Marcela Jimenez – Cloud and Technology Sales Director at Oracle

Everything is possible. Our world today is no longer an IT Male sector.

Marcela Jimenez is a business leader with more than 20 years of experience in Technology and Education industries. She is a graduated Computer Engineer from the Catholic University of Manizales with a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad de los Andes and Six Sigma Certification with Xerox Corporation.

She works as a teacher for 6 years at the Catholic University of Manizales and Universidad de los Andes, 16 years in technological companies such as Microsoft, Xerox, IBM and Oracle, with roles in the department of Marketing, Product and Sales.

Marcela led the strategy and deployment of Xerox CRM for Latin America, Hungary and Turkey, as well as a sales team with experience in Colombia and Latin America. She also had the opportunity to participate and share experiences with clients in the processes of innovation and digital transformation. She was awarded with 2018 ICT Woman from Colombia for Play Marketing.

In a Nutshell: Tell us a bit about your job and what role technology plays in it?   

My job is to create better paths for companies in their digital transformation. For this, technology is a key and an enabler, since with the cloud companies can better use their systems, while lowering their administrative costs. I am a Sales Director for Oracle Colombia & Ecuador.

Where did your professional journey start and how did you get to where you are now?

My journey started with a dream. When I was a kid, I liked to set goals so that I could achieve them, with discipline and hard work. One of those goals was to win a contest, which had a great prize during the time: A laptop. So in that moment, when I won ☺ I began to be more curious with the technology and that sort of love for systems just came.

I´ve worked in some large technology companies and in each challenge that I had I’ve always worked hard to understand the benefits that the technology has, how my company can change and leverage the customer satisfaction and how I can give better options for them, with deep understanding of their needs and the products that we have.

Also, studying is a very essential part of my journey, reading and understanding the market, by talking to leaders, to my colleagues and to the users, who ultimately use the systems and have real needs to be resolved.

What is the greatest transformation in technology you’ve witnessed in your career?

I think that we are in the most interesting time in history. Why do I say this? Because companies today can use the same technology that large organizations use, but with the cloud, prices go down and users pay for what they consume.

This is very important, in the past, if a small company wanted to use a world model solution, it would have to pay lots of money. Today, with the cloud, SMB´s can use this system and pay less.

Also, technology companies can be more agile in their operations, leaving the repetitive processes behind and use automation, which gives them more time to create, to think, to innovate!

The same happens with the customer understanding. Today organizations can listen to the market with Big Data, Social Networks and analytics. This gives them the capacity to make more focused strategies that solves real needs, not only perceptions or intuition.

So to resume, the greatest transformation that I have seen is an evolution of technology and of the companies that use it.

When you think about ‘women’ and ‘technology’ what comes to your mind first?

Everything is possible. Our world today is no longer an IT Male sector. We are constantly seeing companies lead by women, Oracle is a great example!

The opportunity is here, women have the same capabilities that men have. Fortunately now it depends on discipline, mental strength and resilience to succeed.

We always hear there are not enough women working in Tech. What needs to happen to change that, which steps should be done to achieve gender equality in tech?

We as women must know that we are capable; we must find that desire of changing the world, with our maternal instinct and our sixth sense to get things done, taking care of the teams, of the processes and of our clients.

It is very important for us, as women, to go to events, to talk to people and give an example of all the things that we are doing and the successes that we obtain.

Also, the society evolved and companies have also done this, so it is very important for us, as women, to go to events, to talk to people and give an example of all the things that we are doing and the successes that we obtain.

Only in this way can we change the minds of the youngest, taking away their fear and breaking paradigms.

How different would our world be if more women worked in STEM?

As I was saying, we have a maternal instinct that is capable of many things, including our sixth sense, which will give the sector new ways of thinking, acting and doing.

Also, we will have more opportunities for development, since our minds can create many things that can change and solve challenges of the world.

Which was the best decision in your career?

My best decision so far is to enjoy a lot each day of my life, my family and my team. Today and all the days I have enjoyed hearing our customers’ needs and dreaming with them a solution, as if I were part of their companies. This is unique and this ability to enjoy what I do is my best decision.

What advice would you give to women who want a tech career?

To go ahead, to never stop dreaming, to study a lot, have discipline and enjoy each day of their lives; these are the key success factors that each woman and man has to have to be a successful person today.

Marcela Jimenez is a business leader with more than 20 years of experience in Technology and Education industries. She is a graduated Computer Engineer from the Catholic University of Manizales with a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad de los Andes and Six Sigma Certification with Xerox Corporation.

She works as a teacher for 6 years at the Catholic University of Manizales and Universidad de los Andes, 16 years in technological companies such as Microsoft, Xerox, IBM and Oracle, with roles in the department of Marketing, Product and Sales.

Marcela led the strategy and deployment of Xerox CRM for Latin America, Hungary and Turkey, as well as a sales team with experience in Colombia and Latin America. She also had the opportunity to participate and share experiences with clients in the processes of innovation and digital transformation. She was being awarded as a 2018 ICT Woman from Colombia for Play Marketing.

See more interviews of our amazing Gals.