Carol Carpenter
Vice President, Product MarketingGoogle Cloud
“My boss at Apple Computer had a physical disability, yet she taught me that leadership transcends physical appearance. Integrity, authenticity and empathy go much farther as a leader.”
Years in Industry? Too many! (21)
Who or what inspired your career in tech?
Barbara Cardillo, the VP of Product Marketing at Apple Computer. She had a physical disability, yet she taught me that leadership transcends physical appearance. Integrity, authenticity and empathy go much farther as a leader.
What’s been your best hack ever?
Find experts in your field and don’t be afraid to ask them silly questions.
What has been your greatest career challenge and how have you handled it?
Moving on from my CMO job at ClearSlide. We brought in a new COO (which I originally supported), and we didn’t mix/match well at all. It went down poorly and ended with the CEO picking him over me. I exited stage left and haven’t spoken to the CEO since.
What is your biggest career success to date? Being General Manager of the Trend Micro SMB (Small to Medium Business)/Consumer Business was a major transformation for me from “me” to “we.” It was a broad leadership role across several functions, including sales, marketing, engineering and operations. I led a distributed team of nearly 400 people with a P&L that grew from $300 – 580 million. I learned to prioritize and to hold people accountable. I also learned that sales is hard.
If you could go back in time, what’s one tip you’d give your teenage self?
Be patient.
What do you do when you’re not kicking butt at work?
Hang with family, dogs, chickens. I also like to run, golf, scuba dive, eat and drink wine.
Flats, heels or kicks?
Heels
Best career advice book?
True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George
Who are the women in tech that you most admire and why?
Meg Whitman. She is approachable, authentic and systematic. Barbara Cardillo at Apple, whom I mentioned above. And Sheryl Sandberg. Although I’ve never met her, she has brought the conversation about women and leadership to the front of our consciousness.
