Linda Drumright
Linda Drumright leads DigitalThink's engineering organization in
developing the technical underpinning to all of DigitalThink's products.
Linda came to DigitalThink in October of 1999 from Hyperion Solutions
where she was the vice president of budgeting, planning and forecasting
application product development. Prior to that, she headed the tools
and applications division at Arbor Software and directed a large portion
of the SQL server development organization at Sybase. Linda has 16
years of experience in building commercial software products and scaling
organizations, both in process and in structure. She has managed all
functional areas and prides herself in creating highly motivated,
committed teams.
1. What was your first job in technology?
2. Who has been your most significant mentor? Why?
3. What has been your greatest challenge and what strategies did you use to overcome obstacles?
4. Who has been the most influential person in your life? Why?
They taught me that there is "no such thing as 'can't'." They instilled
in me that I was capable of doing anything I set my mind to. They
encouraged me to take chances and simply to try my best at whatever I
attempted. They supported my decisions, no matter how treacherous they
perceived them, and applauded even when I achieved less than I had
intended. They taught me to be self-sufficient – a survival skill that
yields great accomplishments or severe isolation, if not applied well.
My mother taught me how to create things out of any resources I had
available – a skill I use handily at work and at home to this day.
In a very tangible way, they taught me that from a vision I could create
anything in my mind’s eye.
Both of them modeled hard work and determination. Together, in all that
we did, endurance, perseverance and end results were all that mattered.
5. What lessons have you learned that would be valuable to women beginning their careers in technology?
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?
On a lighter note:
2. What was the last book you read? What books do you love to recommend?
3. If you couldn't do what you are doing now, what profession would you choose?
4. What is your definition of success?
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