At Kindred, we are passionate about Diversity and are committed to building a diverse team with an Inclusive and Equitable experience for all. To celebrate International Women’s Day, we spoke to Veronica Wall, our Head of Technical Business Delivery about her career at Kindred.
Tell us about your career at Kindred?
I started at Kindred (then Unibet) in 2012 as a Performance Engineer Consultant in the QA team in Tech and became a full-time employee in 2014. After I was offered a full-time position as a Team Lead in the Development department, our Continuous Improvement team focused on driving improvements within the development department globally. In 2016 I was offered to do something similar by starting up my own tech function, Tech Central Services (TCS), with a focus on driving improvements across all Tech teams globally. With a reorganisation at the end of 2018, I was appointed as Head of Technical Business Delivery – a newly created role. I then pivoted my TCS team into Technical Business Delivery and continued building the team throughout 2019.
I now work as Head of Technical Business Delivery & Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC). I have three functions within my team. Technical Business Delivery that drives and delivers the key Technical initiatives for Kindred. Enterprise IT (EIT) is responsible for ensuring that all the third-party integrations that we have towards our platforms are safe and secure and that the tools we use in Kindred group give the best value. Last but not least, the Tech GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) function that is responsible for our Change Management processes, ensuring that we are in compliance with all rules and regulations for all markets we are present in, following up on risks and risk mitigation and support all our Audits, about 1 audit per month on average.
What is the biggest challenge you have overcome in your career so far?
I tend to jump feet first and figure out a way, so not sure that I view challenges as something to overcome. I see challenges as more positive opportunities. Starting new teams from scratch and getting them up and running quickly is always a challenge, but a fun one.
One of our values is Dare To Challenge. What does that mean to you?
For me, it means “go for it”, what is the worst that can happen? I think women often analyse too much about how things might turn out and then stop themselves from even trying, especially if it relates to areas in Tech, as they are viewed as more male-dominated. But we should believe in ourselves more and Dare To Challenge those preconceived notions about what we can and cannot do. Just go for it, what’s the worst that can happen?
If you could give one piece of advice to other women looking to progress up the career ladder what would it be?
I would say “Dare To Challenge”. We learn from our mistakes and if we don’t try, we will never know how well it could have turned out. If you dare to try, reach for that role you would like but are not sure if you can do, believe in yourself, you will most probably be a success. And if not, you have learned a life lesson that you will take with you for the next time you dare to challenge yourself.
Tell us about yourself, what do you like to do when you are not working?
I am very much a homebody; I like spending time with family and friends.
