A cornerstone of the Avanade working culture is for employees to “own their career.” This mantra means more than simply driving the assignments one receives; it also characterizes the level of involvement one undertakes within the company.

For the first six years of my Avanade career, I led internal communications at the global and North American levels – directing executive messaging for sales, delivery and operations.

In the summer of 2016, I decided to alter my career trajectory. I wanted a fresh assignment to combine my passion for information security with my previous IT experiences. I found Avanade’s leadership and culture supportive of my desire to dramatically change roles. After joining the Office of the Chief Information & Security Officer (CISO), I now help manage client security risks and serve as an internal evangelist on security-related subjects. I have had the opportunity to learn about the newest data protection regulations impacting both my company and our clients, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) in Australia.

Best of all, I get to work with some of the most seasoned security professionals in the industry, including peers in the United States, France, and Australia with support from people in India and the Philippines. As a testament to our highly-collaborative environment, one peer – who has 70 security and technical certifications – has been mentoring me in preparation for an upcoming certification exam. And my manager is not only an industry expert, but also serves as a Major in U.S. Army Reserves and as one of a handful of Army Cyber Operations Officers on the U.S. Army Cyber Operations team.

The caliber of people I work with day-to-day is amazing, and truly sets Avanade apart from other companies. Not only can you gain insights from your peers, but you also have access to and learn from their diverse and extensive networks. In the last few years, I heard from a world-famous mountaineer on focusing on the final goal (e.g. not just getting to the summit but also making it back to base camp alive), and another speaker who showed how innovation is the key to the customer experiences at the “happiest place on earth.”

Speaking of training, every Avanade employee is provided with an abundant amount of annual training hours – time I used to gain knowledge about the various security risks impacting global businesses today.

In addition to the flexibility of career paths, Avanade offers a range of options for those who wish to become more involved in growing our business. In 2012, I won our global employee referral competition (placing 10 new employees) and in 2015, I was among a group of 20 finalists for our “CoBE Hero” award, an honor given to those who uphold our Code of Business Ethics (CoBE) by not just being good at their jobs, but who also are doing good at their jobs.

There are virtually endless ways you can get involved and make a real impact here at Avanade, but you must step-up and embrace those opportunities. In return, Avanade has proven to me that anyone with the drive and determination to “own their own career” will be rewarded with a fulfilling career.