Shelley Westman is an accomplished executive recognized for her leadership in growth & transformation, cybersecurity, and her deep operational & execution skills. Currently serving as Vice President at Kyndryl, she was also a Partner/Principal at EY for 3 years. Prior to that, she spent 18 years at IBM, where she held various roles, including Vice President of Operations & Strategic Initiatives in IBM Security, and founded the Women in Security Excelling (WISE) group, which significantly impacted women’s involvement in cybersecurity. Shelley started her background practicing law and holds a JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with Digital First Magazine, Shelley shared insights on the role of technology and innovation evolving in the future and what implications those will have for businesses and society, significant career milestone, her favorite quote, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Shelley. What drives your passion for driving transformation and innovation within large organizations?
I read a book early in my career that really stuck with me. It was called Clockspeed, and the premise of the book is that all advantage is temporary and that organizations must transform or risk being left behind. There are countless examples of organizations that did not transform and ceased to exist. This really drove my passion for figuring out, at every level of the organization, how to keep your advantage and continuously improve.
What do you love the most about your current role?
I lead Go-to-Market for our Core Enterprise & zCloud practice at Kyndryl. Kyndryl is the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, serving thousands of enterprise customers in more than 60 countries. The company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex, mission-critical information systems that the world depends on every day. What I love the most about my current role is that there are so many facets of go-to-market which makes this exciting. Since the role spans from strategy to messaging to enablement, I am always free to come up with new ideas to ensure that we are bringing our best ideas forward for our customers. I also love that this role allows me to work with my talented colleagues around the world to drive and grow the business.
How do you see the role of technology and innovation evolving in the future, and what implications will this have for businesses and society?
I think about this often. It is staggering to think about the rate and pace of technological changes. We are near an inflection point on AI and generative AI that will impact how organizations – and individuals – function. I see the largest impact for organizations in terms of being freed up from doing manual, repetitive and detailed tasks, allowing organizations to focus their workforce on spending time thinking, innovating and dealing with complex issues.
Can you share your perspective on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology industry, and how you approach mentoring and advocating for women and minorities pursuing careers in the STEM field?
For much of my early career, I gave no thought to being a woman in technology. I did my job, I expected to be rewarded and was, in fact, promoted many times. My personality is such that I am assertive and will stand up for myself, so I never considered that I was different from anyone else in the room. I did start to observe that not everyone feels comfortable speaking up for themselves. It really hit home for me when I reached the level of Vice President. I looked around and decided that if I don’t speak up and drive diversity and inclusion, who will? I want to be clear that it is not just diversity around gender and race. It has been proven time and time again that having diverse teams leads to better results. This includes diversity of thought, background and experiences. Therefore, I decided to be vocal and to double down on mentoring and advocating for women and minorities. While we have made progress, women and minorities are not yet at parity in STEM fields. Until this happens, I will continue to accelerate action to drive that parity. I am also a huge proponent that we need more allies as we drive for more diversity and inclusion. I love that at Kyndryl, our KINs (resource groups) are open to anyone and that allyship is welcomed.
Who has been a significant influence or mentor in your career, and how have they helped shape your professional journey?
I can’t possibly answer this question by naming one person. I have worked for some of the best companies in the world and have access to so many people who have mentored and/or sponsored me – either formally or informally. Mentors are so important, but I will say that sponsors are even more important. These are the people who will vouch for you and recommend you for a role, knowing that you can do the job. I will be eternally grateful for those that took time out of their days to believe in me and help me.
What has been your most career-defining moment that you are proud of?
Without a doubt, it would be attending the closing bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange with Kyndryl in 2023! I had this on my bucket list for so many years and I literally jumped up and down when I found out I was invited to this event. It was such an exciting day, and I will always cherish this amazing memory.
How do you prioritize your well-being and self-care amidst a demanding career?
I just recently re-joined a gym, and I put the evening classes I want to attend on my calendar, so I remember to make time to work out. If it is not on my calendar, it does not happen. Additionally, we just moved to Sarasota, Florida, 3 years ago and the gorgeous weather (minus hurricane season) really motivates me to enjoy being outside. We were lucky to make so many new friends in Florida and I am really enjoying myself.
What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is really a motto I live by. “It is better to be 100% fast and 80% right.” This is actually my own quote and ties into the premise that all advantage is temporary. I like to try new things and if they don’t work, fail fast. If they do work, then I scale them out. This has really served me well in my career.
What are your long-term career aspirations, and how do you see yourself evolving as a leader over the next five years?
I am one of those people who loves working (once I left the practice of law!). I feel so fortunate that I am so passionate about my career. Over the next 5 years I want to ensure that whatever I am doing, I feel that same passion. I also want to ensure that I am having fun at work. This is key to ensuring that every day you bring your best self to the role. I firmly believe that if you don’t like what you are doing, find something else. Life is too short to have a job you don’t enjoy. It is never too late to do something new and reinvent yourself.
What advice would you give to aspiring leaders looking to drive business growth and transformation?
Be bold and fearless. Speak up. Test ideas. Don’t be constrained by what has always been done. Be willing to take a risk. Volunteer for the project that no one wants to take. Become known for something. Lastly, never stop learning new things.