 Hello everyone, welcome to theCUBE's coverage of International Women's Day. I'm your host, John Furrier, here in Palo Alto, California. Got a special remote guest coming in, Teresa Carlson, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Flexport, CUBE alumni. One of the first CUBE alumni, go back to 2013, Teresa, former AWS, great to see you. Thanks for coming on. Oh my gosh, almost 10 years, that is unbelievable. It's hard to believe, so many years of theCUBE, I love it. It's been such a great honor to interview you and you follow your career. You get quite the impressive run, executive level, women in tech. You've done such an amazing job, not only in your career, but also helping other women. So I want to give you props for that before we get started, thank you. Thank you, John, it's been my honor and privilege. Just talk about Flexport. Tell us about your new role there and what it's all about. Well, I love it. I'm back working with another Amazonian, Dave Clark, who is our CEO of Flexport. And we are about 3,000 people strong globally in over 90 countries. We actually even have, we're represented in over 160 cities with local governments and places around the world, which I think is super exciting. We have over 100 network partners in growing. And we are about empowering the global supply chain and trade and doing it in a very disruptive way with the use of platform technology that allows our customers to really have visibility and insight to what's going on. And it's a lot of fun. I'm learning new things, but there's a lot of technology in this as well. So I feel right at home. You quite have a knack for mastering growth, technology and building out companies. So congratulations and scaling them up too with the systems and processes. So I want to get into that. Let's get into your personal background. Then I want to get into the work you've done and are doing for empowering women in tech. What was your journey about? How did it all start? Like I know you had a bump into it, you went Microsoft, AWS, take us through your career, how you got into tech, how it all happened. Well, I do like to give a shout out, John, to my roots and heritage, which was a speech and language pathologist. So I did start out in healthcare, right out of university. I had an undergraduate and a master's degree. And I do tell everyone now, looking back at my career, I think it was super helpful for me because I learned a lot about human communication. And it has done me very well over the years to really try to understand what environments I'm in and what kind of individuals around the world, culturally. So I'm really blessed that I had that opportunity to work in healthcare. And by the way, a shout out to all of our healthcare workers that has helped us get through almost three years of COVID and flu and neurovirus and everything else. So started out there. And then kind of almost accidentally got into technology. My first small company I worked for was a company called Key File Corporation, which did workflow and document management out of Nashville, New Hampshire. And they were a Microsoft goal partner. And that is actually how I got into Big Tech World, we ran on exchange for everybody who knows that term exchange and we were a large small partner, but large in the world of exchange. And those were the days when you would, the late nineties, you would go and be in the same room with Bill Gates and Steve Bomber. And I really fell in love with Microsoft back then. I thought to myself, wow, if I could work for a big tech company, I got to hear Bill on stage about saving, he would talk about saving the world. And guess what? My next step was I actually got a job at Microsoft, took a pay cut and a job downgrade. I tell the story all the time, took like three downgrades in my role. I had been a SVP and went to a manager and it's one of the best news I ever made. And I shared that because I really didn't know the world of Big Tech and I had to start from the ground up and relearn it. I did that. I just really loved that job. I was at Microsoft from 2000 to 2010 where I eventually ran all of the US federal government business which was a multi-billion dollar business. And then I had the great privilege of meeting an amazing man, Andy Jassy, who I thought was just unbelievable in his insights and knowledge and openness to understanding new markets. And we talked about government and how government needed the same great technology as every startup. And that led to me going to work for Andy in 2010 and starting up our worldwide public sector business. And I pinched myself some days because we went from two people, no offices. To the time I left, we had over 10,000 people, billions in revenue and 172 countries and had done really amazing work. I think changing the way public sector and government globally really thought about their use of technology and cloud computing in general. And that kind of has been my career. I was there until 2021 and then did a small stint at Splunk, a small stint back at Microsoft doing a couple of projects for Microsoft with CEO Satya Nandela who's also another amazing CEO and leader. And then Dave called me and I'm at Flexport so I couldn't be more honored, John. I've just had such an amazing career working with amazing individuals. I got to say, the Amazon one well documented certainly by theCUBE and our coverage. We watch you rise and scale that thing. And like I said, at a time this will be looked back as a historic run because of the build out. I mean, it's a zero to massive billions. At a historic time where government was transforming, I would say Microsoft had a good run there with Fed but it was already established stuff. Federal business was like blocking and tackling. The Amazon was pure build out. So I have to ask you, what was your big learnings? Because one, you're a Seattle big tech company kind of entrepreneurial in the sense of you got here's some working capital, seed finance and go build that thing and you're in DC and you're a woman. What did you learn? I learned that you really have to have a lot of grit. You, my mom and dad, these are kind of more southern roots words, but stick with this, you know, you can't give up and no is not in your vocabulary. I found no is just another way to get to yes that you have to figure out what are all the questions people are gonna ask you. I learned to be very patient. And I think one of the things John for us was our secret sauce was we said to ourselves if we're gonna do something super transformative and truly disruptive like cloud computing which the government really had not utilized. We had to be patient. We had to answer all their questions and we could not judge in any way what they were thinking because if we couldn't answer all those questions and prove out the capabilities of cloud computing we were not gonna accomplish our goals. And I do give so much credit to all my colleagues there from everybody like Steve Schmidt who was there who's still there. Who's the CISO and Charlie Bell and Peter DeSantis and the entire team there that just really helped build that business out without them, you know we would have just, it was a team effort. And I think that's the thing I learned about it was it was not just sales, it was product, it was development it was data center operations, it was legal finance. Everybody really worked as a team and we were on board that we had to make a lot of changes in the government relations team. We had to go into Capitol Hill. We had to talk to them about the changes that were required and really get them to understand why cloud computing could be such a transformative and changer for the way government operates globally. Well, I think the whole world and the tech world can appreciate your work and thank you later because you broke down those walls asking those questions. So great stuff. Now I got to say you're in kind of a similar role at Flexport again, transformative supply chain not new computing wasn't new when before cloud came supply chain, not a new concept is undergoing radical change in transformation online software supply chain hardware supply chain in general shipping. This is a big part of our economy and how life is working similar kind of thing going on build out growth scale. It is, it's very much like that John I would say it's kind of the model with freight forwarding and supply chain is fairly it's not as there's a lot of technology utilized in this global supply chain world but it's not integrated. You don't have a common operating picture of what you're doing in your global supply chain you don't have easy access to the information and visibility. And that's really, you know I was at a conference last weekend LA and it was the themes were so similar about transparency access to data and information being able to act quickly, drive change know what was happening. I was like, wow this sounds familiar data AI, machine learning, visibility common operating picture. So it is very much the same kind of things that you heard even with government. I do believe it's an industry that is going through transformation and Flexport has been a group that's come in and said, look, we have this amazing idea at number one to give access to everyone we want every small business to every large business to every government around the world to be able to trade their goods think about supply chain logistics in a very different way with information they need and wanted their fingertips. So that's kind of thing one but to apply that technology in a way that's very usable across all systems from an integration perspective. So it's kind of exciting. I used to tell the story years ago, John and I don't think Michael Dell would mind I told the story one of our first customers when I was at Keyfile Corporation was we did workflow and document management and Dell was one of our customers. And I remember going out to visit them and they had renters and they would run around they would run around the floor and do their orders to get all those computers out the door. And when I think of global trade in my mind I still see renters running around and I think that's moved to a very digital right world that all this stuff you don't need people doing this you have machines doing this now and you have access to the information and we still have issues resulting from COVID where we have either an underabendance or an overabendance of our supply chain. We still have clogs in our shipping in the shipping yards around the world. So we need in the ports so we need to also we still have some clearing to do and that's the reason technology is important and will continue to be very important in this world of global trade. Great impact for change. I got to ask you about Flexport's inclusion diversity and equity programs. What do you got going on there that's been a big conversation in the industry around you're keeping a focus on not making one way more than the other but clearly every company if they don't have a strong program will be at a disadvantage. That's well reported by McKinsey and other top consultants diverse workforces inclusive equitable all perform better. What's Flexport's strategy? How do you guys supporting that in the workplace? Well, let me just start by saying really at the core of who I am since the day I've started understanding that as an individual and a female leader that I could have an impact that the words I used the actions I took the information that I pulled together and had knowledge of could be meaningful. And I think each and every one of us is responsible to do what we can to make our workplace in the world a more diverse and inclusive place to live and work. And I've always enjoyed kind of the thought that that I can help empower women around the world in the tech industry now I'm hoping to do my little part John and that in the supply chain and global trade business. And I would tell you at Flexport we have some amazing women. I'm so excited to get to know all I've not been there that long yet but I'm getting to know we have some we have a very diverse leadership team between men and women at Dave's level. I have some unbelievable women on my team directly that I'm getting to know more and I'm so impressed with what they're doing. And this is a very, you know while that this industry is different than the world I lived in day to day it's also has a lot of common themes to it. So, you know for us we're trying to approach every day by saying let's make sure both our interviewing cycles the jobs we feel, how we recruit people how we put people out there on the platforms that we have diversity and inclusion and all of that every day. And I can tell you from the top from Dave and all of our leaders we just had an offsite and we had a big conversation about this is something it's a drum beat that we have to think about and live by every day and really check ourselves on a regular basis. But I do think there's so much more room for women in the world to do great things. And one of the areas as you know very well we lost a lot of women during COVID who just left the workforce again. So we kind of went back unfortunately. So we have to now move forward and make sure that we are giving women the opportunity to have great jobs, have the flexibility they need as they build a family and have a workplace environment that is trusted for them to come into every day. There's now clear visibility at least from in today's world and notwithstanding some of the setbacks from COVID that a young girl can look out in a company and see a path from entry level to the board room. That's a big change. A lot then even going back 10, 15, 20 years ago. What's your advice to the folks out there that are paying it forward? You see a lot of executive leaderships have a seat at the table, the board still underrepresented by most numbers. But at least you have now kind of this solidarity at the top. And a lot of people doing a lot more now than I've seen at the next levels down. So now you have this level approach. Is that something that you're seeing more of and credit compare and contrast that to 20 years ago when you were rising through the ranks? What's different? Well, one of the main things and I honestly did not think about it too much but there were really no women, there were none. When I showed up in the meetings, I literally it was me or not me at the table but at the seat behind the table. The women just weren't in the room and there were so many more barriers that we had to push through. And that has changed a lot. I mean globally that has changed a lot. In the US, if you look at just our US House of Representatives and our US Senate, we now have the increasing number of women even at leadership levels, you're seeing that change. You have a lot more women on boards than we ever thought we would ever represent. While we are not there, more female CEOs that I get an opportunity to see and talk to, women starting companies, they do not see the barriers. And I will share John globally in the US, one of the things that I still see that we have that many other countries don't have, which I'm very proud of, women in the US have a spirit about them that they just don't see the barriers in the same way. They believe that they can accomplish anything. I have two sons, I don't have daughters, I have nieces and I'm hoping someday to have granddaughters. But I know that a lot of my friends who have granddaughters today talk about the boldness, the fortitude that they believe that there's nothing they can't accomplish. And I think that's what we have to instill in every little girl out there that they can accomplish anything they want to, the world is theirs. And we need to not just do that in the US but around the world. And it was always the thing that struck me when I did all my travels at AWS and now with Flexport, I'm traveling again quite a bit is just the differences you see in the cultures around the world. And I remember even in the Middle East how I started seeing it change. You've heard me talk a lot on this program about the fact in both Saudi and Bahrain over 60% of the tech workers were females. And most of them held the hardest jobs, the security, the architecture, the engineering, but many of them did not hold leadership roles. And that is what we've got to change too. To your point, the middle, we want it to get bigger but the top we need to get bigger. We need to make sure women globally have opportunities to hold the most precious leadership roles and demonstrate their capabilities at the very top. But that's changed. And I would say the biggest difference is when we show up, we're actually evaluated properly for those kind of roles. We have a ways to go, but again, that part is really changing. Can you share, Teresa, first of all, that's great work you've done. And I want to give you props for that as well and all the work you do. I know you champion a lot of F-causes in this area. One question that comes up a lot, I want to love to get your opinion because I think you can contribute heavily here is mentoring and sponsorship is huge. It comes up all the time. What advice would you share to folks out there who were, I won't say apprehensive but maybe nervous about how to do the networking and sponsorship and mentoring or it's not just mentoring, it's sponsorship too. What's your best practice? What advice would you give for the best way to handle that? Yeah, and for the women out there, I would say on the mentorship side, I still see mentorship. Like I don't think you can ever stop having mentorship. And I like to look at my mentors in different parts of my life because if you want to be a well-rounded person, you may have parts of your life every day that you think I'm doing a great job here and I definitely would like to do better there whether it's your spiritual life, your physical life, your work life, you know, your leisure life. But I mean, there's parts of my leadership world that I still seek advice from as I try to do new things even in this world and I tried some new things. In between roles, I went out and asked the people that I respected the most. So I just would say for sure have different mentorships and don't be afraid to have that diversity. But if you have mentorships, the second important thing is show up with a real agenda and the questions. Don't waste people's time. I'm very sensitive today. If you want to mentor, you show up and you use your time super effectively and be prepared for that. Sponsorship is a very different thing and I don't believe we actually do that still in ethnic companies. We worked, thank goodness for my great HR team when I was at AWS, we worked on a few sponsorship programs where for diversity in general, where we would nominate individuals in the company that we felt that had a lot of opportunity for growth but they just weren't getting a seat at the table and we brought them to the table. And we actually kind of had a Chatham House rules where when they came into the meetings, they had a sponsor, not a mentor, they had a sponsor that was with them the full 18 months of this program. We would bring them into executive meetings, they would read docs, they could ask questions. We wanted them to be able to open up and ask crazy questions without feeling, wow, I just couldn't answer this question in a normal environmental setting. And then we tried to make sure once they got through the program that we found jobs and support and other special projects that they could go do but they still had that sponsor and that group of individuals that they'd gone through the program with John that they could keep going back to. And I remember sitting there and they asked me what I wanted to get out of the program and I said two things, I want you to lead this program and say to yourself, I would have never had that experience if I had gone through this program. I learned so much in 18 months that it probably taken me five years to learn and that it helped them in their career. The second thing I told them is I wanted them to go out and recruit individuals that look like them. I said, we need diversity and unless you all feel that we're in an inclusive environment, sponsoring all types of individuals to be part of this company, we're not gonna get the job done. And they said, okay. And you know, but it was really one, it was very much about them that we took a group of individuals that had high potential and a very diverse with diverse backgrounds, held them up, taught them things that gave them access and two selfishly I said, I want more of you in my business, please help me. And I think those kind of things are helpful and you have to be thoughtful about these kind of programs. And to me, that's more sponsorship. I still had people reach out to me from years ago, you know, Microsoft saying you were so good with me. Can you give me a reference now? Can you talk to me about what I should be doing? And I try to, I'm not, pray a hundred percent. Some things pray fall into the cracks but I always try to make the time to talk to those individuals because for me, I am where I am today because I got some of the best advice from people like Don Byrne and Linda Zecker and Andy Jassy who were very honest in that front with me about my career. Awesome. Well, you got a passion for empowering women to take paying it forward but you're quite accomplished and that's why I'm so glad to have you in the program here. President and Chief Commercial Officer at Flexport. Obviously, storied career in your other jobs, specifically Amazon, I think is historic in my mind in this next chapter. Well, it looks like it's looking good right now. Final question for you for the few minutes you have left. Tell us what you're up to at Flexport. What's your goals as President, Chief Commercial Officer? What are you trying to accomplish? Share a little bit what's on your mind with your current job. Well, you kind of said it earlier. I think if I look at my own superpowers, I love customers, I love partners, I get my energy, John, from those interactions. So one is to come in and really help us build even a better world-class enterprise, global sales and marketing team, really listen to our customers, think about how we interact with them, build the best executive programs we can, think about new ways that we can offer services to them and create new services. One of my favorite things about my career is, I think if you're a business leader, it's your job to come back around and tell your product group and your services org what you're hearing from customers. That's how you can be so much more impactful that you listen, you learn and you deliver. So that's one big job. The second job for me, which I am so excited about is that I have an amazing group called flexport.org under me and flexport.org is doing amazing things around the world to help those in need. We just announced this new funding program for TET for refugees, which brings assistant to millions of people in Ukraine, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa and those who are affected by earthquakes. We just took supplies into Turkey and Syria and flexport recently, in fact, just did three air shipments to Turkey and Syria for these. And I think we did over a hundred trekking shipments to get earthquake relief. And as you can imagine, it was not easy to get into Syria that we're very active in the Ukraine. And our goal for flexport.org John is to continue to work with our commercial customers and team up with them when they're trying to get supplies in to do that in a very cost-effective, easy way as quickly as we can. So that not-for-profit side of me that I'm so happy. And Ryan Peterson, he was our founder. This was his brainchild and he's really taken this to the next level. So I'm honored to be able to pick that up and look for new ways to have impact around the world. And you know, I've always found that I think if you do things right with a company, you can have a beautiful combination of commerciality and giving. And I think flexport does it in such an amazing and unique way. Well, the impact that they have with their system and their technology with logistics and shipping and supply chain is a channel for societal change. And I think that's a huge gift that you have that under your purview. So looking forward to finding out more about flexport.org. I can only imagine all these exciting things around sustainability. And we just had Mobile World Congress for a big cube broadcast, 5G's right around the corner. I'm sure that's going to have a huge impact to your business. Well, for sure. And just on gas emissions, that's another thing that we're tracking gas, greenhouse gas emissions. And in fact, we've already reduced more than 300,000 tons and supported over 600 organizations doing that. So that's the thing we're also trying to make sure that we're being climate aware and ensuring that we're doing the best job we can at that as well. And that was another thing I was honored to be able to do when we were at AWS is to really cut out greenhouse gas emissions and really go global with their climate initiatives. Well, Teresa, it's great to have you on security, data, 5G, sustainability, business transformation, AI all coming together to change the game. You're in another hot seat, hot roll, big wave. Well, John, it's an honor. And just thank you again for doing this and having women on and really representing us in a big way as we celebrate International Women's Day. I really appreciate it's super important and these videos have impact. So we're going to do a lot more of them. I appreciate your leadership to the industry and thank you so much for taking the time to contribute to our effort. Thank you, Teresa. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. Teresa Carlson, the president and chief commercial officer of Flexport. I'm John Furrier, host of theCUBE. This is International Women's Day broadcast. Thanks for watching.