Women Leaders Empowering Digital Trust & Global Tech Resilience

Dr. Ricki, is a seasoned global executive with 25 years in strategic and operational IT leadership, driving productivity, innovation, and multi-million-dollar savings. She is an expert in cybersecurity, data management, vendor partnerships, KPIs, and talent development. Bilingual with advanced degree and proven success leading cross-cultural, distributed teams worldwide.

In a thought-provoking interaction with Global Woman Leader Magazine, Ricki shares her insights on the evolving priorities of digital initiatives, cybersecurity, organizational transformation, and vendor ecosystems in today’s fast-changing tech landscape. Her perspectives explore the balance between resilience, innovation, and inclusive, human-centric leadership.

In today’s volatile tech and business environment, what shifts are you noticing in how leaders prioritize digital initiatives that drive operational resilience and human-centric impact?

Operational resilience and human-centric impact must be developed and managed hand-in-hand to fully achieve organizational objectives. As a technology leader with a background in Human Computer Interaction (HCI), I strongly recommend incorporating usability into resiliency planning much as you would customer-facing solutions.

Operational resilience focuses on the organizations’ ability to uphold critical services in the face of unforeseen events.  By putting human-centric design first in resiliency planning, organizations can proactively incorporate the intuitiveness, flexibility and adaptability needed during critical times.  Following a human-centric operational resiliency approach helps build a robust technical environment and fosters an organizational culture that prioritizes the people and their ability to quickly, efficiently and successfully manage critical risks and mitigations when it is needed the most.

How can women in technology leadership redefine digital trust frameworks to better protect organizations while promoting transparency and accountability?

Women continue to be underrepresented and underappreciated in cybersecurity yet are key to reimaging digital trust. Leveraging skills such as collaboration and knowledge sharing can help bring a variety of perspectives together to uncover out-of-the-box ideas for disaster response. 

Ethical data management, role clarity and interdisciplinary thinking strengthen transparency and trust during critical recovery efforts.  Intuition, strategic thinking and continuous improvements help increase cybersecurity maturity levels that reflect organizational goals now and into the future. Organizations must invest in cybersecurity expertise for women. 

Training and networking groups offer insights specifically addressing challenges and opportunities women face.  By supporting the soft and hard skills women bring to the table, cybersecurity initiatives can cover a broader scope of success than by focusing on core tasks alone.

With transformation fatigue setting in, how can leaders break through organizational inertia to embed long-term digital value across diverse geographies and legacy systems?

Business and IT must build roadmaps that balance operational IT initiatives with business projects.  It is vital to have secure, stable and scalable technology landscapes to spring board sustainable growth for the organization. Uncovering value-add synergies across geographies helps alleviate one-off challenges, unnecessary overhead of duplicate solutions, and brings geographically diverse staff together for common goals.

Balancing strategic and operational projects on the roadmap creates long-term growth efficiencies.  It breaks the usual cadence of prolonged transformational stagnations followed by hectic last-minute scrambles for innovation.  Regularly incorporating IT best practices, managing technical debt, practicing agility, implementing cost-effective solutions that reduce complexity with limited friction, and establishing innovation pilot experiences that help organizations fail fast before committing all help maintain a healthy and motivated path towards sustainable growth. 

How do you see technology leaders rethinking vendor ecosystems not just for efficiency but to ensure alignment with agile innovation, cross-border collaboration, and inclusive growth strategies?

Most organizations are reliant on a significant number of small, medium and large suppliers.  Often, interconnected services and solutions must cover the needs of diverse communities, cultures and countries and consider broad customer usability and accessibility needs. 

Comprehensive strategic vendor partner frame works that account for local, regional and global demands require vendors that have similar perspectives and insights.  Orchestrating vendor partner frameworks that include diverse, underserved and underrepresented affiliations as well as large global players can cater to a broader array of customer expectations.

A well thought through framework also lays a foundation to proactively prepare for changes stemming from mergers, regional regulations, specialized skills, vendor performance and more.  Following a vendor partner framework ensures long-term stability and collective growth while fostering the agility needed to make quick market adjustments. 

As hybrid work reshapes team dynamics, what are the overlooked opportunities for women in tech to reimagine leadership models that amplify talent, equity, and creative autonomy?

Managing a hybrid workplace reflects the balancing skills women executives are well-versed in.  Women in leadership positions emphasize preparation, prioritization, clear direction, welcome diverse perspectives, emphasize relationships, support each other’s growth, and dedicate time to healthy thoughtfulness.  These skills support clear short, mid and long-term goal achievement.  Women may feel apprehensive about highlighting their unique talents and instead mimic traditionally male mannerisms in the workplace.  This is a disservice to colleagues, other females and the organization as a whole.

Women must continue to respect and leverage their own unique capabilities. They must remain dedicated to building working environments where diverse people and ideas equal wholistic success. As hybrid models increase in popularity, women have a unique chance to upend the status quo and show how their skills are vital for this new age of business.

What’s your message to women aiming to lead complex tech transformations especially those standing at the edge of breakthrough, yet still questioning if they belong at the decision-making table?

There are three points that I as a woman executive use to stay on course to which I am professionally and what I provide my organization.  First, if you want to break glass ceilings, be sure to break the one in your own mind. Be brave and don’t forget you are a role model for other women and men. 

Never settle for being as good as you are, but rather how good you can be. Second, respect, take care of and support yourself as you would one of your own mentees.  Learn from mistakes, set realistic boundaries, celebrate achievements and recognize the positive influence you have on others. 

Finally, advocate for yourself and recall the challenges and complexities you’ve successfully navigated to get where you are. Practice effective communication to bring your expertise and insights to the table. Tackle small achievements first to bolster your confidence and build your success story. Champion for other women and encourage men to do the same.