Leeann Saunders is Managing Director at Qualcom, a privately owned company and strategic technology partner to multiple organisations in all sectors in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland/United Kingdom and The Channel Islands.
Leeann holds a BTEC in Business and Finance and a management degree in Sales and Marketing. she has over 30 years’ expertise in the creation and direction of company strategies to facilitate growth and expansion in the areas of Break Fix Support, Infrastructure Solutions, EPOS Solutions and Outsourced Managed Services.
An experienced Managing Director, she has an outstanding track record of Customer success, including the development and management of key client relationships across all market Sectors in the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands.
She also has a passion for delivering excellent customer service along with a proven ability to develop, deploy and personally guarantee outstanding Service Delivery Models.
What does your typical day look like?
I don’t think that there is a typical day in my role as a Managing Director with leading IT solutions provider, Qualcom, as we provide a 24/7 service.
We offer tailored, strategic IT solutions, and a comprehensive suite of security services, including Managed IT Services, Professional IT Services, IT Security, Field IT Services, IT Resourcing, and Enterprise Class products. It can be very reactive at times!
What are you currently working on?
The start of the year always brings new challenges and from a sales point of view, we try to work at least 6 months in advance.
We’re currently preparing to roll out projects for 2024 and have just refreshed our brand identity, which has been a challenging and interesting project.
What inspired you to join this company in particular?
I was attracted to Qualcom’s bespoke approach to IT Solutions and to its commitment to putting the customer first.
Did you always want to work in this industry (tech)? What’s your favorite part about your work?
I’ve been in the tech industry for 30 years and when I first started out, it was incredibly male driven.
At the time, I didn’t imagine that I would reach this level and I’m delighted to see women now occupying so many senior roles in the industry.
Women occupy 60 per cent of our senior management roles here at Qualcom and we have also placed a number of women in senior engineering roles.
I love the diversity of the job, the ever-evolving technology landscape and the range of people that I meet in a professional capacity.
What would you say to other people considering a job in this industry (tech)? How do you see this technology impacting on our lives?
It’s a growing industry. Technology is the future and I would like to see more young girls considering a STEM career.
I think that there is a need to raise awareness of the amount of opportunities available to women in the tech industry.
In terms of how tech could impact upon our lives, data security is a major issue that I believe more organisations should take seriously.
The risks are considerable and could potentially impact upon all types of business.
At Qualcom, we offer tailored solutions for every size of business and clients are often surprised at how cost effective these are when weighed against the potential risks of not having safeguards in place.
Who inspired you to work in this field?
My career has evolved organically but if I had to mention someone, it would be a former manager that I had in my thirties.
He recognized that women had a role to play in the IT industry and that completely changed my mindset and empowered me to aim for leadership roles.
What do you consider to be the most important tech innovation or development in recent years?
Artificial Intelligence (AI), for sure, particularly digital chat bots and other services assistants.
Data analysis and what lies ahead of that is even more intriguing, as is the scope for AI CEOs or world leaders! It sounds far-fetched but is already being discussed.
High speed broadband, cloud software and cheap digital storage are also
important as they enable people to work from home.
What tech gadget could you not live without?
Like most people, I would have to say my phone.
