The Wendy’s Company, VP Enterprise Technology: Fail Fast, Learn From It

Stephanie Shaw, VP Enterprise Technology, The Wendy’s Company, speaks to Jordin Kirk, Client Director, AHEAD about her journey as a technology professional and shares her approach to life beyond work.

Originally from West Virginia, Shaw has had a non-traditional path towards technology. She mentions that although she is not a degreed technology professional, she has been inclined towards technology and computers since childhood.

“Writing simple programs and being that person in school who just helped others with computers, was something that came naturally to me. I'm an undergrad in business with a specialization in marketing.”

She got into consulting after getting her master's degree in labor relations. She worked for a smaller company initially and then proceeded to spend about six years working for Oracle, implementing Oracle business suite, ERP, EPM, and HCM technologies. Shaw has been working with Wendy’s for a little over a decade now where she has joined as an individual contributor.

“I love working for consulting companies. I love the people. I love the thought leadership and the talent. I am not in love with technology for technology’s sake. It was my technology skills that contribute to achieving greater business outcomes. And that's what led me to Wendy's. But Wendy's has some really great leaders and career development programs that shaped my development and helped amplify my trajectory with the brand.”

She adds that as a brand, Wendy’s has always been innovative in spirit and has been a values-driven company.

Speaking on how the company adapted to the covid situation, she says, “A part of our mission is to create joy and opportunity through food, family, and community. I really appreciated the brand's leadership working through how to stay true to that center. We've done well to create things like flex work policy, quickly using our learning agility and change management to adopt all the collaboration platforms.”

While she accepts that there have been highs and lows at an individual level, she takes pride in the opportunities for engagement and feedback to ensure employee experience which will, in turn, drive outstanding customer experience.

“Our CIO, Kevin Vasconi, and our philosophy as a technology leadership team is to have a global technology organization. We've been able to create the ability for folks to work in different environments and also bring a lot of additional diverse thinking and experience to the technology team,” she adds.

Speaking on things she’s passionate about outside of work, she mentions spending time with her kids, supporting them, and helping them grow. Apart from being on the advisory board of organizations like SAALT (Senior African-American Leaders in Technology), Shaw was recently nominated to the board of governors at West Liberty University, her undergraduate alma mater.

She says that these causes aren’t just about success but also about creating opportunities for others.

Sharing her advice for younger professionals coming into the tech workforce she says that it is important to take care of both physical and mental health. Shaw also mentions that one should also be less concerned about what others say.

“I would be less concerned about what others think about me. Not just as a female, but as a black female working through my career in STEM. When I started, I was like the only one, maybe even in the building, let alone in technology. The evolution and progression of diverse populations in technology, not just gender, but also from a race perspective, is phenomenal,” she says.

She then mentions that it is important to fail and not worry about the outcome.

“I would also be less concerned about the ramifications of failure. Fail fast, learn from it, get feedback. Make sure that you've got a great support structure and team around,” she says.

Adding her final bit, she says that it is important to engage in activities and work that bring personal satisfaction.

“I don't believe in work-life balance. It's just life to me. The balance of where I spend more of my time differs. So make sure wherever you're working, or whatever life experience that you're pursuing, it brings you joy. And it's okay to take the time to reflect and adjust. As a woman and as a black woman in technology, there certainly will be quite a few barriers and stress. So, take that bowl of compassion and make sure you're taking time,” Shaw signs off.