
Steven Palasek
Second Vice President, Engineering
Travelers
Travelers
Second Vice President, Engineering
I lead a team that helps deliver new and strategic IT services for our internal customers and stakeholders
My personal responsibilities center on engaging with our customers and key stakeholders, as well as our senior management team, to ensure that we are delivering the services and solutions that they need. In parallel with that routine interaction, I focus on financial details, staffing assignments, and developing and creating execution plans for our technical roadmaps and strategies. Lastly, but just as important, is time I spend coaching and mentoring folks, helping them manage their own paths.
Here's the first step for everyone
Find and attend career fairs. Seek out speakers or mentors who are willing to share time and perspective with you. Read / watch tutorials that apply to the topics and industries that interest you. Don't limit yourself to a specific role, field or company. Don't start with a sense of entitlement ... make your own path with the opportunities given to you, and when they aren't given to you, go out and find them. Interview often, and with preparation ... the practice helps.
"That my technical expertise needed to be as deep as the folks who worked for me. That I wasn't qualified to manage or lead the team unless I understood the technology as well as they did."