Vanessa says what she learned at Victoria helped kick-start her varied and international career. “While I knew I was not cut out for a research career in Physics by the time I finished my PhD, I had learnt some key life skills, including problem solving, technical understanding, being able to build anything with the right tools, and that I can work incredibly hard when needed. It was also a great door opener—people were intrigued by the fact that I had a PhD in Physics, and it got me a lot of first interviews!”
Now based in San Francisco with the cloud computing giant Salesforce, Vanessa was born in Switzerland while her father was on a posting to the World Trade Organisation. The family moved back to New Zealand when she was three years old. As a teenager at Wellington Girls’ College she thrived in science subjects, apart from biology—“I had no wish to dissect a frog in sixth form!” She started studying Chemistry at Victoria in 1982, and took classes in Physics and Maths on the side. “After the first year I realised I liked understanding the ‘why’ of Physics more than the ‘what’ of Chemistry, so I switched majors. Plus the nine hour second year Chemistry labs put me off!”
Vanessa says there are many highlights from her nine years at Victoria University, but one that stands out is representing Victoria at the World University Debating Championship in Sydney—“We were beaten by Oxford University, but it was close!” She also has a novel keepsake from her time at Victoria. “When the Hunter building was about to be earthquake-retrofitted they were throwing out the old rimu workbenches, so a friend grabbed one and made a chopping board for me. I still have it today.”
After graduating from Victoria in 1990 with a PhD in Physics, Vanessa’s early work experiences included an intrepid month-long stint in Antarctica as a graduate research assistant. She later lived in London, Hong Kong and New York working for Reuters, where she learnt a lot about different approaches to work. “My big learning was to value people's different working styles as they each bring different aspects to a team. It has allowed me to work with people more objectively ever since.”
She finally ended up living and working in San Francisco in 2000, where she resides today. “I moved to San Francisco to work for a start-up run by some old work colleagues in London who were setting up the United States branch. I also wanted to move here because while I loved the energy and cosmopolitan lifestyles of Sydney, London, Hong Kong, and Manhattan, I missed being able to go out into the outdoors and away from people. San Francisco has the advantage of both, plus it’s only a direct flight away from New Zealand for trips back to see the family.”
Currently a senior director of programme management at Salesforce, Vanessa finds the customer relationship management software company an exciting and dynamic working environment. “Salesforce has an amazing culture—it’s very growth focused, which has its own pressures, but it’s also a very positive place to work.” Above all, she values her employer’s commitment to philanthropy. “The company is very strong on supporting charities through donations of money and product, as well as employee time. Everyone gets paid to spend seven days volunteering every year, and this is supported at all levels.” It has given her the opportunity to help build houses in Mongolia and teach English to teens and adults in Cuba, among other volunteer experiences.
Vanessa also enjoys the many parallels between San Francisco and Wellington: “The hills, the bay, foodie culture, and a liberal, educated, diverse population. We even have earthquakes! Although not nearly as many.”