Ellen Braun Ellen Braun
Senior Manager
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US

Ellen Braun is a senior manager in the Critical Technologies practice of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US (CGEYUS). Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US is the US entity resulting from the acquisition of E&Y Consulting Services by the public French firm, Cap Gemini.

Braun leads efforts to develop corporate Information Technology (IT) strategies and technology architectures, usually for Fortune 500 firms. Her role is not entirely technical; at times it is to act as a bridge between business and technical constituencies of client firms. Typically, this puts Braun in the position of communicating with corporate CFOs, CIOs, IT Directors, and division heads to agree on the principles that guide technology investment decisions, then working with IT managers, technologists, and business/technical liaisons to develop consensus around the set of technology products and standards that support the IT and business strategy. Not every consulting assignment is oriented around architecture. Braun recently served as the acting director of technology research for an east coast financial firm.

Before joining E&Y, Braun worked as the IT director for a publishing and printing firm. She has a technical degree and an MBA.

She is also co-chair of the Business Council of the Human Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org). The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. The goals of the Business Council encompass corporate outreach on issues ranging from fair employment practices to corporate endorsements of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Braun's experience working with IT leadership of client firms to develop and execute strategies within complex and dynamic business environments, gain consensus around detailed plans, and link strategic directions to business results has translated to similar capabilities for developing strategies for driving change in the workplace.

1. What was your first job in technology?
My first job in technology was as a developer. I wrote parts of an energy cost calculation application designed for early PCs. I had completed an undergrad degree in biochemistry and headed off to a doctoral program, also for biochem. I was on the path of least resistance. It was clear after one semester that the program was not a fit for me. I left after two semesters and picked up the programming job. My primary motivation was not related to technology or a career. After doing college sports, I wanted to continue to be an athlete. I started bike racing when in grad school; programming was one of the few things I could do during the off-season and make enough money, combined with sponsorships, to make it through a racing season full-time. I continued work as a programmer/analyst in progressively shorter off-seasons as my cycling career progressed. I ended up on the U.S. National Team, racing on the domestic road circuit and international track circuit for the next six years. The travel that cycling involved was also great preparation for my current consulting career.

2. Who has been your most significant mentor? Why?
I've been lucky to have great access to potential advisors. Just like opportunities seem to present themselves when I am ready and open to them, it seems that when I face a difficult issue and would benefit from an outside perspective, a mentor becomes available. The lesson I've taken from that is to seek advice early and often, take it in and apply it.

3. What has been your greatest challenge and what strategies did you use to overcome obstacles?
My greatest challenges have not been related to the complexity of technology or the difficulties of serving clients in a consulting capacity. My challenges are overwhelmingly personal or internal. I'm not all that disciplined. I'm keenly aware of areas where I'm not as effective and I sometimes get caught up in being overly self-critical. I've had a tough time learning to be at ease with myself sufficiently to take criticism without feeling defensive. My strategy for dealing with this has been to learn from my own management role. I would never strongly criticize someone with whom I work; to do so would be both cruel and ineffective. So I hold myself to that same standard when I start being self-critical.

I have also come to recognize that some things I thought were obstacles are actually advantages. I feel as though my brain works in a fundamentally different way than many of my friends and colleagues. I gather facts, see patterns and arrive at insights differently, almost as though I flip flop from left-brain to right-brain orientation without much impedance. This weird flaw has not been greatly convenient; it makes it difficult to stay on task. Recently, though, it has turned into this great advantage. When I really need to understand something reasonably complex at a holistic level and if I've done my homework, a metaphor or mental model seems to come to mind that helps me understand and clarify the situation for others. I'm not sure I can explain why, but this seems to be the source of any true insights I have.

4. Who has been the most influential person in your life? Why?
My best friend has been a profound influence. She's helped me learn how to focus on more than one thing, to get some balance in my life. The message didn't really sink in while I was doing sports but has started to recently.

My Dad has also been a great influence. He taught me two things I really value: how to argue a point of view with determination and passion, and how much fun it is to walk through the woods when the leaves are falling.

5. What lessons have you learned that would be valuable to women beginning their careers in technology?
The biggest lesson is to have a strategy. Even a poor strategy pushes you to align daily effort and actions to an organizing theme or concept. This is a lesson I started to learn in my cycling career - a mediocre strategy well executed can often overwhelm no strategy. Virtually any strategy can be empowering because it puts initiative squarely in your hands, which not only impacts situations you find yourself in but also your frame of mind. Another lesson, which I fear I'll be perpetually in the midst of learning, is to do your homework. This is about more than just being sufficiently prepared so that things go smoothly. The times I've really developed insights on a topic have been when digging deeply into my work. And being prepared for me is a precondition for feeling confident and communicating with depth and understanding.

6. What new technology do you believe will have the most positive impact on the world in the next 20 years? The most negative impact?
I don't envision one particular technology having a singularly positive impact on the world, but rather technologies and concepts combined in innovative ways. For example, think of what it could mean to combine the Cold War concept of Radio Free Europe with Internet email, handhelds and wireless in a country run by a totalitarian regime. Imagine an ISP outside of the dictatorial control of Burma's leaders, coupled with cheap and widely distributed palmtops used for wireless email service that could wrap the country in a mesh of communication outside of government control. History provides useful models. Technology and the economics around technology can confer great leverage on those and emerging models. And, I'm sure some of the results will be absolutely unexpected and potentially transformational; some with very positive end results.

In terms of negative impact, the evolution of technology makes it that much more powerful to those who use it. And, technology ends up being particularly punishing to people without fundamental skills such as literacy. These two effects amplify each other and can widen the gap in our society. In the US, the industrial age set the barrier to entry into the middle class at a moderate work ethic and basic literacy - kind of a high school equivalency. In the information age, the barrier has been raised to include analytical skills, English literacy and computer literacy. We can't forget how important it is to the entire fabric of this country to always make it possible for any kid, from any background who is willing to work diligently, to make it through college - especially in an age when a college degree, strong work ethic and specific skills are the ticket to the middle class.

On a lighter note:

1. If you could have dinner with any 2 people (living or not), who would they be?

Eleanor Roosevelt would be my first choice. I would like to understand the paradox she presents. She had profound ability to influence even though she had no direct control over decisions or events of her time. She was shy and not terribly secure, but seemed to translate that into a sense of humility coupled with amazing strength of will. From what I've read about her, she never seemed to drift from her mission.

My second choice would be Winston Churchill. His use of our language was fascinating. I can imagine sitting across a dinner table from him as he gets through that second bottle of champagne and gets talkative.

2. What was the last book you read? What books do you love to recommend?
I'm on a little reading jag partly related to some current client work. The work is to shape a business unit that sets technology directions for the future of a financial firm. My reading has focused on a couple of directions that partly tie in together: scenario planning and biological models for complex systems. Right now, I have a couple books under way: "Butterfly Economics" (Paul Ormerod) applies some concepts of chaos theory to economics. It's a tangent in that it largely focuses on an emerging view of economics, but is right on target since the perspective is more organic than mechanistic. "The Art of the Long View" (Peter Schwartz) is a seminal work on using scenario planning to establish a vision of the future of an organization. I started "The Living Company" (Arie de Geus) in the middle and I am fascinated. It seems to be about how organizations learn, again applying a biological model. I just finished a wonderful novel called "Gap Creek" (Robert Morgan), which made me wonder if I have ever worked as hard as someone living near the Blue Ridge Mountains a century ago.

In general, I like to read biographies, the novels like those Oprah recommends and military history. Amazon really has my number.

I don't recommend any particular book. Rather, I recommend reading, broadly and deeply.

3. What is your definition of success?
Balance.

For more 'WITI Women' articles, go to: http://www.witi.com/wire/witiwomen/

For all the latest news and information on women in technology, visit http://www.witi.com