Name: Lorraine Steyn
Designation: Simplifier-in-Chief
Company: Khanyisa Real Systems (Pty) Ltd
What do you do every day? I solve problems – mostly on behalf of clients, and by bringing together great tech, business insight and skilled people.
How did you get into the tech space? I’ve been a software developer since 1978, first at school, and then as a career. I’ve worked on old mainframes to the latest web and mobile technology, and I still love it.
What was the best advice anyone ever gave you? Be willing to learn, even if accepting feedback is hard.
What advice would you given someone wanting to get into the tech sector? I’d want to motivate more women to enter the technology sector. It’s not all about geeky gamers – it’s a creative field with scope for a wide variety of skills including business, statistics, design and code, and good people skills are just as essential as problem solving abilities.
What motivates you to get out of bed everyday? The alarm clock and the school run – I’m really not a morning person.
Who do you want to be when you grow up? I’m really happy where I am at present. I have a fantastic company, I work with great people, and I’m old enough to not worry what other people think of me!
Find me on:
Twitter: @lor_krs
Personal Blog: http://beingrealblog.wordpress.com/
Business Blog: http://www.krs.co.za/blog/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/lorraine-steyn/11/761/4a6
About The Author: Samantha
Samantha Perry is the JHB Agency Lead for Irvine Partners, an integrated public relations and marketing agency. She previously worked as a freelance journalist, and has over 20 years' of experience writing for a range of media - print and online - mainly in the ICT sector. She has written for Brainstorm magazine, Mail & Guardian, several niche B2B titles and several corporate clients. She also has a Masters degree in ICT Policy & Regulation, and serves on the IAB SA Marketing Council as the PR rep. She has worked as an independent telecoms researcher for some of the analyst houses in that field and was regularly called upon to comment on telecoms issues in the press. Nowadays she can be found commenting on women in tech issues in the press and speaking at conferences on the subject and the issues women in the sector face.
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