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February 9, 2021

Dissecting IOT with Lakecia Gunter, VP of IOT Global and Strategic Engagement at Microsoft

Lakecia Gunter is VP and GM, IOT Global and Strategic Engagement at Microsoft. She's a visionary senior engineering executive who has also worked at Intel, the Department of Defense, and Motorola. She was recently appointed to the board of directors of Idex Corp.

Transcript

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;26;06

Narrator

At a crossroads of uncertainty and opportunity. How do you navigate forward? This podcast focuses on making smart choices in a rapidly changing world. We investigate the challenges of being at a crossroads and finding opportunities that arise out of disruption. Listen in on future forward conversations with the brightest luminaries, movers and shakers. Let's navigate forward together and create what's next.

 

00;00;26;08 - 00;00;48;26

Lisa Thee

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Navigating Powered podcast. My name is Lisa Thee and I'll be your host today. One of my favorite hobbies in life is collecting experts, people that are thought leaders and innovators that bring new perspectives to my day. And one of my favorite ones of those is Miss Lakecia Gunter. Lakecia is Vice president of innovation for Internet of Things Group at Microsoft.

 

00;00;48;29 - 00;01;10;20

Lisa Thee

She is also a podcast host herself for the podcast. And we have the luxury of working together at Intel over the years. And I just was so inspired by her brand of leadership and how she is helping everyone to find their inner bar. So please join me in welcoming Lakecia Gunter. Lisa Hey, how are you today? So good to hear your voice.

 

00;01;10;22 - 00;01;28;12

Lakecia Gunter

Lisa Hey, how are you today? So good to hear your voice. Well, I'd say I was so looking forward to the opportunity. Any time I get to connect with you is a complete joy for my entire day. So thank you so much for the opportunity to come and share on this platform. I'm so excited. Okay, I'm going to keep that recorded and play it back to myself when I'm having some of those imposter syndrome days.

 

00;01;28;17 - 00;01;47;22

Lisa Thee

Thank you for that. So, all right, Lakecia, can you tell us a little bit about your background and where you're from and what you think, how you think that shaped some of what you do today?  

 

00;01;47;22 - 00;02;09;29

Lakecia Gunter

Yeah. Thank you so much for that question. I love to talk about where I'm from and just some of the folks who helped to shape me to become the person that I am. So I'm from a small town in Florida, Haines City, Florida, and I grew up with this amazing person in my life. She was my first influencer, my biggest encourager, and that was my mom. So my mom really helped shape me to be who I am today. She was a strong single mom of three, and she really set an example for me, Lisa, of how to persist in the face of adversity and any challenge that she might face.

 

00;02;09;29 - 00;02;30;02

Lakecia Gunter

She didn't let life's challenges or circumstances ever get in her way, never dictating her life story. And she made sure they didn't dictate mine. So she's my biggest supporter and cheerleader. Her dreams for me were super, super big. She wanted me to see how big the world could be outside of a small town in Florida. And so whatever I had designed to be or do, she was my biggest supporter.

 

00;02;30;02 - 00;02;46;12

Lakecia Gunter

And I'll tell you, at the age of 12, I wanted to become a computer programmer. I wanted to tinker with the computer. My uncles tell me that I was this curious little girl that always asked them a million questions. At any time I came to my grandmother's house, they would run because they're like, okay, she's going to ask us a thousand questions.

 

00;02;46;12 - 00;03;05;24

Lakecia Gunter

We got to get out of here. It was a curiosity that really fueled me and my passion for science and technology. And so, like I said, my mom bought me my computer at the age of 12, worked extra shifts to make it happen, you know, And I believe in that. And that way she was really kind of giving me my first pair of shoes, so to speak, that would really just take me all across the world.

 

00;03;05;26 - 00;03;28;10

Lakecia Gunter

And we really changed my life and changed the life of my family. So that's a little bit about my background. So that is so interesting. We had a total reverse commute into technology when I was 12. I wanted to be a veterinarian and then I subsequently learned I was allergic to cats, so that wasn't a good plan. So I think it's pretty cool you're out there tinkering because I heard a lot of those stories in engineering school. Yes, that's that's who I was and still am today.

 

00;03;28;17 - 00;03;48;29

Lisa Thee

So thank you for asking that. Yeah. So you've had a flourishing career journey. Do you mind sharing with us what took you from being a 12 year old curious girl to a vice president of a significant technology company in the field? I would love to talk about that story, too.

 

00;03;48;29 - 00;04;08;11

Lakecia Gunter

And and really, it all starts back where I grew up in Haines City, Florida. You know, I had the opportunity at a very early age to work in the fast food industry. I worked in the fast food industry from the time I was 14, all the way through high school. And what's significant about that is I was fortunate enough to work with a very successful African-American couple who owned franchises.

 

00;04;08;13 - 00;04;29;04

Lakecia Gunter

And so the Townsley is really instilled in all of us who work for them that we have the ability to be leaders at a young age. So at the age of 18, I was actually not 18, I would say probably my senior in high school around 17. They believed in me, they invested in me, and they allowed me to become or created a space for me to become an assistant manager while I was in high school.

 

00;04;29;06 - 00;04;53;16

Lakecia Gunter

So I worked a full time job and I went to school full time. So they were developing me and cultivating me as a leader, a people leader, how to manage an organization, how to really run a business. I was the youngest assistant manager in the history of the franchise, and so my journey to becoming a vice president at Microsoft started there at that age when I learned to say yes to opportunity, I could have said no.

 

00;04;53;16 - 00;05;10;26

Lakecia Gunter

I could have been afraid out of my mind to work with my peers. Right? These were I was working alongside my classmates in English and math and science and now having to lead them into work environment. So the Tesla is really were my first ventures into, I would say, a career opportunity and give me the opportunity to become an assistant manager.

 

00;05;10;26 - 00;05;26;06

Lakecia Gunter

And so my career journey over the years has really Lisa and I know you a resonate with this has really been about capturing opportunities, being willing to say yes when they presented themselves to us, even though we might have been a little bit of afraid, who might have had a little bit of doubt. Right. That might have crept in.

 

00;05;26;08 - 00;05;51;18

Lakecia Gunter

But we just said, you know what, If we can leverage relationships, if we can leverage the people that are sponsoring us and really just leverage the platform they're giving us and the support they're providing, there's anything we can't do. And so that's really what helped me be successful in my career my squad, my sponsors. I call my team like Keesha, you know, that really helped me build out an action plan and every opportunity to take advantage of it.

 

00;05;51;21 - 00;06;15;04

Lisa Thee

Yeah, I love that advice because I think everybody can relate to that feeling of looking an opportunity in the eye and facing your, your worst fears of are you up to the task? And at the end of the day, most of us will be put in situations that require growth, that are challenging, that are difficult. But when you can surround yourself with a community of people that believe in you, then you can leverage as your your personal board of advisors.

 

00;06;15;07 - 00;06;35;13

Lakecia Gunter

So you can really rise to any occasion out there. Yeah, I mean, I think to your point, and this happens a lot for us as women, right? And you would probably coast and mentored a number of women who have been presenting opportunities and they look at the list of requirements and they say, Oh, there's ten things, I only have five, I can't do the job.

 

00;06;35;13 - 00;06;56;08

Lakecia Gunter

Whereas maybe our male counterpart may say, Well, I have one, of course I can do this job. Right. And that's not a bad thing. But you know, the confidence that he has demands in his in a positive way, the respect or really even the opportunity to compete for that role. And I'll never forget a mentor of mine who you might remember from Intel, Mary Willner.

 

00;06;56;08 - 00;07;13;28

Lakecia Gunter

I did that. I'm telling a story of what I did. I said no. And she said, Don't ever do that again. You know what? You have the foundation to be successful in this role and whatever the gaps may be, call Lisa and say, Lisa, help me close the gap. Right? You don't say no. So you go and it's great.

 

00;07;13;28 - 00;07;37;08

Lakecia Gunter

Immediately say yes and then phone a friend. I love that we can all learn for Who Wants to Be a millionaire. Exactly. So for someone who doesn't know about your area of expertise, about leading a digital transformation, can you give us an overview of what you do that maybe somebody who's not in tech would understand? You know, I am so fortunate, right, to be working in the center of things.

 

00;07;37;08 - 00;07;55;13

Lakecia Gunter

Right. That is one of the most fascinating parts of technology today. And I and I have the opportunity to do that with some of the largest partners around the globe, partners who are seeing the opportunities to bring technology to the edge and to the cloud. And when you think of Internet of Things, that's a big word of books or what is that?

 

00;07;55;13 - 00;08;11;09

Lakecia Gunter

And if you're not in the field, it can be kind of confusing. But I love to give Gartner's definition, and they really say that is a network of physical objects that can be, you know, that contain embedded technology. So some type of compute inside of it that allows it to communicate sense and interact with the rest of the world.

 

00;08;11;12 - 00;08;31;18

Lakecia Gunter

Now, that's a lot of words, right? But for the US, like I like simple things, like how do we really simplify that and demystify it and I was, you know, a few months back I was reading this article in our team and I loved how the person described Iot. As I said, you know what? When I go home, my grandmother says, Well, baby, now what is it that you do?

 

00;08;31;25 - 00;08;53;09

Lakecia Gunter

Right? I can say, grow up. You know, Iot gives everything language. It gives everything language. And when you think about a baby, when they're born, they have a voice, right? And they but they don't have language yet. And so over time, they develop that language and that gives them the ability to communicate. And that's what Iot aims. It aims to give all the things in the world that we live in.

 

00;08;53;12 - 00;09;17;17

Lakecia Gunter

A language and language tells us about things, how they're doing, what's happening, what's the state of affairs, right? You and I can say, well, gosh, I'm having good or bad day. So what we're doing is we're allowing these things to acquire a language in which they can communicate. So that's what we do. It allows us to be able to connect things and give those things a language and to be able to communicate with them in a way that actually adds value to the rest of our lives.

 

00;09;17;19 - 00;09;42;17

Lakecia Gunter

And it allows you to centralize the information that you're claiming from all those places. Right. So, you know, in an agriculture example like what you just gave, it would take a farmer many miles to walk his whole property to get a sense of how the watering is going and all the different patches of the field. But in a Iot enabled world, he could get an alert that there's a sprinkler out, perhaps in an area before he loses that crop, right?

 

00;09;42;20 - 00;09;57;26

Lakecia Gunter

Yeah. And remote sensing, to your point, I mean, we can use look at drones, right? Drones have an opportunity. You know, they can go into places in spaces that we can't go and give us the data that we need to understand how to make better decisions. We can look at car manufacturers, connected cars, smart cars, all of those things.

 

00;09;57;28 - 00;10;19;07

Lakecia Gunter

You know, how do we really modernize how technicians go and do their work and, you know, factories and things of that sort. So Iot touches everything. I mean, we're going to see a lot more Iot and smart buildings and smart spaces, given that what we're experiencing with COVID 19 so is is pervasive. And I love it. I mean, we're just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to that.

 

00;10;19;07 - 00;10;48;17

Lakecia Gunter

So health care is another great example, right? Yeah. So do you mind talking a little bit about some of the trends you're seeing in health care related to Iot that we all might should probably be paying more attention to? Yeah, that's an excellent question, Lisa. So when you talk about Iot and health care is giving those providers new ways to interact with their patients, deliver more consistent, high quality care, and they're introducing more and more efficiency along their supply chain.

 

00;10;48;17 - 00;11;08;09

Lakecia Gunter

Let me give you an example. You know, we're working with a couple of different companies. We really talked about these success stories recently, so they're widely known in the public, but citizen care pods for smart screening and testing, you know, it's using mobile screening units that can keep our frontline workers and customers safe by using Iot technology and machine learning in their units.

 

00;11;08;16 - 00;11;30;28

Lakecia Gunter

So the technology is used in a number of ways from helping people to count mass. Right. Let's look at mass detection. That's pretty right. We want to make sure that people are covering their mouths to monitoring social distancing. That's important again, to keep us safe during COVID 19 times. And hand sanitizer, hand sanitization. We really want to make sure that we are actually washing our hands.

 

00;11;31;00 - 00;11;52;29

Lakecia Gunter

So when we're in those health care environments, we can actually use Iot devices to make sure that those frontline health care workers and frontline workers are using hand sanitation stations. There's another example I'd like to talk to you about that really focuses on this disinfection as well. And it's a Swedish innovative lighting technology company called Bio Centric Lighting.

 

00;11;53;01 - 00;12;14;03

Lakecia Gunter

And what they do is they put together a self-learning Iot system that delivers disinfection through ultraviolet light in an unoccupied space. And so very simply, you got an empty building before we walk in the building. You can actually go and deploy that disinfectant material so that when you and I walk into the room, all the viruses that they were in there, in the room, they're now gone.

 

00;12;14;10 - 00;12;32;26

Lakecia Gunter

Right? That's powerful. So when we do get back, when we do have an opportunity to go back into the work environment, we want to make sure that it's safe. And so those are some of the things that we're doing to make sure that we combine health care and Iot not only in the hospital setting but in smart spaces and buildings where people have to go back to work. So those are a lot of things that are happening today.

 

00;12;32;26 - 00;12;55;20

Lisa Thee

So then, Lakecia, you've had a stellar career journey. What would you like to share with others that you've learned to spare them from wasting time in places that don't help them get to where they're trying to go? I love that. Lisa Yeah, you know, one of the things that I've done over the years is really just tried to reflect on my own career experiences and and what I've learned.

 

00;12;55;20 - 00;13;22;18

Lakecia Gunter

Lisa Yeah, you know, one of the things that I've done over the years is really just tried to reflect on my own career experiences and and what I've learned. And so in the process over the last couple years, I've lost a podcast called Raw, and I love for folks to go take a listen to, but I bring that up because RAW is an acronym and it stands for Reflection, Opportunity, Action and Relationships. And so I think as leaders, there's so much power and reflection that we can kind of take the time to understand what are the things that we need, meaning, what are our value system, what are the things that we really want to focus on?

 

00;13;22;18 - 00;13;45;08

Lakecia Gunter

So really identifying our North Star saves immense time. And I'm also energy because it allows you to know what to say yes to and more importantly, what to say no to. And so I really spent a lot of time on putting that together and that framework for myself because it's really my belief system. And if it doesn't line up to my belief system, my values, I think one could argue that it's not a good use of time.

 

00;13;45;10 - 00;14;07;12

Lakecia Gunter

And so as I'm doing my reflection process, I always say, does it move me towards the things that are important to me? Does allow me have the legacy and impact that I want to have? You know, does is aligned to the values. Does it help me move from fear to desire? Because every four years, mirrored by a desire, there are two sides of the same coin, you know.

 

00;14;07;14 - 00;14;36;26

Lakecia Gunter

And I believe that success comes from having dreams and visions that are bigger than your fears. And this is allow me to have to go outside of myself to really be successful or to really accomplish those goals. And so if the answer is for me or yes to those things, then I move forward. So that's kind of how I really, as I'm mentoring and coaching the people, that's how I really kind of lay out a framework, this work for me to make sure that I'm moving in the right direction.

 

00;14;36;28 - 00;15;04;08

Lakecia Gunter

That frame is incredibly helpful, especially when oftentimes, especially in large corporate environments, other people's fires become your emergency. Yes. And so having that framework to look at things and ground yourself in, is it am I the right person to be doing this? Is this a priority for the company? Does it align with the bigger vision of where we're trying to get to or is it noise is incredibly helpful.

 

00;15;04;11 - 00;15;25;03

Lisa Thee

I love what you just said, you know, Is it noise? Right. That's one of the things that I've been talking about is the signal to noise ratio. Right. And we as leaders are right. We have to minimize the noise and make sure we're communicating the right signal to your point so that we can operate with great effectiveness, efficiency and really deliver the results that are needed in the marketplace. You know, you mentioned Northstar in your last answer. Do you mind sharing with us what your why is what mission inspires you to bring your best self to work every day?

 

00;15;25;06 - 00;15;44;16

Lakecia Gunter

Yeah, I love that question and thank you so much. So what really inspires me to get up each and every day and be excited about my job is I absolutely love what I do.

 

00;15;44;16 - 00;16;01;28

Lakecia Gunter

I absolutely love technology and the benefits that it delivers to people in the world. I mean, at my core, you know, I said I was a curious little girl and that would often scare my uncles away with questions. But I love solving problems and I love solving problems, But technology that can really help the world be a better place.

 

00;16;01;28 - 00;16;20;06

Lakecia Gunter

The technology has the power to do so many, many things, and changing the world is one of them. And so, you know, that's what makes me excited each and every day. I believe that we're absolutely privileged to be living in a time where science and technology can assist us. It makes our lives easier, and it's solving some of the biggest challenges we have today, one being COVID 19.

 

00;16;20;06 - 00;16;44;05

Lakecia Gunter

I'm so grateful for those scientists, Dr. Fauci and the likes, right? Those from Pfizer, you know, who are at the forefront of trying to solve this most difficult problem to make sure that we're healthy again. And so that's what I get excited about, being able to work with the next generation of technology innovations that can really improve our lives over the next few years is fantastic.

 

00;16;44;07 - 00;17;10;23

Lakecia Gunter

And so quite simply for me, I want to leave the world a better place than I found it. And so if I can be a force for good and leverage technology to do that, that excites me. And then I'll just share a personal story regarding that and why I absolutely love technology. You know, my mom suffered with diabetes, a condition that it's, you know, played a few people in my family and really in the African-American community.

 

00;17;10;29 - 00;17;31;27

Lakecia Gunter

And so she had diminished vision as a result of the diabetes. And one of the things that I can tell you about my mom is she was a learner. She loved to read. That's her thing. She just would read books, books, books. And so I love books. I have hundreds of books. I can't stop buying them. But the point I'm making is that the diabetes impacted her vision.

 

00;17;31;29 - 00;17;52;16

Lakecia Gunter

But because of the power of technology, Intel developed something called the Intel Reader, and it gave her the ability to read the pre her books and her newspapers every single day because she could just layered on top of that device and they would read it for her. And so our quality of life didn't have to change drastically and she didn't have to stop doing what she loved.

 

00;17;52;16 - 00;18;16;18

Lakecia Gunter

And so for me, being in technology, it allows me to to solve pain points that can make people's lives better. So that's why I get up every single day excited about what we can do with Iot, because it does change people's lives. What a wonderful reflection of how tech now, how having a human experience, informed design and technology can really make the quality of life of people much better.

 

00;18;16;22 - 00;18;44;01

Lisa Thee

Absolutely. Absolutely. So speaking of COVID, a lot of people have had to learn to pivot their business strategy as a result of the changing requirements of the world. How have you guys adjusted as an organization as a result?  

 

00;18;44;04 - 00;19;15;12

Lakecia Gunter

Absolutely. You're so right. You're spot on. I mean, we've certainly seen a large shift in our business driven by the needs and opportunities that COVID 19 has created. Last year, 2020 was turbulent, to say the least, but for many decision makers, it has accelerate their works towards a connected and secure future. Basically, COVID 19 has really been the accelerator. Are the fuel that ignite that really ignited a fire to drive digital transformation a very, very fast rate. You look at our our our business and our and data all the time, and our partners are telling us that they now believe Iot is critical to their company's success, which we're seeing, you know, more and more over the last year or so.

 

00;19;15;18 - 00;19;39;14

Lakecia Gunter

They're seeking guidance from companies saying, Hey, how can I figure out how to accelerate the pace of innovation, not to just stay afloat, Lisa, but to thrive in the capturing business opportunities. So we're seeing growth for us. Obviously, we've been focused on accelerating Iot adoption because companies are saying we need your help while the pandemic has in some places slowed down business across the globe, as I said, it's driving it up.

 

00;19;39;16 - 00;20;16;14

Lakecia Gunter

Many, many are being more intentional about how do they drive that that transformation, What are the new use cases that now require technology at the edge in a way that they didn't combine it before? And so we're seeing an undeniable impact, and it's growing our business at accelerated pieces, to say the least. I agree. I think there was a lot of technology that was available in the market, but there wasn't that impetus of why do I have to adjust to new trends in the same way examples of that are remote work or even, you know, even Iot devices, right?

 

00;20;16;14 - 00;20;37;22

Lakecia Gunter

They were nice to have, so they weren't made to have some. We're all learning in this new world that we have to embrace the the cutting edge technology that allows us to do more in ways that can be safer, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Now it's like, okay, this needs to be part of our strategy and we're moving forward. Yeah, it goes from, I hope, to a plan.

 

00;20;37;24 - 00;21;00;04

Lisa Thee

Yes. You know, so I'm a firm believer in if you can see it, you can be at. So can you share with us some of the achievements you're most proud of throughout your journey?  

 

00;21;00;06 - 00;21;32;06

Lakecia Gunter

Yeah, no, thanks. Thanks for that question. You know, I have just been so blessed and so fortunate to just have had so many fun opportunities in my career. You know, I spent 12 years of my career at Intel and now excited about my opportunities here at Microsoft, have been here for almost eight months. But I'll reflect on one of the things that I'm most proud of was the opportunity I had to support one of the former CEOs at an Intel. And that was a dream come true to really be in a position to partner with a CEO and his entire staff and really driving not only a I would say a transformation of the business strategy, but a cultural transformation within a company.

 

00;21;32;08 - 00;21;48;10

Lakecia Gunter

And so I go back I go back to my own roar. And that was an opportunity that, I'll be honest with you, that there were some voices in my head that says, Oh, you're not ready for this. I'm not sure if you're going to do well in this job. You know, you're an imposter. Will you really be able to operate at that level?

 

00;21;48;14 - 00;22;15;26

Lakecia Gunter

And so it's really easy to let those opportunities pass by because you may think you don't deserve a seat on the table. But in that case, you know, being able to become the chief of staff and technical assistant to a CEO at Intel and you would remember this is at Intel's history there. There had never been a person of color that served as a chief of staff and then technical assistant to the CEO and the 50 plus year history of the company.

 

00;22;15;28 - 00;22;33;26

Lakecia Gunter

Wow. And at us at a company size of over 100,000 employees, it's not as though they didn't have people to choose from. Right. And so, I mean, to your point, it goes back to what you said. You can't be what you can't see. And so even though those voices may have been planking in my head, Lisa, I knew was bigger than me.

 

00;22;33;29 - 00;22;50;13

Lakecia Gunter

Right. Because it was really creating an opportunity for people to see a path for them in that role. And so I was just so fortunate to work with that CEO who invested in me, who believed in me, who gave me an opportunity to really show up in the space and in a way that I could bring value to the organization.

 

00;22;50;16 - 00;23;14;09

Lakecia Gunter

And so I really leaned on to get prepared to interview and get compared to get get prepared excuse me for the interview process and then then get prepared to, I would say win the seat, so to speak, and deliver. I leveraged my to your point, the board of advisors, my team, like Keesha, it's really a fear. Let's just get that fear out of the way because fear to me is really fear is not a limiting emotion.

 

00;23;14;12 - 00;23;31;22

Lakecia Gunter

It is really is a fuel is giving you fuel to actually go do what you want to do. And so I just use that, that fear and just turn it around and say it's actually really the power that you need to walk in that room because you're going to overprepare and a good way. You're going to make sure you have what it takes to be successful. And so to me, that's one of my most proud moment moments in my career.

 

00;23;31;22 - 00;24;05;02

Lisa Thee

So in a role like Chief of Staff, a lot of times you are the gatekeeper for determining what the key priorities that are going to get in front of the C-suite are at any given time. How do you manage determining the right order of business in that strategic role for the decision makers that you relied on to ensure that they got the outcomes that they were looking for and that they also reflected that revised culture perspective and weren't just how we've always done things.

 

00;24;05;04 - 00;24;28;08

Lakecia Gunter

Yeah, no, I think that's a great question, Lisa, and part of it is I would say it's relationships, it's building great relationships with the team is creating a culture where we depended upon each other, meaning we had each other's back. And I think the other key piece was, is creating strong alignment within the team. And so it goes back to the signal versus the noise, right?

 

00;24;28;08 - 00;24;59;06

Lakecia Gunter

We know exactly what the pillars are of the strategy that we're driving. How do we make sure that we are pulling those virtual teams of those beating? I'm saying be teams, those core teams. Now they're virtual teams because we're not in the space together to make sure that we're advancing the strategy for with the right execution steps. And so I think making sure that the staff spent time together planning, partnering and articulating how they would actually carry out that agenda, that really helped us.

 

00;24;59;06 - 00;25;24;06

Lakecia Gunter

I'll tell you, we one thing that's often missed, I think, and building a high leadership team is you need to spend time together. You need to get to know each other. And once I get to know you, I know what's important to you. I know what you're driving, that I'm a complete partner in enabling your success. So that was one thing that we did.

 

00;25;24;08 - 00;25;42;19

Lakecia Gunter

And so if we're driving an agenda with the CEO, everyone is doing the meeting outside of the room so that we come in and we're aligned to the right steps to get the job done. So I spent a lot of time in a good way, creating strong relationships, not just for myself and the staff, but within the staff.

 

00;25;42;22 - 00;26;04;10

Lakecia Gunter

Yes, And yeah, and making sure that they were aligned with the CEO's vision and also to, to your point, spending time with them and prep of going into the meeting with the CEO and say, hey listen here are few see the three things that that he's focused on here. The two things to a 2 to 3 things that we're hearing from the customer that might impact the strategy.

 

00;26;04;17 - 00;26;28;08

Lisa Thee

So let's make sure we bring all those voices into the room so that we can drive the strategy for it. But that that's it was a lot of, I would say leadership, communication, relationship building and then re making sure that everyone was aligned to the place, so to speak. As a technologist yourself, I we all know technology moves quickly. So as an engineer, where do you go to keep learning and growing over time during the duration of your career?

 

00;26;28;10 - 00;26;47;09

Lakecia Gunter

Yeah, so I'm a big, big learner of, you know, if you remember, flipped and studied finance. So learner is one of my top strengths. I love again, that little girl, right? I love to learn. And so I learn.

 

00;26;47;11 - 00;27;30;23

Lakecia Gunter

I learn from reading whether that's a technical journal or whether that's a technical magazine. I also learn from my peers. I also spend time with my my mentor ring, so to speak. And so I have multiple mentor rings to make sure that I'm getting diverse perspectives and input, whether it be staying in touch with former technologists that I worked with for the last ten, 15 years, whether it's getting some input and advice from my current coach, whether it's working with the younger generation, I love learning from some of the younger engineers who are coming into the workforce because they think differently.

 

00;27;30;25 - 00;27;55;27

Lakecia Gunter

You know, their confidence demands respect, right? They will walk in a room and say, Hey, listen, I'm here. I've got great ideas, you listen to me. And we. Sure. And so it runs the entire spectrum. Lisa, you know, media, tons and tons of books, you know, peers, technologists, because I love technology and the younger generation. I make sure that I'm mentored by young people.

 

00;27;56;00 - 00;28;18;19

Lakecia Gunter

There's one young guy that I met at Intel who was actually in supply chain, Julian, just a brilliant young guy business mind, you know, into technology. And he he would mentor me. We do once a month phone calls he might ask me questions, but I would ask him questions. And we still stay in touch today. He left until I went on to another company, but he still calls and I still learn from him.

 

00;28;18;21 - 00;28;52;09

Lakecia Gunter

It is one of the best kept secrets is that when you're mentoring, you're actually being men. Yes. At the same time. And it's a very reciprocal process, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I just think we have to be open to that the minute we start stop learning. I think we're dying and I think we're in such a dynamic and changing environment, whether it's work or just even in our our lives these days is so important to make sure that you have that learning mindset to kind of keep up and keep on pace with things that are changing around you.

 

00;28;52;12 - 00;29;12;26

Lisa Thee/Lakecia Gunter

Absolutely. It's been such a pleasure to talk to you today, Lakecia, can you share with us a little bit where is the best place that people can stay in touch and and keep tabs on what you're working on? Absolutely. So LinkedIn, I'm always on LinkedIn. I love information. So anytime I can find something I think will benefit, I'm reposting it so you can.

 

00;29;12;26 - 00;29;40;00

Lakecia Gunter

Finally, Lakecia Gunter on LinkedIn. I also have a podcast where I've been so fortunate to have people in my life like you, Lisa, who I learned from, and so I've had you on the podcast. But yeah, please go check out the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast, you name it, you can find it, but it's raw with the Keesha and I in that platform, I bring on, you know, experts, leaders that I've been able to learn from authors, you name it.

 

00;29;40;00 - 00;29;59;03

Lakecia Gunter

And I really just kind of share allow them to share their expertise on various topics, whether it be risk taking in your career, how do you build your communication skills? What are the the trends in technology today? Where should you be focusing the growth in your career? So I think that's a great, great opportunity to connect with you there.

 

00;29;59;05 - 00;30;28;23

Lisa Thee

You know, one of the places that I think is really key going into this New Year is to ensure that we're getting more representation of diverse voices and the C-suite in addition and the Board of directors room. And I know that you are one of the most amazingly board qualified women that I know. Can you talk a little bit about what what you think is the impact of having more diversity on publicly traded company boards?

 

00;30;28;25 - 00;30;59;01

Lakecia Gunter

Absolutely. I mean, you know, it goes back to the same reason we want to have diverse voices and perspectives in corporate environment. And the more diversity you have, the diversity of thought, background ideas, it's going to grow your business by to me, it's an X factor for growth. And the other thing I think is super important too, is that when you're selling products to a consumer base that's very diverse, it's probably pretty important to understand what that consumer base needs so that you can actually increase your sales.

 

00;30;59;03 - 00;31;21;08

Lakecia Gunter

And so I believe that the boardrooms of these these corporations, the offices of these corporations should reflect the world because you're serving the world. And the only way you can serve your your consumer base is to understand your consumer base. And so that's why to me, it's important to have that in the corporate boardroom. It's really, to me, an opportunity.

 

00;31;21;08 - 00;31;43;26

Lakecia Gunter

Diversity, you know, always it's not black or white. It's really green. And green, meaning is actually going to help you grow your business is the power of diversity and inclusion. Okay. It really does equate to dollars. At the end of the day. Obviously, you should meet necessarily focused on on the profit, but you should be looking at the talent pool that you can create by having diverse perspectives.

 

00;31;43;26 - 00;32;01;28

Lakecia Gunter

But at the end of the day, if you put a bunch of talented people in the room, they're going to do one thing. They're going to grow your business. I love that. And you are one of my favorite names to put forward as board. Ready. So let's create some FOMO here and let everybody compete to get your talents in the boardroom, because I love that.

 

00;32;01;28 - 00;32;24;05

Lisa Thee

I love it. And you have been so generous and kind to introduce me to so many people in that space. And I've had so many great conversations about opportunities, how to be prepared, and I'm super excited to say that I've just been selected for my first board opportunity, thanks to you. And I didn't know that I was going to share that with you.

 

00;32;24;05 - 00;32;49;13

Lakecia Gunter

And you know that prep that you have. Hey, like you said, here's how you think about it. Here's how you go through the research. Here's how you get ready. You know, connect with, you know, Virginia and you've just been instrumental and really pushing me in that direction and helping me mentally get prepared to have those conversations. And so, yes, I landed my first board opportunity and I'm just so thrilled to have the support of Microsoft.

 

00;32;49;13 - 00;33;16;02

Lakecia Gunter

And they were absolutely supportive of me in this effort. And yeah, so thank you so much. How fantastic are you at a place where you can disclose which board you're joining? I Icahn it's index technology that is congratulations for our listeners that may not be as familiar with the board of directors role. It's often more difficult to land a board role than it is to get a CEO job at a company.

 

00;33;16;02 - 00;33;40;10

Lisa Thee

So it really speaks to the caliber of what you bring to the table, Lakecia, that they have brought you into the fold. Thank you so much, Lisa. I tell you, I feel just like all the stars lined up and I couldn't be more excited to partner with the leadership team and the board. They've been so phenomenal. So you have again, again, you and I had this conversation probably was it six months ago?

 

00;33;40;12 - 00;33;58;01

Lakecia Gunter

Sounds about right. Yeah. We started talking six months ago and you said Lakecia, you need to be thinking about this. And here and and you sent me a list of resources immediately after the phone call, and you then immediately began to make connections for me to start thinking about how to get prepared and how to get ready for the interview.

 

00;33;58;04 - 00;34;34;28

Lakecia Gunter

And so, yeah, so that was going to I literally want to share that with you today. So the timing couldn't be more perfect. It's just a payback because I remember a few years back when I was incredibly passionate about accelerating some work to use cutting edge technology that Intel was creating to address the problem of human trafficking. You attended a demo of what we had built and took it in front of the C-suite, which I would have never had access to at the level that I was at within the company, and got it to the point where there was enough momentum and excitement about it that it was it became the CEO's keynote, it opened

 

00;34;34;28 - 00;34;56;04

Lakecia Gunter

summit, and as a result of that, we were able to work with some leading edge nonprofits in that field that integrated some of our work. And I'm happy to report that in the first month of that technology being rolled out in the real world, 130 missing children were recovered. Oh, my gosh. That's that's what we want and more to come.

 

00;34;56;04 - 00;35;16;25

Lisa Thee

I know. But no, that was I mean, I remember we met. I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is so great. Now we've got to bring this out. What you doing is amazing. So thank you for staying true to that, that that the work that you were doing. Well, that that must be your experience of it. My experience of was, oh, my gosh, the chief of staff of the CEO just saw the demo of our our technology.

 

00;35;17;00 - 00;35;38;23

Lakecia Gunter

Did I mess up my words? Did I communicate clearly? This is like such an important inflection point of maybe making a difference in the world. And I'm just forever indebted for your sponsorship of bringing that forward, especially when we just kind of ran into each other at an event. It wasn't a long process of having to prove myself to you.

 

00;35;38;24 - 00;35;55;07

Lisa Thee

I'm really grateful for that. Well, listen, if I if, I played a small part in that. I am so glad to be able to say you guys were just amazing. I'm just like, okay, this has got to go worldwide. So thank you so much. And it did it did. More than a million people saw that open Summit keynote.

 

00;35;55;07 - 00;36;17;24

Lisa Thee

So thank you. Love it. Love it. Well, thank you so much for your time and thanks for having me on. It's been an absolute joy and pleasure as always, chatting with you. Same here. Thank you, Lakisha. All right. Take care. Hey, everyone. Thanks for listening to the Navigating Foreign podcast. We'd love to hear from you. At a crossroads of uncertainty and opportunity, how do you navigate forward?

 

00;36;17;27 - 00;36;20;06

Narrator

We'll see you next time.

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