Voice of Experience: Debra Danielson, SVP M&A Strategy and CA Distinguished Engineer, CA Technologies
By Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief
Debra Danielson, SVP M&A Strategy and CA Distinguished Engineer, CA Technologies is committed to making sure that future generations of women in technology have access to the opportunities that will help them advance their career.
This is why she is actively involved in a number of programs at CA Technologies to promote the advancement of women. Danielson said, “I was tasked, along with three other women, to develop a Women in Technology organization within CA to create a forum for networking within the community. This group also provides a foundation for mentoring.” She continued, “It started out as a grass roots organization that has become formalized over the last year.”
Career Path
Danielson started her career in technology as a software developer for Applied Data Research. “The first fifteen years of my career were pretty straightforward,” said Danielson, “I had increasing responsibilities in engineering and then entered management for ADR and Computer Associates, which acquired ADR around 1988.”
During that fifteen year period of her career, Danielson spent a lot of time focusing in integrated development environments creating technologies that would improve the developer experience. “We did a lot of interesting work in introducing multimedia into the developer experience, which was new and exciting technology at the time in the mid-eighties,” recalled Danielson.
After fifteen years of concentrating on the developer experience, Danielson switched gears when she began to think more about the quality of the end user experience. “We needed to rethink our end user experience,” explained Danielson, “So I ended up bringing user centric design and usability into the organization. It was critical to implement a sense of continuity across all of our products since our end users were becoming more generalized and less specialized.”
This focus on improving the end user experience associated with CA’s products led Danielson into a series of roles overseeing the coming together of technology designed to create a broader solution applicable across all of the unique products offered by CA. “For a couple of years, I helped transform CA from a company that delivered point products to a company that delivers integrated solutions that are consistent with one another,” explained Danielson.
CA’s executive management team then introduced the idea of building an organization within the company that would create a stronger and more dynamic technical community, according to Danielson. “I was appointed as one of the charter members of this think tank whose purpose was to push the boundaries within CA and leveraging the scope of the technical talent we had within the organization,” said Danielson.
She continued, “After a couple of months, we formally structured the think tank and I was elected the first president of the Council for Technical Excellence, which was responsible for developing a creative and innovative technical community, and bring our innovation and organic exploration to a next level.”
According to Danielson, the Council for Technical Excellence set the tone for the strategic transformation that has taken place at CA Technologies over the last five to eight years. She added, “One of the key roles I have been able to play within the organization is to take a look at the forces within the ecosystem, identify factors placing stress on that system, and develop a strategy for where the organization needs to be going.”
For the last couple of years, Danielson has been working on mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy at CA, mostly focusing on bringing inorganic innovation into CA. “I look at technology from startup organizations and other companies and make an assessment about the value of that technology. This is hugely rewarding because it allows us to accelerate the impact that we have on the business.”
Women in Technology
Danielson was the first woman at CA to earn the distinction of Distinguished Engineer. She added that she was often the only woman in the room, but she never internalized this or viewed it as a barrier in her own career path. She stated, “About five years ago I was introduced to the Anita Borg Institute and was asked if CA would take a look at women in technology within the organization and see if we could arrive at some answers as to why there were so few women progressing up the engineering ranks and into the highest levels.”
She continued, “It is very clear at CA that we have a meritocracy and I never see anything that counters that structure. However, it doesn’t match up. We are not seeing the results we would expect, as far as women in leadership roles.”
Danielson recalled just how important it was to her own career development to have sponsors. “The support and promotion of my skills and abilities by these individuals, at very critical moments in my career, helped me advance my career. My career path might have looked very different if it weren’t for those people advocating for me,” said Danielson.
Through her work assessing new technologies to bring into CA, Danielson has had the opportunity to become involved with an organization called Springboard Enterprises, which is an accelerator for women led companies in media, tech, and life sciences. “One of the things I do to support women in technology –because I believe we need more women leaders in tech –is coach some of these female run startup companies and help them meet the challenges of bringing an idea from inception to the market as a scalable business,” said Danielson.
Advice for Women
“Make sure you distinguish yourself early,” Danielson advised. “One of the lessons I learned was that a lot of people are capable of performing well, so you have to figure out how to get yourself recognized, identified, and distinguished from the pack as early as possible.”
Danielson also encourages young women to find a mentor and develop them into a sponsor. She added, “This is someone who can keep their eye out for you, look for the next role for you, and help you find the next opportunity. But, you can’t get a sponsor without proving yourself first.”
Danielson expressed how mentor relationships continue to be important to your career development no matter what level you are at in the organization. She explained, “You might call it something different as you get further along in your career path, but it serves the same role.”
Outside the Office
“One of the things I love to do in my spare time is flying. I am a pilot and my husband is a pilot, but I haven’t had as much air time as I would like over the last few years.” Danielson added, “I look forward to getting back in the pilot seat soon.”
