My name is Wendy Petty, and I am the chief revenue officer at a company by the name of, WorkFusion.At WorkFusion, what we do is we, develop AI agents for fighting financial crimes. And, what I'm here today to to talk to you about and share with you is really my journey, in building enterprise, software companies and, leaning and and leading high performance, sales organizations. I've actually been doing this, for over over four decades and, wanted to actually share the journey with you to show you what it looks like to, lead through change and what resilience really, looks like. I only have about twenty minutes. I have a lot to say. I actually, just, gave this presentation at, an industry event, in Charleston, called Women of Industry. And, I'm sharing this within multiple, women networking events because of, the framework that I've built, beyond resilience, what I'm calling it, which I think will help everybody, in their in their careers.

So I will, take you through, what this what this actually means, and I will leave you with the framework because going beyond resilience, you know, if you look at resilience today, it's really about, you know, pushing harder, given till there's nothing left, working longer and outwork every doubt, you know, outlast every obstacle, and stay strong, and never let anybody see you break.

And that resilience that you build, you know, comes with admission for for women in in technology. Resilience was, you know, what I'm calling the currency of belonging in this industry. But endurance alone isn't what's expected. It's really when you stop surviving and you start evolving when everything opens up. And, when if I if I look at, you know, today and I'd imagine a number of, you know, folks that are on the, you know, the in the in this webinar, sometimes find yourself yourself in a similar situation that I have over the years where I literally, am the only woman in the room.

In building enterprise software companies over the, you know, over four decades, and starting when, you know, technology was just, you know, beginning, I always found myself and wondering at the time, you know, what what did I make the right choice in this career as I sit in a room amongst, you know, dozens of men?

And over time, I learned to be resilient, but it comes to a point where, it's it's less about surviving. You've evolved. I've evolved. And then you realize, that everything else opens up. The challenge is, you know, resilience is just the foundation. But it is one of the most important traits a leader can possess. And in building my companies, you know, over, you know, the past years, especially in building enterprise software companies from an innovation perspective. All of my companies that I've built, that I've brought to market have been, new innovative solutions. So if I, you know, if I go back, forty years, then I'd imagine, you know, some of you on this webinar, can, this will resonate with you when, you know, technology was was just evolving.

And the first technology I brought to market through one of my first companies was, you know, backup software, which seems like crazy now when you have the cloud and everything else. But, when you're, at that stage when, you know, you're leading companies and you're leading at a at a time of change back then, you know, it was just the beginning. That's really where the the resilience, kicks in, and it and it and it and it builds like a toughness. And you have to absorb every blow and keep moving. And I'll take you I'll take you through the journey because, it's very, it's very telling of what resilience, gives you. Over time, it earns you credibility, and no title can give you credibility. When when you're building innovative software companies and you're leading enterprise teams, the resilience that that you have, is what is inflicted upon, you know, the teams that you're building.

So I'm always a believer, and I've always built all my companies based on the fact that, you know, I would never ask anybody to do something that, I haven't done myself. So, but the toughness, you know, doesn't get you to the the top alone. But it is where great leadership begins, but it's not where it ends. So I wanna share my journey with you, and it's a career built on, really, no experience and, and stepping stones. Ultimately, not by waiting for permission, but by creating the path on my own, with, support systems that I've built, over the years. So it's interesting. The first door that opened for me wasn't a traditional door how I got into into technology. I just happened to, at the time, when I graduated college, I answered, and you don't do this today, you know, a very small ad in the New York Times, Very small ad.

Right? When I probably applied for a position of installing hotel computer systems, amongst probably 5,000 other people and only two were chose chosen. So, you know, my first job out of college was actually installing hotel computer systems. I never even took a engineering course, or a technology course. And it was probably, the best thing that ever happened to me was landing that job, because it got me into, into an area that was still unknown. There was a lot to learn. And, you know, the first company that I had and and hopefully, a lot of you can also, you know, appreciate this. I I, again, got very lucky, and had a mentor that just took me by her side and, educated me the whole way on, you know, when you start up, from, from a, a DAS prompt and then actually learning how to actually implement, you know, the technology itself. That door, led to many, many other opportunities, along the way.

And so from not understanding technology and learning it over the first two software companies that I that I, worked at to the climb where, you know, I built my expertise facing challenges, every day. So over the journey, the, you know, the first real big opportunity that I got. You know, I started in in inside sales and built myself, into a into a sales leadership role. This was a publicly traded company in 1989. We developed the first server based backup software. And at that time, I had zero management experience. I had zero leadership experience. And when I was probably, you know, 25 years old, I found myself, you know, at the leadership table, and on, you know, on, earnings calls as a public company, talking about, you know, how we were gonna build this, you know, this software company by selling backup software, and and earning my seat at the table by being, you know, by leading teams and identifying, folks on my team that, you know, I could mentor and show them how to be successful.

During this climb, you know, we we sold that company, in 1996. It was the second largest, software acquisition in history. We sold the company for, you know, $1,200,000,000. And I was managing again without any leadership experience, but through resilience, a team of hundreds of sellers, globally where we grew the company from, you know, at the time, we grew the company from a million dollars to almost, you know, $700,000,000, in, you know, a five year span.

And so by, when we got acquired in 1996, it was with a very large, soft by a very large software company by the name of Computer Associates. And again, another, you know, part of the climb is experiencing what it is to be acquired, and to take a business that you've built and a team that you've built and, going through the change of building a small company and being, you know, taken over by, you know, a multibillion dollar company, and taking your team with you and leading and learning as you're going and innovating and bringing new products to market really where the resilience continues to build.

But the hard work is, you know, is every single day. Over that climbing period, you know, I eventually left and I started, two other companies that, we were very successful at. One was an IPO and, and a couple of other exits that that I'll share with you. During that time, you know, after the, you know, after the companies in the first, you know, 20 in the first, two decades, I look at the second half of my career as the second two decades. And that was, you know, that that was the fall, I call it. It was facing failure head head on, and and learning, you know, that resilience alone, could not teach you some of the things that, I I went through.

And I'll talk a little bit about it, but, facing failure and and literally, getting fired, because I didn't play the political game. My numbers were fantastic, but, you know, if you didn't if you don't learn how to play the political game, you know, sometimes it's, you know, for whatever reason, you know, it's a it's an excuse for, you know, for for being fired. So I've had a, you know, two decades of tremendous success and had my first firing. It was, it was quite, eye opening for me. And I had to reinvent myself and, and started over. And again, I'll talk about that in a minute. And then, you know, once, you know, you you fail, you learn, and then sometimes you fail again. And, you know, it happened to me for a second time that again, my, you know, the companies I was with were wildly successful but, you know, the political game and I do not do not get along very well.

And then the then the return after, you know, after hardship, The first company that I spoke to you about, the CEO, and, you know, this is gonna get a little personal. The CEO of that company, actually committed suicide. So the mentor that, that, you know, helped me, you know, grow my career, committed suicide. And so I had to rebuild, you know, through that, you know, after that tragedy. And I did. And then I went through another tragedy, you know, ten years later. And that was, you know, the death of my 17, my 28 year old son, which, again, is a major hardship and figuring out, like, what is this resilience, you know, all about. And, you know, I share it with you, because it we all go through it and you don't always have the opportunity, you know, to talk about it. So in the last five minutes that I have left, one of the things I wanna share with you is, you know, this reinvention.

You know, being resilient and and actually starting over. And I did start over. You know, the title's gone, and the thing that makes you move is, you know, self motivation. It's not the applause. It's not the it's not the approval. It's your own personal foundation. And actually recalibrating through loss and, yes, I I I I it gets difficult for me to, like, even talk about it, like, at this point. But, again, you know, I'm sure everybody's gone through something like this, but, grief and and personal tragedy, you know, forced me to look inward. And I stopped performing resilience and started practicing it in a totally different way. And, you know, resilience then became, you know, for me, rising with empathy with empathy.

And when I talk about, you know, beyond resilience, I came back, not because I was ready, because I was ready for myself. And this was a new level of resilience. Not the kind that absorbs pain, but the kind that transforms you and fuels you and gives you clarity in an unstoppable, you know, forward motion. And that's why, you know, I created this framework, called beyond resilience. And, you know, after building and exiting, companies, you know, seven software startups, two IPOs, and three acquisitions, and empowering teams, and now looking at the next journey, this is the framework that I'll leave you with, in the next three minutes. And this is and this is beyond resilience. And and here's what it looks like. There are three pillars.

It's about clarity, knowing what truly matters and leading with purpose and let everything else fall away. Setting boundaries, for yourself. Protect your energy and your focus. We work hard for it. Sustainability requires you to say no, and not to, you know, let it deplete you. And then build the community. List lift up lift up others as you learn. And this leadership that I've learned, you know, over the over the years, has multiplied, you know, through connections, and other, you know, with other, you know, people around the industry, and in the in, you know, especially in in, women in technology. The, the the future of leadership, you know, based on this framework. You know, and hopefully some of you here, the next generated the next generation of leaders is watching. They're talented. This last event I were at, it was amazing. These high school students that were receiving these scholarships, they're driven and they're brilliant.

And they deserve more than just a cultural of survival, that, you know, clarity, boundaries, and community, is really, what it becomes about, you know, winning with empathy and taking your teams along the way with you. The bar cannot simply be she made it through. We must build environments where women don't just survive, they flourish. Organizations that invest in sustainable leadership will attract routine and be transformed by the best talent in the world. I have one motto, that I'll leave you with and hopefully you all have a motto. And that is every morning I wake up and I think I am strong, I am powerful, and I am confident. And these are the words that I've lived by for over four decades, and I repeated to myself with every challenge.

And I challenge you to come up with your motto and think about the words that drive you every day. I hope, I hope that and you could see me. I could see you now. I hope that, that I left you with, you know, what this beyond resilience is all about. I hope I left you with this framework of changing, you know, being in a leadership role in technology. You know, unfortunately, you can't get through it in twenty minutes, but I, appreciate those that are here enjoy, you know, attending my event. I'm on LinkedIn. I am now, just a a quick note. This company I'm at now, WorkFusion, just got acquired as well. So it's actually now my eighth, acquisition. And, I, I've taken a team from, you know, young young men they are, and have made them wildly successful, and I couldn't be prouder.

So look look me up on LinkedIn. Enjoy the rest of the event, and, thank you again.