Cadent's Stephanie Mitchko-Beale on the Importance of Saying "Yes"

Upon graduation Stephanie worked at Marconi Electronics in military systems development and then at Digital Signal Corporationamp160working on electronic warfare for the Department of Defense Opting to stay in New York vs a transfer she made a connection at Cablevision which led to a 15year tenure with the company quotI didn39t know anything about cable but decided to go anywayquot she recalls quotIt was one of my 39say yes39 momentsamp160those moments that lead us to places we wouldn39t expect and places we wouldn39t have arrived at without being openminded and willing and by simply raising our handsquotFrom there another quotsay yesquotamp160moment came through an introduction to Cross MediaWorks a family of companies that builds media solutions driven by data and technology What started as a friendly consultation turned into a job offer as CTO for their media services arm Cadent Network Today Stephanie leads the technology and operations teams across Cadent Network and Cadent Technology focusing on crossplatform advertising and data tech development She provided details in a recent interviewCharlene Weisler amp160Can you elaborate a bit more on quotsay yesquotamp160momentsStephanie MitchkoBealeamp160 I39ve found that if you just open yourself up and say quotYes I can do thisquotamp160or quotI will take a chancequotamp160or quotIamp160will meet this personquotamp160or quotYes I will be the lead on this projectquotamp160that doors seem to open up more for you amp160Before people say yes to something amp160and this is especially true of women amp160they want to be sure that they know the answers first If you step up and say yes to opportunities then it39s in your hands to make it work If someone introduces you to someone go and meet them and understand what they39re about because those are the connections that eventually lead to great things Not saying quotyesquot limits your opportunitiesCharlene amp160How are you applying your broad experience into your current role at CadentStephanieamp160 It39s come full circle really back to math and science which we look at as data and analytics today When Cross MediaWorks acquired BlackArrow now Cadent Technology I was charged with integrating the technology teams The foundation for coalescing the teams was built on creating a strong data and analytics group Presently that group is breaking ground by leveraging predictive analytics and machine learning for a modern approach to traditional advertisingamp160Charlene amp160How do you build a diverse team How do you retain talentStephanieamp160 You start by not accepting the first couple of people you talk to That39s because people tend to hire the same types of people it39s comfortable and easy You need to build diversity and I don39t just mean diversity among the people themselves but also in the way people think amp160diversity in background formal training etc By having a team of people who think differently ideas flow and people tend to see beyond their own lens It is very competitive and challenging to retain talent in the technology space amp160Good people know their worth In addition to compensating properly what keeps people engaged is working with a team and management that truly gives them recognition and visibility amp160I also try to talk to my people about the company vision and where the company is going so they are engaged and focused on moving the company forward beyond their daytoday tasks And of course good snacks are importantCharlene amp160How has mentorship been important to your success Stephanieamp160 Through my career it was not easy being the only woman most of the time But at Cablevision I had wonderful mentors who helped me move up and take on more opportunities I call them champions not so much mentors They39re people who support you and are genuinely invested in your success and are the best people to align with in your company and your career I do a lot of mentoring through the WICT organization to help young women to navigate through their career path amp160Our goal is to try to retain women in the technical jobs because a lot of them leaveCharlene How do you achieve worklife balanceStephanieamp160 I try not to think of quotbalancequotamp160because and this is probably my engineering mind coming out it implies you have to keep things equal or if you take from one place you have to make it up somewhere else amp160So I try to integrate my life with my career That means being present When I39m at work I try not to be distracted by what39s going on at home and when I39m home with my family I39m present there It39s important to keep your priorities straight so you can be where you need to beClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or 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Cadent's Stephanie Mitchko-Beale on the Importance of Saying "Yes"

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