearhead a company-wide Diwali celebration.
Among the many things lost to the pandemic over the last year was the traditional celebration of Diwali, the five-day Festival of Lights celebrated by many Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs around the world. The annual celebration is typically time for families and friends to come together to enjoy feasts, exchange gifts, offer prayers, and celebrate the victory of light over darkness. Knowing this was an important part of the lives of many of her colleagues, Suchi Annasami, who among her credits is a leader in the company’s Asian Employee Network Group, was determined to create a company-wide, virtual Diwali celebration that honored togetherness within the Palo Alto Networks community, despite their physical distance.
It was one of many distinctive contributions in the area of inclusion that Suchi’s peers recognized her for this quarter. Not only were her meaningful contributions to Diwali of special importance to her colleagues, but so were many other actions signifying inclusiveness, from organizing a company Bingo night and ENG Leader social hour to one-on-one interactions in which she offers a variety of technical tips and tutorials to her peers.
“Inclusion is always at the top of her mind,” reflects Suchi’s manager, Steve Januario, Senior Director of IT Business Operations. “She’s always pushing herself to do more. She wants to make sure that when people come to work, they can be their authentic selves, that they feel welcomed and respected.”
This commitment is exemplified in Suchi’s involvement with all the company’s ENGs, Slack channels, and any workplace events that help bring people together. “Suchi firmly believes that if people feel included and respected at work, the best will come out of them,” Steve adds. “It’s just part of her nature.”
EXECUTION
Lewis Hill, Employer Brand Communication Strategist
Of course, executing any task well is worth celebrating. Doing it with a smile and always going above and beyond? Well, that’s exceptional.
Judging by how many people within Palo Alto Networks know and love Lewis Hill, you would think he’s been with the company for many years. But, in fact, it’s only been a few months since he joined the company. That hasn’t stopped him from making an enormous impact. His colleagues have been vocal about sharing that they are overwhelmed by Lewis’ generosity, his endless creativity, his infectiously positive energy, and his upbeat attitude that makes the seemingly impossible…possible. His manager, Lindsey Sanford, Chief of Staff for the People team, cites Lewis’ ability to connect with others by putting them at ease, which has established a foundation of trust that allows for a higher level of creativity than the team has ever experienced before.
Lindsey also points to Lewis’ “Midas touch” when it comes to graphic design and creativity — he has a rare ability to not only take on any last-minute request, but also to find ways to make it better and accomplish even more. And his peers celebrate his execution in social media campaigns, conference flyers, presentations, and “all things”! Mention his name and you’re sure to elicit smiles.
“Lewis has driven us to be a better version of ourselves,” Lindsey says.
Palo Alto Networks congratulates ALL its Cheers for Peers second-quarter winners and nominees for their outstanding work, dedication, ingenuity, and all-around awesomeness. We’re honored to work alongside them and celebrate their success.
Keep Pushing: Ken Hopson
Back before we were work colleagues, before either of us were fathers or even husbands, Ken Hopson and I were friends more than 20 years ago. Introduced by mutual friends back in Silver Spring, Maryland, we had a lot in common — including being men of color working in tech — and even roomed together for a short time. I knew him as many things, but among them was as a great runner. Few who work with him today know that he was a Division I track star at Kansas State University, one who consistently broke records. Ken always knew at a young age that he had a God-given talent and used sports as a tool to escape poverty and pay for college.
In my experience, I’ve always particularly enjoyed working with athletes. They’re not only exceptional at time management, but they’re great problem-solvers. They love a challenge, they give 100 percent, they’re never complacent, and they don’t give up easily. They want to win, and after a loss they fight even harder to come back and win next time. This certainly describes Ken.
Early in his career, he received the same advice offered to Black men the world over: that his best wasn’t good enough. A young IT consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, fresh out of college, Ken was pulled aside one day by the company’s one and only African American partner and offered some advice. The older man, in his distinguished suit, recommended that Ken make more of an effort to “dress to impress.” When Ken asked why, the man, who became a sort of mentor to him, said, “It’s a lot harder to climb the ladder as a Black man. You’re going to have to work twice as hard as everyone else.” Ken credits this as a key turning point, realizing the harsh reality that he’d have to work twice as hard as a man of color to be considered on par with his peers. This was the experience of his mentor, and it was a reality he too had to face. But instead of letting it deter him, it gave him fuel to prove he could be successful.
Several years ago, comedian Steve Harvey coined the phrase “You have to jump” to be successful, meaning every successful person, at some point, had to jump off a cliff, so to speak, and take a leap of faith to reach his goals. This has been Ken’s mantra for his career, and he is starting to see the fruits.
His road to Palo Alto Networks was not easy. He applied not once but three times — the first two times making it through the interview process but neither time finding the right fit. I saw in him qualities valued at this company and knew he’d be a great addition; it just wasn’t his time yet. But like Ken does, he kept pushing. He regrouped, applied again several months later, and the third time was the charm. He joined Palo Alto Networks as a Services Account Manager in 2019, eventually moving into a Senior GSI Partner Services Manager role last April. He continues to impress with his talent, his drive, and his desire to keep learning and getting better at what he does every day.
As an accomplished professional who has provided a better life for his kids in terms of neighborhood, schooling, and opportunities, this past year has been very tough. In the wake of George Floyd’s killing, he has had to coach his kids on the frequent double standard applied to people of color by law enforcement. While these conversations are never pleasant, it’s one that many black fathers have had with their kids.
Ken says that as he reflects on the importance of Black History Month, he thinks of it as a moment of time to ask ourselves what we’re doing each day to combat the problem of racism. He believes corporations must do the same. That’s one of the things he appreciates about the culture of Palo Alto Networks, which provides a spotlight to allow people of color to tell their stories. It’s also making very meaningful changes on hiring and promotional opportunities for underrepresented communities.
Perhaps that’s why he has been profoundly influenced by Malcolm X — for his leadership within the African American community and his personal and spiritual transformation — and modern-day civil rights activist Shaun King — who works to promote social justice causes through social media.
Though the two men are separated by decades, Ken sees in them qualities he admires and strives to have in his own life: the willingness to keep pushing against obstacles, the desire to question the status quo, and the courage to speak up even when it is difficult, all in the name of fighting for change.
Joie de Vivre: Monique Head
Monique Head, Senior Manager, Security Education & Awareness, brings an open and artistic spirit to our Infosec team. Her work during last October’s Cyberfest activities was incroyable. She turned a call with a small group from all over the organization, most of whom had never met before, into a fully functional, cohesive team excited to execute and engage a wide variety of participants. Under her leadership, we had the best Cyberfest in company history.
Monique has a passion for “edutainment” or “gamification” in learning. As an owner-operator of her own consulting business while living in France, she explored acting, modeling, and design. These experiences now allow for the creation of meaningful educational training, which she has developed for a wide variety of learners.
Visibility and representation drive Monique’s passion. From working to build programs introducing computer use in the rural South to educational programs with Black Girls CODE, her work is motivated by the example of pioneers such as Gladys Mae West. Focusing on the empowering element of education, she works to create programs for youth education.
Monique offers Palo Alto Networks a dynamic and passionate educator. The chance to turn her vision of cybersecurity education and training into reality is a benefit in strengthening our culture. The success of Cyberfest was dependent on its appeal to, and engagement with, all levels of learners. Monique’s focus on each individual level, even children via special Cyber Academy classes, is evidence of her diligence and passion toward educating future generations on cybersecurity.
As an educator, Monique asks her participants to lean into their discomfort zone. As with a traveler working to develop a new language, discomfort can nudge one to work just a bit harder to understand and succeed. The next time you’re able to participate in one of Monique’s events, I’m sure you’ll agree that it has that certain je ne sais quoi.
Undeterred by Challenges: Jamie Fitz-Gerald
When Jamie was hired at Palo Alto Networks in 2011, I told him, “We’re a startup and we need you delivering on day one.” I almost feel bad in retrospect because Jamie didn’t have any product management experience at the time, but I must have known that he would thrive under the challenge. I believed then (as I do now) that in product management, talent is often more important than experience. Knowing Jamie as I now do, I can see how he was not only undeterred, but he seeks out and embraces new challenges, so it probably actually attracted him more to the role and company.
A little more about Jamie: He went to college at UC Santa Barbara, where he earned both a BS and MS in computer engineering. He claims he studied hard, but given the quality of his Santa Maria-style BBQ, I’m not so sure. He was also the president of his chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) while at UCSB, an early indication of his interest in giving back to the community and helping others. In fact, when I think about Jamie, it is the person that always comes to my mind first before the great work that he does. He’s always willing to step up, always learning, always helping, always listening, and always focused on what’s important. These traits are on full display whether he’s working with a customer, attending NSBE conferences representing Palo Alto Networks, speaking at SKO or the SE Summit, or working with internal teams. It’s this combination that makes Jamie a role model for others.
As for Jamie’s work at Palo Alto Networks, when he joined the company, he initially took on Panorama when it was still a very early-stage product and worked on it until it reached well over 10,000 customers. He quickly became an expert in the product, which speaks to his technical expertise, and he became one of the most requested and popular speakers at our Executive Briefing Center (EBC). He extended himself across all products and features so that he would understand the entire context of what we do and how to work with customers to solve their challenges. You can now find Jamie focused on stopping advanced cyber attacks as the leader of our Threat Prevention product, which is used by nearly all of our customers.
As we celebrate Black History Month, I’m honored to highlight Jamie, a true asset to the organization and someone I’m fortunate to know.
Creative Connections with Lewis Hill
My favorite part about being a people manager is the opportunity you have to find someone early in their career – someone who is unhampered by the (sometimes self-imposed) limitations of a corporate environment. It’s the bright-eyed perspective of potential, of an entirely new way of thinking – one that will most likely feel uncomfortable but will ultimately lead to something different and better.
That’s what I remember the most about my first meeting with Lewis Hill. We met over Zoom and interviewed for a position on my team – one centered on creating. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most creative of people – I think in hundreds of lines, but lines nonetheless. Lewis thinks in circles, and squiggles, and dots. He thinks in potential and possibility. But mostly he thinks in stories.
I think about how Lewis came to be at Palo Alto Networks – and it wasn’t a story of accidents. That’s not Lewis. Lewis is a strategy, a plan, and an intention. Lewis is someone who sees potential in every person, and part of that is the potential he sees in himself. I met Lewis several times through the interview process – and each time was a thoughtful presentation of his capability. Lewis is a dreamer – with a solid foundation in possibility.
Perhaps the best part of Lewis is his creative energy. When Lewis first started at Palo Alto Networks – he joined a team that had been a unit for two years. We all knew each other well – had built a foundation of trust, respect, and capability. What we didn’t know about our team, though, was what we were missing. Or rather, who. Lewis joined our team with ease that I have never seen before. His ability to connect with others by putting them at ease built a rapid trust that has led to creativity we have never had.
I’ve never met someone as passionately creative as Lewis. His ideas make us stronger, more capable of bringing people together. His job title could never reflect the connections he makes and the sense of belonging he creates.
To really know Lewis, you have to spend time with him. Whether it’s joining a phone call to hear his endlessly positive voice, or hearing his passion when speaking about celebrity real estate, his role model, Lebron James, or grapefruits, he’s a constant presence in our working lives that will never be quite the same. It could be the time that you pitch a creative idea, and he takes it and runs to show you something you never thought possible. Or it could be the time he took your feedback (and made it better), by creating a better way of telling a story.
Lewis truly has the Midas touch when it comes to graphic design and creativity. We don’t always work as ahead of schedule as we’d like, and we’ll get some last minute requests – but to Lewis, this isn’t a barrier. Lewis never just accepts a request for help – he finds ways to make it better. Instead of simply answering questions about font type and size, he digs into the behind the scenes feeling. He creates graphics that generate interest instead of fulfilling checkboxes. Aside from being extremely talented and creative, he’s a true embodiment of a team player.
But at the end of the day, Lewis has driven us to be a better version of ourselves. It’s hard not to sit with someone with that kind of passion for life without being driven to look for a deeper connection to it.
The Real Deal: Regina Acheampong
Since I started working with Regina, I’ve become convinced there’s nothing she can’t do.
With a law degree and more than 13 years’ experience in contract management, Regina joined Palo Alto Networks in 2016 to create more structure for our SLED organization. In her first year and a half, she helped take SLED from what almost felt like a side business for the company into a significant portion of our business.
Her success earned her a lead role with the Global Deal Response team, and now, in her fifth year with the company, she’s leading deal strategy and operations — including process improvement and automation — as Director of Business Operations.
But there’s much more to Regina than her business accomplishments. Aside from her pro-level Poker skills (seriously!), what I admire most is her dedication to uplifting the community and creating inclusive, welcoming environments in and outside the office. From her volunteerism supporting the homeless to her participation in our Black Employee Network Group, she gives back often and thoughtfully. This woman “walks the walk” on community service.
One of Regina’s passions is ensuring technology companies like ours are able to hire and nurture a strong, diverse workforce. She herself knows how difficult and unclear the path to success can be for underrepresented minorities; black women comprise just 3% of the American technology workforce, and even fewer hold leadership roles. It’s this personal connection that fuels her work in Cyber STARS, a Palo Alto Networks program that provides educational and mentorship opportunities in cybersecurity to Black and Brown youth.
“Technology is a lucrative field, and there are a lot of pathways that allow you to build a decent life for yourself,” she says. “But you have to know what’s available to you. To have diverse talent, companies have to create a diverse pipeline, and most kids, if they’re in low-income or Title I schools and at a racial or socioeconomic disadvantage, they’re not often shown that this is a pathway for them.”
Black History Month is not just an important time to reflect on past and present injustices, but also a time to challenge ourselves: are we actively uplifting this community for the future? It’s important to recognize who and what is actually moving the needle towards a better tomorrow. That’s why I’m highlighting my friend Regina, and hope others are just as inspired as I am by her dedication to creating real change for her community every month of the year.
Quiet Grace: Zeo Woldesilassie
I remember being interviewed by Zeo about eight years ago here at Palo Alto Networks and wondering, “Aren’t interviews supposed to be nerve-wracking? Why am I so much at ease with a total stranger?” That’s Zeo Woldesilassie for you! His calming aura and positivity are infectious and bring out the best in everyone.
What I’ve learned by simply observing this industry veteran over the years is that life doesn’t have to be complicated (cybersecurity included). His uncanny ability to break down the most complex concepts shows you what Feynman technique looks like in action! Zeo is one of the happiest people I know — full of gratitude, compassion, selflessness, strength, and grace. It is people like Zeo who’ve quietly, behind the scenes, laid the foundation of what Palo Alto Networks is today, constantly helping clinch mega deals and raising the bar for our competitors, such as the Lowe’s deal and creating demo and sandbox for the SE community.
Black History Month is a time to reflect back on what Black people endured in the past to get this far. Zeo believes it’s the responsibility of his generation to pay it forward and that networks like Ujima play a critical role in this effort, through various forms of mentorship, community service, and more. I think BHM provides a great opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of not just the famous Black personalities, but also the hidden gems like the Zeos of the community, who can better serve as inspirations to pursue the American dream, which often looks bleak for the less-privileged sectors within the communities of color.
There’s still a long road ahead, but I know the mantle of responsibility is safe with the likes of Zeo, who keeps striving for the betterment of the community. I’m so fortunate and humbled to work with Zeo, and it’s colleagues like him that make me miss coming to work during this pandemic!