cares for society and helps those less fortunate than us .”

During her time there , Pasalic believes she has been able to make some great strides professionally : “ My biggest achievement has been building a world-class team with the necessary market-leading expertise to truly transform Cisco .

“ This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity , where we get to be in the middle of Cisco ’ s transformation from traditional hardware to software organisation . It ’ s been gratifying to instigate close teamwork across the entire company and create the experience that our customers no longer expect , but demand .”

Empowering women to take up tech As a female in a male-dominated industry , Pasalic believes her experiences as a woman have turned her into an empathetic leader .

“ I ’ ve seen first-hand how supportive , caring managers can lead brilliant teams , and are more likely to retain talent , inspiring higher levels of productivity and engagement ,” she notes .

This skill developed from her own personal experiences arriving in the UK as a refugee from Bosnia : “ My family and I built a new future in the UK from nothing . This is after having lived through the disruption and trauma of war . I believe this experience has instilled a high degree of resilience and informed my empathetic leadership style .”

“ I have always been a good listener , able to understand when people are facing tough times in their personal

or working lives . Certainly , today my colleagues will tell you , I have a very open , ‘ tell me anything ’ approach to people management ,” she continues .

Pasalic is also determined to be an activist for women in the field , particularly as she points out that only one in five UK tech employees is a woman .

“ So , clearly , we ’ re not attracting enough women into the sector . However , as more and more senior women rise up the ranks , this will demonstrate to girls and younger women that tech is a career open to females ,” she says .

Concluding , she outlines how she looks to empower women in tech : “ I ’ m a senior member of the team , so I ’ ve been looking to make myself more visible . I say ‘ yes ’ to most opportunities , even if it ’ s outside my comfort zone . This is important . ‘ See her , be her ’, as they say .”

“ I both mentor and sponsor people earlier in their careers – roles that are about providing guidance and advice .” technologymagazine . com 21