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!
A Man of Many Firsts: Laramie Mergerson
With his MBA in entrepreneurship, Laramie came to Palo Alto Networks in 2016, fresh off a stint with a startup and with an entrepreneurial desire to move up and often. He stumbled into tech sales after coming out of the Navy, but he soon found he had an appetite for it. His time in the military had taught him the value of networking, and it was his connection with a West Point grad, a Palo Alto Networks employee, who forwarded Laramie’s resume to the recruiting team, and the rest is history.
His love of learning impressed me right away when we met. He’d approached me soon after being hired here at Palo Alto Networks, hoping to pick my brain about my role and what I recommended for him to grow a business development career. I saw right away that he was not only very ambitious, but his startup mentality meant he was hungry to take on new activities and truly live a growth mindset.
I wasn’t the only one who saw that. In his four years with the company, he’s been tapped for several roles in which he was first: first employee to carry a bona fide sponsored stretch assignment, first in a brand-new hybrid role with Major and Global Accounts, the first sales rep handling Major Accounts in Texas for Cortex, and the only Black man working in sales in this territory.
His job performance was obviously strong. But as executive sponsor of Ujima, the Black Employee Network, I saw a man committed to cultural understanding and connection. He saw pretty quickly that his Black customers were wanting more customer engagement events that were uniquely tailored to their culture.
“We have a really diverse team at Palo Alto Networks, but that was really eye-opening for me,” Laramie remembers. “I had never really thought of it from the customer perspective. I had focused on being the only Black guy here in the office selling, but you know, a lot of times, you’re the only one as the customer — all your sales reps are white, probably primarily male, and they want to take you to dinners or shows, and you want to be a good sport and develop a relationship, but those experiences aren’t tailored to you. So I thought, let’s do something different for Black History Month.”
Laramie and his team put together a new kind of happy hour event specifically for Black customers during Black History Month. Such events usually get a low response rate — but 90% responded, and an incredible 75% of them actually came. It really spoke to the need and desire for affinity groups not just in the workplace but in our approach to customers too.
The son of a man who picked cotton to earn extra money in the summertime, Laramie realizes that although we now celebrate Black History Month around the world, racial oppression and stereotypes are not so much a relic of the past as many might believe. But now that he is a father himself, with 11-month-old twin daughters, he’s excited that they’re growing up in a world where a Black woman can be vice president. “Now they’ll see that anything is possible,” he says. “But I still want them to be aware of where they came from and what Black people had to overcome for them to now live the lives they have.”
Walking Through History: Yvonne Mosby
After Kamala Harris was elected as the United States’ first Black, Indian, female vice president, a powerful image by artist Bria Goeller widely circulated. An update to Norman Rockwell’s painting of six-year-old Ruby Bridges integrating her New Orleans elementary school in 1960, Goeller’s work showed Vice President Harris striding confidently with Bridge’s shadow beside her.
For Yvonne Mosby, Palo Alto Networks’ Senior Purchasing Analyst, this image was particularly meaningful: similar in age to Ruby Bridges, she was one of the first African American students to integrate McArthur Junior High in Beaumont, Texas. “I was older than she was [when I was in that situation], but to think of her as a little child, she is my hero.” While Ruby walked alone, Yvonne had 17 other African American students with her. “I had support [from other students and my family], but it was a challenge. I’d come home and my mother would say, ‘I can’t console you, because you have to go back again tomorrow.’”
Yvonne parlayed this strength into a successful multi-industry strategic sourcing and contract-management career, traveling the world for companies including Siemens Medical, Boston Scientific, GAP, Nestlé, and Johnson & Johnson. Across many international negotiating tables, she persevered over outdated attitudes about women and African Americans and was always able to exceed goals and deadlines to provide value to her employers.
“Near and dear to my heart is training. Just this year at Palo Alto Networks, I’ve been involved with the launch and training of Ariba, which closely aligns with my passion for training and mentoring high school students, college interns, and those early in career,” she says.
As part of the team tasked with the extremely high-profile transfer from one procurement system to another, this was a truly impactful project for the company. And now, she personally processes 40% of all purchase requests (PRs) that go through the company and makes recommendations for continuous improvement through automation, which helps all employees. It was through Yvonne’s ever-patient guidance while I’ve tried to open tricky PRs that we originally met. She’s never failed to reassure me that we would persevere through whatever issue I was trying to overcome.
Yvonne has contributed greatly to our community in the education sector, from years of mentoring youth in the area of workforce readiness to serving on a California state education task force. The task force contributed to the implementation of teaching methods known as service learning for community service credits at the high school level. Tommy Lindsey, 2004 MacArthur Fellow, recognized Yvonne for service to California state high school forensics programs. Yvonne credits her upbringing to her life of community service. Her mother was one of the first African American nurses in Texas, and her aunt was a respected civil rights leader. This transcends to the extremely close and tight-knit family Yvonne has built in her 40-plus-year marriage to her husband, Carl, son Carl III, and daughter-in-law Autumn. Their granddaughter, Trinity Mosby, spoke at the 2020 Black Womens’ March at the California State Capitol. Trinity’s brothers, Jaxon and Elijah, are part of the village.
She’s contributed greatly to her workplaces as well: Her efforts in the I & D space at Nestlé resulted in her profile being included in a book titled Women of Courage along with civil rights icon Rosa Parks, whom she met at the book launch event. She enjoys Palo Alto Networks’ culture of inclusion and diversity. “The company has taken a leap in communicating diversity numbers that have to be improved. There is commitment at the executive level to positive change and to inclusion being non-negotiable,” she says. “I’m proud and grateful to be a Palo Alto Networks employee.”
Additionally, she cites our strong and cross-collaborative ENG network as a contributor to effecting change. “The year 2020 was one of increasing public visibility to racism and poverty in America. The call for social justice was evident in nationwide demonstrations that created more awareness of the issues past and present,” Yvonne adds. “Covid impacted all in some way. Despite the pain felt in our country, I remain hopeful that more hearts and minds will desire to create positive societal changes and desire equality for all. Our company’s generosity and commitment to communities is displayed through employees’ countless hours of volunteer work and their donations to life-improving organizations.”
Hope, Humility, and Humanity: Kevin Dunbar
I was in an innocuous work meeting one day early in my tenure when the conversation turned to where people had attended college — Stanford, Yale, Michigan, Berkeley, Princeton. It was an impressive cohort. As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant and first-generation (state) college graduate, I found myself feeling not like the others.
When the meeting ended, I walked across the campus with Kevin Dunbar, who had also recently started at the company (back when we did that go-to-work thing). Maybe he sensed my internal reflection, but he turned to me and said emphatically, “Yeah, well, that’s great, but I graduated from San Jose State University and am damn proud of it.” A fellow Spartan alum like me! We bonded instantly.
Diversity — in background and experience and thought — is part of what makes Kevin so good at what he does. He leads from the premise that “backgrounds bring ideas,” and that the ideas you have about the problems you see today are shaped by every experience you’ve had leading up to that point. The more experiences you have represented “in the room,” the more ideas generated, the better chance you have of uncovering a truly great solution.
Kevin has an uncanny ability to understand different perspectives and drive alignment. Maybe that comes from a sense of purpose instilled by his parents. Perhaps it’s that his mother was a Black Panther and his father a police officer. A diversity of perspectives and experiences was in Kevin’s family down to its core. (Who wouldn’t have loved to go to the Dunbars’ for family dinner?) Growing up, he learned the importance of activism and the importance of playing by the rules. Uncommon beginnings creating equally uncommon vision and perspective.
In the cybersecurity space, it’s easy, and common, for brands to lead with fear — attaching technical features and benefits to everything in the world you want to avoid. But as our SVP of Brand, Digital, and Demand, Kevin captures people’s attention another way — by connecting to a sense of service and our mission of protecting people. I see the ways that Kevin infuses hope and humanity into the Palo Alto Networks brand, from our external creative expression to the way he shows up in his day to day.
He always picks up the phone. He responds to that late-night email. He is someone who is willing to lend a hand. And it’s not just the C-level executive for whom he creates space. It’s the project manager, the graphic designer, the administrative assistant. He’s that guy who always makes the time even when he doesn’t have it. The way Kevin shows up brings a sense of connectedness, and of family, to everyone he works with. Maybe it’s his humble beginnings in East San Jose and making his way through the ranks, or the sum of hundreds of other experiences. Or maybe it’s just who he is. But whatever the cause, I am certain we’re better for it.
Kevin has said given the year we’ve had, Black History Month will be different this go around. And with Kevin’s background, ideas, experiences, and passion, I know it will be for Palo Alto Networks as well. And I can’t wait.
Building a Culture of Inclusion Employee Network Groups Offer Support and Amplify Voices
Mathew Donoghue, Vice President of Global Marketing
Originally posted on Palo Alto Networks Corporate Blog
The many changes we all faced in 2020 have led people to look more actively for communities to support, where they can share views and amplify their voices. As an Australian citizen living in the United States who is unable to vote, I found myself searching for other ways to support human rights and add my voice in some way. So when an opportunity to serve as executive sponsor for Palo Alto Networks’ LGBTQIA+ Employee Network presented itself, I immediately raised my hand.
Laying the Foundation
I’ve never been someone who has been “out” publicly in the workplace — fortunately, my sexuality has never been a problem for me at work. However, when I joined a Palo Alto Networks’ Employee Network Group (ENG) webcast on understanding privilege, I found it incredibly informative and eye-opening. It was a wake-up call of sorts, reminding me that far too often, many people’s basic human rights are infringed upon, and I saw how privileged I’ve been in my career to not be the subject of discrimination. It was at that moment that I decided I needed to become a voice for those around me who have not been as fortunate. I reached out to our Chief People Officer and let her know that I was interested in doing my part to contribute or give back in some way, and before long, I had the executive sponsorship role.
Palo Alto Networks hosts several ENGs, not just for LGBTQIA+ members but also Black, Asian, Muslim, LatinX, women, veterans, and early-in-career employees, all of whom face their own challenges and concerns in their lives and the workplace. The groups provide a sense of community for people who may at times feel isolated, unseen, or unheard. They offer a forum in which to share experiences, unify, validate, and amplify their voices to deepen understanding and promote advocacy.
In the LGBTQIA+ Network, I was surprised to discover that we had a membership of only 200 employees, including those who identify as members of the group as well as allies. It seemed astonishing to me that our numbers would be so small, particularly given the size of the company with thousands of employees across the globe and the fact that queer people tend to be generally fabulous. Upon reflection, it became clear that life can be quite different for some. In several countries, it is illegal to be gay (even punishable by death). For certain cultures where it may not be illegal, there’s still considerable shame associated with it.. People who live under these circumstances are forced to live in the shadows, often in fear and suffering in silence. This realization only increased my determination to help in any way I could.
I’ve learned a lot from participating in this ENG, which continues to be incredibly rewarding. One of the first things I learned was the language related to how members identify themselves, which can be critically important to a person’s sense of self. When someone is referred to with the wrong pronoun, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, or alienated. Asking and correctly using someone’s pronouns is one of the most basic ways we can show respect for someone’s gender identity. We offer a safe space to ask questions and gain understanding so that we can all be better colleagues, communicators, friends, and allies.
Inclusion and Diversity at the Heart
Diversity of experience, thought, and background really does drive creativity and innovation, and I’m very pleased to know that the leaders at Palo Alto Networks are behind this notion every step of the way. They have intentionally and thoughtfully made this company a very safe and inclusive space that welcomes all people, and I’m seeing the ENGs making huge strides in connecting people, offering safe spaces in order to have frank conversations, and addressing injustices in real, tangible ways.
The hard work put in by our employees, leadership, and LGBTQIA+ group is showing results as Palo Alto Networks, for the second year in a row, has received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and has been named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality. The CEI is the nation’s premier benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality. This recognition is a testament to Palo Alto Networks’ commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Finding Purpose
As an executive sponsor, I have discovered a sense of purpose, and I look forward to the continued opportunity to help others — people who for whatever reason may have been denied rights or told they are not worthy — to feel that they are important and to know that what they say matters. In my professional role with the company and as a member of the marketing leadership team, I elevate ENG members’ voices, further drive awareness of issues across the organization, and champion members’ efforts with our executive team. This involves organizing and consulting on events, identifying and sharing resources with the ENG, or helping to clear roadblocks that might stand in the way of their efforts. Or it may mean listening to members’ ideas and concerns and then sharing them with the people who are in a position to make a difference. One of our initiatives is a book club, where we read literature that contains LGBTQIA+ characters or topics that might spur discussions between people of all backgrounds within the company. Ultimately, the goal is to help people find a way to connect with each other, recognize and address stigmas, and educate them about the many ways they can help, not hurt, others.
We’re making great progress at Palo Alto Networks, but there’s still work to be done, and I’m excited about the road ahead. With great pleasure and immense pride, I’m able to play a role in ensuring EVERYONE at Palo Alto Networks is not just accepted but welcomed and celebrated!
Do you wake up ready to take on the world? Palo Alto Networks wants you.
I have built my career on being a “growth guy.” I’ve worked for several multinational technology companies and have been tasked with growing teams and revenues over a short period of time. However, none of them have had the opportunities and potential that I’ve found here at Palo Alto Networks. Our incredible growth is like no other company’s in the industry, but we need talented, hungry professionals to join us and help take us to the next level.
It should come as no surprise that cybersecurity is the hottest segment of the technology industry. And when you look at any list of the key players in the market, Palo Alto Networks is consistently ranked at the top of the heap. In fact, the company was recently named one of the Fortune 50 alongside such names as Amazon, Tesla, and PayPal. Plus, the company’s acquisition strategy and ability to integrate new cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are unmatched.
But aside from those facts, which were very attractive to me, I could see that the people who work here clearly care deeply for this company. All of them come from different backgrounds and have different talents and experiences, but they all share an obvious love for the company and its mission to be the cybersecurity partner of choice by protecting our digital way of life. All of these factors combined are what drew me to work here in late 2020.
Our recent growth in the EMEA market is astounding. In the last year, we’ve grown six times faster than the rest of the market. Companies are becoming more digitized at an unprecedented pace — it is among the top three goals on the agenda of every CEO — and chief digitization officers are taking prominent roles in their companies’ futures. This has been further accelerated by COVID, which has driven workers and students, by necessity, to work remotely and move more of their interactions online. And you cannot have digitization without security, particularly cloud security. We are helping to keep businesses alive and working in a secure environment. Demand is growing rapidly for the security we offer, but to meet that demand, it is essential that we add motivated, talented, energetic, experienced professionals capable of dealing with the complexity of this work — particularly C-level executives — to our team in Germany.
Culture of Success
Our German team comprises a healthy mix of very experienced people who have worked in the industry for 25 or 30 years along with recent graduates and young professionals who are new to the industry but passionate about what we do and eager to learn and grow. The culture on this team de-emphasizes hierarchies: We all contribute, and all our voices are heard, at all levels of the organization. We aren’t focused on titles; we do what needs to be done, and no task is beneath us.
This company also is tremendously generous with its people. Yes, we often use words such as “grow faster” and “overdeliver,” but social engagement within our team is also a priority. This company is focused on caring for its employees and their families, ensuring that their needs are met. Many companies say that, but here it is truly lived every day.
I’m also excited about the level of diversity I increasingly have seen within our team — in fact, three of our leadership roles with our German office are held by females and 25% of our recent new hires were women. I’ve rarely seen a company so committed to inclusion, and it is seen and felt by everyone every day.
Perhaps what is best about working here is that despite our incredible rate of growth, our size still allows us to remain agile. We are the perfect size to make a difference. Here, you can be heard, and you have the freedom to create and innovate — we have the right balance of corporate sustainability and individual freedom. Although we are at the top of our game, we still operate as a startup, which is how we have gotten to where we are today.
Technical experience and training are useful in any new employee, of course, but even more important is your desire for challenge, your hunger to make a difference in the security space. I’m looking for people who are passionate about security, ready to live and breathe it and to employ creative solutions to move us to the next level. You should have a big-picture strategy for getting ahead and have a vision for growing the company and your own career. If you wake up ready to tackle the world, there’s a place for you here at Palo Alto Networks.
Asking the Questions that Matter: Sponsoring an Employee Network Group
Amy and her “grandpuppy,” Tucker.
Career development has been a passion of mine and an important part of my career since long before I joined Palo Alto Networks three years ago. So, it was a fortunate coincidence that I was asked, within two months of coming to work here, to step in as an executive sponsor for the company’s Early in Career Employee Network Group (ENG).
In fact, the opportunity landed on my lap — my colleague, who was the sponsor at the time, was unable to attend the group’s meet and greet and asked if I could take his place at the event. Soon afterward, he realized that his schedule didn’t really allow him to continue as a sponsor, and it made good sense for me to take on that role. After all, it was congruent with my position at the company, which at the time was Vice President of Corporate Sales — a role that, among other things, involved bringing on new talent through LEAP, the company’s early-in-career recruitment and training program.
The Early in Career ENG plays an important part in helping employees who are just starting out in their careers to make connections, seek advice, share concerns or frustrations, and develop their skills. It doesn’t necessarily mean its members have to be fresh out of college — some have been working for many years but are just starting out in cybersecurity. Issues that crop up for members include such things as establishing work-life balance, navigating finances, finding answers to work-related questions, strengthening time-management skills, identifying mentors, finding training opportunities, building professional and personal confidence, forming friendships, and finding their voice. Events range from book clubs to speaker sessions, educational presentations, training webinars, the occasional virtual happy hour, and much more.
The year 2020 has presented additional challenges, including isolation — many are recent grads and single, living alone — or feelings of disconnectedness from peers. Socials and meet-and-greet events are often a lifeline for those starting out in their careers, and with those opportunities taken off the table due to the pandemic, finding alternative ways to connect and network is essential in helping these employees stay engaged. For those fresh out of college or new to full-time employment, basic infrastructure, such as desks or designated work areas, is lacking, which adds to the difficulty of working from home. The support, advice, and connection this ENG provides are especially valuable to this group of employees, who appreciate being able to share their experiences with others who “get it.”
Being an executive sponsor doesn’t make me a leader, but rather a sounding board, advocate, cheerleader, and advisor. All the various ENG groups at Palo Alto Networks develop programs and events that are intended to be meaningful to constituent members and drive visibility across the organization. This involves considerable planning and budgeting, which I participate in. Because of my background, I can assist them in building their personal brands and bring vision to the group. I can also help spread the word about issues or concerns facing these employees or opportunities for others in the organization to participate in events or be more inclusive of early-in-career employees.
I also see raising questions as an important part of my role — questions related to what outcomes they’re seeking and how they can achieve them. I see it as the executive sponsor’s responsibility to raise questions they didn’t think to consider, to tease out their thinking and help them come up with solutions.
We all remember our first or second job, and we remember the people who were there to help lift us off. That’s why the Early in Career ENG — as well as the many ENGs we have here at Palo Alto Networks — is so important. It offers a sense of belonging as well as opportunities to both lead and follow, growing their confidence as they do. I avidly study social psychology, and one person known in this space, Brené Brown, once wrote, “We’re hardwired for connection.” Without connection in a company as large as ours, a person can easily get lost. An ENG creates a community where a person can feel safe and understood, and in turn, it helps them to feel more closely tied to the company. It not only benefits the individual but as a result, the company enjoys less turnover and happier, more productive, more engaged employees.
A company always has to be cautious that it doesn’t become exclusive in its efforts to be inclusive. That’s why an ENG is valuable for every employee, whatever affinity group we identify with. Participating in an ENG, even if you aren’t early in your career, offers a window into the issues facing those employees, as well as a deeper understanding of their ideas and perspectives, which can aid in innovation as well as recruitment and retention efforts. We’re never too experienced to learn from others which is why establishing and sponsoring ENG groups is a worthwhile investment.