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Diana Brown
APAC (Melbourne, Australia) |
| Introduction: Diana’s experience includes seven years in CIO-level positions for companies such as Dun & Bradstreet, where she was the Executive Director for IT in Australia and New Zealand. She is now Senior Executive Partner for Gartner Executive Programs. |
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What do you do in your current position?
My role is to work with CIO-level clients who are members of Gartner Executive Programs. I work with them to identify what they hope to achieve as far as outcomes, and then we leverage Gartner insight and services to help them be successful.
What is an example of the services Gartner provides to members?
It can be anything from offering technical advice about how to do a software upgrade to giving advice and guidance on putting together a complete transformational strategy.
What are the main challenges you confront in your work?
In this role, it’s really about identifying client challenges. We make sure current members receive the benefits they need, and we determine how best to attract new members. It’s a role that requires really strong lateral thinking around complex problems—the bigger the problem, the more fun it is.
Why did you decide to join Gartner?
From a career perspective, it’s really a question of, what do you do now: Do you take on another CIO role or look for another executive general manager role? Or do you look for something a little bit different? I wanted something different and decided this would be an ideal position.
What appealed to you about Gartner as a company?
Gartner has a fantastic reputation and an enormous amount of respect in the industry—that’s the first thing. The second thing is the culture. I like the independence and virtual team environment. And the third thing is the role itself, which appealed to me because you get to work directly with CIOs.
How is your role at Gartner different from what you’ve done in the past?
I think it’s different because I’m not responsible for a lot of people. It is more of a high-level service delivery role in which you’re always looking for clever ways to do things better. What’s wonderful is you get to work with a lot of people across numerous industries—government as well as commercial. Being able to have relationships with these people is really a privilege, and it gives me enormous satisfaction.
Do you have specific career goals in mind?
Gartner is not, in my mind, the traditional corporation where you’re always looking for the next promotion or a bigger role. It’s actually an organization where you’re looking to expand the breadth and depth of your knowledge and experience so you can do a better job in your current position. In terms of future positions, I guess I’m of the mind that if you do a really good job, the positions will be there for you.
Do you have advice for Gartner applicants?
It’s important to talk to people at Gartner so you understand the culture, and beyond that, I think the most important thing is to know what you want and what you’re looking for. From there, it’s very simple: It’s about being yourself.
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