15 years of evolution: my growth alongside the industry

Changes are the basis of evolution; we are attracted to them and they awaken an innate curiosity in the human being. Without that instinct we might never have advanced, we would still be stuck in the Age of the Caves. Individual curiosity shared with the community generated a collaborative development that allowed us to evolve and, even today, challenges us to continue doing so.

In 2007, for example, we were still embracing the idea of leaving text messages behind, with limited characters and a language of our own, in favor of instant messaging and chats over the Internet and 3G. Twitter was exploding and we had to learn to simplify messages to 140 characters, almost an ode to the technology we were leaving behind.

Home entertainment saw the decline of movie rentals and the birth of streaming services. Although it was difficult to land in Latin America, once we saw the catalog they had to offer, they became a one-way trip and revolutionized the industry. Digital books had the same effect with the rise of digital readers.

As of that year, cell phones ceased to be a mere device to make calls and write text messages and became our whole life. So we started to have cameras, calculators, music players and flashlights in our pockets or purses. And, of course, the possibility of communicating with other people.

The explosion of Facebook and the rise of new social networks transformed the way we built relationships and fostered collaborative response. In 2008 the telecommunications industry opened the game to one of its main protagonists: open source. T-Mobile and Motorola bet for the first time on a mobile operating system based on open source and came out to compete strongly with Apple and the Iphone.

In 2007 in Brazil, while the technology industry was evolving and humanity had to adapt to changes, I was taking my first steps at Red Hat. Being a woman interested in technology was not easy, and I knew that if I wanted to achieve my goals, I would have to make my own path. I had come to Red Hat with the conviction to do so, and from day one I knew I also had the support of an organization that would change my life. The objective was clear: I wanted to be part of the transformation I was seeing in the industry, not only in the technological aspect, but also in the human aspect.

It was with that hunger that I arrived at my first day at Red Hat, nervous about the expectations placed on me and eager to prove that I deserved to be there. In my mind I had only one thing clear: evolving was the only option. Always go forward and look back just to gain momentum. I knew the road would not be easy, but that made it more interesting.

I was being part of the digital transformation, just as I had dreamed of; and I was doing it in a company that celebrated all voices and gave opportunities to those who were willing to take them. I crossed paths with wonderful leaders who upheld - and still do - the standard of open leadership, a methodology that not only helps us achieve better organizational results, but also allows us to encourage ourselves and bet on every aspect of our lives.

Today, fifteen years later, I think about how the industry has evolved, the leading role that enterprise open source has taken, and how it has reshaped work methodologies. And I have accompanied each moment with changes - evolutions - of my own. My story with Red Hat is a story of transformation, adaptation, challenge, and resilience.

Red Hat has accompanied me in my professional growth, as a technical support analyst, with an eagerness to learn and a desire to make a difference both in the industry and in my professional career. And each milestone that I was marking was accompanied by personal changes. I started the journey as a single help desk analyst with a dream and a goal. Today I am the Director of Technological Solutions and Practices, happily married, with my own house and awaiting the arrival of my son. Evolution.

Just like fifteen years ago, the future is uncertain, but one thing is clear, our curiosity and instinct for evolution is more alive than ever. My life has changed radically in the last fifteen years and I have accompanied the transformation of the industry. I can only celebrate and continue working on the evolution of an even more collaborative and open future.