WHM Interview #5: Anna Green - Woman in Tech, Taking Risks, Lifelong Learning

To coincide with Woman's History Month (WHM)?- I’ve been interviewing a number of woman leaders from a variety of backgrounds:

Interview 1: With?Dali Sanghera, MD at Accenture

Interview 2: With Sital's Mum! My 84-year-old mother's story and wise advice

Interview 3: With?Uma?Thana Balasingam?- VP & GM at VM Ware. Co-founder of the Singapore?#LeanIn?community. Founder of Lean In Asia's?#WomanInTech?community.

Interview 4: With Shoon Lim, Consultant and DE&I Development at Russell Reynolds Associates

For this 5th interview of the series,?I'm grateful for the opportunity to interview Anna Green - from Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Anna leads Amazon Web Services’ (AWS), Small and Medium Business team across Asia Pacific and Japan. Her career focus has been to lead international business through complex digital, cultural and transformational change and has developed a deep understanding of the financial, regulatory and industry levers that facilitate success for business in that context.

Prior to joining AWS, Anna was the CEO of Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Bank in the Philippines and prior to that she was the CEO in Laos. She is a qualified lawyer and has practiced corporate law in top tier firms in Sydney and London, served as a Board Director for several ANZ entities across ASEAN and most recently held the role of Director on the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

Anna is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and has partnered with the UN, regulatory and government bodies, customers and business councils to build mechanisms to drive meaningful change around these issues.??

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science from the Australian National University and recently completed a Chief Executive Women scholarship at INSEAD.

Anna has lived and worked in Sydney, London, Vanuatu, Hong Kong, Laos, the Philippines and now lives with her family in Singapore.

Sital: Thanks for making time Anna. I've been starting these interviews by trying to understand each guest's personal story and how it's shaped their career. Can you please tell us about key influences from your childhood and early career that shaped future career choices.

Anna: Thanks Sital. My mother is a lifelong learner. Before becoming a mother, she was a scientist. She taught me how to cook using science and I remember very clearly how she imbued learning in everything she did with me. She would ask me as we cooked together "What do you think makes the cake mix stick together Anna - is it the flour or is it the egg?".?

As a little girl I became interested not just in outcomes but also processes because of the way she taught me to think. I watched her complete a degree in fine arts whilst raising 3 children and in her 78th year of life completed a doctorate and published her own book.

My mother sparked my desire to learn about the world around me, ask questions if you don't know the answer, pursue the things that matter to you and never give up. I like to think her influence has informed the choices I have made in my career and in my life more broadly.?

Sital: What an inspiring lady you mum is - thanks for sharing.

Through your career, you've made some major career changes - from a qualified practicing lawyer to Country CEO of ANZ Bank to sales leadership roles with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Quite the journey! What's your advice for anyone wanting to make a career change?

Anna: I would not have had the career experiences I have had without having a reasonable tolerance for taking risks. I understand that some (not all) women often find it hard to take risks, both because they may lack the confidence to back themselves into a role they may not feel fully qualified to do and because sometimes they have to make choices that involve stepping out of the workforce to support those around them as a caretaker.

Knowing this, my advice is know your own risk tolerance and be judicious, not everyone wants to move industries or countries, but do ensure you take risks that help you to learn and grow professionally and personally. Understand your own tolerance for risk, and where you can do something different that helps you grow - do it!

Sital: You've made some geographical shifts too: Sydney-London-Vanuatu- Hong Kong-Laos-the Philippines-Singapore. What's your advice to anyone thinking about testing themselves in new geographical markets?

Anna: I can only speak to my own experience here and I know that living and working in another country is not for everyone, but my advice is - if you have the chance to - do it!

Living in different countries and experiencing business and the world through a different cultural lens has been a gift that has kept on giving for me. Today's businesses are building digitally and that means that meetings with colleagues, customers and teams from other countries which previously would not have been possible now happen every day on Zoom calls. So we are already connecting globally through technology.

It gives you?specific and helpful context in those meetings if you have had hands on experience of how business is done in other markets and specifically in the markets where your business wants to grow. I would not be the person I am if I had not chosen to lean into international opportunities when they came up.?

Sital: Many people - often woman - see technology as a sector full of hard-core technical jobs (i.e. coding). What's your view on the various career paths in tech - and the skills needed to transition into tech?

Anna: I see this through a dual lens. As businesses digitise, they need people in their teams who can help them on that journey. This presents everyone (both men and women) with an amazing opportunity to reskill in technology and help to transform the businesses in which they operate in now. There are hundreds of free technology training and certification courses online - AWS has over 200.

So there are many different ways people can look at building tech skills in the companies they work in now. Then, of course, there is the burgeoning technology industry where we see all sorts of businesses scaling for growth.

These companies need to fill the roles any company might be looking to fill as they build. Project management, finance, sales, HR, operations - these are all key skills which can help you find a role in technology.

So I advise both women and men to look at the skills they have built and understand that many of them will be transferable across industry and particularly if they are interested in moving into technology.

Sital: As a strong advocate of Woman in the workplace - can you share your perspective on how do we reduce gender inequity? Specifically, how do we build greater representation of woman in leadership positions?

Anna: It's not rocket science. We know that in business what gets measured gets done.

If we are serious about driving equitable outcomes across our organizations, we need programmatic motions to ensure the issues facing women in the workplace such as being on the leadership pipeline, equitable re-entry into the workforce after maternity leave and appropriate and flexible work arrangements are both legislated for through policy and process and tracked and measured at a line of business level.

I have observed that the companies who do this best hold their senior management accountable for implementing that change, and in that way driving an inclusive and equitable workplace becomes a cultural touchstone for how things are done.

Sital: Let's talk about Male Allyship and what that means to you?

Anna: If we accept the maxim that women remain underrepresented at a leadership level and that true cultural change in business takes time and commitment from everyone around the leadership table - encouraging male allies in business remains critical in helping women to progress professionally.

I have benefitted from the advice, sponsorship and guidance of many allies in my career, both men and women. And meaningful organisational change to drive true equity requires thoughtful, intentional and collaborative discussion and action from all leaders, regardless of gender.

Sital: As the pace of digitization across sectors accelerates - the demand for tech skills will continue to rise. What's your advice to girls (and parents) considering studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Math's (STEM) subjects and considering a career in technology?

Anna: My advice is that careers in STEM are the way of the future. No person, boy or girl, will regret building skills in technology. Regardless of the field in which someone lands in their career, understanding technology, how it works, how it influences economies, governments, consumers and human behaviours will be pivotal.

So many of our children are already technologically literate. Encouraging them to understand the how and the why of technology and the amazing things it can facilitate in terms of advancing the human experience is a great way to prepare them for a purposeful career and an interesting life.

Sital: If you could have a huge billboard anywhere, metaphorically speaking, to get a message out to millions or billions — what would it say and why? A few words, a paragraph or maybe a quote you live by

Anna: Try to leave the world a better place than when you arrived. Be curious, work hard and most importantly, be kind.

Sital: ?That's sage advice. Thanks so much for your time and valuable insights Anna! If readers want to connect or follow your views on these important conversations - what's the best way?

Anna: Thanks for the discussion! The best way to find me is at my LinkedIn page.

Upcoming Interviews

This is part if a series of interviews to coincide with International Women's Day and Woman's History Month. During March, we'll be sharing more interviews on my LinkedIn stream with further discussions on how we can collectively make progress creating a more equitable workplace. Feel free to follow this on LinkedIn

Previous Interviews

Interview 1: With?Dali Sanghera, From humble beginnings and a battle to get herself educated, Dali has gone on to build a successful career with #Accenture over the last 30 years - where she is a Managing Director based out of Singapore.

Interview 2: With?Sital's Mum!?My 84 year-old mother shares her personal story and the vital importance of educating girls. She offers advice to woman and men on how we build equitable workplaces. She also shares her Wellbeing habits – something which we could all learn from. ??

Interview 3: With?Uma?Thana Balasingam?- Starting from humble beginnings at a Malaysian school where she “..lined up in a separate queue with the poor kids to get 2nd hand books.” Uma now leads #VMWare's business across 48 markets - and is regularly being nominated on global and regional lists of the most influential woman in technology. In 2022 she was named in LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices in Gender Equity. Co-founder of the?#LeanIn?community in Singapore.

Interview 4: With Shoon Lim - Having led the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (#DEI) initiatives at #Shell, #Microsoft and #Givaudan -?Shoon?is currently with Russell Reynolds Associates where she focusses on the development and growth of DE&I as a key proposition for business performance globally with a focus on Asia Pacific.