Marcus Manning, Episode 9

January 10, 2023

NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 15, 2021

After visiting his father’s work at NASA, Marcus Manning, CTO at Smart Financial Credit Union, was intrigued by computing. He built his first computer at 16 and went on to get a degree in computer science. Being a people person, once he started working, Marcus realized he would like to marry the technical side with his people skills. He went into network administration which led to an opportunity in a leadership role - that is where his journey started as an African American leader in the IT industry. Marcus, a great story teller, shares his experience on becoming an executive and a technology leader.

"In order for technology to be a value to any organization it needs to be properly articulated”

“... help the business connect the dots”

“... bring your true authentic self with you everywhere that you go, including the workplace”

“... I think others perception of you is important... Not [to] change who you are, but you need to know, especially at the executive level, … what message you’re sending and you need to know how that message is being received and the only way you can know that is through feedback”

“You have to be able to adapt to change”

“... learn the business as much as you can”

“... let’s make DEI a year end goal... You put metrics and goals around everything else you want to accomplish. Why can’t we put metrics and goals around DEI”

“there needs to be a [formal] mentor / mentee program”

“Volunteer for projects and volunteer for things outside of your normal scope”

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