It’s one thing to study day and night to excel in a career path, and it’s another to be opportune to listen and learn from someone who has walked in your shoes and is currently excelling. Being graced with the presence of Ms. Ebere Nkoro was nothing short of amazing.
Ebere Nkoro is a highly accomplished technology sales executive with an 18-year track record of exceeding sales targets and driving business growth. She has held key positions at companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, McAfee, XTI Data, and Dimension Data. Ebere is renowned for her expertise in solution and value selling, customer management, and digital transformation. She is a strategic thinker who develops effective sales strategies and leads teams to increase revenue. Ebere has established and nurtured relationships with global system integrators, Fortune 500 firms, and small businesses. In addition to her professional achievements, she is passionate about fostering innovation and empowering African entrepreneurs. Ebere is dedicated to creating an environment that encourages creativity and supports the growth of African businesses. Her exceptional expertise, remarkable accomplishments, and commitment to driving business growth make her an
exemplary technology sales executive. When talking to us students and staff, she shared her experiences starting from university up to her current stage now. She also gave very useful pieces of advice which stood out to me during her talk.
- First was her message for us to always ‘stay hungry’. She urged us to always be curious to learn more and to always strive to do more and put ourselves forward.
- She also emphasized to ‘be a good developer and good teammate’. It’s common to see developers who are highly skilled technically but lack the ability to work with others and communicate efficiently. We were advised to work on our soft skills as they are very fundamental and open more doors than mere hard skills.
- She urged us to learn to be problem solvers who take the initiative to fix things rather than sit around and wait for someone else to do it. In solving problems we sharpen our critical thinking skills whilst making a change that can help others.
- Learn with your interests in mind. We are motivated to continue to work harder when we apply our technical skills to our interests. She gave an example using fashion. If you’re a developer interested in fashion, you could consider applying your skills toward developing a novel idea that can impact the fashion industry
- Network effectively, share your ambitions, and provide value. She used her own life story to illustrate how providing value to the people she had worked with helped her climb in her career. Because she provided value to those she worked with and always shared her ambitions with others, whenever her friends and colleagues came across an opportunity that aligned with her ambition, they shared those opportunities with her, which in turn took her places. In short, be meaningful to those around you, and doors can open for you.
- One last thing she noted was to ‘be open to new things.’ This means that even though you may seek to be a developer or product manager or designer etc., always be open to new opportunities that still align with your interest and values. You may end up taking a new career path that could be much more fulfilling and rewarding. The path you start on may not be the same one you end up on, but always ensure that it’s a path you choose.
I guess, I can say that I speak for myself and all present that it was indeed an amazing experience. Everyone who attended the Guest Lecture left with valuable advice and a renewed zeal to push forward.
Article by: Chiwendu Nweje, 300L Department of Computer Science