MEET MARION RYAN
“Stay curious”
Up Close and Personal
“I’ve always had a passion for working with the broader community and a drive to make things work better. So it was intentional that I joined ServiceNow more than four years ago – a place where we have shared values to make the world, work better.”
My title says I am the Vice President of Alliances and the Channel Ecosystem across APAC. But for those I serve, it means that I am responsible for strengthening the bond between the best talent and technology in the industry. I am responsible for ServiceNow’s future growth across the Asia Pacific Partner business and spend my time focused on our broader ServiceNow community – showcasing the value our partners bring to our customers with ServiceNow’s platform and solving the problems for businesses that others cannot.
Each role leading up to my career at ServiceNow, centred around a passion for people development, championing culture and driving positive change – particularly for the next generation of leaders. I’ve learnt something new every day from coaching teams over the last 25 years across IT and Telecommunications in every corner of the globe, including at Telecom NZ (AAPT), Mortgage Express (a subsidiary of TSB Bank, London), Solution6, SAP and the Department of the Australian House of Representatives.
MEET MARION RYAN
“Stay Curious”
Up Close and Personal
I’ve always had a passion for working with the broader community and a drive to make things work better. So it was intentional that I joined ServiceNow more than four years ago – a place where we have shared values to make the world, work better.
My title says I am the Vice President of Alliances and the Channel Ecosystem across APAC. But for those I serve, it means that I am responsible for strengthening the bond between the best talent and technology in the industry. I am responsible for ServiceNow’s future growth across the Asia Pacific Partner business and spend my time focused on our broader ServiceNow community – showcasing the value our partners bring to our customers with ServiceNow’s platform and solving the problems for businesses that others cannot.
Each role leading up to my career at ServiceNow, centred around a passion for people development, championing culture and driving positive change – particularly for the next generation of leaders. I’ve learnt something new every day from coaching teams over the last 25 years across IT and Telecommunications in every corner of the globe, including at Telecom NZ (AAPT), Mortgage Express (a subsidiary of TSB Bank, London), Solution6, SAP and the Department of the Australian House of Representatives.
What have been your proudest moments
My proudest work moments have been watching teams that I have built or coached become high-performing teams. And a recent example of that was ServiceNow being recognised as a great place to work. Every individual brings a diverse skill set and strengths that allow a team to perform at the elite level. As a coach, I am focused on leveraging the value each team member brings and encouraging them to be proud of their uniqueness. After all, individuals win games but teams win championships. Growing up I played a variety of sports including netball, softball and basketball as I developed my skills I began to develop an interest in coaching. Playing sports, especially team sports reinforces the point that each team member matters.
In the workplace, it has been well documented that diversity boosts the bottom line for companies and this is how I build my team to succeed. Organisations will do better when they are made up of a community of diverse individuals and those individuals feel included in striving for better outcomes.
What have been some of your lessons learnt?
The best advice I have received is to “stay curious”. Be interested in new things, be interested in people. It means that you are constantly in a learning mindset and open to new possibilities – whether that is how to help your customers, how to improve your skills or new options for your career.
What key challenges should senior women prepare for in the future?
Women are leading the way in many areas of AI. In speaking with technologists and business leaders across the region, many of the practical intelligent ways in which AI is being used, stems from brilliant women leaders. It is important for these voices to be heard and well represented as the field continues to progress.
More broadly, the credibility of technologies like AI relies on robust representation to deliver accurate and fair outcomes so my message to all leaders is to ensure you do not to build in any bias as you grow your digital business. Another area for focus is accessibility and education – these are foundational elements that require continuous investment to ensure equity.
Listen to Marion’s keynote 20th October at the Leadership Summit for Women in Technology, Telco & Cyber.