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LIBBY DUANE ADAMS , CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF ADVOCACY
OFFICER AT ALTERYX
Libby Duane Adams is the Chief Advocacy Officer ( CAO ) and Co-founder of Alteryx and one of only a handful of female founders to take a technology company public . Her vision and leadership is a key factor in the company ’ s 24-year success . She is responsible for enabling a culture of analytics , scaling the presence of the Alteryx SparkED education programme and furthering diversity and inclusion in the workplace . She talks to Intelligent CXO about these achievements , her impressive career and the future of Alteryx .
Describe your current job role
When Dean , Ned and I founded the company in 1997 , we knew it would always be grounded
in three things : Customer success , innovation and positive impact on our world through data and analytics . As Chief Advocacy Officer ( CAO ) and Co-founder of Alteryx , I ’ m responsible for strengthening the upskilling and reskilling efforts for Alteryx customers to enable a culture of analytics , scaling the presence of Alteryx in academia through the recently launched Alteryx SparkED education programme and furthering diversity and inclusion in the technology space .
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement ?
As one of only a handful of female founders to take a technology company public , my most memorable moment is taking Alteryx public in 2017 , alongside my founding counterparts , Executive Chairman , Dean Stoecker , and Ned Harding , the company ’ s retired CTO . It was a huge career achievement that I feel fortunate to have been a part of .
As a champion of empowering women in tech – another of my proudest career achievements is founding the Women of Analytics initiative at Alteryx , which empowers and brings awareness to the significance of women in STEM , to help them develop career-altering data and leadership skills . Launched in 2017 , the initiative continues to grow and now boasts multiple chapters across the globe .
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
The ability to see solutions while working with your teams to define a strategy to solve , always with great spirit and passion are qualities that leaders must demonstrate . As an engaged executive , I believe you get the best results when you give everyone the voice to be part of the solution . My job is about solving problems and helping people break down silos . I connect teams , people and projects . By engaging with our customer base and employee base , that affords me the opportunity to hear what ’ s working , hear what ’ s not working and influence changes and improvements needed to make the part of their life better that we influence with our data analytics technology platform and our services .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
I see two major areas of investment for every company . The first is upskilling . Every company is a data company . Upskilling all employees with data literacy skills is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of every business adjusting to the new realities of operating in the 21st century . Building and utilising data-first strategies is essential for better understanding customer actions and businesses that enable data driven insights well are streets ahead of the competition .
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