Women’s History Month: Celebrating the Contributions of Women in Tech
During Women’s History Month, we reflect on women’s remarkable contributions to society. Since 1988, the world has honored the achievements of women, recognizing the pioneering efforts of trailblazers who have paved the way for women today. At Kantata, we proudly celebrate women’s accomplishments in the technology field. Women in tech play a vital role in fostering diversity within the industry, with many serving as influential leaders and advocates in this space.
Being honored as one of the Best Companies for Diversity in 2023 by Comparably, Kantata wholeheartedly embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion across all facets of our operations, from our workforce to our products. This Women’s History Month, we proudly recognize the invaluable contributions of women to society and within our organization. Their accomplishments testify to Kantata’s unwavering dedication to creating an inclusive environment.
In this article, we’re proud to spotlight the achievements and perspectives of some of the many women leading the way at Kantata. You can use these links to jump to a particular spotlight.
- Gina Hartigan, Chief People Officer
- Melissa Korzun, Vice President of CX Operations
- Jennifer Schutz, Senior Vice President of Business Operations
- Sarah Edwards, Chief Product Officer
- Natalie Huff, Global Vice President of Solution Engineering
- Jen Dodos, Vice President of Marketing Communications
Kantata’s Empowered Women in Tech
Gina Hartigan is Kantata’s Chief People Officer (CPO). With 17 years of experience in the field, she is proactive, courageous, and agile in anticipating, developing, and introducing strategic and tactical HR plans and programs to accomplish Kantata’s mission, enhance its culture and drive engagement. Recently, in 2023, Gina was named Chief People Officer of the Year by the Women In Tech Network.
We asked Gina to speak about her recent accomplishments and what she’s most proud of in her work at Kantata.
“At Kantata, I am most proud of merging two competing companies to form a positive workplace culture recognized with a Great Place to Work distinction, engagement scores higher than the industry average, and Comparably’s Top Company Culture award.
In our work environment, the idea that “culture is the sum of everything” emphasizes that Kantata’s culture encompasses a broad range of interconnected elements. This includes explicit factors like policies and procedures and implicit aspects such as communication styles, shared values, teamwork, leadership behavior, and the overall atmosphere. Cross functionally, we have been focused on building engagement through intentional deposits in connecting employees in a remote workforce, our recognition framework, how we equip our leaders, live our values, establish fair and consistent practices, and communicate transparently. Establishing a culture operating rhythm ensures that the interconnectedness of these elements becomes a strong foundation for our business and a distinct aspect of what it means to work at Kantata.”
You can read more about Gina in our full Q&A with her here.
Melissa Korzun serves as Kantata’s Vice President of CX Operations. With a focus on building an effective services organization that delivers maximum value to clients, Melissa approaches her role by evaluating performance against core PS Capabilities, creating a strategy to improve, developing metrics to measure progress, and utilizing an operational plan supported by solid change management principles. Melissa joined Kantata in December 2023 after leading as a managing director at TeleTracking, where she worked on services strategy and operations.
Melissa told us how she balances professional responsibilities and personal well-being and what effective strategies have helped to maintain a healthy work-life integration.
“I think it is important that I come to work as a total person and treat my co-workers as total people. That means I come to work as a mom, wife, and Mimi in addition to my role at the company, and I recognize the same in others. I don’t think it is possible to split myself into two completely different people, and I don’t want my team to feel like they have to do that, either. That means I genuinely want to hear about their weekend plans and personal milestones and make space in our day to discuss them. Those kinds of relationships create a camaraderie that enables us to succeed.”
Learn more about Melissa in our full Q&A with her here.
Jennifer Schutz, currently Senior Vice President of Business Operations at Kantata, has been with the company since 2017 when she first joined the team as Director of Operations. As SVP, Jennifer is pivotal in overseeing various critical functions, including Go-To-Market (GTM) Operations, GTM Systems, Analytics, Deal Desk, and License Operations. Before Kantata, Jennifer was a Manager of Sales Enablement at Kofax (now Tungsten Automation), a workflow automation solution. Since her first role at Kantata, she has worked in different capacities, including Senior Director of Operations and Vice President of Operations.
We asked Jennifer to share a recent accomplishment from her work at Kantata that she is proud of.
“One of my proudest recent achievements was completing Accel-KKR’s intensive Ascend leadership program. This 9-month experience partnered me with leaders across AKKR’s portfolio companies for collaboration, skill-building, accountability, and feedback (a lot of feedback). Balancing the program with my daily work demanded ruthless time management and prioritization.
Ascend’s most transformative aspect was how it forced participants to take assertive ownership of their leadership development and confidently advocate for the resources essential to growth. The program’s focus and clarity, combined with the skills I honed, directly contributed to my promotion to an executive role at Kantata. It was a demanding yet life-changing professional experience.”
Learn more about Jennifer in our full Q&A with her here.
Sarah Edwards, currently Chief Product Officer at Kantata, has over 27 years of experience in the professional services industry and joined the company in 2013. Since then, Sarah has lived and worked in the US and Europe to help customers succeed in services and deliver significant business value. Before Kantata, she worked with major companies such as Hitachi Consulting, managing a global team as the Vice President of Oracle Practices.
Sarah shared how she navigated her career path to reach her current executive role at Kantata and what advice she’d give aspiring women leaders.
“Throughout my professional journey, I’ve embraced diverse roles across various organizations, ranging from small startups to large global enterprises. Commencing my career as a technical developer, I transitioned to project management, delved into sales roles, assumed practice leadership roles, and eventually took executive leadership positions.
I strongly advocate cultivating a wide-ranging skill set for aspiring female leaders by venturing into various roles. Embrace the challenges, for the experiences garnered are invaluable. The more facets of a business you comprehend, the more adept a leader you become. Imposter syndrome far too often holds women back, but I encourage them to be confident and explore different roles. In doing so, you’ll uncover new strengths, gain diverse experiences, and lay the foundation for a triumphant leadership journey.”
Learn more about Sarah in our full Q&A with her here.
Specializing in Enterprise Software and digital transformation, Natalie Huff recently joined Kantata as the company’s Global Vice President of Solution Engineering. She brings her expertise in crafting strategic Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, empowering businesses through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) enablement, and adeptly developing and positioning business cases. Before joining Kantata, Natalie spent 18 years at Adobe, where she served as a Program Lead and Principal Customer Success Manager.
Natalie highlighted a woman leader who has inspired or influenced her career. She explained how their impact shaped her leadership style.
Early in my career I was given an opportunity to become a Solutions Engineer (SE) under a female sales executive whose leadership helped form my style. It was rare to have a female executive in enterprise software in the 90s. She advised me to find a specialty within my role and become the best at it, which in turn makes you invaluable to an organization. An example she gave was Dr. Ellen Ocha, whose patented research led to her selection by NASA as an astronaut, classifying her skill sets as essential to advancing human exploration into our Solar System. In each phase of my career, I have reflected on that advice and have tried not only to be the best I can be but also to identify a specialty that an organization needs that I can provide. Because of her and other women leading the way into the internet age, I witnessed female software engineers rise to the top of communities and succeed in a field dominated by men. From this, I have never felt the glass ceiling, have been empowered to perform beyond what is expected, and have found joy in leading the next generation of women in enterprise software.
Learn more about Natalie in our full Q&A with her here.
Since 2018, Jen Dodos has worked at Kantata in different capacities, including serving as Director of Marketing Communications and Vice President of Marketing Communications. She is a versatile marketing leader with a proven ability to execute marketing strategies for technology companies in professional services, industrial, financial, retail, public safety, and healthcare industries. Throughout her career journey, Jen has focused on business growth with a hands-on approach to building brand/product awareness creatively.
Jen shared how she navigated her career path to reach her current executive role at Kantata and what advice she’d give aspiring women leaders.
“Navigating my career path was less intentional than it likely is for most. Early on, I focused more on finding roles for a specific project solving a particular business challenge or new initiative. I helped build and launch an annual fundraising program, and then it launched a new product and service line. I loved solving problems and doing new things, and grew into launching new venture-backed tech companies. I loved the fast pace of early-stage companies, especially the constant challenge of the status quo and openness to new ideas. I was, and still am, always learning – a new industry, the latest marketing tech, and tactics, or something about myself – and that set the foundation for my career.
My advice to aspiring women leaders is to embrace curiosity, be open to making mistakes, and, most importantly, have the confidence to challenge the status quo and trust your instincts – they are almost always right. And more importantly, when you find something you love, stick with it. Life is too short to do otherwise.”
Learn more about Jen in our full Q&A with her here.
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These spotlights of senior leaders at Kantata underscore women’s pivotal role in the tech industry and society. Kantata remains steadfast in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, empowering and amplifying the voices and talents of our women executives and employees. We must consistently share the stories of women in tech, serving as a source of inspiration for future leaders. Our dedication to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) transcends Women’s History Month; at Kantata, we are dedicated to nurturing a supportive environment for women passionate about technology daily.
You can check out Kantata’s Women in Tech series here to hear directly from women at Kantata who inspire others through their work at the company. Learn about their achievements, experience, and journey in the technology industry.