 From San Francisco, extracting the signal from the noise. It's the Cube, covering Oracle Open World 2015. Brought to you by Oracle. Now your hosts, John Furrier and Stu Miniman. Okay, welcome back everyone. We are here live in San Francisco on Howard Street as part of Oracle Open World. This is SiliconANGLE's Cube, special broadcast. It's our flagship program. We go out to the events and extract the signal and noise. I'm John Furrier, the founder of SiliconANGLE, known as Stu Miniman, analyst at wikibon.com. Our next guest, Tatina Ott, who's the Vice President of Worldwide Alliances at Oracle and Business Processes, but also the founder of OWL, Oracle's Women Leadership Movement, a huge success. We're going to be speaking with her today. Welcome to the Cube, appreciate it. Thank you, I'm really excited to be here today. So I love the OWL, I love the pin. It looks beautiful, excuse the big fan. Big fan of OWL. But one of the things we'd love to talk about and we're so passionate about SiliconANGLE and the Cube is women in computing, women in leadership. And we've done a lot of great interviews over the past six years and we do it because we love talking to people who are smart. It's not about whether they're men or women. It just happens we have some great women, Kim Stevenson at Intel and it goes on and on. But we're not doing it to check the box. We're doing it because it's just, there's women out in the workforce. You've built one of the best programs in corporate America that has been built from the ground up, not top down. We need a marketing program. Congratulations. Thank you. Tell us, how did this all start? How did the women's leadership group start at Oracle? Well Oracle has grown a great program for women leaders here at Oracle. Over the past almost 10 years we'll be celebrating our 10 year anniversary next year. So really excited about that. So when we started the program back in 2006, it really started as a grassroots initiative and at that time our focus was really about creating access to networks for women, recognizing their achievements and creating opportunities for mentorship at the time. But the program has grown exponentially over the past almost 10 years. And today we've globalized it to a level where we actually have 75 communities around the world that our women at Oracle engage in to develop themselves. And across those 75 communities we're represented in 41 countries. So we're really proud of that accomplishment. But what is, what's really great about how I'll evolve where we are today is it's really now has a mission on developing, engaging and empowering our women. Not just our current women leaders at Oracle, but future generations of women leaders at Oracle. And so as Oracle is hiring hundreds of millennials today, I was really a launching pad for them to engage and launch their careers. But there's one thing I do wanna talk about that makes I think really special, more unique than other programs I've seen. And it's the engagements that we have from women leaders here at Oracle. And that's what made it so grassroots and unique in the beginning. So we have over 150 women leaders here at Oracle out in the field that are giving of themselves to run these communities. And they are very committed and passionate about developing others. And they're very innovative in their approach. And so that's one of the things that just makes it so special. And they're committed to helping current and future generations are really paying it forward. We had the honor and quite frankly we were inspired two weeks ago at Grace Hopper Future of Women in Computing. We had a big stage down there and great support from the team. Carol Sammers there, Jack Dorsey over at Twitter. I saw some top executives from Facebook and all Silicon Valley leaders. And it struck me as someone who was 50 years old and we interviewed my friend Eileen Fagan into it. We're like looking at each other like, hey, when we grew up, we had women friends that were rocking and rolling in all the AP classes and doing some stuff together. And that we looked around and we realized it was a generation of women right now at the leadership level who are really setting the pioneering the ground here in this area. And then what struck me at Grace Hopper was 12,000 women, ladies, women in tech, or they would want to be called that we're just engaging from dev ops developers to executive leaders and not business managers. So the range was phenomenal. But the question that came up and I want to ask you this directly is everyone wants to know how to operationalize. Cause you're on the front end of evolution that you're, you built. What's the secret? How did you operationalize this? There are people who want to do it right. They don't want to do it because it's not fashionable. They want to do it right. So how did you operationalize it? And what are the keys to success to making a great company operationally very inclusive? Well, you know, one of the things is, is that Oracle really prides itself on having a diverse workforce, right? And diverse workforce makes all of our organizations more effective. And so, Al is really an innovative diversity and inclusion concept where both men and women at Oracle can use Al as a platform to grow and develop their organizations. But there's, when you talk about operationalizing it, this just isn't another leadership and talent development program. Now, Al is part of our leadership and talent development programs at Oracle and it's integrated into it. And it's really critical as we look at everything from retaining, developing, succession planning. But it's not a mark in a box. It's not a check box that you're ticking off here. Programs like this are successful in companies when you really have not only sponsorship from the top and executive engagement from the top, but when you have engagement from the bottom. And Al started as a grassroots organization and it has that element of grassroots to it today where you have that fostering and high engagement from women who want to help other women succeed. And as they advance in their career, pull others up along with them. Tell us a story a moment in time in the past 10 years where you kind of had a pinch me moment where it's like, damn, this is working. It's actually scaling beyond my mind. I mean, can you share a moment where you kind of knew it was working and then just share the story? You know, I think back to when we actually developed Oracle, Oracle Women's Leadership and we were about three years, three years into the program and we were having one of our annual summits. And at the end of the program, I remember there was a young woman from our development organization after the program and she came up to me and she said, you know, this is the first time I really, and this was in 2008. And so this was early on when not a lot of companies were talking about this and she came up to me and said, you know, I really didn't feel like I had access to networks, to mentorship, to individuals that could help me grow my career and just help me with my projects. And she said to me that as a result of participating in Oracle Women's Leadership that she is more committed and loyal to Oracle than ever. And so I think it's programs like Al that help us. Yes, I was excited. It was like, yeah, well, no, it wasn't me. It's a really a team and the investment that Oracle's making behind this. And I think it's programs like Al that really help us to engage and retain our employees. And let me say this, I don't want to come across as we've got this all figured out because we've got a ways to go. It's just the beginning. And you know, we've got big ways to go to move the needle. I mean, you said you were Grace Hopper last week. There's a lot of different organizations focused on women's leadership once that Oracle is involved in sponsorship with. And there's room in the marketplace for all of these because we've got so far to move the needle. Well, it's moving fast. And I'll tell you, I want to get the millennial question. It's moving fast. It's moving fast, yes. What Grace Hopper showed me was really a great thing, which is inspiring is that there's now a tsunami of women coming into computing at all levels. Again, from maker culture down to executive developer in between, from dorm room to board room. But the millennials are the ones that are fascinating because they're growing up with Snapchat, Instagram, social networks. This is not a boring email, you know, synchronous culture. They are always connected. So the role of community, the notion of paying it forward are two themes that come up really, really as accelerants. Can you share some color into those dynamics of community and this notion of paying it forward? Sure. So, you know, at Oracle, one of the things that I think that our women leaders do well, particularly in our out communities, is we're able, particularly for our millennials, to help them get them access and excel in their roles and expose them to others in lines of businesses that are cross-generational, as they try to grow in their careers. And I think without the out communities for many of them, they'd be siloed inside of their organization. So it creates a great opportunity for them. So what you're saying is that would kind of not prevent, would prevent organic self-forming communities. Exactly. If it's siloed stuck in some, you know, division. Because, you know, organizations, we think of organizations, how they have been in the past, right? They're not socially organized, right? They're hierarchically organized, right? So organizations like I'll help to break those barriers and create those types of mentoring opportunities, foster them, create access across line of business and create that dialogue for individuals. That's so awesome. Question for you about this summit here, the Owl Summit here at Overworld. What's going on at Oracle Open World? Can you share for the folks watching? Sure. What's going to be going on with Owl at Oracle Open World? So we're super excited about the event. We're sponsoring here this year. We're actually in our seventh year of sponsoring an Owl Summit as part of Oracle Open World. And we're co-sponsoring it this year with our Diamond Level partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers and our innovation sponsor, Intel. And what the program does is it gives an opportunity for our executive level customers and partners to engage in this dialogue and to interact and network with some of the most recognized business and thought leaders in the industry today. And so we're quite excited about that. We also have, as a part of the program this year, Safra Katz, who's going to be key-noting for us for the fifth year in a row. She's highly committed to the program. And the dialogue this year is really going to be around innovative disruption and driving business results through diversity. So you mentioned you've got a couple of big partners that are helping you with the Owl Summit. And that's part of your day job, too. I'm curious, over the 10 years, what would you say the partner ecosystem is out there when it comes to similar programs? How much dialogue do you have back and forth? Any key learnings that you're sharing? Sure. Actually, that's been one of the foundations of the Owl program as we've grown over the years. We were first really focused with promotion of our employees and launching their careers and promoting their careers. And about the third year in, we really realized that engagement with our partners and customers was good for business. And so we share best practices amongst our women's leadership communities. With several of our partners, we host community events together. We host leadership development together. And on top of being engaged with our partners, Owl is also engaged with a lot of community outreach. And that in itself, particularly for a lot of our millennials, provides another leadership and talent development opportunity for them. So for example, just this year, we worked with our partner Oracle Academy and we launched a STEM program, Dare to Be Digital, which was focused on STEM programming for seventh and 12th grade girls. So it's great to see this. I'm curious, over the 10 years, how do you feel the general tenor of the culture, especially you look here in Silicon Valley? Too often from the outside, negatives get really highlighted. It's great to see success stories. I'm just curious kind of your thoughts as you approach the 10-year anniversary, how you see the trend overall. So I think what Oracle is doing is really positive. And I think it's seen as positive change with how we're investing in a program such as this for our women leaders. And quite frankly, I'm really proud to be part of an organization that is fostering a culture where women can grow and succeed. But as I said earlier, we still have a lot more to learn. We still have a ways to go. But I think Oracle and tech companies like Oracle are headed in the right direction. What's the personal learning that you've walked away with the past 10 years that could be magnified through this journey that you've been on? What's the big learnings that you'd like to share with the folks watching? So for me personally, personal insight, when we were starting Oracle Women's Leadership, one of the catalysts for me and personal epiphany was really what was important to me around leadership. And for me, leadership is not about the title you have or what you do. Leadership really comes from within. And it's really about helping others to find the true potential in themselves and helping them to exploit and grow that capability. And that's what helps to grow organizations. And it's that understanding of what leadership is, which is the foundation and the platform that Al provides for so many of our employees. I was talking with Jeff Frick, who and me and I are engaged heavily in the women in computing, women in tech within SiliconANGLE and theCUBE. And we always say to each other, it's not what a company says is what their employees do. And that's kind of a theme that's out in the industry. So share some color of what's going on with Oracle around the world, events, meetups, things that have been organically growing, how that's intersecting with the top culture, the top brass of Oracle. Can you share some things that are notable? Sure, sure. So for us, one of the biggest things that is happening organically is not just programs like we see here this week at Oracle Open World, but for our Oracle women leaders. But it's what's happening at the ground level with employees and customers. In the UK, we have a really, really strong Oracle women's leadership program. And we have initiatives in the UK with our customers and partners where people are going out and business is happening. Business is happening, ideas are being generated and shared through the networks and connections that our business leaders are making with other women leaders in networks and meetups in the field. And so I think that's the biggest thing that's coming out of this, that it's creating these micro communities, not just the 75 communities out there to really drive business throughout. Intimacy, and the engagement. Super impressive. Thanks for sharing the insight and the passion with us. We continue to be inspired here on theCUBE and certainly a lot of stuff going on at Oracle Open World. My final question for you is, explain what the life at Oracle is like. What does it mean to you? Life at Oracle. We had a crowd chat in August on this. And a lot of comments came in. Life at Oracle was a hashtag campaign we did on the crowd chat. I want to ask you, what does that mean to you? What does life at Oracle mean to you? So I've been with Oracle almost 20 years. So for me, life at Oracle is ever changing. And I think that's the one constant thing is changed. So when you ask me to describe my life at Oracle, it's changed. And I've seen Oracle go through many transformations and the transformation we're going through right now, and particularly for the organization I'm in and the partner organization to help our partners change and evolve their businesses and solutions to the cloud is just exciting. So for me, life at Oracle is all about change and with that comes a lot of excitement. The competition is hot too, which always up levels the game at Oracle from what we're finding. Super, super exciting. Thanks for sharing. We'll be back with more. We're on Howard Street. This is theCUBE. And if you're watching theCUBE, we have the guests of the week at SiliconANGLE.tv becomes a podcast of our favorite interview picked by the crowd and our editors will feature in a podcast. And Wednesday is women's Wednesday. We highlight a women in tech for the week and we do an in-depth profile on that person. It's theCUBE, SiliconANGLE's flagship product. We'll be right back more at Oracle with more on this short break.