As the general manager of Etobicoke, Ont.-based solution provider, CDW Canada, Mary Ann Yule is responsible for leading a team of about 300 employees at a $200 million-plus revenue company.
Click here to view Part One of our Women in the IT Channel slideshow.
Click here to view Part Two of our Women in the IT Channel slideshow.
Yule has more than 17 years of leadership experience and started her career in IT by working in a financial services organization in the early 1980s.
She’s also worked at Merisel Canada Inc., which is now Synnex Information Technologies Inc., Tech Data Canada (NASDAQ: TECD)and a href=”http://www.toshiba.com” target=”_blank”>Toshiba of Canada‘s Information Systems Group (ISG).
Yule said once she graduated from school, she was at a point where she needed to figure out what she wanted to do for a career.
“I wanted to get a job,” she said. “Technology for sure had lots of opportunities. I gravitated towards that because I knew there was a future there. There were women in sales, payroll and finance (roles), but there weren’t any female workers in senior roles outside of these areas. I never let gender be an inhibitor and it never really stopped me. I wanted to see more women in senior roles.”
Yule said it was her competitive nature and determination for her job that helped her progress to where she is in her IT career today.
“I’m pretty competitive and if I see something I want, I work towards it to figure out how to do it,” she explained.
Prior to joining CDW Canada in 2004, Yule’s previous job roles include being the director of marketing at Tech Data Canada and vice-president of marketing for Toshiba of Canada’s ISG division.Once she was hired at CDW Canada, Yule held the position of director of marketing and procurement.
Four years later, she was promoted to general manager of CDW’s Canadian operations.
For Yule, CDW is her “home.”“This is home to me,” she said. “When you grow up in a certain segment or industry, it just becomes home because you get to know the players and you become good at it.”
Yule shares this advice for those individuals who aspire to hold IT leadership positions: “Don’t let technology frighten you, jump in. A lot of times, women may be intimidated or scared of technology but it’s always evolving. Just be yourself and bring all of your talents and work hard.”
