speaker q&A: HELEN YU, CEO & FOUNDER, TIGON ADVISORY CORP

”Be curious and be courageous. Treat technology as your best friends, invest in them, learn from them and thrive with them. Technology is always there for you regardless of your job title and status.”

HELEN YU, FOUNDER & CEO, TIGON ADVISORY CORP

1. Your work in tech spans many areas – what do you think will become the top 3 hot topics & priorities within the tech world in the months and year to come?

COVID-19 is a humanitarian crisis that has become a catalyst for change from an economic, social, personal and corporate perspective. As businesses focus on building a more resilient, flexible and safer environment, here are three priorities:

  • Cybersecurity: Creating a CyberFit culture is everyone’s responsibility within an organization
  • ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance): Investing in sustainability practices and diversity will help businesses thrive in the long run
  • Hyperautomation: Establishing a framework to mix and match a vast array of technologies encourages broader collaboration and integration

2. In your opinion, what big emerging tech trends have adapted the most due to the pandemic?

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of cloud technology, work collaboration tools such as Zoom, online shopping with robot delivery, digital and contactless payment, AI-enabled distance learning and wearable IoT devices tracking personal health.

3. As an incredibly successful woman in the industry, what would you say to girls and young women who are on the fence about their future in technology?

Be curious and be courageous. Treat technology as your best friends, invest in them, learn from them and thrive with them. Technology is always there for you regardless of your job title and status.

4. What can women at the top do to help promote diversity & inclusion within tech organizations?

As women executives, we first need to challenge the organization with an honest dialogue on where the company is at with diversity and inclusion, help set up a practical goal, share that goal with the entire company and monitor progress.  We need to rethink what leadership means, and how it is reflected in the process of hiring, promoting and advocating for diversity.  We as women leaders should mentor, coach and sponsor leaders with diverse backgrounds and be a role model promoting diversity of thought at every level of an organization.

5. Finally, without giving away too much, what can we expect from your session on digital vs cultural transformation at the Women in IT Virtual Summit, Silicon Valley 2020?

I will be a panelist on the session “Transformation: Culture vs. Digital.” 

I believe real growth thrives at the intersection of #Tech and #Humanity. There are only two options when it comes to digital transformation: to disrupt or be disrupted.  The digital transformation process demands leaders who anticipate opportunities and threats and embrace disruption.  Technology only contributes to 20% toward a successful digital transformation, 80% is leading people through change management and helping them understand how technology advancement directly correlates to the greater success of the company and the world we live in.

 

You can hear more from Helen at the Women in IT Virtual Summit Silicon Valley on October 7 2020. You can view the agenda and register your free place here.