Mini Biswas | Specialist Team Unit – Operations Lead | Node4

 

I completed my Degree in Criminology and when i left home at 18, I did a few side jobs to get me through university. Some of these include Dancing in Music Videos, playing an Extra in Bollywood movies, working at the Disney Store, Working as a Charity Fundraiser and having a stint on TV- Deal Or No Deal. After leaving University and the 2008 recession, i really needed to find my feet somewhere, My dream back then was literally to get an office job and get some stability to pay my rent, save up for a wedding and get a bigger place so i could take care of my younger brother who ended up in Foster Care at the age of 3 following the death of my mother when i was 15.

My First Tech Job came about randomly, i applied as a Sales Cold Caller and it happened to be at a Large Tech Company who gave me all the tools and learning material to find my place in the industry. At that point i realised, that I love what i do, and i can do this. I stayed at that company for 7 years and now i have been at Node4 for another 7 years totalling 14 years in the industry. Over the last few years, I have had 2 children – Nimi (4) & Vinny (15 months).

I have had 5 promotions in 5 years and my most current role is Operations Lead.

Majority of my career is being a Solution Specialist in Cloud Managed Services including Modern Workplace, Collaboration Tools, Secure Networks SD-WAN and end to end Solution wrap arounds where I interact with various stakeholders in the business includes the Sales Account Manager and lead conversations directly with Clients. These include Designing Solutions using Standard Templated Material and also being able to support more Complex tailor made solutions with the support of Technical Authority Teams such as Solution Architects, Office of the CTO and Practise Leads. Apparently, I was so good at what i do as i never missed a target over the years that the company decided to make me a manager and pass on my way of working & confidence to others. This was a challenge at first as some of the people in my team had been at the company and this industry longer than i have and were predominately White Male, but i was supported through leadership workshops that gave me the ability to successfully manage and maintain a high performing team.

I feel lucky and grateful that i managed to grasp being in Tech, I always go back to my first ever interview 14 years ago with a Sales Director who said “Off you Go, You’re In” even though i had absolutely No Tech experience. And this is the reason why I have become a Mentor and have joined a lot initiatives to support others like me, a Mum of 2, Coloured Woman with no tech degree and continually learning every day.