Beena Ammanath, Global VP of Data, AI, and New Tech at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

When Beena Ammanath was ready to get back into leadership after taking what she considered to be a “step back” into an individual contributor role, she used her strong tech foundation to propel herself forward. Now, as the Global Vice President of Data, Artificial Intelligence, and New Tech Innovation at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (whoa!), she is using her own experience to inspire other women in tech to continue working hard to move ahead in the industry. On top of that, she has established a nonprofit aimed at demystifying and humanizing artificial intelligence. With that, we come away with some serious career advancement points. Accelerate your growth process and your upward trajectory Accelerate your growth process and your upward trajectory by demonstrating your skillset outside of the box. Offering senior leadership and executive abilities to a startup and creating a “give and take” situation creates a fast-track after a “step back.” To move forward, you have to pull back a little bit. Leverage your strengths and understand the problem or pain point Leverage your strengths and understand the problem or pain point to build your reputation. Ask questions, understand what your peers are trying to solve and help them get there, whether you are doing it or you’ are guiding your peers. It’s not only what you do that is important, but who knows what you do. To build your influence and establish your credibility and reputation, you need to start early to see pay off. Make sure the right people know how awesome you are, or you may miss out on opportunities. As women, it is up to us to step out and speak. It doesn’t matter what career stage you are in, because there will always be someone who is looking for a role model that they can relate to. There are many people going through similar challenges.