Nana Fifield, VP Engineering, Author
Nana Ampomah Fifield is a technology leader, Vice president of Engineering at Depop, and the author of the book, Beyond Digital Transformation. As a seasoned transformational leader, she has led engineering and product teams at scale and through change within global enterprises, mid-sized and fast-growing businesses.
Nana's career has taken her into numerous industries, including Telecommunications, Aviation, Education, Banking, SAAS businesses and more recently, fashion tech. With a community mindset, she has helped build and support local technology groups, including the Thames Valley Google Developer Group, with the spirit to empower people to develop their skills in friendly, welcoming spaces.
People matter, and mentoring individuals to uncover their true potential has been one of her personal missions.
Previously shortlisted in the Leadership category of the Precious Awards, which celebrates and applauds women of colour's professional achievements, she continues to champion females and people of colour and inspires the younger generation to venture into the world of technology.
She was fortunate to have been raised in a globally diverse environment with her academic parents who lived and worked in Africa, mostly as ex-pats in Botswana, while living part of her childhood in boarding school in the UK.
As a young adult, Nana studied at university to achieve her Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science degrees. As a result, she's had the opportunity to transform engineering organisations to derive greater success while attracting more diverse technical talent.
And finally, Nana wants to be part of the movement to live more sustainably and responsibly in order to save our planet. Some of her career highlights have included:
Driving engagement with a previous company and local schools to inspire young people to consider a career in technology.
Being shortlisted as a finalist of the UK Precious Awards, which recognises the achievements of women of colour in business.
Leading globally distributed teams across multiple geographies.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I would say it's LinkedIn. Over the years, it has served a strong purpose as an engaging platform to connect with professionals on multiple networks across a wide range of business areas.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am an engineer by education and at heart. I tend to identify myself as having two roles. One as VP of technology at Depop, and the second as a community voice for technology and minorities such as myself.
In terms of the day-to-day technical leadership, I'm responsible for looking after teams of engineers with the objective to create a place where they feel empowered and motivated to create exciting solutions for our customers while also leading the strategic execution of product and technology domains.
I am highly supportive of our evolving engineering culture at Depop. As an author, I desire to share stories about how businesses can build successful technology organisations and communities where diverse, talented people meet their users' needs. This is what led me to write my book "Beyond Digital Transformation".
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I enjoy working with some pretty smart people at my company who exhibit such humility and friendliness. The breadth of technologies means that I'm always learning, particularly from engineers who are always willing to share their knowledge. I also enjoy reading, research and writing, which help to expand my mind while forging ahead with new challenges to expand my creativity.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
My father always advised me that I could achieve whatever I set my mind to by working smartly and never giving up. His words are never far from my mind, especially during challenging times. And he's absolutely right!
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
I'm inspired whenever I'm learning something constantly, every day. This energises me to be more creative in thinking and generating new ideas and actions. Many types of people also inspire me. Speaking, hearing stories, and learning from our customers and their success stories truly energises and drive me forward. Customer success is a strong motivational reason to work hard, knowing that it was all worthwhile.
In my experience as a mentor, I feel personally motivated whenever I witness the potential that each individual has achieved and see them land in a position that helps them to feel successful. I also have learned and grown from my interactions with each of them. A few years ago, I taught on a part-time basis to groups of students at a technical college on subjects ranging from computer science to artificial intelligence.
I was inspired by how eager and engaged the students were, even with the practical exercises I set them. It demonstrated the value that we, as technologists and experienced professionals, can provide to support students and teachers in the educational environment.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I feel proud, first and foremost, for being the mother of two incredible young men who are making their own way in life to fulfil their own ambitions. I also feel a great sense of achievement in having written my new book, which has recently been released, called "Beyond Digital Transformation", which shares the lessons and experiences gained over many years in the technology industry and in my mind shares key messages on how the industry can accelerate its maturity and continue to reinvent itself.
As a female of colour in a mostly male-dominated industry, it's undoubtedly been a real challenge, and I've had to think and act differently, with sheer drive, focus and determination to succeed. I have a lot of empathy as a leader and truly care about the people I work with. So, I hope that I have inspired some of my teams and colleagues to strive for their own successes while showing empathy and kindness to others.
In the past, I set up my own business and learned to market, sell and exhibit products to my target audience. I also did quite a bit of blogging, sought advice on business planning and experimented with driving traffic to my website. These are life skills still relevant today, which helped me understand what it takes to manage a business and widened my expertise beyond the technology domain.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
As an introvert, I tend to prefer being in the background, and so years ago, before digital social networks were a 'thing', the way to meet people was to attend networking events in person. In my early 20s, attending networking events and meeting complete strangers was pretty daunting. Still, I set myself the challenge to step into uncomfortable situations and to learn the art of networking. This stubbornness helped me become familiar with most technology and business scenes, so I started to form good connections.
When LinkedIn and Meetup groups arrived, I was able to continue connecting, and in some cases reconnecting, to people on these platforms and participating in many events. As a result, not only I have met new people and continued to expand my network widely. But, I also participated in building technology communities such as my local Google Developer Group, where we facilitated networking and provided a space for people to learn new technologies.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Determination, focus, the strength of character and resilience. At times when obstacles have been placed in my way, I have been able to overcome them by maintaining focus on the ultimate outcome. This has helped to prevent me from deviating in the right direction.
I also can look at the big picture and understand where things are by sometimes diving into the appropriate detail while appreciating where we need to be heading.
My education in engineering and natural passion for technology was the foundations for performing my role. My mindset is to continue maintaining an open mind through continuously reading, learning, and observing.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I wish I had worked with a mentor or coach to support me in my career journey in identifying sooner how to navigate my professional career more efficiently. I also would have liked to support communities much earlier in my adult life to propagate technology messages to attract more diverse talent to the industry.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
A few people have impacted my career and are those that I have admired the most. My first step into people leadership happened when my boss at the time, who was a senior director in the Aviation Industry, offered me the opportunity after calling me a natural leader. She also became a great mentor and helped me navigate the new skills required when one moves from an individual contributor role to a role where people responsibility is key. As a result, I avoided a lot of potential mistakes, and that experience always helped influence how I work with people. She was also true to herself and didn't try to pretend to be someone else. As a female in technology, this showed how important it was to always know that it's fine to be "you", even when you might be judged.
I had other informal mentors who have helped me along the way in my career. A few years ago, I worked for the Group CTO of a large, global FTSE 100 technology company and his intelligence and humility thoroughly resonated with me. He offered me a relatively senior position in the company, which people would have identified as a risk at the time, and it worked out really well. One of his best advice to me was to "bring your people on the journey".
And lastly, I truly admire Serena Williams, one of the world's greatest tennis players of all time. She has sheer endurance, passion, tenacity and dynamism. But, unfortunately, she has suffered so much negativity in her career. Yet, she has continued to silence her critics and stayed on top of her game for decades.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I enjoy reading and writing a wide range of texts. Exercises such as walking, cycling and weight training help me stay fit, as does tending to my garden. Finally, I enjoy learning about new technologies, especially in the space of IoT (Internet of Things).
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
Both. It gave me clarity and depth of my responsibility to this world, how I could behave more sustainably and consider my actions to reduce waste. I enjoy working at Depop, and we make a difference through circularity in the fashion industry.
I also worked from home, which helped me to achieve a better balance of work and family life. However, I did miss the human interaction, particularly when the company expanded rapidly and there were many colleagues I hadn't even met face-to-face. On the other hand, as an introvert, I was comfortable being at home in my own space, and this gave me the time to focus on writing my book during weekends and on holidays.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I currently don't have a mentor, although I have had the benefit of having mentors in the past. However, I do have a mentor who is an incredibly motivated and gifted female engineer. I was once a voluntary member of MentorSET, a mentoring scheme set up for Women in Engineering, and mentored professional women, which was extremely rewarding. I'm considering rejoining that scheme and dedicating more effort to supporting a wider group of people on their career journeys.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Technology and Engineering are accessible to all. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Learn about computers, systems and try out several computing languages. Play with technology - get a raspberry pie and start a project. I would encourage you to participate in a variety of meetup groups as a way to learn fast, meet people in the same area and form a network that will help you to progress.
Get a mentor to support you in advancing your aspirations and career much faster. And understand that developing relationships at work and in the wider community is really key to progression. My last piece of advice is to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to gain skills that might first appear daunting. For instance, learn a skill and present it to a group of people. It's amazing how quickly you learn, and there's no better way to demonstrate your learning than having the opportunity to play it back.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Change of any nature can be hard and sometimes intimidating. For some people, it can lead to anxiety or fear, so people might choose to give up. Self-doubt and the well-known imposter syndrome are other reasons that people might choose to give up.
Other reasons could include being in a situation where you feel overwhelmed with an environment, or certain conditions, say at work or home, and people struggle to find a way out. Finally, if individuals have no input into decisions made elsewhere that would impact them, they might feel a loss of ownership and prefer to give up.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
When I read it, there is one profound saying that changed my perception and approach to life itself. Viktor Frankl, a well-known social psychologist from Austria, who was also a Holocaust survivor during the second world war, shared significant social psychology concepts related to how we have the freedom of response.
Frankl's words state: "Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space lies our freedom and power to choose our responses. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
Depop is a pioneer in the GenZ space. The company continues to build the world's most progressive and diverse home of fashion with its community spirit and focus on sustainable fashion. The company has been instrumental in transforming the fashion industry towards more sustainable methods, which essentially are helping to save the planet.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success in my mind is about unleashing potential, whether it's yours, your team's or a collective for the general good. The wider the positive impact, in my view, the greater the success. My own lessons are that when I choose to make an impact, I like to think broadly across the bigger picture, understanding how its effects should be felt to benefit the majority.
I've learned that success comes about through planning and also through taking sensible, calculated risks. Don't wait to line up all the ducks, and decide to act when you understand enough to make an impact. People are essential for success, whether they are the team you work with or the community you serve, so think about your actions' wider effects.
And finally, keep learning. In the technology industry, change is rapid, and information is everywhere. Develop a data-driven mindset and apply it to your decision-making processes. Work with, and learn from, the experts. For example, when I started writing my book, I had a clear idea in mind of the book's format.
As I worked with Steve Hoberman of Technics Publications, I realised that I was starting to deviate from that initial idea, which caused an 'identity crisis. However, I trusted Steve and worked with his feedback through his experience and knowledge, and ended with the resulting book, which is far more superior than what I set out to achieve.