Critical Careers - Women Building Careers in Digital Infrastructure - Book - Page 40
Critical Careers
MID CAREER
Looking back at your early years in the
industry, what experiences most shaped the
professional you are today?
When I 昀椀nished university, I really didn’t know exactly what I wanted to
do. I think that’s quite normal, but at the time it felt like everybody was
trying to 昀椀gure it out. I studied sociology and social policy, so I hadn’t
come from a business or marketing background at all. Joining Airwave as
an apprentice gave me such a strong foundation because I was exposed
very early on to quite strategic thinking.
I started on the market development side, looking at longer-term
planning, acquisition potential, how products might evolve, etc. It
immediately got me thinking beyond just the day-to-day. Then I moved
into marketing and began to get a full range of experience. I was doing
customer marketing, product campaigns, corporate communications, PR,
public affairs, all of it really. It gave me a very broad grounding of all the
marketing disciplines.
Amanda
Sehmar
HEAD OF MARKETING, EMEA | DIGITAL REALTY
38
I also believe some of the more intense moments shaped me a lot. There
were times when something big was happening and people just needed
others to step in, sit in the room and help make things happen. I was
always very willing to do that. Looking back, I think that built a lot of
resilience and con昀椀dence in me. It taught me not to overthink whether
I was ready, but just to show up and do my best. That mindset has
de昀椀nitely stayed with me throughout my career.
