As a young woman, Colleen Browne thought her degree in business and her love for advertising would land her a career in that field. Reflecting back on her 18 years in the IT industry, she realizes just how much she’s accomplished.
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Click here to view Part Two of our Women in the IT Channel slideshow.
Browne went to school in the Maritimes and was offered a job with Epson in Ontario, in its marketing and communications department. Four years later, Browne found herself working at Lexmark as part of the senior management team, where she handled marketing communications for the company for five years. Following this, Browne was hired on at ViewSonic, where she was to set up and manage a marketing department. Not long after, the person she reported to was transferred to the U.S. and she assumed his position and became the general manager of Canada. Browne’s current role with ViewSonic is now the director of North American sales on the reseller and enterprise side of the business, a job she accepted 14 months ago.
“My biggest career accomplishment was when I transitioned from marketing communications manager straight into the general manager role, which was within a span of eight months. I had to learn on the job and I relied heavily on my team and the reseller community to be as successful as I could in learning the scope of general management.”
Browne says her most important lesson she’s learned in her IT career is to be true to herself and her organization.
“Be true to yourself and the organization,” she said. “Integrity is important and also have fun and enjoy what you’re doing. Be the best at your current role and make a difference. Anyone who’s looking to progress in their career should also indicate to (his/her) manager that (he/she)’s looking for a change.”
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