VTEX At VTEX, we believe that if we combine our diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills to transform the world of commerce-all under the best guidance possible-we can be unstoppable. Our leaders' powerful journeys trickle down to each and every VTEXer, inspiring us to build a future-proof career. This is even truer in the case of our female leaders, who have also had to face gender inequality throughout their lives to reach positions of power.
To celebrate the wonderful female leadership that makes the VTEX rebel-pink shine brighter, we're more than happy to tell the stories of these women in the Women in Leadership content series. In this blog post and the upcoming ones, you'll hear more about their careers, their learnings, and their ups and downs directly from them, all the while getting valuable advice.
First stop? Fernanda Weiden, our newly-announced Chief Technology Officer.
About FernandaFernanda Weiden was raised in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A self-proclaimed problem-solver, she has more than 20 years of experience and has specialized in the development of scalable global solutions with a focus on site reliability engineering (SRE). Prior to joining VTEX, she had worked at Facebook, Google, and IBM.
We know you've had a rollercoaster career, so what important milestones can you share with us?
Fernanda: In the beginning of my career, I experimented with systems and Linux at home, but I didn't actually work with them. Then I got a job connected to IT support. The manager of the software development team of the company needed someone who understood Linux, so he gave me an opportunity to join him. That was one big change, because I moved from IT support to a software-development environment.
The second one was when I got involved with the free software community in Brazil, doing a lot of things related to that. I met a manager from IBM that was leading a software development lab in Brazil called the Linux Technology Center, and she invited me to work for them. I think that was my second great milestone, because that's when I was pressured to learn English and open myself to international environments and big corporations.
The next one was when I moved abroad to work at Google. I had a bit of imposter syndrome and never imagined that Google would offer me a job, so I kept asking myself: why do they want anything to do with me?
Joining Google, of course, was what was happening on the career side, but on the personal side, moving overseas was one of the most life-transforming experiences that I've ever had because it changed my perspective about the world, different cultures, and different ways to approach things in life.
Some years later, I took a leap of faith and went to Facebook, despite the huge pay cut, and my mom said I was ruining my career because no one had heard of such company back in 2012.
And after Facebook, now there's VTEX. Each one of these milestones was a big transformation, and I learned a lot about management and technology. It was an incredible journey, and now I'm pretty sure that I'm embarking on another one that will be a breakthrough for my personal growth.
Can you tell us about a situation where you had to embrace the unknown and were positively surprised?
Fernanda: When I moved to Switzerland in 2006 to join Google. I was 23 years old, it was my first time in the country, I only had 80 euros in my wallet, Lufthansa had just lost my luggage, I didn't know anybody, and my English was not that great-and there were no smartphones.
I remember going to the corporate apartment in Zurich where Google had placed me, and when it was time to go to work on Monday morning, I left the apartment only to quickly realize that I didn't even know if I had to turn right or left. I had no idea where I was, and the map was confusing, and I was dumbstruck for a moment. People romanticize living abroad, but it can be very difficult. I really dived into the unknown then, and it was a crazy journey, for which I'm grateful.
That's indeed such a powerful journey! And now that you've joined VTEX, can you please explain more about the area you're leading and what your responsibilities are?
Fernanda: I'm responsible for technology at VTEX, and there are three large fields within it: engineering, product, and design. Engineering is my comfort zone, that's what I did for 20 years of my life. However, product and design are a new world, besides learning about ecommerce, which is not something I know much about. But the learning process is part of the value proposition for me.
Overall, my role encompasses everything from identifying new opportunities to accomplish our future vision to actually making those solutions available to our customers in such a way that is also sustainable for us as a company in the long term. It also involves nurturing talents that are already part of the team and attracting new ones to build an extraordinary future for the digital commerce ecosystem.
About leadershipWhat are the biggest learnings you've accumulated in your leadership roles?
Fernanda: One learning is that the difference between being an excellent professional and being average does not lie in technical skills. You can have technically-excellent people that are not excellent at their job because they lack soft skills. So soft skills and the human aspects of the job are both extremely important, in addition to being able to truly see people and meet them where they are and balance the interests of the company with their individual ones.
Secondly, when you are a tech leader about to become a manager, you have that feeling that you don't do anything anymore because you have to do everything through others. And then you tell yourself, "okay, I've got this", but you really don't, so you just learn. After a while, you become a manager of managers, and you're back at square one. Bottom line, you need to learn how to influence people who can influence others to get the job done.
The third realization is that I am only going to be a better leader if I detach myself from the work and leave it to the individual contributors. Trying to get people to think differently about how they do their job by challenging them, and not by actually doing the job for them. That's why I believe management in the beginning is more of a science and, as you go up in seniority, it becomes more of an art.
And what an artist you are! Talking about that, what are the highlights of being in a leadership position at VTEX?
Fernanda: Something I find very special about VTEX is that it's a tech company from Brazil that is building a global digital commerce product, as opposed to a Brazilian version of a product that came up in Europe or somewhere else. This is inspiring and challenging.
Another highlight is the people. You can be peeling five kilos of potatoes, which is not something that people would think is glamorous, but if you are amongst people that you enjoy spending time with and you are having good conversations, challenging each other even, peeling five kilos of potatoes is fun, right?
For me, the people I'm going to be surrounded by are an extremely important aspect, and the people I have met at VTEX have been extraordinary. I really enjoy the conversations, the level of emotional intelligence, the bold vision, and the challenges they pose to me.
What we are doing at VTEX is far from peeling five kilos of potatoes. I think it's a lot more fun than that, but it's a good way to illustrate that we are not only working on a great project, but also with great people by our side, which is amazing.
And how would you say women leaders should juggle work-life balance? We know you're expecting a second baby (congratulations, by the way!), so things must be tricky.
Fernanda: I don't think this work-life balance is necessarily about how much time you spend working. You can work many hours and not be a super stressed person, or work very few hours and be the most stressed person in the world. So it's really about how you balance everything that is important to you.
You need to identify what matters to you and what energizes you. For me, self-care is important, I need to work out. I also like cooking and spending time outdoors. So I make sure I block time out for these activities, because I need to put my own oxygen mask on first in order to put it on others afterwards. But there's no perfect solution.
Could you share some leadership advice for women that choose to start a management career?
Fernanda: The first thing I say to people is that if they are looking to go into management, but like the work they do as an individual contributor, they should not become managers, because the more you move into leadership roles, the less you are going to do the job that you've loved to begin with. So unless you are very comfortable giving that away, don't get started.
And the other thing is to ask for what you want, career-related or otherwise. I think women and girls tend to believe that if they do everything right, the right things will happen to them. And that's not really how this game works. You need to clarify what you want, what you expect, not take feedback personally, and then things are going to start happening, and the leadership gap will be bridged.
That is great advice, thank you so much for sharing everything with us! You're an inspiration to plenty of women in the tech industry, not to mention a brave mother. Good luck on this new challenge, we're sure you'll rock it.
Fernanda: Thank you!
Stay tuned for even more inspiring stories from our women in leadership.
Andreea, currently an Editor at VTEX, has a penchant for turning even the tiniest tidbit of information into a good story, so you'll see her write a myriad of pieces, especially about commerce trends or our customers.
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VTEX published this content on 08 February 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 08 February 2022 14:11:03 UTC.
