Keysight Manager Receives Leadership Award at WE17
Keysight worldwide sales, support and services manager Liz Ruetsch recently was named as a winner of the SWE global leadership award, which recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the field of engineering or technical management in an international setting.
Liz’s selection in the global leadership category is impressive considering the nomination qualifications: seven years working on various international assignments and/or leading a global team, and 15 years of experience overall, including achieving a leadership position in her current organization and creating a nurturing environment for women of different cultures in the workplace
Liz’s role-model activities have included participating in Keysight’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day program and delivering talks about her career path in “women's lunches” at Keysight’s High Impact Training (HIT), at STEM sessions, and as a panelist at a local SWE conference.
“Throughout her career in sales and marketing roles, Liz has consistently grown our business around the globe,” said Erica Messinger, director of Keysight’s worldwide university program and Keysight-SWE Enterprise Program (KSWEEP) lead. “Her passion for customers and winning combined with a commitment to continuous learning is contagious, and she has mentored and inspired many engineers, both inside and outside our company. She is an excellent recipient of the global leadership award.”
Keysight volunteers at annual Girls Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (GESTEM) Event
Volunteers from Keysight's Colorado Springs, Englewood and Loveland, Colorado sites played a significant role in a Girls Exploring Science Technology Engineering and Math (GESTEM) event in May 2017. Keysight has been involved with the GESTEM event hosted by the SWE Rocky Mountain Section since it first began inspiring 7th grade girls in 2003.
More than 1,000 students worked with STEM professionals in hands-on workshops designed to introduce STEM careers in a fun and active environment. The connection between skills learned in STEM classes and careers was reinforced with participating students, who were also introduced to basic networking and mentoring techniques. The annual event provides an opportunity for local companies and the community to support student success in STEM education.
Keysight Helps SWE Expand Globally
Keysight hosted SWE’s first event in Southeast Asia, helping to bring more development, advancement and global networking opportunities closer to women engineers in the region.
The event, held at the Keysight Penang campus in Malaysia, was attended by up to 100 participants from 30 organizations including Keysight and other global companies like Motorola Solutions, Intel, Dell, B.Braun, HP, Plexus, Jabil and others.
“This event is not only a milestone for SWE but also another great step in advancing the contributions of women engineers globally,” said Shidah Ahmad, Keysight’s Order Fulfillment vice president and general manager, in her opening address. “Keysight is proud to support SWE on this platform, as this is tightly aligned to Keysight’s own culture of inclusion and practice of providing a conducive and encouraging environment for women engineers to grow and develop.”
At the event, Smita Tharoor, a world-renowned motivational speaker, and other corporate thought leaders, were on hand to lead a discussion on the Unconscious Bias, exploring the subject of individual and cultural biases that impact women and working relationships.
SWE CEO Visits Keysight Headquarters
SWE Executive Director and CEO, Karen Horting spoke to Keysight employees in Santa Rosa CA about her career and how she collaborates with multiple companies as partners, including Keysight. Some of her key insights included:
People with large, diverse networks are better able to take risks – being involved with groups like SWE helps build that network
Sometimes one’s career path may be more like chutes and ladders than a straight line – there may be sidesteps, backward steps, forward steps, etc. to get to the next stage of your career
Good mentors help us have perspective, support us and push us; and sometimes they may not even know they are in that role
Being present where you are and with your current company is critical when juggling numerous demands
Keysight University Program Director Honored by SWE
Erica Messinger, Keysight’s Worldwide University Program Director, received SWE’s Spark Award at the WE16 Conference. The Spark Award honors those who have contributed to the advancement of women, made a difference in the lives of many by affecting women at a variety of levels, from high school to executive positions, and mentored multiple women over their careers in a variety of settings.
In addition to her primary responsibilities, Erica has been Keysight’s champion and liaison to SWE for nearly 15 years.
Keysight SWE Members Organize Internal Hackathon
Thirty-Two Keysight employees from multiple sites and organizations participated in Keysight’s first internal hackathon in October 2016. Fueled by food and drink throughout the day, participants engaged their imagination and creativity to design and develop a range of software using a myriad of new technologies.
The event, inspired by the 2015 SWE National Conference hackathon sponsored by Google, was developed by Keysight R&D software engineers Chris Grove and Vivian Patlin, with support across the company.
“Hackathons are part of modern software culture and practices and I’m excited to see Keysight teams experimenting with them,” said Jay Alexander, Keysight CTO. “The fact that this effort involved people from multiple sites and businesses is a great additional benefit on the teamwork and innovation fronts.”