Celebrating International Women’s Day at CloudFactory

Happy International Women's Day (IWD) 2023! IWD seeks to celebrate the incredible achievements of women across the world, whilst also calling for a gender-equal world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

One of the ways we’re celebrating IWD is by sharing stories of some of the incredible women at CloudFactory who live our principles, who love and serve their communities, and who work hard towards our mission.

Let us introduce you to these amazing CloudFactory women on our global team:

Caroline Louise Thomasset, Financial Controller, UK

Caroline has been with us for over three years and has made a huge impact throughout her time here—winning global, location, and department awards, as well as her recent promotion to Financial Controller. Always thinking of others, people know Caroline for her big heart and kind nature. In her role, Caroline is unafraid to provide the right level of challenge to help us get back to basics; creating governance and attention to detail to help everyone she interacts with. She’s a proud South African and is a fan of biltong… although she’s always ready for some Nepali momos too!

Cassie Thompson, Senior Product Marketing Manager, USA

As our Senior Product Manager, Cassie played a pivotal role in ensuring the successful recent launch of Accelerated Annotation , using her incredible talent to lead our marketing efforts as well as partner closely with Product, Sales, and Client Success. She has a huge amount of respect from those who’ve worked with her over the last four years; picking up the Experimenter Award back in 2020. Out of work, Cassie can be found spending time with her cat, Apollo, and watching competition shows (Big Brother and Survivor being her favorites). She’s also a huge fan of anime, manga, and both board and video games.

Castine Kitah, Specialist Lead, Kenya

Castine joined CloudFactory five years ago and, as Specialist Lead, is the friendly face that many team members see when they first visit the Nairobi Peponi Office. Castine is instrumental in the running of Peponi, ensuring team members are comfortable, safe, and well taken care of. Her team members say that “dependable” is her second name, because she does everything with such patience and grace. Equipped with a wonderful sense of humor, you can be assured that Castine will make you smile and laugh in your interactions with her, too!

Jerry Dee, Account Executive, UK

Recently promoted to Account Executive, Jerry plays a pivotal role in helping us hustle and fight for each dollar. Whilst she consistently exceeds all of her quarterly goals, Jerry always has time for her teammates if they need support—going above and beyond to help #onebodymanyparts (one of our CloudFactory principles). She loves spending time outdoors and cooking, but one of her true passions is travel. Jerry has visited over 30 countries and lived in Japan and Cambodia—but hopes to visit many more places in the future.

Keisha McKenzie, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, USA

Keisha has been with us for over four years, bringing over 15-years experience across multiple markets. A visionary leader who brings a unique perspective and invaluable expertise to the team, she’s helped us build our marketing efforts and strategy function, and driven our business operations to excellence at scale. Keisha leads with both her head and heart and believes that creating a positive work culture is key to achieving business success. In her free time, Keisha loves reading, spending time with her family, as well as all things Disney and following her team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kristi Martin, Manager, Workplace Experience, USA

Kristi has been a driving force at CloudFactory for over three years and is often referred to as the “glue” that holds everything together behind the scenes. As Manager of Workplace Experience, Kristi is responsible for maximizing the experience of everyone on the CloudFactory USA team and beyond. She’s always focused on how she can love and serve others; going out of her way to create a positive and welcoming work environment. Kristi loves spending time with her friends and family and, since moving to live by the beach, has found a renewed appreciation for the beauty of the world and enjoying the simple things in life.??

Kusum Rawat, IT Service Delivery Analyst, Nepal?

Kusum joined CloudFactory over six years ago and her transformation from a Data Analyst to an IT Service Delivery Analyst is testament to her skills, expertise, and knowledge. Those who interact with her are always struck by her kindness, compassion, and generosity, making her a true role model amongst her team. One team member even said that her willingness to help others is “truly remarkable”. Kusum has a deep appreciation for nature and loves to hike. Her passion for books and interest in anime also show her deep curiosity and eagerness to learn about new ideas and perspectives.

Lisa Wiener, Head of Operations (Hasty), Germany

Before joining the Hasty team two years ago, Lisa was a country manager for a hiring startup, helping to establish them in multiple countries, and gained an MBA at Germany’s top business school. She’s a much-loved member of the Berlin office and is described as someone who “works with immense proficiency, juggling multiple daunting tasks with great enthusiasm, while keeping the biggest smile on her face”. Fluent in German, English, and Japanese, Lisa loves gigging with her band around Germany, fondly taking care of her garden and spending time with her dog, Tilda.

Mamata Pradhananga, Associate Engineering Manager, Nepal

Joining CloudFactory in 2016, Mamata has been an integral part of our Engineering function, with teammates commenting on her ability to plan and her attention to detail. One said that “She's like a QA ninja—nothing gets past her watchful eye!” and another commented that “the Engineering department considers her a rockstar and she’s an ambassador for women who aspire to work in tech”. Mamata is incredibly talented with arts and crafts, creating gifts for team members, friends and family alike. She also loves spending time with family and is able to turn anything she does into a fun, engaging activity.?

Mary Irungu, Audit and Compliance Administrator, Kenya

Mary has been with us for over two years, initially joining our Finance team before moving over to the Governance, Risk, and Compliance team. Her extensive background in finance and fraud investigation has been an asset to the business in helping us carry out security and quality audits, ultimately helping us achieve ISO certifications. Unsurprisingly, Mary loves numbers and is fascinated by puzzles, crime investigation, and following clues to figure out what happened. She also loves music, soccer, days out at the beach, and spending time with her family.

Njeri Gathungu, Talent Advisor, Kenya

As Talent Advisor, Njeri has been an incredible force since she joined just over a year ago and is celebrated by her teammates for her attention to detail, ability to build relationships, and getting us back to basics. She’s been instrumental in improving the overall employee experience and streamlining Talent processes within Kenya… her witty jokes are also a highlight for those who interact with her! Out of work, Njeri enjoys listening to podcasts and singing. She also loves animals but has a special place in her heart for the highly intelligent elephants.

Olivia Sherry, Client Success Manager, UK

Described by her teammates as someone who never backs down from a challenge, is calm under pressure and mission-driven, Oliva impresses all who she works with in her resilience and focus on achieving the best results for our clients. Over the last six months, Olivia has onboarded all new EMEA clients and fed back crucial insights into how we can improve our onboarding process. She loves giving back, undertaking many Community Service Projects, and also enjoys spending time with her family, watersports, and adventures outdoors.

Ruchi Aggarwal, Senior Software Engineer, UK

Ruchi is a very passionate engineer and has been a successful tech lead for her team since she joined just under a year ago. She brought a huge range of engineering skills and experience with her before joining CloudFactory—ranging from retail to healthcare. Through this she is able to inspire and motivate her team to achieve their goals with her caring and calm presence. Ruchi is a keen walker and loves to exploring London. She also enjoys gardening, cooking, and spending time with family.

Sapana Karki, Delivery Manager, Nepal

Sapana has been with us on our mission since the early days—2023 will be her ninth year with CloudFactory as a core team member! She’s a highly valued member of the Delivery team, described by her teammates as detail-oriented and client-centric. She loves to understand the client business model, long- and short-term goals, and is intentional with how she uses that information to show value to our clients. Out of work, Sapana loves music and dancing, and has even recently started terrace farming.

Sonisha Khadka, Operations Assistant, Nepal

Sonisha is a part of the Procurement team in Nepal and has been with us for over four years. She’s described by her teammates as someone who is deeply compassionate and is always ready to support anyone who reaches out to her. As much as she provides support, she’s also someone who provides valuable challenge when required—helping to improve processes and ways of working. Sonisha loves listening to music, reading, and food-hunting—specifically hunting for the best pizza she can find!

Stella Kuria, Delivery Lead, Kenya

Before joining CloudFactory nearly five years ago, Stella worked as a communication manager and social media expert for a Kenyan local media outlet. She's since put these skills to good use in the Delivery team, becoming a valued account manager and building brilliant relationships. She’s described by her teammates as someone who really loves connecting with others, taking the time to get to know you as an individual. Out of work, Stella enjoys walking and listening to podcasts about people's entrepreneurial journeys.

Supriya Maharjan, Talent Operations Associate, Nepal

Supriya is described by her teammates as a go-getter and someone who is always ready to tackle the next challenge with her positive, can-do attitude. Being part of our mission for nearly six years, Supriya has worked in different roles in the Workforce Success team, acting as a leadership coach and people officer for our data analyst team, and most recently stepping in to support our core team in Nepal. When she’s not working, Supriya can be found bringing smiles to the faces of her family, who she loves to spend time with.

Wafaa Arbash, Head of Product, Workforce, USA

Wafaa was born and raised in Syria and moved to the USA in 2013 to pursue a dual master’s degree, after which she co-founded Workaround—an organization which helps empower disadvantaged populations by connecting them to the gig economy in the digital age. Since joining CloudFactory in 2021, Wafaa has earned deep respect through her boundless energy, willingness to tackle the toughest problems, and an endearing blend of intelligence, humor, and compassion. Wafaa is an avid adventurer and can tell you lots of stories about amazing jungle treks, beautiful beaches, and urban cultures!

#HappyInternationalWomensDay #EmbraceEquity #EmpowerWomen #IWD2023