Alice Carlisle, Regional Vice President UK&I at Wiz, discusses her career journey as a woman in business. She emphasizes the importance of building trust and expertise, which can transcend traditional biases in professional settings. Alice encourages young women to focus on skill development and personal growth, rather than comparing themselves to others. She highlights the value of supportive leadership and draws inspiration from leaders who balance confidence with empathy...

What has been your career defining moment as a woman in business?

On an internal strategy call I was once told by a previous CEO that “sometimes these deals are best done by men on the golf course " he then flew to meet the customer with me. Having spent months building trust and credibility with customer I was relieved when in the meeting our CEO tried to cut me from the conversation, the customer would consistently say...”Alice, what do you think?”, “Alice, we value your insight”, “Alice knows our business very well, perhaps we can hear from her”. I felt both vindicated and validated, this confirmed that customers respected the value I added and the trust we had built more than title, gender, or age.

Share with other women what happened and the impact it had on your life both professionally and personally.

From this moment on I felt lighter and more confident, knowing that if you put the effort in to ensure you execute with excellence and improve your skills every day then other people notice.

Were there any obstacles you had to overcome as a woman in business?

"Credibility is earned, not given."

As a young female in my earlier career, I became acutely aware that I was very often the only female in the room but also frequently 20 years younger. Initially I found this daunting, allowing imposter syndrome to impact my confidence, until I realized confidence should not be defined by age or sex or any other factor but should stem from your ability to add value by being a subject matter expert. Credibility is earned, not given and this comes down to hard work, preparation, and diligence.

What advice would you give to a younger woman looking to join your industry?

"Focus on what you can control."

Focus on what you can control, which is your developing your skills and the level of effort you put into being great. Gain your confidence from dedicating your energy to developing your own strengths, learning new skills and do not get distracted by comparing yourselves to others.

Finally, we'd love to know about one woman in business who either inspires you or has pulled out the seat for you?

Daniela Streng is an incredible leader and businessperson who operates at the highest level. Daniela as my direct leader elevated me by giving me the opportunity to take on wider responsibility and pushed me forward in many ways such as leadership courses and speaking opportunities. Daniela showed me how to be confident and assertive, whilst also being warm and empathetic.

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