Adobe-Cynthia Stoddard (Long Post)

[jaahmuhl]

Raw Footage: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hE6cSlyFofReRKgIyqwhUNUc2dQrosyh?usp=sharing

[jaahmuhl]

Transcription: https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/Ate3HcDQ6cSov2O0tXLI02fHhB6_fDDraQbAtNzGlgIL7o6_beWjaq7IlaLFk4W300Lg_cZYsLcraBAzcrkBgeoSEnA?loadFrom=SharedLink

[howie-emond]

Cuts

Before 00:26 After 57:30

Opening Clip

A: 21:29-22:23 (54s)

Hello hello everyone (EXCITED AND WITH ENERGY) welcome back to Office Hours. A show about how to make a successful jump from college to young professional life. We know that landing your first job can often be an intimidating, complicated and stressful process, but its not impossible! (UP ENERGRY) And we’re here to help by giving you acccess to some of the brightest minds in business to get their advice for how to build a successful career. Take what you can (short pause), pick what you like and listen for that stroke of brilliance that you can use to help you get hired.

I’m Howie Emond and on the show today we have Cynthia Stoddard, Chief Information Officer at Adobe. Cynthia saw that technology was going to influence business at a young age, and decided to shape her career around it. Few had the vision she did then, and few have the level of mastery she does now.

Success in STEM is hard earned, especially as a woman. Taking those talents to work in a career comes with a whole new set of challenges, though. Making your way to that perfect position starts at the entry level, and all incoming talent has to learn the ropes. There are, however, things you can do to lighten that load a little and feel a bit more at home in your organization. Cynthia Stoddard has gone about tackling those challenges through empathy and exploration. Strong relationships built early open new doors to knowledge, forgiveness, and wellbeing. Your ideas are valuable, your input is needed, and your relationships are meaningful. These are words that describe Cynthia Stoddard’s mentality.

Her explorative side seems to have always been a factor. As an accounting and finance major in college, she decided to pivot into technology. Her reasoning? She thought it was really going to impact the field. Mind you this happened in the late 70s, and today, we can see that her idea couldn’t have been more right, In her words, the line between business and technology is blurring. She never did go back to finance, and continued to learn new things to better herself and those around her, something which plays into her empathetic nature. Building relationships, understanding all aspects of an organization, and truly caring about your employees and colleagues is at the center of her philosophy. Her talents secured her IT roles straight out of college, eventually leading her to leadership. Eventually she landed on the executive team at Safeway, then NetApp, and now Adobe.

Though I’m sure most of you have used Adobe in some form, they have expanded their business immensely over the years. Originally, they invented PDF documents, their claim to fame. The Adobe creative cloud offers a variety of creative tools which set the standard for “industry-grade” products. Founded in 1982 and put up for IPO in 86, they now report over $15.5 Billion in annual revenue. They’re headquartered in San Jose and are home to 26,000 employees, one of which is our guest. Cynthia’s role as Chief Information Officer has her overseeing global IT and cloud operations for Adobe. Her areas of expertise include business strategy, supply chain, retail, and technology development. Her career in the field has made her a master of the craft and a leading mind in the tech space. As the field grows more and further applications continue developing, her role will continue to evolve. Tech leaders are more valuable than ever in today’s business world, and she’s set herself up to be the perfect woman for the job.

We go through it all in this interview, especially those key traits she embodies: exploration and empathy. She’ll share her knowledge in those regards, as well as shed light on the entire STEM industry and how to get ahead today. Her stories of innovations and ideas through the years are really interesting, and her advice is widely meaningful. Finding your career path is a difficult task, but she emphasizes the importance of making it yours.

Cut back to A: 27:12-27:24

[howie-emond]

CAPTION

With so much tech talent out there, how can I stand out? Well If you take out of Cynthia Stoddard's book, you should be just fine. The CIO of Adobe offers meaningful knowledge on her keys to success, words of advice for women in STEM, and also how we can all maximize our careers. Throughout the discussion you can also see how her empathy, experimentation, and knowledge of the field come to light and demonstrate why she is such a successful leader.

[jaahmuhl]

Cuts

Before 00:48 After 57:30

Opening Clip

A: 21:29-22:23 (54s)

Hello hello everyone (EXCITED AND WITH ENERGY) welcome back to Office Hours. A show about how to make a successful jump from college to young professional life. We know that landing your first job can often be an intimidating, complicated and stressful process, but its not impossible! (UP ENERGRY) And we’re here to help by giving you access to some of the brightest minds in business to get their advice for how to build a successful career. Take what you can (short pause), pick what you like and listen for that stroke of brilliance that you can use to help you get hired.

CUT 1

I’m Howie Emond and today Brett Hummel hosts Cynthia Stoddard, Chief Information Officer at Adobe. She's a career-long leader of IT and information systems, beginning her journey in the space in the early 80s. For most of us, that seems like a time long before folks were working on business-technology integration, but that's exactly what sets her apart. Cynthia saw that technology was going to influence the business world at a young age, and decided to shape her career around it. Few had the vision she did then, and few have the level of mastery she does now.

CUT 2

Success in STEM is hard earned, especially your first job. There are, however, things you can do to lighten the load when taking on your first job and feel a bit more at home in your organization. Cynthia Stoddard is someone who blazed the trail in the 80's and 90s and knows exactly how to tackle the challenge of having a successful STEM career using some techniques that you wouldn't always think would be so crucial. In her mind the most important thing to do is always have empathy for others and the second? Well it's to always be exploring. In her opinion, these tactics lead to building strong relationships early in your carer which open new doors to knowledge and opportunities.

Her explorative side seems to have always been a factor in her career. As an accounting and finance major in college, she decided to pivot into technology. Her reasoning? She thought it was really going to impact entire industries. Mind you this happened in the late 70s, and today, we can see that her idea couldn’t have been more right, Way before many did, she saw the line between business and technology blurring and as a result she never went back to finance after getting a shot to move over to the tech side, and continued to learn new things to better herself and those around her, something which plays into her empathetic nature. Building relationships, understanding all aspects of an organization, and truly caring about your employees and colleagues is at the center of her philosophy. Her talents secured her IT roles straight out of college, eventually leading her to leadership and executive roles at Safeway, then NetApp, and now Adobe.

While I'm sure many of you have used Adobe in some form, their business goes far beyond their roots and they have expanded immensely over the years. Originally, they invented PDF documents, which is their claim to fame. Today their suite of tools has expanded and now the Adobe creative cloud offers a variety of creative tools which set the standard for “industry-grade” products. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, they now report over $15.5 Billion in annual revenue and are home to 26,000 employees. In her current role as Chief Information Officer, Cynthia oversees global IT and cloud operations for Adobe. Her areas of expertise include business strategy, supply chain, retail, and technology development. Her expertise in the field has made her a master of the craft and a leading mind in the tech space.

Today's interview has it all. We take a look at everything from her career journey to the key success traits she tries to embody everyday: exploration and empathy. Along with a discussion about her career, Cynthia will share her thoughts on the entire STEM industry and how to advance in your career in these modern times. Her stories of innovations and ideas through the years are really insightful, and her advice is widely applicable. While finding your career path is a difficult task, the key Cynthia emphasizes is to make it yours.

[jaahmuhl]

@howie-emond The Cut back I was wondering about and then also I think this is ready to record!

[howie-emond]

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/16aWUI7RYyRpqMHc1Us0jdYipllTJo48U

mp3 and m4a, 3 parts

[bryanace53]

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/1_esD1Ida4XsiQfPPH1Yv0BzfnnYUZoMH