Throughout the month of March, we’re celebrating WOMEN on the Citrix Blogs. Each day this month, we’re shining the spotlight on the tremendous women that work here and their valuable contributions to Citrix, no matter their role in the company.
Today, we’ve gathered together some of Citrix’ best and brightest (shown, left-to-right in the photo above) — Renée Flores, Director, Customer Strategy, Sponsorships; Melanie Gomez, Global Advocacy Program Manager; Payal Agarwal, Software Engineer; Joy Chambers, Senior Quality Assurance Manager; Charitha Krishnappa, Software Test Engineer; Kathy Wagner, VP of Global Shared Services, Finance & Administration; Pascale Royal, Senior Manager, Global Advocacy Programs; and Laura Heisman, Vice President, Communications — to talk to the about what makes Citrix special to them and the things of which they’re most proud.
Hear their stories and learn about why they love being in tech and why they are leading the charge and are ready to #beboldforchange.
Why do you enjoy working at Citrix?
We know Citrix is a special place to work. But these extraordinary women share why they come to work every day.
“Citrix is just a great place to work, plain and simple! I’m passionate about what we do and the technology we create. I enjoy working with my direct and extended team and consider many of my colleagues great friends. I am so grateful for the flexible working and benefits, right down to the cheese sticks and carrots! Our culture aligns with and compliments my personal beliefs. Citrix has enriched my life and I’m incredibly thankful.” – Pascale Royal
“Technology: I am a true believer that our technology fundamentally shifts the way people and organizations work and that is super powerful. Very exciting! Opportunities: A colleague recently introduced me as having the “most diverse career path at Citrix.” I have worked in HR, Sales Ops, Sales Enablement, Customer Experience, and now Marketing. The opportunity to work across many functions has given me a broad view of the entire organization and that helps me have deep empathy to deliver solutions that make sense to multi-stakeholders. Colleagues: The smartest group of people I have ever had the opportunity work with. Period.” – Renée Flores
“Working at Citrix allows you to work on innovative, cutting-edge solutions to complex business problems in a high-energy, fast-paced environment. Citrix is particularly known for exploring and bringing the latest tech to market, including our current pivot from traditional offerings to the cloud!” – Kathy Wagner
“I like the culture at Citrix; this is the first time I have worked for a company that empowers diversity in teams and that invites you to meet the Executive Leadership team on a monthly basis. Citrix also provides me with the flexibility that I need; for instance, if I need to work one day from home, my manager knows that I will get my work done without any issues or delays. Finally, the core values that our company has are in line with mine; these values help me to be more involved, take ownership, and come up with new ideas. Also, it is refreshing to know that your team will have your back and push you to become a better person inside and outside the office.” – Melanie Gomez
“I think Citrix as a workplace, gives you the flexibility to bring out the best in you and blossom to your fullest potential. Work from anywhere and at any time, initiatives to ensure employee participation in various technical conferences, regular follow ups with employees to better understand areas of improvement are few of the things which make work life delightful at Citrix and worth looking forward to. Most importantly, it allows YOU to be YOU.” – Payal Agarwal
“Citrix provides many opportunities. While I’ve been here, we have grown from an $800M company to $3B+, and no two days are ever the same. After almost 25 years, I enjoy what I do every day because I am working with great, talented people, all with the same goal for Citrix to succeed.” – Laura Heisman
“Working at Citrix is fun and encouraging. You have a lot of opportunity to learn and grow. Citrix is not just about working, we are encouraged to stay fit and healthy. There are sports committees that organize championships for Table Tennis, Badminton, Carom, Football, etc. Having won a few of them, I learned how to balance work and life. We also have talks from external as well as internal members on health awareness, managing finances, and life experiences from successful leaders. Citrix also gives back by conducting a global day of impact that encourages employees to spend a day volunteering. With so many good deeds happening at Citrix, I feel honoured to be a part of it.” – Charitha Krishnappa
“I enjoy working at Citrix because of the innovative nature, the culture, the people and the values that the company upholds. The level of collaboration amongst the IT teams is truly commendable, the sense of ownership, accountability, and working together to get things done for our clients is remarkable and one that I enjoy being a part of.” –Joy Chambers
What has been your proudest moment at Citrix?
It’s okay to give yourself a pat on the back and brag from time to time. Here what these women are most proud of.
“I was extremely proud of the work my team and I created for the 10-year milestone of the Innovation Award program at Synergy 2015. We delivered an integrated marketing program to showcase the customers who have been on this journey with us and who’s stories of innovation have been the cornerstone of the company’s success over the years. Innovation Boulevard (pic below) at Synergy was a beautifully produced visual timeline at the conference that year and was the culmination of not just the 10 years of customer stories, but also the year we spent planning all of the elements to celebrate the milestone. I was really quite proud of how it all came together.” – Pascale Royal
“Hands-down when I was given the opportunity to lead, design, and facilitate helping our new CEO and Executive Leadership Team to rework our Vision, Mission Strategy and Values at Citrix with three weeks’ notice. We were able to quickly round up the most talented team of people, gain deep insights through surveys and roundtables, facilitate the ELT in a workshop and watch Kirill (our new CEO) announce the first round of output at our Global Employee Meeting in April. The process was super agile, lean, effective and demonstrated the teamwork that is inherent in our culture.” – Renée Flores
“I had the opportunity to lead the creation of the Global Shared Services organization at Citrix, centralizing many functions such as credit and collections, payroll, accounts payable, and procurement while implementing cloud-based systems that improved efficiency and reduced manual work. Executing these strategic changes has yielded significant savings for the company and every dollar saved was re-invested in critical areas of the business.” – Kathy Wagner
“My proudest moment was to join the Women’s Inspirational Network (WIN) group at Citrix, where I was able to create small discussion groups. Women from different teams are able to meet and talk about different topics related to Career Development. I am happy helping facilitate these discussions since I want the organization to continue inspiring and empowering women in technology.” – Melanie Gomez
“Every moment when you successfully achieve your deadlines efficiently is a proud one. If I have to be very specific, I would say getting nominated for the Quality Awards and receiving a recognition from my team for work in Receiver Automation would be the proudest ones.” – Payal Agarwal
“My team. It’s not a moment — it’s more about what I’m most proud of at Citrix. When I started at Citrix, external and internal comms were separate and social media didn’t exist. Today, we have a strong, unified global communications team helping to ensure employees and external influencers know of Citrix and our story.” – Laura Heisman
“I received Citation by our CEO Krill, for presenting my team in tech fair; it was my proudest moment to not just present my team but also receive the award from our CEO. This is just one such instance – I am proud to be a part of Citrix day in and day out, I can claim I work in the best environment, which motivates me to learn more and deliver more every day.” – Charitha Krishnappa
“Being nominated as one of the top 100 women in Broward County for my work with underprivileged girls was definitely a highlight. I thank Citrix for their support as it’s through the Volunteer program that I am able to work with groups such as Impact Girls at Dillard Elementary and other organizations to show them that they can have a future beyond their current environment.” – Joy Chambers
What advice would you give a girl wanting to pursue a career in tech?
These women reflect on what they think a woman wanting to pursue a career in tech should do.
“Technology is an exciting industry to be a part of and my advice to girls is that not every job in tech requires high tech knowledge! If you’re creative, good at writing or graphic design and also interested in or passionate about technology… then you may be the next great VP of Marketing or CMO of a tech company! Not everyone who works at Citrix is an engineer or proficient at coding. Some of us just know how to tell a great story!” – Pascale Royal
“If you are into engineering, great. But if not, do not dismiss working in technology because you think it is only about writing code. Citrix needs a wide variety of talents to be successful, from accounting, to social media, to marketing. Once in tech, align yourself with leaders that will give you opportunities to shine, be bold in your path, know your strengths and always stay true to who you are.” – Renée Flores
“Tech is probably one of the most rewarding careers in the fastest-paced industry you could engage in. As a female in the tech industry, my advice is to become a subject matter expert in your area of focus and consistently work hard to drive results. By doing so, you will become one of the women making a difference in tech.” – Kathy Wagner
“Jump in! It’s an amazing experience to work for a company that is constantly innovating. At Citrix, we help customers worldwide to make daily operations as flexible and secure as possible. I didn’t think I would work for a tech company since my major is in Marketing and Management; however, tech companies need Marketing professionals committed to success. You will be able to see how the future is shaping up and feel proud that you are making a positive change. And, most importantly, we need more women to inspire others and help us innovate in this industry.” – Melanie Gomez
“Do not hesitate to try something unconventional. It’s very important to be creative and understand where does your interest lie. Believe in yourself and there’s nothing that can stop you. Also, do not think twice to put across your point even if you are the only girl in the room and the most inexperienced one. It’s solely your responsibility to grab opportunities, share your ideas and make your mark. Good Luck!” – Payal Agarwal
“Technology is a very broad industry – providing opportunity across consumer, enterprise, and everything in between. What tech brings to anyone pursuing a career is opportunity. Technology is changing our lives all around the world, and it is amazing to be a part of the transformation.” – Laura Heisman
“My advice to all the girls out there is DREAM BIG. Dreams cost you nothing, so just dream and walk one step at a time towards it. Every day has something new to learn, especially when the technology grows so vast and so fast, you need to be quick, you need to be smart. Trends change, be adaptable. Be flexible to learn, as well as share knowledge. Be humble enough to receive rewards and reciprocate. Technology is an ocean, you cannot survive with just one field of expertise; train yourself to learn quickly, fail early.” – Charitha Krishnappa
“Go for IT! I would advise to align with a support group — organizations such as IT Women, Girls Who Code, Women of Tomorrow are all great organizations to get involved with. Look for companies that value diversity; the gender gap in IT is still significant, so it’s important to seek out places where you will be valued for your contributions. Seriously consider what your passions are – IT is not only for programmers, you can have an impactful career outside of programming. There are several ways to add value outside of writing code – Business analysts, Project Managers, UI design, QA testers etc. Most of all, be true to who you are and never let anyone tell you that you are not capable – results have no gender, if that’s where you want to be, then pursue it and don’t forget to always give back.” – Joy Chambers
Citrix is a company with employees rich in diversity and from countries all over the world. We are proud to have some of the sharpest women in tech setting the standard for excellence in the industry and shining their light as examples for us all.
