START DATE: 18/02/2021
Start Time:6:30 PM EST
Duration:90 minutes
AGENDA:
Increasingly, progressive tech companies are recognizing the significant business benefits of a diverse workforce. They have seen more innovation, increased creativity, and therefore, growth in bottom-line profits. The Harvard Business Review reports that employees of firms with diverse teams are 45% likelier to report a growth in market share over the previous year and 70% likelier to report that the firm captured a new market.
In order to develop and build resilient products that remain strong in the market, a company needs diverse perspectives and insight during the design and development phases. An engineering and product team needs to be able to see the product from all angles, identify pain points and build solutions to solve the consumers' needs. Product engineering is responsible for developing the product and keeping it operating. Designing and building transformational products and services go beyond research, a company requires a team with different perspectives and worldview, to unearth the nuance needs of an end-user.
Hiring Black tech talent is not about charity, it is about winning in business. In partnership with Microsoft, we are excited to bring this stimulating conversation to the BPTN community. Hear from leading technologies on how they are now thinking about using the super power of diversity to build great products!
Are you on/leading a product or engineering team? You don't want to miss this power session. Join us!
About BPTN Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN) bridges the talent gap in the tech industry by providing Black technical and business professionals with access to senior executive sponsorship, skill development and a strong peer network to support their career growth
About Microsoft Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
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Speakers
Lekan Olawoye Founder & CEO BPTN A passionate advocate for organizational change and lasting progress, Lekan Olawoye is a leader who is equally comfortable offering high-level business advice as he is passionately speaking about how to be an effective ally. His organization, the Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN), is the largest of its kind in Canada and the third largest in the US with an organization spanning over 10,000 members. Olawoye’s cross-sector experience gives him the skills to foster transformational change and provide critical guidance on harnessing the power of meaningful diversity.
Olawoye honed his expertise across roles spanning from local non-profit organizations to government advisory boards to executive boardrooms. As lead executive, Talent Development at the MaRS District, Olawoye helped ensure workers had the skills and adaptability needed to thrive in modern work environments. Throughout these roles, Olawoye has earned a reputation for effective leadership and peerless vision, resulting in industry awards and accolades.
With his proven insight and tireless dedication to inclusivity, Olawoye’s perspective is sought by people across many fields. He’s been published in The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and TechCrunch, and the annual BPTN summit is the largest virtual Black tech summit globally, with thousands of attendees in person and online.
Gladstone Grant Director Tech Specialist MTC Microsoft In this digital transformation era of Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, IoT and Mixed Reality, as a business you either
“innovate or die”. After 20+ years in the technology industry and a number of leadership roles across Sales,
Marketing, Evangelism, and Services, Gladstone’s passion for innovation, technology, learning and helping
organizations transform are stronger than ever.
As the National Director for the Microsoft Technology Centres (MTC) http://www.microsoft.com/mtc, Gladstone
has the enviable job of helping customers and partners create Canada’s next wave of innovation, leveraging these
state-of-the-art innovation centres with access to leading-edge technologies, business relevant scenarios and
world-class expertise. He helps customers envision, immerse, design, and prove out solutions that meets their
business needs.
Gladstone brings a wealth of leadership across technology and sales having led the national Enterprise Specialist
Sales Teams, been the Vice-President of the Microsoft Canada Developer & Platform Evangelism (DPE) Group as a
member of the Canadian Leadership Team at Microsoft, and been a Practice Director for our Microsoft Services
Canada organization.
Gladstone holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto.
Outside of work, Gladstone enjoys public speaking, driving importance of #STEM careers, giving back to the
community, playing a number of sports and ‘geeking out’!
Mamuna Oladipo SVP Product, Design and Engineering Kickstarter As a product executive with over 10 years of overseeing global teams, Mamuna has diverse
experience leading product management, product marketing, product design and strategy
development in the B2B and B2C markets. She has demonstrated success in building and
executing strategic plans for product organizations that generate growth and transform user experiences. Mamuna is currently the Senior Vice President of Product, Design and
Engineering, at Kickstarter, where she drives product vision and strategy to ensure constant
delivery of value to the creative community.
Prior to her role at Kickstarter, Mamuna was VP of Product at SeamlessDocs and then VP of
Product Marketing & Design at The Orchard, a division of Sony Music. She built the product marketing and product design teams from the ground up, formalizing go-to-market strategies across functions. She earned her MBA from the University of Maryland while working full time for Bloomberg Government where she not only gained her product foundation but played an integral role in build out the new Bloomberg vertical company.
With a deep focus on the client journey, Mamuna prides herself on aligning organizations to a vision and is passionate about building products that provide compelling and delightful
experiences for users.
Merrie Williamson VP, Azure Apps & Infrastructure Microsoft Merrie Williamson is the Vice President of Azure Apps & Infrastructure in Microsoft’s Worldwide Commercial Business group. She is responsible for Microsoft’s global commercial sales, strategy, and execution for the core multi-billion-dollar Azure business. Merrie joined Microsoft in 2019 as an executive leader with deep roots in building cloud technologies and driving global cultural transformation. With a model of extreme empathy, her global team is energized to guide, learn, and adapt with customers during this exciting moment when all companies are becoming digital.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Merrie worked in the technology sector for over 20 years. With a background in Manufacturing Engineering, she is fervent about finding solutions for the under-representation of women and underrepresented people in STEM and sales.
Merrie is also passionate about service and community. She has served on two non-profit boards in the Seattle area, starting in the early 2000s with Seattle MESA and the board of the Seattle YMCA. Merrie shares her community service mindset with her husband Derek, who has served for over 25 years in the Seattle Fire Department and is currently an Assistant Chief. Her life is shared by her wonderful children Evan and Sophie. Merrie is a voracious reader, amateur soccer coach and player, and unsuccessful gardener.
Oz Nazilli VP Product & Growth TWG Oz Nazilli is the VP of Product & Growth at TWG, a Toronto-based tech consultancy
that has been building web and mobile experiences since 2002. Alongside managing
his team of 25 product people, Oz works with both startup and enterprise clients on
leveraging data for product growth. His decade-long career has spanned both B2B and
B2C, giving him the opportunity to build everything from consumer marketplaces to
project management software.
Josh Iroko Principal Cybersecurity Consultant Mandiant Josh Iroko is a Strategic Consulting Services Senior Consultant at FireEye Mandiant’s Toronto, Canada office. As part of the Strategic Services team, Josh delivers Security Program Development and Transformation engagements for organizations in Canada, the United States, and multiple other countries across the world. Josh has worked with many industries including Financial Institutions, Public Sector/Government, Energy and Utilities, Telecommunications, etc.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshiroko/
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