There are many different paths to a successful career, and many people don’t start off in the same industry, let alone the same kind of role in which they ultimately find job satisfaction. Here are some great examples from a few of our powerhouse women in digital, sharing how they got where they are today. 

From Physio to Phish Catcher

As a young woman starting out in the healthcare industry, Sasha Moffatt may not have envisaged that a few years down the track she’d be delivering cyber awareness training and managing cyber risk and governance for a large infrastructure services provider! Sasha says she found working as a physiotherapist at major hospitals like the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Queensland very rewarding but also quite emotionally draining. 

“I still wanted to work in a role where I was helping people, and I had an interest in tech and cyber security, so I decided to undertake independent study to gain the skills I’d need to move into a new field,” Sasha says. As it has a wide variety of courses and offering self-study, virtual classes, interactive labs and many other flexible training opportunities, Sasha signed up to a number of certifications through the Computing Technology Industry Association, more commonly known as CompTIA. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associations.

With these certifications under her belt and her passion for tech, Sasha joined Ventia in March this year, initially working in the project team before stepping into her current role in cyber security.

Everyone plays a role in cyber security

Sasha says that the jump from physiotherapy to cyber security makes sense when you consider the role that everyone plays in cyber security these days. “Pretty much everyone has been impacted by cyber security,” she says.

"Importantly, we need to ensure that our people understand how and why they are being asked to treat data carefully, and in turn we need to understand the barriers to compliance."

“Again, I can draw parallels with healthcare here,” Sasha explains. “As a physio I understood the body and what works to keep it healthy or repair it. My patients, however, didn’t always understand why I was making them do some of these remediation activities, for example.”

“So my job was to understand what barriers a patient might have that means they don’t follow instructions and work out how to overcome them.”

“I treat cyber security governance and training much the same way.”

Sasha is enjoying getting out and about across the Ventia business and hearing from our people how they want to learn, what they understand about cyber security and risk, and how she can help create programs and initiatives that will inspire them to lean in and be more cyber secure!

Evolving her career as tech evolves

Being relatively new to the tech field means that Sasha knows she still has a lot to learn, and that excites her.

“The tech industry changes so fast, and I am really looking forward to learning as much as I can, and just getting stuck in.”

The future for Sasha is fast paced, and bright!

Living by the motto “excellence is never an accident”

Wendy Gallibu-Wang works in tech, but it’s the people behind the tech that she is most passionate about. If you’re ever in doubt about what drives her, join a Teams call and check out the background she has on display – Ventia’s values.

“Alignment between our personal values and those of the organisation we work for is what anchors us,” she says. “Good engagement with your people is key to the success of any organisation.”

Wendy’s current role as Mobilisations Program Manager sees her looking after contract mobilisations, de-mobilisations and business transitions from a digital services perspective, working closely with business leads and customer representatives to ensure smooth processes.

What is the voice of the customer?

Despite what many would see as a very tech-based role, she says right from the start of her career she has leaned toward creative roles but with a practical delivery outcome.

“I particularly love the interaction with customers, which probably started when I worked in my family’s restaurant starting from the age of 11,” Wendy explains. “I worked both front and back of house there, the only thing I didn’t do was cook, as I was never any good at that!”

Learning how to engage with customers, work out what they wanted and then deliver on that was something she learned at a young age and has carried through her career to date.

Following completing a degree in Bachelor of Industrial Design and Master of Project Management at university, whilst working with government in public events production, Wendy delivered large scale events such as New Year’s Eve events, which she says indirectly led her into the tech space.

Her ability to connect with the customer and deliver on their needs and expectations has seen her receive multiple nominations for awards over the years, including the Australian Service Excellence Awards and the Channel Nine Awards for product and tech delivery and living their values.

Whilst at Nine, she delivered a 3-year program around the Voice of the Customer as they managed a transition from delivering news content primarily in print to digital.

“The voice of the customer and customer centricity was embedded into the roadmap planning, operations and reporting for the program, which was critical to its success.”

Wendy has brought that critical focus to her role at Ventia.

Excellence is never an accident

Wendy finds inspiration in a quote from Aristotle, which says:

In line with that focus on high intention and intelligent execution, she says she always asks herself the following questions when she starts out with a project. Who are our customers for this project? Does everyone understand what we’re trying to do? And are we working together toward the same outcomes?

A critical element of the work Wendy does is in ensuring customers are onboard with the change process and connecting the dots for the delivery teams.

“New things also mean leaving old things behind, and people can struggle with that,” Wendy says. “You often need to give people time to emotionally prepare for the change, and when you work in a fast-paced environment, that time is often not factored in.”

What took me from chemistry to data and AI

You often hear the term “STEM” discussed in the workplace and in schools and universities like it is a single field. However, studying or working in STEM could take you into roles as diverse as chemical engineer, meteorologist, data analyst or food scientist.

So whilst General Manager Data and AI Dr Jade Aitken theoretically stayed within her field of study if you consider it STEM, realistically the leap from chemist to data consultant (via some time in R&D Tax and law) and AI expert was not an expected career move.

With a PhD (Chemistry), BSc (Hons) from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Technology, Jade’s career into digital didn’t follow the usual path.

From her first use of data science during her research days, she has developed and built on those skills to establish herself as a highly successful, executive technology leader with demonstrated success in strategy, planning and delivery.

Jade says the pivotal moment that shaped her approach to data projects occurred early in her academic career.

“As a chemistry PhD student, I was fortunate to have two insightful professors as mentors,” she says.

Jade says these mentors introduced her to the concept of using data collected from high-energy physics facilities to study drug-disease interactions.

“I learnt how to analyse this complex data and use the results to influence drug design and development.”

Critically, this experience showed Jade the immense potential of data-driven approaches in solving real-world problems.

She says it also taught her a few important lessons:

• The importance of looking beyond traditional methods in any field
• The value of interdisciplinary approaches in data science
• The power of mentorship in shaping one's career path
• The potential of data analysis to drive innovation and impact

“This experience laid the foundation for my future work in AI, teaching me to always seek innovative ways to leverage data for meaningful outcomes,” Jade explains. “It also instilled the importance of nurturing others' interests in data, just as my mentors did for me.”

Jade stresses that her career journey isn’t over yet, especially given the constant changes in the fields of AI and data.

Jade is also both mentor and mentee, as the learning goes both ways.

From that to leadership development initiatives, guest speaking at events around Australia and New Zealand and keeping her writing skills sharp through the creation of thought leadership content for industry publications such as Facility Perspectives, Jade is always seeking and sharing new knowledge.

For inspiration on data and AI developments, keep an eye out for Jade’s insights from future events.