Data for Direction: A Q&A with Nausheen Moulana, Chief Technology Officer at Ethisphere

In this Q&A, I speak with Ethisphere’s new Chief Technology Officer, Nausheen Moulana . Based just outside of Boston, Nausheen brings to Ethisphere incredible experience as a product technology leader focused on lean-agile transformation. Additionally, she holds patents in the areas of copy protection, data access, and parallel computing, and has earned an MS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Entrepreneurship. In short, she is a proven technology leader with business smarts.

?At Ethisphere, we have an incredible amount of data that showcases the leading practices of the World’s Most Ethical Companies and the ethical culture views of three million employees around the world. We have been increasingly opening up our dataset and related resources, expertise and guidance to our Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) community and other ethics, compliance, and ESG leaders so that they can understand how their programs compare to leading practices, regulatory guidance, and peers. Technology, of course, is central to this mission, which is why we are so delighted to have Nausheen join the team.

?Q/ Nausheen, you are a leader in lean-agile transformation. What exactly does that mean and, what are the benefits of this approach?

?At the heart of lean-agile transformation is a focus on delivering customer value. We do this by first listening to our customers and then taking a validated learning approach called Build-Measure-Learn that incorporates customer feedback along the way. Fundamentally, this means turning concepts into products, measuring how customers respond, and deciding whether to pivot or preserve various elements. This approach allows us to defer commitment until we know what really resonates and is most valuable. It also generates meaningful metrics to measure progress.

At Ethisphere, we are enabling a new way to address ethics, compliance, and governance by leveraging the power of our dataset and technology. Given we are charting new territory, this development approach reduces risks and uncertainty, and importantly ensures what we build provides transformative value to our customers.

Q/ You were recognized by VentureFizz as one of 2021 24 Impressive Women Leaders in Tech, profiled in leadership articles, and you continue to actively engage in the tech community. Why is it important to you to be involved in the broader community??

Initially I ventured into the Boston technology community to learn from others and contribute to the tech ecosystem about best practices for leveraging technology to advance product roadmap, agile product development processes, and technical management. I took a lot away from meeting peers, and also realized I had a lot to contribute as a woman technology leader.

Women not only in engineering but also other functions, would tell me that my story resonated with them. It became my responsibility to share my expertise to encourage women and under-represented minorities to forge a path that works for them in technology. There are many different ways to reach your goals in technology, as an individual contributor or in management. We all need to invest in networking to avail opportunities that help with career development. It’s not a skill that comes naturally for many, but the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

Q/ At Ethisphere, we work with companies on fostering strong ethical cultures where employees feel comfortable speaking up. You’ve mentioned the importance of psychological safety within your teams. Tell me more about why this matters to you.

It’s critical to create a work environment of excellence for all team members to realize their potential to deliver on the company’s mission. In practice, this means that employees can express their opinions, raise concerns, give feedback, and importantly, take risks and be vulnerable without fear of retribution, retaliation or ridicule.?

An environment of excellence is also exemplified by shared accountability – a clear understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs), being data driven in making decisions, supporting one another along the way, and embracing continuous improvement. And finally, I value leadership that models the way, is transparent, encourages diversity of thought and experiences, challenges the status quo, and enables the team to succeed.

In the words of Amy Edmonson in her book about psychological safety, Fearless Organization, “Image management is inefficient, wasteful and hurts the people and organization and its ability to keep customers happy and be viable in the long run.”

Q/ What attracted you to Ethisphere and this role?

Ethisphere was intriguing to me on many fronts. First, its mission – to provide the data-centered insights, tools and community that allow clients to build more ethical business practices. The focus on ethics and governance is the way forward, particularly with the rapid adoption of AI, data security and other challenges. Ethisphere is at the forefront of the Ethics Economy, and has data to show that the practices for doing the right thing creates value and long-term business success.

Ethisphere’s dataset is also very compelling and a key differentiator – providing insights into the practices of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, and the views of 3 million employees on ethical culture. Through technology, Ethisphere can enable companies to solve important business questions: What are the leading practices for ethics, compliance, and governance? How does our organization compare to these practices? And how do we improve? The answers to these questions are complex, involving data, expertise and guidance, but technology and the right vision can make it easy.

?I was also drawn to Ethisphere’s culture. It is purpose-driven, inclusive, and the team cares about its mission, clients and being mutually accountable. This, combined with Alpine’s People-first approach, and your leadership, passion, and credibility, make for the perfect match.?