For Women’s History Month, the marketing team at Acuative interviewed Jessica Carroll, Chief Experience Officer. Jessica is an expert on customer success, employee engagement, and digital transformation, and has over 30 years of leadership experience in the technology industry.
Why do you think diversity is important in our industry?
Diversity, whether we’re talking gender or other elements, brings variety in thought and approach. Especially in technology, we need unique perspectives for what we innovate and how we deliver those solutions. As structured as technology needs to be, it also requires creativity to continue to break through the known into the transformative.
Who is your biggest role model in life?
My professional role mode is Judy Bell. She is a pioneer in the world of golf and I was fortunate to work for her at the United States Golf Association (USGA) years ago. She is a highly accomplished golfer, successful business person, and was the first woman elected President of the USGA. What is intriguing is that despite all of her successes, she showed me what professional grace and humility looked like; she always had time to stop, listen, and care about everyone regardless of role. She had vision and pushed technology forward at a pivotal time when the internet was just becoming ubiquitous with business operations. She supported me and my team in introducing new technologies to advance the organization. From Judy I learned the value of listening and opening the mind positively towards people and things that sometimes you cannot control.
What challenges have you faced in your career as a woman?
Truly I’ve never approached my professional self in terms of gender, rather, I’ve always simply strived to be great at what I do. I can’t say that I’ve had a challenge “because I am a woman.” Any obstacles I’ve faced can’t be pinned on that. I believe my toughest challenges have been of my own making. Breaking past my own limitations however, has led me to deeper success, which has absolutely nothing to do with being a woman, but can be accomplished by any woman that is striving towards success.
What message would you like for readers to take away about Women’s History Month?
As leaders we owe those just beginning their careers our best mentorship, which can come in many forms. We still need more women in technology, again diversity brings creativity and fresh points of view. Finding methods and outlets to widen interest in a technology-related career for a diverse pool of individuals, women or other groups, should be everyone's focus. Those of us that are later in our careers have so much to share to the next wave of professionals. Seek out ways to help support someone just coming up. Giving back in this way can be so rewarding!
Thank you, Jessica, for taking the time to discuss the significance of Women's History Month and how it impacts your role as Chief Experience Officer. Acuative recognizes that achieving diversity should be a top priority for organizations. We are committed to diversity and inclusion and are constantly seeking to create opportunities for a more just society.