My Global Career Adventure

In my early high school years, I had a passion for the world beyond my native Scotland—a constant curiosity about different people and cultures. This had a huge influence in my decision making for degree and career choice. I opted for a career in finance, knowing this was an international skill set that would allow me to explore the world.

Once I graduated, I was extremely diligent in my choice of interview— each company had to have a great training program, as well as overseas assignment opportunities. I was very fortunate to be offered a job with one of these companies, and my journey and adventure to a career in global finance took off.

My 29+ years in the semiconductor field has spanned five countries and given me significant leadership opportunities across the globe.

My first overseas role took me to Geneva, Switzerland, working at the European Headquarters supporting our Eastern European partnerships. In this role, not only did I learn a different culture, I also broadened my development from traditional general accounting to business analytics.

My journey continued to Toulouse, France. This was a particularly interesting challenge for me, as I oversaw a large team where no one spoke English. I had to learn the culture, business model, and business practices, but most important, I had to learn the language very quickly. With the amazing passion, patience, and commitment of my team, we worked together in a new learning model. It presented challenges, but we overcame them quickly, and within six months, we all spent our days speaking and driving business in French.

From there my adventure continued to Asia, based in Hong Kong supporting all Asian entities. I grew so much in this role in terms of understanding how the many different cultures in this region worked despite language and cultural barriers, and how I could have a strong influence on female development in the workplace, a strong passion of mine. My final destination on the world map was supporting our product businesses in Austin, Texas. If I am honest, this was not my most desired location, but the career opportunity was too good to pass up. Lo and behold, I fell in love with Austin, and 21 years, two companies, and two children later this became my permanent home. My global leadership journey continues from my Austin base and with the technology that exists in the world we live in today; my global teammates are never too far away.

Global thinking knows no bounds and the influence we as female leaders can have on any company is limitless. Always remember to follow your passion, make a difference, constantly learn on your journey, and never forget the power of a global diverse team!