Episode 4
Tech Talks | Paulette Haedo, Azamara Cruises & Andrea Ortiz, Virgin Voyages
In this International Women’s Day Special of Tech Talks, Laura Jane Welsh at theICEway hosts two inspiring trailblazers in cruise technology: Paulette Haedo, Chief Information Officer at Azamara Cruises, and Andrea Ortiz, Director of Business Systems Solutions at Virgin Voyages.
This episode is dedicated to showcasing the inspiring women leading technological innovation in the cruise industry—driving change at the helm of major cruise players. Paulette and Andrea share their journeys into the cruise IT space, discussing the challenges they’ve faced and the opportunities they’ve embraced as women in technology.
Discover the key tech innovations shaping the future of cruise technology through their expert insights.
Plus, these influential leaders share advice on breaking barriers, fostering innovation, and paving the way for the next generation of tech professionals. Tune in for invaluable perspectives on leadership, career growth, and thriving in a traditionally male-dominated field, this International Women's Day!
Transcript
>> Laura Jane: Hello and welcome to the Women in
Speaker:Cruise Tech Talk Podcast.
Speaker:I am Laura Jane and I'm thrilled to be
Speaker:hosting this special episode in celebration of
Speaker:International Women's Day. This podcast is
Speaker:dedicated to showcasing the inspiring women who
Speaker:are leading technology in the cruise industry,
Speaker:breaking barriers, driving innovation
Speaker:and paving the way for the next generation of
Speaker:tech professionals. Today, we are
Speaker:honoured to have not just one, but two
Speaker:incredible guests who are driving technology in the
Speaker:cruise sector. Joining us is Paulette
Speaker:Haydo, CIO at Azamara, and Andrea
Speaker:Ortiz, Director of Business System Solutions
Speaker:at Virgin Voyages. Both of them bring
Speaker:extensive expertise in IT leadership,
Speaker:digital transformation and the evolution of
Speaker:cruise technology. And, today they'll share
Speaker:their insights on leadership, challenges,
Speaker:innovation and the future of cruise
Speaker:IT Palette. And Andrea, welcome to
Speaker:the podcast. Thank you.
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: Very excited.
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: Thank you. Happy to be here.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: So, before we dive in, I'd love to get each
Speaker:of you to introduce yourselves and share a little bit about
Speaker:your role and what brought you into the cruise IT
Speaker:industry. Palette, let's start with you. What
Speaker:can you tell us about your role at Azamara? What are your
Speaker:key responsibilities and how does your
Speaker:work impact the cruise experience?
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: I have been in the cruise industry for
Speaker:over 35 years now. I started my career in
Speaker:IT and have continued here, at Azamara.
Speaker:I'm responsible for, as CIO
Speaker:for all of the aspects within technology,
Speaker:including obviously shoreside
Speaker:and shipboard, and ensuring that we're
Speaker:aligning with the business to support
Speaker:what their goals are and, you know, all
Speaker:of the aspects of it. So data,
Speaker:cybersecurity, making sure that our systems, both,
Speaker:again, ship and shore integrations,
Speaker:bringing in new technology. Here at
Speaker:Azamara, it's a new leadership team that took over
Speaker:in May of this year. And so
Speaker:we are in the process of assessing
Speaker:what needs to be done, putting our strategies
Speaker:together and then moving forward to
Speaker:evolve.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Brilliant. That's fascinating, especially with how
Speaker:technology is driving such major changes in guest
Speaker:experiences and operations. Andrea, over
Speaker:to you. You're leading business System Solutions at Virgin
Speaker:Voyages. What does that entail and what excites you the most
Speaker:about your work?
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: Yeah, so I like to start from the beginning of my
Speaker:career in the cruise industry. I say I was kind
Speaker:of born into it. It's in my DNA. So my parents,
Speaker:when I was younger, had a travel agency and,
Speaker:like, right when the cruise industry was booming, we
Speaker:would go on family vacation. So something that's always been
Speaker:in my blood. And, as I went through my
Speaker:college career, I was one of the first
Speaker:classes in My university to be a part of like
Speaker:a pilot where we went on a, almost a study abroad on a cruise
Speaker:ship partnering with Disney Cruise Line. So that was like
Speaker:kind of the real kickoff to my
Speaker:professional career, career within the cruise industry. And
Speaker:then I went to work for Disney Cruise Line for
Speaker:almost six years until I transitioned over to Virgin
Speaker:Voyages and I've been here for almost seven years now.
Speaker:So almost 14 years in the industry. But I count
Speaker:my younger years, kind of like watching my parents doing
Speaker:it, which was really exciting. As far as what I do at
Speaker:Virgin Voyages, I am the
Speaker:liaison between our technology partners and our
Speaker:operational stakeholders making sure,
Speaker:similar to what Paula said, that all of our business
Speaker:initiatives are aligned and we can support them
Speaker:in implementation, testing
Speaker:anything that and everything that our partners need to be
Speaker:able to drive successful business. And
Speaker:we call our guest sailors and make sure the sailor experience is
Speaker:supported technology wise, but also that we're supporting
Speaker:the operational teams the best of our abilities,
Speaker:using technology to support that.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Brilliant. It's amazing to hear how both of you have been in the
Speaker:industry for so long and you're shaping the cruise
Speaker:technology in different but equally impactful ways.
Speaker:So Andrea was mentioning, she's obviously had
Speaker:experience in the cruise industry from pretty much the get
Speaker:go. Paula, I'd love to go back to the beginning
Speaker:for you. What first drew you to a career in tech and how
Speaker:did you end up in the cruise industry specifically?
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: So I, like Andrea, I say I was born into the United
Speaker:nations, we have family from
Speaker:everywhere in my family family. And so early on I
Speaker:learned about different obviously countries
Speaker:and so I knew very early on that I wanted to
Speaker:travel and I knew that obviously
Speaker:my parents are first generation immigrants,
Speaker:and so from, from Spain
Speaker:and I learned about
Speaker:geography, wanted to
Speaker:know more about it and knew that I was going to have to
Speaker:work in a place that was going to be
Speaker:able to afford travelling. and
Speaker:luckily I have been able to pretty much see the world
Speaker:because of it. I'm going to
Speaker:say technology chose me, not that I chose
Speaker:technology.
Speaker:I started off in operations
Speaker:and loved it. I actually started off as a travel
Speaker:agent and had an opportunity. Saw an
Speaker:ad in the paper for Royal Caribbean, was bringing
Speaker:in house their air ticketing and needed a
Speaker:qualifying person and that's really how I got started in
Speaker:cruise, learned everything. I
Speaker:was at the cutting edge of technology
Speaker:if you will. It was just starting, it was
Speaker:just beginning. So I'm one of those people that could
Speaker:manage manually. So being at that cutting
Speaker:edge, being Innately curious and wanting
Speaker:to know how things ticked, I think just
Speaker:obviously was just a natural course.
Speaker:I began my IT and my discipline
Speaker:is in project management, programme management.
Speaker:And so that's how I got involved in
Speaker:technology. But like I said, I think it chose me. Not
Speaker:necessarily that I made a conscious decision to
Speaker:go into the IT arena.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: And Andrea, what would you say was kind of the
Speaker:defining moment in your, in your career?
Speaker:Obviously you started out knowing what you wanted to go into.
Speaker:Is there a moment that really sticks out to you as a
Speaker:pivotal moment for you?
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: Yeah, it's funny, Paula and I, not by
Speaker:coincidence, have very similar, defining
Speaker:moments. I also did not say, hey, you know what? Today I really
Speaker:think I want to be in technology. It was one of those things
Speaker:where there was an operational need. And
Speaker:obviously as different generations,
Speaker:as we move forward, technology is like,
Speaker:you have to know it, right? And you either understand it
Speaker:or you don't. And I think what really helped
Speaker:me really feel like this is something I
Speaker:can move forward with is seeing the different partnerships we
Speaker:have across the world offshore, working with teams
Speaker:here. And I really like, really, really
Speaker:enjoy the collaborative spirit and being able
Speaker:to work together to move forward and
Speaker:really making sure that we're supporting the business that,
Speaker:your front end call centre agents,
Speaker:or your travel agents, they don't really
Speaker:understand what it takes to get one button to click right.
Speaker:And it really like to me is a big puzzle that I really
Speaker:enjoy. And working with all the different technology
Speaker:partners along with our business is what really
Speaker:triggered me to say, hey, this is something I want to continue moving
Speaker:forward with and continue with those
Speaker:partnerships.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: It's so inspiring to see how both of your
Speaker:journeys have kind of followed sort of similar paths
Speaker:and led you to these leadership positions.
Speaker:Now that we've covered how you got here, let's
Speaker:talk about some of the obstacles and lessons that you
Speaker:learned along the way. Ah, we all know that working
Speaker:in tech, especially in leadership, comes with its own
Speaker:challenges. But as a woman in Cruise
Speaker:it, those challenges can sometimes be even more
Speaker:complex. Paulette, I'd love to start with you.
Speaker:What are some of the biggest challenges you faced in your career and
Speaker:how did you navigate them?
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: So IT and maritime as a whole is
Speaker:a very male dominated
Speaker:industry. And I started
Speaker:obviously my career, like I said,
Speaker:early on, where it was all male
Speaker:dominated. What that discipline taught me
Speaker:was, and I want to say the biggest challenge was not being
Speaker:taken seriously. What I
Speaker:did was I learned very early on that I had
Speaker:to work smarter, that I
Speaker:had to make relationships that I had to
Speaker:build credibility
Speaker:within the area because it was so male
Speaker:dominated. And here you are at that time
Speaker:I was in my early 20s, trying
Speaker:to, again like I said, it chose me. It wasn't that I
Speaker:chose it, but I knew that if I wanted to move into
Speaker:that, in that direction that I
Speaker:needed to understand what it was going to
Speaker:take for me to be taken seriously.
Speaker:And so one of the I think
Speaker:mistakes women make early on, I
Speaker:think it's much better now, was that women
Speaker:thought that they had to be and act like a
Speaker:man. And I knew early on that
Speaker:was not going to be the case for me. I was fortunate enough
Speaker:that I grew up in a very woman dominated
Speaker:family and so I saw the
Speaker:way that they, even though that they were not
Speaker:professionals but I saw how they just
Speaker:challenged on and forged forward
Speaker:in it. And so I got the lessons from that.
Speaker:Networking was very important,
Speaker:asking questions from them to the point where I would
Speaker:say what is it and how do you need to see this work and information?
Speaker:And I think that moving into project management really gave
Speaker:me that opportunity because I love having the
Speaker:reins of things, bringing people together
Speaker:to make sure that we're working on a common
Speaker:goal in order to be able to meet
Speaker:those goals. And so I was always very
Speaker:comfortable working with males
Speaker:and learning to navigate it. And
Speaker:Disney, because I was part of the Disney Cruise Line launch
Speaker:team, taught me that because Disney
Speaker:was also very male dominated as
Speaker:part of their organisation and being
Speaker:a minority
Speaker:female, you had to learn it. And Disney, let me
Speaker:tell you, taught me that. Probably the biggest learnings I
Speaker:received was there on how to be able to navigate
Speaker:that world.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Such an amazing insight and some really
Speaker:valuable takeaways. Andrea, what about you? Have you
Speaker:faced similar challenges? Has your experience been any
Speaker:different?
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: I think my experience is a bit different because
Speaker:in my career growth I've been really fortunate to be
Speaker:supported by strong female leadership, both at
Speaker:Disney Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages. So I never felt
Speaker:the challenges of not being supported
Speaker:as a woman. it was there and I think that really
Speaker:moulded me to how I operate and
Speaker:manage, moving up in my career.
Speaker:I would say the only time I really felt a
Speaker:challenge per se is when sometimes we're
Speaker:travelling or working with partners from other parts of the world
Speaker:where in their culture, they still
Speaker:more patriarch than matriarch and you
Speaker:really have to make the stand
Speaker:and show that you are a part of
Speaker:the leadership team. sometimes you'll be in meetings
Speaker:and they'll look straight at the only man in the room. Even though
Speaker:I might have higher titles, not that titles matter to
Speaker:me, but you know, it's just one of those things, they're just looking right there.
Speaker:So you really have to just make a stand, make your voice
Speaker:heard and make sure that the things
Speaker:that you're saying are valuable, that give you the credibility
Speaker:that no matter what your gender is. Because we're also
Speaker:moving into a world where genders are fluid. There are
Speaker:many different colours of genders now. Right. Which is
Speaker:beautiful and everyone should be supported. It really should be about
Speaker:what you say, your experience and your
Speaker:expertise, not your gender. But I
Speaker:feel very, very, very fortunate to have
Speaker:grown in a time period in companies
Speaker:where it didn't really
Speaker:feel like it was just a male
Speaker:driven type of industry.
Speaker:I never felt that personally. But again, moving
Speaker:forward with other countries and
Speaker:maybe talking with other partners, that
Speaker:it's all the male leadership, that's where you really, really have
Speaker:to just stick to your guns. And if you have to say
Speaker:the same thing three times for them to get it, then you have to say three times.
Speaker:But I think it's also really important, these challenges to
Speaker:have a good support system. also been very fortunate
Speaker:that I have very strong peers that
Speaker:ah, are male, that will defer to me.
Speaker:And that's really important that you make that
Speaker:network so the other people see that
Speaker:they're not within that kind of like
Speaker:internal dialogue, that you are here for a
Speaker:reason.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Definitely. I think that's such a great point. Obviously in
Speaker:this industry we're working internationally
Speaker:across different cultures and that definitely
Speaker:brings a different aspect to the conversation
Speaker:where maybe when you're travelling you're not getting the same experience
Speaker:that you're necessarily having at home. Now let's
Speaker:talk about leadership. Both of you are
Speaker:leading IT initiatives at major cruise
Speaker:lines. What advice would you give
Speaker:to women aspiring to step into leadership
Speaker:roles in tech?
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: So I'm gonna allude to what I was
Speaker:saying, previous. So you need to develop
Speaker:both your technical and strategic thinking
Speaker:skills. You have to stay
Speaker:informed with emerging technology. So that's
Speaker:where I go back to. That's where you have to be innately
Speaker:curious. I've always been a person that
Speaker:gets bored very easily and I always want
Speaker:to challenge myself, which is a double edged sword, I will
Speaker:tell you. Because you're always looking
Speaker:for that next thing or that next challenge
Speaker:and trying to stay with
Speaker:what is happening. And in today's world,
Speaker:technology changes so quickly that it
Speaker:is difficult. So making sure that you have a
Speaker:way of being able to do that, whether
Speaker:it's you assign a team to research and development
Speaker:and staying up on that, but you yourself,
Speaker:that can inform you, but you yourself have to be able to do
Speaker:that. I think understanding how
Speaker:it integrates with business objectives,
Speaker:I will say that I think what made me
Speaker:successful in my career is having
Speaker:that operational understanding and from.
Speaker:In different businesses. Because I started in
Speaker:operations, I moved into marketing when
Speaker:the Internet was that thing coming up. And again, I've been
Speaker:very fortunate that I have been,
Speaker:at the very beginning of where things are evolving
Speaker:and emerging and looking at it and saying,
Speaker:ooh, this is the direction that I want to move in. So having
Speaker:the understanding of marketing, and
Speaker:then within it, there's very different verticals within
Speaker:it. So one of the things I'm going to
Speaker:say at the very beginning that held me back was
Speaker:like, you know, I'm not a developer, I'm not technical, I'm not
Speaker:technical. And like Andrea, I've had some great
Speaker:leaders and her and I have had some of the same leaders.
Speaker:And so having those great leaders
Speaker:that continuously guide
Speaker:you in that direction, what
Speaker:held me back was me thinking, I'm not a developer, and nor did
Speaker:I have any desire to be a developer. But
Speaker:I did get to early in my career was a
Speaker:business analyst. In the days where you sat next
Speaker:to your developer and you guys developed it,
Speaker:you tested it while they were developing and so you
Speaker:learned. And so I did not realise and I had those
Speaker:leaders tell me, stop saying you're not technical, you
Speaker:are. Is just again, the different
Speaker:variations within the technology. So
Speaker:understanding each one of those verticals is going to be
Speaker:important and knowing what
Speaker:you want to move forward in which
Speaker:one of those verticals do you want to be a specialist? Do you want to
Speaker:be a generalist? I, think for the way that
Speaker:career evolution is working now, we're now
Speaker:in that area where people want generalists.
Speaker:But understanding, because I've always seen
Speaker:what we do in it is the
Speaker:business are my clients. That's who we are
Speaker:there to support. That's what we're there to do. The
Speaker:other philosophy I've always had is it should be a
Speaker:utility. When do you talk about your water and
Speaker:electricity? Only when it's not working.
Speaker:Other than that it should be a silent in the
Speaker:background working the way it needs
Speaker:to work. So I think it's pivotal for people
Speaker:to understand how the business work,
Speaker:why things are so important. Living the day in
Speaker:the life of. So you can actually
Speaker:feel and, and live their
Speaker:challenges. Because I think that makes you more
Speaker:empathetic and more understanding to
Speaker:what you need to do in order to support and continue
Speaker:to move. Also building that
Speaker:relationship of. I've also seen it as
Speaker:consultant. A, consultant too. So if the business is
Speaker:having challenges, I always say, tell me
Speaker:the what, why and when. We'll come up with the how
Speaker:together. System agnostic. Because
Speaker:I think people get, get very pigeonholed
Speaker:into this is the solution. And
Speaker:not necessarily so. Being able to step back and
Speaker:taking the time to look at that, building
Speaker:strong networks. I think we already spoke about
Speaker:mentorship, I think is equally as important. I
Speaker:didn't have mentors until late in my career. It
Speaker:wasn't really a thing, when I was, you know, in
Speaker:my 20s and 30s in those years.
Speaker:And so I say I was fortunate enough to have
Speaker:both male and female again. I go back to what
Speaker:Andrea say. I think gender should be secondary. I
Speaker:don't think we should call that out. I think
Speaker:that people should be, again, skilled.
Speaker:Learn what you need to learn, learn how to navigate
Speaker:it. Because it does exist. We're not going to sit here and say that it
Speaker:doesn't. It does stand your ground like
Speaker:Andrea said. But you have to build that
Speaker:credibility. And that starts with that
Speaker:networking, making sure that you are
Speaker:meeting the expectations that they have for you, that
Speaker:you're constantly building results. And
Speaker:that's how you build that and how you get there. I,
Speaker:also think confidence, confidence is key.
Speaker:So when you go into a room, I tell everyone on my
Speaker:team, but specifically my females, you have a
Speaker:voice at that table. I don't care if you're the only
Speaker:female there. You sit at that table, you
Speaker:express your views. There are no stupid
Speaker:questions and there are no stupid ideas. They just may not
Speaker:be ready at that particular moment in time. And
Speaker:so you have to be confident. You have to build that within
Speaker:yourself to know, you know what, hey,
Speaker:everybody did not. Was not born with all this
Speaker:information. They've had to be
Speaker:learned. And so make sure that you lend a helping
Speaker:hand as well to those that are coming up and make sure
Speaker:you're there for them. And I think that's part of
Speaker:that confidence that, oh, you know what? I will share whatever it is
Speaker:I know with whomever wants to learn it and
Speaker:know it and not hold that back because
Speaker:your secret sauce, no one's going to take that away from
Speaker:you. And sometimes I think people think that
Speaker:that's a security away. Well, if I know it and not
Speaker:share it, I think that does the complete
Speaker:opposite. So being confident in
Speaker:that and knowing that what you have to say, even if
Speaker:it's something that someone else knows or has
Speaker:experienced, you should not hold back from
Speaker:asking or stating your
Speaker:opinion.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: That's such a great takeaway. Especially what you mentioned about
Speaker:confidence and adaptability. I think this industry,
Speaker:you know, having that innate curiosity and adaptability
Speaker:is, is so important. And, Andrea, what are
Speaker:your thoughts? What's helped you grow as a leader?
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: Yeah, and agree with everything Paulette says. But on top
Speaker:of that, I want to go back to the statement she said about
Speaker:going into the room and having to talk like the man. I don't
Speaker:think we need to talk like a man. The reason that we're
Speaker:successful is because we don't.
Speaker:We, we naturally
Speaker:are inclined to ask more. So some of the details,
Speaker:ask more collaborative questions ask, eventually make
Speaker:us more successful. So what I would tell,
Speaker:some of my younger women that are coming in
Speaker:industry and it's really relevant to me right now because I have some
Speaker:really young, women on my team right now that I took straight out
Speaker:of college, like, you know, very focused on technology,
Speaker:but they need to work on the professional skills. Right.
Speaker:So first thing I tell them is be brave, go with your
Speaker:gut. You know, it, it's in your head. You just have to make
Speaker:sure that your heart is falling. Right? So be brave, go with your
Speaker:gut. If you maybe misspoke, you come back and follow
Speaker:up. Right. This is how we learn. We learn by failure and by
Speaker:mistakes. But the most important part of that is
Speaker:overcoming it and following up and making sure
Speaker:it's acknowledged and shared for the future. Right. then
Speaker:the other, I think, important thing with leadership growth,
Speaker:especially in this industry and technology, is the devil
Speaker:is in the details. Sometimes we do overlook that,
Speaker:and I've seen many times where
Speaker:something would go into production and
Speaker:that one little detail that overlook brings down the
Speaker:whole, you know, implementation. We have to roll
Speaker:back. And a lot of times when this happened too, I've
Speaker:had younger team members of mine, female team or
Speaker:say, oh, I kind of saw that, but I wasn't sure what to say.
Speaker:Say it. Don't be afraid, just say it. You know, but it
Speaker:goes with that confidence. But they can only grow
Speaker:confidence by the community around them. Right. so
Speaker:working on that, the kind of opposite of the devil
Speaker:in the details is just remember also what the end goal
Speaker:is. I've also seen where there's been implementations and
Speaker:we over engineered the solution and then
Speaker:the person who actually uses it every day, your check
Speaker:in agent, your guest services on the ship, they're
Speaker:like, oh, I didn't really need that. Like I really
Speaker:need this. The thing that we said wasn't so
Speaker:important. So that's what's really important with working with
Speaker:your partners and understanding the
Speaker:operations and see how that translates into
Speaker:the code. Right. for your technology
Speaker:partners. And then I think at the end of the day it's just
Speaker:really, really important what we're doing right now. Share our
Speaker:experiences, make yourself vulnerable. I
Speaker:try to make sure that my team understands that like I
Speaker:didn't get here overnight. I learned through trial and
Speaker:error and just being resilient, making
Speaker:sure that when we have those
Speaker:learning lessons we actually take those opportunities to
Speaker:continue to move forward and document, to
Speaker:share. Because if we're not sharing, we're not caring.
Speaker:That was cheesy, but it's true.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: That's brilliant. Honestly, I think that for me
Speaker:as someone that's coming up in tech and
Speaker:still kind of at the beginning of my career, that
Speaker:advice is so invaluable. So thank you so much for
Speaker:that. I did want to touch on
Speaker:the future of cruise technology.
Speaker:Obviously we've mentioned the cruise industry is
Speaker:constantly evolving. Technology is constantly evolving.
Speaker:What are some of the most exciting innovations
Speaker:that you guys are seeing in cruise IT at the
Speaker:moment?
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: So I think it's innovative, also controversial.
Speaker:You'll hear a lot about AI, AI and data.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Yeah.
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: And I have very strong opinions on it. It's a great
Speaker:tool like any other tool, but any other tools only
Speaker:as good as what's being fed to it. And I see
Speaker:a lot now in the industry where
Speaker:it's being sold as the end all, be all without the full
Speaker:understanding that there is a lot of work
Speaker:that has to be put in behind the scenes to make it work.
Speaker:So again anything that involves
Speaker:automation involves a
Speaker:lot of lead time to get to that point of the automation.
Speaker:So to me that's one of the
Speaker:you know, big trends that are going on.
Speaker:aside from that I've seen even in my
Speaker:generation now I'm feeling like I'm
Speaker:behind the times is you know the social media,
Speaker:it's really, really exploded
Speaker:and I feel like it's eventually
Speaker:going to get to a tipping point because I have already seen now
Speaker:with some of my younger team, members that ah,
Speaker:they're actually like anti social media. So it's going to
Speaker:be interesting to see how much more that is used
Speaker:as a tool for marketing or
Speaker:communications versus the other type of outlets
Speaker:or channels that we have. So those are my two perfect.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: And Paulette, what about you? What are you keeping
Speaker:your eye on?
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: I agree with Andrea. Obviously one of the m
Speaker:biggest emergent technologies is AI. I think there is
Speaker:a place for it. we have a few things that
Speaker:are already, we are piloting. but it's not
Speaker:everything and it won't solve everything.
Speaker:and so I think people have to be very careful
Speaker:and do their research, attend
Speaker:webinars, join up with, you know,
Speaker:the leaders in the industry that are looking at
Speaker:it. But you have to really do your due diligence.
Speaker:because I think that's the biggest thing that people are pushing now that
Speaker:everybody is trying to get into. But you have to be
Speaker:very careful and judicious on what it
Speaker:is that you're going to and how you're going to implement.
Speaker:I think another one we touched upon. So
Speaker:I see that things are moving towards obviously user
Speaker:centric. Everything is based on that customer
Speaker:journey. Everything that we're doing has to lead
Speaker:up to making it smoother and better.
Speaker:for our guests, if you will,
Speaker:for those end products. I think data driven
Speaker:decision making is a must. There is so
Speaker:much data and there are so many metrics out there
Speaker:ensuring that you've got a really good strategy for
Speaker:that. Because the decisions that you make and
Speaker:the things that you're looking and your strategies that you're putting
Speaker:together should be based on that. So they're
Speaker:not subjective. That you can try to be as
Speaker:objective as you can with what changes
Speaker:and where you're actually going to
Speaker:be spending your money. Right. So the company
Speaker:and investing in what needs to be invested
Speaker:in and making sure that you're looking at
Speaker:the right things. I also think
Speaker:having diverse because I want to say the cruise industry
Speaker:in general was probably one of those first industries that was very
Speaker:diverse, whether it was gender diversity
Speaker:or just cultural diversity. Because obviously
Speaker:when you look at the shipboard you've got so many different
Speaker:cultures and things that you need to know
Speaker:and understand how to deal with and manage.
Speaker:And so I think part of that
Speaker:diversity and hearing from your front end
Speaker:users who are going to tell you what
Speaker:challenges they're facing. You also have an
Speaker:opportunity of being able to have a
Speaker:broader audience and have them involved in
Speaker:your product design and what it is so that it resonates
Speaker:right with, with everyone in any, all over the
Speaker:globe. Because our industry is
Speaker:global.
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: Within what we need to do there. And I'm going
Speaker:to say this and I know that it may have some, but I think women
Speaker:are great collaborators. I think
Speaker:women are great at ah, bringing people
Speaker:together, working on a solution.
Speaker:It's not just about self and
Speaker:ego, it's really about doing the
Speaker:right thing and making sure that we're introducing the
Speaker:right solutions.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Yeah, definitely. I couldn't agree
Speaker:more. Before we wrap up,
Speaker:I have one final question. Obviously
Speaker:we have touched on the importance of
Speaker:networking and mentorship in both of your
Speaker:career journeys for women who
Speaker:don't potentially have access to that
Speaker:formal mentorship. I know not just in
Speaker:the cruise industry but in tech broadly, we
Speaker:still are seeing a lot of that male dominated field.
Speaker:So for those women who don't have access to those networks or
Speaker:those forms, formal mentorships, how would you advise is
Speaker:the best way for them to find support?
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: Yeah, so I know that there is, I mean
Speaker:obviously the first kind of tool is
Speaker:online classes. Right. There's tonnes of
Speaker:different online classes if you're looking to
Speaker:increase your skills, whether it's in technology
Speaker:or just professional speaking.
Speaker:Right. So that would be my first kind
Speaker:of recommendation going back to social media.
Speaker:I mean there's a lot of audiobooks and things
Speaker:like that that someone could take on their own to listen
Speaker:to. But aside from that it's, it's
Speaker:trying to attend any local
Speaker:woman community events. I live by
Speaker:Fort Lauderdale by the beach and they have like a once a week women's beach
Speaker:walk. Right. It's not specific to technology but you never know, you might
Speaker:meet somebody there who's also a woman professional who you're
Speaker:going for a walk and you have these conversations. Right.
Speaker:So always kind of reach out to local communities if
Speaker:you don't have like in the industry that type of
Speaker:support. But I think for me until I got more
Speaker:m involved it was also leaning on
Speaker:toward, towards your family and friends. you know
Speaker:they, they're your first support system, they're your
Speaker:first community and making sure that they're along in the journey with
Speaker:you. Be vocal about what you're trying to do. No
Speaker:one, I always tell my team or even my family, I'm like,
Speaker:I can't read your mind, I don't know what you're trying to do.
Speaker:Let's have a conversation, let's sit and talk and make sure that
Speaker:it's open dialogue because that eventually would translate
Speaker:to the conversations you're going to have professionally when you
Speaker:are in the industry and you're having these meetings because you
Speaker:have to learn the give and take of A,
Speaker:conversation, it's almost like negotiation, but
Speaker:not officially, but it can be depending on what
Speaker:project you're on. So to me, those are really the first
Speaker:kind of three foundational
Speaker:tools that somebody could use, if they're looking to go into
Speaker:industry. I also say if you're in
Speaker:university, there's could be
Speaker:internships, so don't be shy, Try, try some
Speaker:internships, try community outreach, as
Speaker:well. I, know especially in the cruise industry,
Speaker:there's a lot of community events around the
Speaker:environment, which, is really big. A lot of beach cleanups if
Speaker:you're by the beach or maybe, you know, depending on the
Speaker:various ports. I know that there's a lot of different activities
Speaker:that happen, within the communities as well. So I
Speaker:think that's how you start building your network. But don't be
Speaker:shy, like, just reach out, have a conversation.
Speaker:For those who know me and Paula personally, they know we're not shy
Speaker:and I know that doesn't come naturally to everybody. So it
Speaker:only takes practise though. And you never know.
Speaker:That one interaction I can think back in
Speaker:my career, professionally, personally, that sometimes that one
Speaker:interaction, that one conversation that you didn't think was really
Speaker:important, pivotal is important, pivotal to somebody else. And
Speaker:it can just kick off a whole
Speaker:new, career path for you. You just
Speaker:have to make sure that you're following up and just be
Speaker:brave. That's all I can say.
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: Same. I wish I would have known about
Speaker:mentorship early on in my career. I think I
Speaker:would have been able to, navigate it much better.
Speaker:As Andrea says, you start with your family. Who in your
Speaker:family can give you that guidance? I think
Speaker:people should have more than one mentor.
Speaker:I think people should look for
Speaker:those things that you like in someone
Speaker:that you want to learn from, because not one person is going to
Speaker:have everything. if someone, the way
Speaker:they speak, the way you see them, presenting
Speaker:the way you see them, right. how they carry
Speaker:themselves, ask them. And,
Speaker:most people will be honoured that you ask that you
Speaker:saw something in them that you want their help
Speaker:with or their guidance. And when they
Speaker:say yes, come prepared.
Speaker:What is it that you want? What are the challenges you're facing?
Speaker:What is it? Make use of that time. Because I will
Speaker:say they probably won't have a whole lot of time they can
Speaker:dedicate to it. But you probably need 15 or
Speaker:30 minutes, you know, every two weeks or a month, depending
Speaker:on how many you're. You're going to have and what is it that you're when
Speaker:you're younger in it, you're going to need more of that
Speaker:guidance. Part of it is going to be what you need to
Speaker:learn in that profession. But as Andrea said, most of it is
Speaker:general. Most of it is going to be that emotional
Speaker:intelligence. how do you communicate, how do
Speaker:you make sure you get that information? How do you show
Speaker:up and get people to notice you?
Speaker:Because I will say in today's industry, it's a
Speaker:collaborative of leaders that actually see something in
Speaker:someone and say that person. And they're
Speaker:only going to want to dedicate and, give of their
Speaker:time to someone that they see those traits in.
Speaker:So as Andrea says, if you're shy
Speaker:and you're that person that doesn't really want to
Speaker:ask, you need to work on getting over
Speaker:that. I think also there's
Speaker:so much online that you can follow some
Speaker:great leaders, out there, and women
Speaker:that are in CIO roles, women that are
Speaker:in CEO roles, women that have just
Speaker:are taking on larger industries, that
Speaker:are on YouTube, hear them, because most of them
Speaker:do share how they came about.
Speaker:you have to ask, listen, I
Speaker:always tell people, I will ask anything. You have the right to
Speaker:say no. You know, and if you say no,
Speaker:then I, then I start right back where I, where I went.
Speaker:But don't be discouraged by that. There may be someone
Speaker:that you ask and they just don't have that time right now. You know,
Speaker:they're mentoring already maybe five or six people.
Speaker:And don't get discouraged by that. You know, go
Speaker:to someone else. I also think there's a lot of
Speaker:leadership coaching, professional leadership
Speaker:coaching out there. I have benefited from
Speaker:that. That I think, is when you're more in your career
Speaker:and you can afford, depending on what your trajectory
Speaker:is and where you want to move into,
Speaker:because that is very, very helpful. They do
Speaker:assessments. You can probably find some of those assessments free
Speaker:online as well, on where and what
Speaker:area you need to develop in order to move
Speaker:forward and understand if you're looking
Speaker:at that forward trajectory, understand what are those pillars?
Speaker:I had a leader of mine, that told me there's
Speaker:about seven to ten pillars that leaders look for.
Speaker:And are you addressing all of them
Speaker:and how are you going about it so that you're prepared
Speaker:and you're ready when there is an opportunity, because
Speaker:there's not always an opportunity. And so making
Speaker:sure that you are aligned and that you're ready
Speaker:for them and don't wait to get
Speaker:promoted. Everyone always says this, you need
Speaker:to be acting as in already performing
Speaker:in that role that you're looking to go. So always
Speaker:strive for what's the next.
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: But also let your leader know you want to be.
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: Exactly. You need to, you know that.
Speaker:>> Paulette Haydo: You need a voice.
Speaker:>> Andrea Ortiz: People are human like you. You, they can't read your minds. As
Speaker:Andrea said, if we don't know what the problem is, you can't solve
Speaker:it. So just say it, no matter how small you think, or
Speaker:insignificant if you think it is.
Speaker:And I'm going to give you a, recommendation on a resource.
Speaker:There is a book that's called what got you here won't get you there.
Speaker:Absolutely fabulous. So there are again,
Speaker:resources out there that will help you. I will tell
Speaker:you, no one is going to drive your
Speaker:career. You need to drive your
Speaker:career and you need to be very, upfront
Speaker:with and, truthful with yourself. What is
Speaker:it that you want to do? Do you want to take that on?
Speaker:Being a leader of people is like being a
Speaker:parent. You become secondary because
Speaker:everything that you should be doing is
Speaker:to move those folks over,
Speaker:get them to where they want to be, even if that means leaving
Speaker:you at some point or doing those things.
Speaker:It's really a selfless, act. So
Speaker:understanding. Why do you want to do that?
Speaker:Because it does take a lot of
Speaker:involvement. It's not easy
Speaker:by any means. It's not easy to manage
Speaker:folks and help them get to where they want. So it needs to be
Speaker:something that is innately, in your
Speaker:nature, that that's what you want to do and be able to
Speaker:share because their success is yours, is your
Speaker:success. The other thing I want to mention is
Speaker:what Andrea, said in, in reference to
Speaker:failure. Listen, you need to be in a culture.
Speaker:You need to adopt a culture that failure is going to
Speaker:happen. It's what you do with that failure.
Speaker:It's how you learn from it and how quickly
Speaker:you course correct and move forward with it.
Speaker:because no one is perfect. And
Speaker:the biggest learnings I think I've gotten are from
Speaker:those mistakes and from those things and being
Speaker:able to look back and say, hey, this didn't
Speaker:work. Why didn't it? And then again,
Speaker:learning from that and avoiding and avoiding those. But
Speaker:everything is a learning and teaching moment. So take those
Speaker:opportunities. Don't let it get you down. We're all human
Speaker:and it will, it will impact you. But you need to recover
Speaker:quickly and move forward and be that person
Speaker:that supports and say, especially for young, for
Speaker:younger, people coming in, into
Speaker:is just say it's okay, but just learn from
Speaker:it and then keep moving forward.
Speaker:>> Laura Jane: Yeah, no, thank you so much, both
Speaker:of you, with some absolutely brilliant pieces of
Speaker:advice there, I think, for everyone, not just young
Speaker:females coming in, but for anyone starting their career
Speaker:in any industry at all.
Speaker:it's been such a pleasure speaking with both of you.
Speaker:I know I found it so informative as I'm speaking, still
Speaker:in the early stages of my career, and it's been such an
Speaker:honour to hear about your experiences. So thank
Speaker:you so much for sharing your experiences and
Speaker:insights.
Speaker:That's a wrap on, this special International
Speaker:Women's Day of episode of the Cruise Tech
Speaker:Talk podcast. Thank you to Paulette Haydo and
Speaker:Andrea Ortiz for joining us. If you enjoyed
Speaker:this episode, be sure to subscribe, subscribe, share and
Speaker:join in the conversation on LinkedIn.
Speaker:Until next time, thank you so much for listening.
