Jody McDermott
Partner, Consulting - Deloitte Canada
We are the Women in Cloud. We solve problems, see possibilities and create impact. We are making a difference, from the first day of school to the corner office, and from the farmer’s field to the factory floor. This could be you.
She‘s making the cloud cool
Don’t ask Jody McDermott why organisations need to attract more women to work in technology. Or rather, do ask: Her response is passionate.
“If I'm asked, ‘why do we need more women in tech?’, my answer is it's about time that we realised that shouldn't even be a question,” she says. “I love leveraging technology to solve business problems, and I find that the more women that are at the table with me to help discuss issues, to help make decisions, it’s likely to drive better outcomes for our clients. I think it's a given that we need more diversity at the table in everything that we're doing, technology included.”
Jody is one of a growing number of female technology leaders in Deloitte Canada, and heads its alliance with Google Cloud, working with about 20 clients to leverage the cloud hyperscaler’s solutions and drive business transformation across many industries.
Working in cloud puts her at the leading edge of innovation. She says: “Cloud is unleashing possibilities for our clients that just simply didn't exist in the past. For example, I'm working with one of my clients right now on a revamp and modernisation of their data and analytics strategy and capabilities—and what they want to do simply wouldn't be possible without the cloud.”
Jody recommends cloud not just for clients, but for aspiring consultants who are looking to make an impact. “Cloud is at the heart of everything happening,” she says. “If you want to be at the centre of growth for the next five to 10 years, cloud is the place to be, and I can't think of anything more rewarding from a career growth perspective.
”After studying Business and French at university, Jody’s technology path began with a job at a small wireless startup, where she was thrown into the deep end, tackling advanced tasks such as automating a call centre and building customer-facing websites. The pressure of learning on the job at such an early stage helped propel her career, but she also credits the mentorship of colleagues.
“My journey has really been one of never backing down from a challenge and having phenomenal leaders who bet on my potential where maybe I didn't even see my potential, and stretching me outside of my comfort zone,” she says.
And with Jody’s journey having led her to consulting at Deloitte—a role she says is a “complete match”—there is one special perk above all: “When I get to come home and say that I work with Google on a daily basis, for a brief moment I have this window of being cool with my kids.”
