The rise of women in higher management , in digital technology business roles , and in STEM is an ongoing discussion that is still only making baby steps towards an equal balance . However , successful female professionals are growing in number and using their positions to speak about their experiences , serving to prove that women are able to enter and thrive in all manner of jobs and should be encouraged to do so . Ali Greenwood , Vice President – Data Center Solutions at JLL ; Gina Gardner , Director of Enterprise Data Center Solutions : Wholesale , Custom & Cloud Services at QTS ; Michelle Forbes , who is also a Director of Enterprise Data Center Solutions : Wholesale , Custom & Managed / Cloud Services at QTS ; and Sarah Keller , Senior Manager , Technical Sourcing and Supply Chain at Uber , are all women playing vital roles in the large businesses they represent . All of them were excited by the concept of data centers , and all of them had to learn the industry from scratch to become the experts they are today .
Greenwood began her career at a small real estate investment and development organization , before the company she worked for was drafted in to assist in securing capital for a new data center . She swiftly had to learn all about this new world including all costs involved , and was fascinated by it .
“ I started working at Digital Realty a couple of months later ,” she says . “ It was such a great way to learn the data center business . Truly focusing on the data center itself , the required investment , ongoing operating expenses , leasing , and how it all affects the ultimate return to stockholders is an incredibly valuable approach to understanding the data center business . I wouldn ’ t trade that experience for anything .”
Greenwood felt , however , that she should be working more closely with people , using her skills as an articulate and engaging person to translate the potentially complicated world of
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