In the lead up to International Women's Day (March 8th) we will be interviewing inspirational women about their journey in the business world. We want to recognise and share the achievements of these women; share their stories with others and encouraging other organisations to #BalanceforBetter in their businesses.
Our second interviewee is Victoria Whitby | Global Head of Finance, Group IT | Lendlease
Please tell us a little about your current mandate
As the Global Head of Finance for Technology, my mandate includes oversight of the financial responsibilities, financial strategy, reporting, processes and funding models required for the Technology business of Lendlease. It’s a great role that combines technical capabilities across the Finance and Technology functions and relationship management with the Global businesses.
What has been the biggest challenge you've faced?
The biggest challenge I have faced would be navigating and understanding the nuances of a large organisation with a global footprint, and managing expectations of multiple stakeholders and their agendas.
What advice would you give to women looking to forge a career in your industry?
In the Tech industry I’d say my advice would be; to be well informed on the industry as things move quickly. In the finance industry, my advice would be to understand your customer’s business as this will always help to foster a good relationship when it comes to understanding the finer points of financial impacts.
Who has been your biggest influence professionally?
My biggest influences have been a couple of Managers and Mentors over the years, whose experience, advice and support I have found invaluable, particularly with regard to self-awareness for professional development.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing gender equality in the workplace?
An interesting question. I think the most obvious one is remuneration, but generally speaking I think both Technology and Construction suffer from gender inequality due to the nature of the industry, although given the latest stats on graduate recruitment I can see this changing rapidly. There’s a huge amount of opportunity in these areas to close the gap.
What do you believe women uniquely bring to the table in senior positions?
I think in general, women have more empathy in leadership roles; not to be confused with weakness or inaction, simply a way of talking to people in such a way as to understand the root cause of the problem and deal with it without any form of confrontation.
What does International Women's Day mean to you?International Women’s day to me is acknowledgement of the contribution that women make – both in history, and today – to the success of business and family life.
Thank you for your time in answering our questions, Victoria.
You can follow Victoria's success at:
