GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the
industry experts what makes them tick. . . .
David Helfer,
SVP of Sales for EMEA, F5 Networks
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
In 2010, I faced one of my biggest
challenges when I re-located my entire
family and two dogs from Silicon Valley to
London for my first ex-pat assignment.
Moving to a new country isn’t the same as
simply visiting it. Both my family and I still
live in England and we love it. What we have
accomplished to become genuinely settled
and integrated feels like a big and personally
fulfilling achievement.
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
I grew up and studied in Michigan, which
isn’t exactly the heartland of technology.
What really helped me progress in my
career was studying overseas.
I would advise anyone to jump at
the opportunity to experience new
environments and different industries.
It also helped that I had three older brothers
already working in Silicon Valley when I left
university, so it seemed like a logical step to
go there myself. I accepted my first role as a
sales rep in San Jose for a small technology
company that was well ahead of its time; we
were selling cloud services before cloud even
had a name.
www.intelligentcio.com
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with your
current position?
There is a huge difference between the
meaning of achievement and fulfilment. A
lot of executives make the mistake of getting
caught up in the fast-paced world of tech.
This could mean getting too caught up in
achieving rather than fulfilling.
What do you think will emerge as the
technology trend of 2019 and why?
The past few years have seen organisations
increasingly moving their apps to a public
cloud environment. As a result, application
security is an unavoidable and critical trend
as we head into 2019. The most important
Naturally, achievement is a vital component
of business success, but the more we focus
on fulfilling our colleagues’ needs, the better
they will perform.
“
I WOULD ADVISE
ANYONE TO
JUMP AT THE
OPPORTUNITY TO
EXPERIENCE NEW
ENVIRONMENTS
AND DIFFERENT
INDUSTRIES.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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