WOTC 2025: 7 Pearls of Wisdom On Leadership, Pivoting And The Power Of A Positive Community

Channel executives shared their career journeys, lessons learned and how to make intentional choices as leaders in their own lives at the annual Women of the Channel East 2025 Leadership Summit in New York City this week with more than 1,400 attendees.

The annual Women of the Channel East 2025 Leadership Summit brought together some of the brightest and most inspiring women in technology who shared stories and imparted wisdom to an audience of more than 1,400 attendees this week in New York City.

The main theme of this year’s event was how everyone, regardless of their role and where they sit within their organization, can embrace the role of an effective and transformational leader that can contribute to a stronger and more diverse workplace culture.

Speakers, who ranged from the top executives at the most prominent tech vendors, to smaller solution provider organization leaders, spoke about their career journeys and trajectories – which never look like straight lines – making intentional choices and being leaders in their own rights and lives, as well as the lessons they learned along the way. Here’ s a sampling of some of the inspired advice that was shared on stage at CRN parent The Channel Company’s Women Of The Channel Leadership Summit East 2025 event.

Always Seek New Opportunities, Don’t Be Afraid Of Pivoting

Maureen Gaumer, Senior Director, NA Channel Marketing, Dell

So, when you find your passion right, growth and success naturally follow. The lesson for me was to pursue roles that excite you, play into your strengths. Don’t settle and always seek opportunities that will challenge and inspire you. Reflecting on [my] journey, the pivots, the risks, the reinventions, that could look like I squiggled around if you were just to see it on paper, but I see a lot of power in those pivots that I intentionally made, and that power comes from going after what you want, taking the actions to make it happen, and growing from every opportunity that You choose to pursue. So, to any woman [that] is wondering if it’s time to make a change. I’m here to tell you it is. Reinvent yourself, stretch yourself and pivot your career is not a straight line. It will never be a straight line. It’s a journey of growth and reinvention.

Surround Yourself With A Positive Community

Dori White, VP field and partner marketing, ePlus Technology

It’s incredible how this environment brings us together and reconnects us with so many people. When I left this event last year, one of the keynote speakers asked us to close our eyes and think of something that had truly mattered to us over the past year. I remember thinking, ‘I’ve accomplished a lot, my family is doing great… but there are still a few things I want to do.’ So, I set some goals for this year, and I actually accomplished three of them, which meant I could take it a little easier next year.

Be Intentional With Your Choices

Cassie Jeppson, Director, North America Channel Programs, Operations, Strategy, Lenovo

Be intentional with your choices, guard your time and your energy like it is the treasures that they are, and do what you love with that time. Design for freedom. Embrace the mess. Live authentically. Your authenticity is the most badass thing that you bring to any table. Embrace it and celebrate it, and I promise you, everyone else will too. The life that you want isn’t waiting for you at the end of the promotion or a perfectly color-coded calendar. It’s here, and it’s now in the choices that you’re making today.

Your Voice Matters

Larissa Crandall, VP of channel at 1Password

We get in our own head. That’s when we stop ourselves from having courageous conversations. I heard this growing up… your voice matters. If you don’t hear it, sometimes you don’t believe it, and that’s where you get courage from. Because having a voice and having a purpose is really important. If I spoke up and talked about what I wanted, and what I didn’t want, I was able to get more opportunities. When I did speak up, people said, ‘I’m glad you said that. I didn’t know you had that skill set.’ I earned respect from others because I tried new things and embraced the change.

Think With The Head, Act With The Heart

Meerah Rajavel, SVP, Chief Information Officer, Palo Alto Networks

Think with the head, act with the heart, which is actually a hard thing, because as business leaders, it’s very easy to act with the head because you can be very logical. You have to think, but act with the heart. It’s always the human [that] you need to consider. For me, getting to CIO, the first thing is I had to recognize and I had to internalize: The buck stops here. I have to own the good and bad of the outcome. As a leader, I only care about three things. One, asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are in the ladder, where you are in the industry. You always only know so much. There’s a world out there you don’t know. So, asking for help is a sign of strength. Two: You’re only as good as your team. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a CEO, CIO [or] President. [At the] end of the day, you’re only as good as your team. So, really focus on your team. If you get a good team, if you have people who actually challenge each other, if you have people who bring a diverse set of thinking to the table, you’re going to be in a good place. [And] three, you either win or lose together. There’s no single winning.

‘Lead With Personality’

Stacie Nadeau, director of global brand marketing, Ingram Micro

Your personality isn’t just what you say, it’s how you say it. So, when you think about how you want to show up, lead with personality. And you might be wondering, ‘What does this have to do with my company?’ Well, every company needs a brand personality. You might think you need to hire someone to define it, but we’re all here facing the age-old problem: there’s no budget. So, what do we do? Here’s a corporate brand hack: take a personality test. Look at the personality types, read the descriptors and choose the one that resonates most with your company’s values. That becomes your brand voice. Why does this matter? Because marketers are not the only people responsible for your brand. I’ll say that again: marketers are not the only people responsible for your brand.

‘Don’t Be Complacent’

Roopa Crowley, director of strategic accounts, T-Mobile

Lesson number one: don’t be complacent. When you do your job and you’re happy, you become a little complacent. But think about your next career path. Where do you see yourself in one, five, 10 years? Don’t be complacent, build towards that. Just because you’re in a role doesn’t mean that’s the role. You can build your role into whatever you want it to be. Part of why I’m successful is I don’t just do the job, I do a lot more. We all do, but we don’t give ourselves credit. You have a right to have a seat at the table, and your voice should be heard. Don’t ever give that up.