30 mars 2023
Joining the tech industry was not the plan that system specialist Giselda Autio had in mind when she started her studies at Aalto University's Mikkeli campus for a Bachelor of International Business. On the contrary, she wanted an education that would be beneficial in many different industries.
"I did not know what I wanted to do for a living. I enjoyed psychology at college, but after completing my bachelor's degree, I worked in logistics for a couple of years until I started to work on my master's," she tells us.
Giselda did her thesis on employer branding, again something entirely different than her previous job or studies. She was also working as an analyst in logistics at the time and was pondering on her next move.
"I read about consulting and found that extremely fascinating. And then I learned about SAP academy, a training programme for consultants using the enterprise resource planning tool called SAP, and decided to enroll," Giselda recalls.
She did not know it then, but that single decision would take her on a journey in tech for more than 15 years.
Growing from junior analyst to a leader – Giselda found her professional home with SAP
Before joining Tietoevry, Giselda worked her way from junior analyst to consultant and manager over the course of ten years in large scale transformation programs. Today, she works as a leading consultant at Tietoevry.
"I love working at Tietoevry. We have a strong presence at leading retail companies so I can utilize my deep industry expertise and keep expanding it. And I like our inclusive, supportive, and flat hierarchy. Nordic values of equality and sustainability are present in everything we do," Giselda says.
The international work environment and the possibility to expand to different career paths were also crucial to Giselda. Instead of working her way up the corporate ladder, she is keen to constantly learn new things horizontally.
"We work with large, complex matters, and it is crucial to possess high-level and detail-oriented thinking skills – from big picture goals to single solutions."
"The most important trait is the desire to learn and implement the knowledge you gather. Anyone can learn the substance needed for working as a system specialist, but any education teaches you problem-solving and essential teamwork skills," Giselda reminds us.
Her daily work consists of planning, meetings internally and with the clients, and 1-1 sparring with her subordinates to ensure objectives are clear and to enable personal and professional growth. Working as a specialist and a leader means Giselda’s days are never the same.
"I work as a leader at the SAP technology Consulting unit that focuses on four of our biggest clients. So, I do a lot of planning on how we can find the best possible solutions for the client on their core system modernization journey, and ensure all client needs and demands are taken into consideration," she says.