What you do and what you create has an impact on the people and the world around you. Be mindful of it.

What is your name?

Coral Movasseli

Describe your current role

I lead Girls in Tech Dublin. I set up the organisation in Ireland over 3 years ago. My role is to lead our chapter to engage, educate, and empower women in tech and female entrepreneurs on this island.

What is your day to day responsibilities?

I am responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation in every aspect. My focus includes leading a team of people to deliver our programs and to spread the message about what we do.

What is your professional background?

I’ve not had a linear professional trajectory. Having started off in the Canadian Public Sector working on international trade policy, to advising private equity funds in London, to moving into business analysis for companies, and then later to developing and leading innovative digital products.

What are you speaking about at the CIO & IT Leaders’ Summit 2019?

I will be speaking on the innovation panel discussing “How can the CIO redefine what’s possible for their enterprise?”

How do your particular areas of expertise manifest themselves in your current role?

A lot of my current role is understanding our customers B2B and B2C to launch new products and promote existing products, and having a business and product background has definitely served me well in ensuring there is a sophisticated approach to going about this.

How do you see your role developing in 5 years’ time?

Every single day my role becomes more about the people element - how to better gain the trust of people around me - and I don’t see that changing.

What advice would you give to someone adopting a technology leadership role for the first time?

Like any leadership role, the subject matter is not of the greatest importance, it’s how you connect with the people around you. Treat the people connected to your business well, whether that’s your employees, suppliers, or customers, they all matter.

What are the greatest challenges facing modern technology leaders?

Understanding that there are social and real human implications to technology. What you do and what you create has an impact on the people and the world around you. Be mindful of it.

How do you think a tech leader can best support company revenue growth?

Think about the wider stakeholders around you, not just the shareholders. Think about how what you’re doing can make a positive impact on society as a whole.

Coral is speaking at the Business Post's CIO & IT Leaders Summit on Sept 25 in the Aviva Stadium.

Visitwww.ciosummit.ie for details