Inside the role of Head of Business Operations and Program Office in EU Cloud RAN at Ericsson Ireland

I report to the Head of Cloud RAN Engineering Unit and lead a team of approx. 30 who provide management, staffing and governance for Cloud RAN Execution Programs and provide frameworks and services for operational excellence.

In the role I enable transformation and simplification across all that we do, excel in execution, speed up responsiveness and time to customer, by increasing efficiency, accountability, and empowerment across the organization.

This role actively drives, closely follows up and monitors traction.

Career progression and training

I am one of the lucky ones who have been in Cloud RAN since its early days of incubation – where we were looking to see if we could build a “product” from what was in the test bed and mainly worked on by researchers. 

I initially joined as Head of Cloud Infrastructure within the PDU and fast forward 3 years and we are live in Verizon and when the opportunity came to apply for my current role, I seized it with open arms.  What attracted me to Cloud RAN was the innovation and working on something new and what I bring to the table now – is some structure to enable the next phase of global product development.

I am of course humbled and delighted to take on this role as part of Cloud RAN.  For me the priority in this new role is to build a sense of team and belonging.  The programs are the vehicle through which we deliver value and to ensure that our program leaders and programs are running as efficiently as possible is key.  I want to motivate and empower those best placed to determine our journey and remove the impediments that can hinder this progress.  

In the financial/capability space having a smooth running, and a simplified process is important – setting up the systems and processes that allow us to see where we lack the capability and where we need to make changes to achieve the objectives. 

Similarly, in the operations domain – we will support creating simplification to ease the path to delivery.    

So, in a nutshell, we must bring honest and transparent insights to the organization in a simple format to allow us to take action to improve.  I am extremely excited about the challenge ahead

Leadership style

I am a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, partner, sailor, leader, colleague, and generally, a busy person who thrives on continuously moving forward.  I am pretty results-focused and like to figure out what great looks like and drive in that direction.   I like to think of myself as positive (a glass-half-full person) and a risk taker, don’t really view setbacks as failures but rather as another thing that I have learned.  I consider that good leadership is an evolution and a journey where in each new role that I take I try to listen and learn more skills, work on things where I have received feedback, and measure my success through the success of my team.  

Technology

Open RAN is one of the most interesting technology evolutions happening in the RAN business -defining how Ericsson can take a leading role in this eco-system and determine how best to leverage from the various players and deliver the flexibility demanded by our customers.

Personal life

I think the biggest input to “who” I am comes of course from how I grew up - one of eight children with very driven parents, their mindset of working hard and bring your best self to each opportunity, has for sure rubbed off on me.  I also enjoy adventure and try to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone and on to the next challenge.

I would say that my colleagues and friends also inform how I work – I like to listen and learn from the very many inspiring people I have worked with.  In recent years I also challenge myself to spend time with people with different viewpoints than myself and again try to push a level of fresh thinking.

Advice

Advocate for yourself – you are your very best spokesperson.   Get in front of customers at every single opportunity, in any capacity – it is only by having to represent our work and demonstrate its value in front of customers you understand what is really required – fastest learning curve ever.  Surround yourself with brilliant people who both support and advocate for you and challenge you – not just the cheerleaders but those that don’t always see things the same way – listen and learn.  Take risks, be brave and push yourself – it is often when we are out of our comfort zone that we deliver our best results.

About Ericsson Ireland

We are always looking for people to join the team at our Athlone site in Ireland and help build the future of telecommunication technology. To find how you could be part of the team and our site at Athlone click here.

To see available roles at Ireland, click here and get to know our colleagues here.