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It’s official. The winner of the first annual VMware Achieve Scholarship is Nupur Banerjee, a Junior Computer Science major from Harvey Mudd College. The Achieve scholarship was created to provide a female student studying Computer Science or Computer Engineering $10,000 USD towards tuition and fees. Our goal with this scholarship is to support and inspire the broader community of women in technology.

Nupur truly embodies everything VMware was looking for in the recipient of the scholarship. When we asked her to describe herself in three words, she responded with caring, passionate and committed. These traits were not only evident on her application, but also shined when we had the chance to meet her in person. Even though her Computer Science classes, extracurricular activities, and volunteer roles keep her quite busy, Nupur still finds time to feed her other passions. She enjoys swing dancing, volleyball, singing and even playing the guitar. Growing up in the Bay Area, Nupur was exposed to the tech industry early on, but has made sure not to ignore the other passions that make her who she is.

While Nupur was visiting our VMware headquarters, we had the opportunity to get to know her even better – let’s just say we continued to be impressed and amazed. Read through the Q&A below to get to know this year’s VMware Achieve Scholarship winner, Nupur Banerjee!

Q: You are currently enrolled at Harvey Mudd College. Why did you choose to go to school there? A: Harvey Mudd places value in learning, and not just in your specific field of study but rather a well-rounded approach to learning and education. A wide range of subjects are offered and encouraged to ensure students have a broad range of experience. The school genuinely wants students to make an impact on the world. The ability to explore multiple subject areas allows me to understand how different fields overlap. I feel like this will be important once I enter the professional workplace.

Q: Did you always know you wanted to study Computer Science? A: Actually, no. I initially thought I wanted to go to medical school. It was during my freshman year of high school that I realized this was not the path I wanted to take. With the encouragement of my parents, who are both in tech, I took a course in Computer Science and I was hooked.

Q: Who is your current role model? A: Sheryl Sandberg. She recognizes there is a problem with underrepresentation of women in tech and she is actively doing things to address the problem. She also pushes others to do more and inspired me personally to actively make a difference in my own life and the lives of other women pursuing tech

Q: Let’s say it’s graduation day. What’s next? A: I am currently thinking about what is the best next step for me. I toss around the idea of both grad school and going immediately into the workplace. If I had to say what I am leaning towards as of now, it would be entering the workplace and finding a role focusing on machine learning since that is my true passion. Ultimately, I just want to find a good fit and make the world a better place.

Q: What has been your personal experience as a woman pursuing a degree in Computer Science? A: Honestly at first, I did not notice any issues or problems. Then one day, my mom asked me how many girls were in my Computer Science class. When I started counting, I realized the answer was only 4. It was at that moment that I realized women really are underrepresented in Computer Science and tech, and I was motivated to get more girls to learn about these fields.

Q: You have many accolades. Can you tell us which one you are most proud of and why? A: Science Bus. This is a community outreach program where students from Harvey Mudd go to local elementary schools to teach STEM lessons. Many of the students we meet have parents who did not go to college and have very little exposure to STEM. I get to witness them realize the potential they have, which is very rewarding. One specific story that has stuck with me is when I asked the students to draw a picture of a scientist. All of them drew male figures in lab coats. By the end of the course, they were drawing themselves, their teachers, women, etc. They truly learned that anyone can have a STEM career!

Q: If you could give another female considering studying Computer Science a few words of wisdom, what would they be? A: I’d encourage them to try Computer Science with an open mind, and to do their best to surround themselves with people who encourage and support their professional interests and passions. Find a mentor or role model to learn from. In addition, try to be a mentor to someone else, regardless of where you are in your path, and do your best to reach out to other females in CS who are younger/less experienced, and share your experiences and advice.

Q: What motivated you to apply for the VMware Achieve Scholarship? A: When I first heard about the scholarship I did some research on VMware and realized the company does a lot for women in tech which aligns with my values and passions. By applying for the scholarship and hopefully winning, I hoped it would allow me to be a part of VMware’s diversity efforts. Also, school is expensive. To help with the financial burden, I work an on-campus job, however, this takes away from other volunteer and academic passions I could be pursuing.

Q: What did winning the VMware Achieve scholarship mean to you? A: Winning this scholarship gives me the opportunity to focus more on my volunteer activities, through my work with the Society of Women Engineers and Science Bus, and to focus less on the financial burden caused by school.

We want to congratulate Nupur on this wonderful accomplishment and we look forward to supporting her while she continues to impact those around her and pursue her dreams.

To Learn more about VMware Achieve and to be the first to know when applications open in 2018 visit here

Dare to Become Ena Zijadic

Name: Ena Zijadic

Role: Inside Sales Associate

VMware Office Location: Cork, Ireland

Journey to a Career in Sales
As cliché as it may sound, I have always loved jobs that allow me to interact with people. While there are a lot of jobs that require constant interaction with others, the one thing that I like about working in Sales is that it challenges me to find creative solutions for each of my tasks. I’m also kind of the CEO of my own job. I design my day-to-day tasks and the effort that I put in will for the most part determine how successful that I am in my role.

An Inside Look at the VMware Sales Academy in Europe

The VMware Sales Academy is a five to six-month training program hosted at VMware’s office in Cork, Ireland. At the beginning of the program, you will participate in trainings and receive an introduction to life at VMware. The training portion consists of sessions on VMware products and solutions, increasing your IT knowledge and learning Sales best practices. Each day is different, which is helpful as it is a great way to get settled into working in a corporate environment and living in a new city.

After the first month or two you will begin to move into an Inside Sales Associate (ISA) role. In this role, you will focus on contacting (potential) customers and qualifying whether or not they would be interested in an Inside Territory Executive following up with them. You will have to get into fairly in-depth conversations with customers to see if there are certain business issues that VMware’s solutions could solve. Once the training program is complete, you should plan to stay in the Inside Sales Associate role until you get assigned a territory and become an Inside Territory Executive. From there, the idea is to work towards a Field role in the country that you are assigned to represent. This traditionally occurs after about two years, but it depends on when there is an open role and you are ready for it.

Everything that I’m learning right now in Cork will be beneficial for my role once I get back to the Netherlands. My technical and IT know-how has expanded and I’ve strengthened how I conduct business conversations with customers. I’m finding out what my strengths and weaknesses are in a corporate environment, which allows me to focus in on what I do well in and the areas that I have an opportunity to improve upon. The great thing about starting my career in Sales is that I’m preparing for any next step that I take at VMware. This is because I’m learning a broad set of skills that are necessary for all positions. Overall, the VMware Sales Academy is a great step-by-step program that gets you prepared for a successful career in Sales. There are many opportunities to excel throughout the program, but you have to get out there and show a lot of initiative.

Dare to Explore Cork, Ireland

Having moved to Ireland without ever visiting the country, I was a bit worried that I would get bored. I can honestly say that has not been the case as everything that I need is within reach. A lot of young professionals and students live in Cork, so there is a great youthful environment. Whether you want to go out for dinner, grab drinks, or enjoy a sporting event; there are a variety of amenities to enjoy together with people your own age. I have also explored several of the amazing travel destinations that Ireland has to offer like Carrantuohill and a town nearby Cork called Kinsale.

VMware also made it extremely easy to relocate to Ireland. Not only did they cover a portion of my relocation costs, but they also offered temporary accommodation for my first month so that I could get settled in and find a place to live. There are also complementary buses that leave from the city centre to the office each day for employees, so I never have to worry about transport to work. While it has been a big step to move to a different country, the support that I have received from VMware has made my whole experience unforgettable.

Browse the latest VMware Sales Academy opportunities in Europe

Search the latest job opportunities for New Grads at VMware

Search the latest internship opportunities for students at VMware

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about the VMware University Relations Program

Learn more about life at VMware:

http://www.facebook.com/vmwareuniversityrelations

http://twitter.com/vmwareu

https://instagram.com/vmwareu/

https://www.youtube.com/user/VMwareCareers

Dare to Become Simran Arora

Name: Simran Arora

Role: Graduate Systems Engineer

VMware Office Location: Cork, Ireland

Fill in the blank: Dare to become who you’ve always wanted to be.

Journey to a Career in Technical Sales

My interest to enter the IT (information technology) field was sparked by my appreciation of technology, understanding of its complexity, and the passion that I have for sharing the benefits of innovation to the broader community. I have always been keen to gain professional IT experience by learning more about the expansion of technology in the real world and how it is used in a customer driven environment. This is what first led me to pursue a career in technical sales as technical sales perfectly combines both my interest in technology and my ease of speaking with people.

An Inside Look at the VMware Sales Academy in Europe

The VMware Sales Academy (VSA) program is structured well and has clear logic that makes the VSA new graduate participants as efficient as possible. The training program helped us enhance our performance instead of just increasing our work competencies. We had a range of different trainings pre-planned for us before we joined VMware, which meant we knew exactly what we were supposed to be doing for the next 6-months on our very first day. The training was provided to us in a range of ways, which included; group discussion, PowerPoints, e-learning, individual research, role plays, problem solving, etc. Overall, the VMware Sales Academy has made the transition from university life to work life very easy.

Continuous Learning at VMware

Participating in the VMware Sales Academy has been an immense help for me as I’ve stepped into corporate life. I was very used to the laid-back life at university and the thought of entering the work force was terrifying. Having other new graduates by my side in the program made me realize that I was not the only one with these feelings. Not only did the program give me time to settle in at my own pace, but it also gave me achievable targets to work towards. I was always motivated to work harder and achieve my goals.

In terms of career, the VMware Sales Academy has given me a huge kick start towards a successful future because I now have both the soft skills and technical skills that I need to succeed in my role. Being able to learn at work and have access to the resources that are needed to be even better at my role is what the VMware Sales Academy is all about. It’s an opportunity for participants to understand who they are and what they really want to do in life. My biggest takeaway from joining the VMware Sales Academy is that being successful is more achievable than I thought, if I work hard enough.

What to Expect During your First Six Months at VMware

The first six months at VMware will probably be the quickest six months of your life. From settling into your new house to getting your own booth at work, it’ll all be very exciting. Month one is all about getting to know your colleagues and familiarizing yourself with the beautiful city of Cork. Month two and three consist of lots of training sessions, tasks associated with your job, as well as many company organized lunches, dinners, and events. By month four and five you’ll start to feel a lot more confident in yourself and the work that you do, and before you know it, it will be month six.

Thinking back, so much has happened for me over these last six months at work, like; building new friendships with colleagues from all over the world, going to a variety of company events, sitting through numerous presentations, learning about the latest VMware products, and then feeling confident enough to then do presentations on those products. When I first started, I was nervous and unsure of everything, but within my first week I felt so welcomed that all those negative feelings disappeared straight away. In a nutshell, I would say that nothing but the best is in store for you during your first six months at VMware because VMware will look after you and you’ll learn so much without even realizing.

Dare to Explore Cork, Ireland

When I first heard that the VMware Sales Academy takes place in Cork, Ireland, I was very afraid about leaving my home in the UK and moving to another country. The thought of starting a new job was scary enough, but moving to a brand new country, with all new people that I had never seen before was even more terrifying. However, after moving here and meeting everyone, I came to realize how wonderful Cork is. Aside from all the beautiful sights like Killarney National Park and Kinsale, the best thing about Cork are the people. They’re all genuinely really nice and polite. By being in the Cork office, I’ve had the advantage of being exposed to and learn from a variety of different roles and departments within VMware, something that I couldn’t have done back in UK. Also the amount of training that is available here like having access to hardware labs and being able to walk up and discuss work with product specialists has helped me feel more prepared for my role. I have truly enjoyed living in Cork and getting home is just one very short flight away. The thought of moving was frightening at first, but has been was well worth it. I’m really glad that I decided to be brave and move here because it has been an amazing experience.

Browse the latest VMware Sales Academy opportunities in Europe

Search the latest job opportunities for New Grads at VMware

Search the latest internship opportunities for students at VMware

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about the VMware University Relations Program

Learn more about life at VMware:

http://www.facebook.com/vmwareuniversityrelations

http://twitter.com/vmwareu

https://instagram.com/vmwareu/

https://www.youtube.com/user/VMwareCareers

Dare to Be EPIC2: Chanda Dani

Chanda Dani

Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.

Senior Director, Product Marketing

VMware value that means the most to you: Passion, because if you have passion, execution, customers and community will follow. It is very important that passion go hand-in-hand with integrity. You should not lose your integrity while trying to do things that you’re extremely passionate about.

Hobbies: I enjoy giving back at my son’s school as a debate club judge, gardening, and spending time with my friends and family. I participated in speech and debate as a student and it helped build my presentation and public speaking skills, which have come in handy throughout my career. I believe such opportunity should be available to all children. Volunteering through my son’s school was easy as they take care of the logistics. I also love to travel, so it’s great that my role at VMware allows me to visit a variety of places within and outside of the United States. I enjoy the food and the history that different parts of the world offer as well.

People might not know: I can bake really well. I enjoy baking as it is easier and faster than regular cooking. My favorite thing to bake is a fruitcake.

Best quality: I would say that my best qualities are that I can listen and understand. If I’m interacting with someone, I’m generally good at understanding where they’re coming from and what they’re trying to accomplish. This helps me quickly understand a customer’s problem or an internal stakeholder’s challenge as I can come up with solutions that will meet everyone’s needs. Over time, I have realized that things are rarely right or wrong, there are just different perspectives and if you understand them, you can do a really good job.

Guilty pleasure: Dark chocolates.

Inspiration: I’m motivated by my desire to accomplish something and accomplish it well.

#1 passion: Technology. It lets you be creative and you can design products and be a part initiatives that are helping transform lives.

Career ambition: I would like to take a new product and make it established in the market. I am thankful to VMware, as I am now living this dream already by leading the Product Marketing efforts for VMware’s vSAN product.

Biggest takeaway from receiving the EPIC₂ Achievement Award: That the process for awards such as the EPIC₂ Achievement Award actually works at VMware. I never expected to receive such an award because I don’t generally receive awards. My greatest insight was that people were truly observing me and understood what I brought to the table. It made me have a greater appreciation for my managers and peers and the VMware culture in general.

Giving Back: I directed my monetary donation* from the VMware Foundation to UNICEF America. I believe that you can impact a life the most during the early stages of an individual’s development. I believe in UNICEF’s charter and global appeal.

*Each of the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners received a monetary donation called a Citizen Philanthropy Investment to direct to the nonprofit of their choice from the VMware Foundation.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC₂ values

Search all of our open positions worldwide

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

Learn more about the workplace culture at VMware, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by following us on our social pages:

http://facebook.com/vmwarecareers

http://twitter.com/vmwarecareers

http://instagram.com/vmwarecareers

Dare to Be EPIC2: Michelle Mendal

The annual EPIC₂ Achievement Award is one way VMware recognizes outstanding members of our workplace community who exemplify our shared EPIC₂ values – Execution, Passion, Integrity, Customers, and Community – and make VMware a great company to work for. Get to know Michelle Mendal, one of our 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners, and discover how her drive to make a positive impact on those around her is fostering a thriving community at VMware.

Michelle Mendal

Home Office – Massachusetts

Senior Healthcare Marketing Manager

VMware value that means the most to you: Community, for sure. Because without community, it’s not a pleasant place to work without that culture, happiness, and sense of camaraderie. It’s not as much fun. So community, for sure. The Field Marketing team that I sit on at VMware, while virtual, makes a concerted effort to celebrate both professional and personal achievements of team members which means a lot to me. The team has so much camaraderie and is always supportive of the millions of questions that I throw their way!

Hobbies: This one’s easy. I love to spend time with family and friends. I’m sure everyone says that, but I particularly like cooking and hosting family and friends over. I try to cook almost every weekday night. One of my favorite recipes right now are these zucchini turkey burgers. They don’t sound that exciting, but they have a really good dip that goes with them. I also love skiing, exercising and traveling. I grew up skiing and loved it. My husband would say skiing is his number one passion, so needless to say, we go skiing as often as we possibly can. We usually go to Vermont and ski on Stowe or Killington mountain. I’ve also been very fortunate to travel in my life. I actually lived abroad in Madrid for about five months, and spent some time in Greece. One of my best friends is Greek, so we spent time with her family around town. My husband is also Colombian, and we actually just went to Cartagena.

People might not know: I was a national synchronized figure skating champion when I was twelve years old. It’s like synchronized swimming, but on ice. Through ice skating, I learned the meaning of team and what being a good team member means. You can’t achieve anything on your own. Doing it together makes any and all achievements much more special. I’ve definitely taken my learnings about teamwork from ice skating into my work today as a Marketing manager.

Best quality: The ability to get along well with all types of people. I find that that’s really important, especially in my role here at VMware because I collaborate with so many different organizations. From systems engineers, marketing team members, executives, to sales reps, there are so many different people that I interact with on a daily basis. I think I do a good job at building relationships with all of these individuals even though they are all very, very different.

Guilty pleasure: Whether its ice cream or York Peppermint Patties, anything that has mint chocolate chip in it.

Inspiration: I would say improving the lives of people around me. And it can be something little like making light of a situation or just having some sort of positive impact on the individuals around me. That’s what really inspires me. A little can go a long way. Just being friendly and happy.

#1 passion: I am striving for the mastery of the Marketing craft. I am always looking to learn something new and be challenged every day. I want to get a little bit better and improve each day and look back at my career as one in which I became an expert. And because of this expertise, I was able to make an impact on VMware’s growth.

Occupation if money wasn’t an obstacle: I think that I would want to work for a non-profit organization that helps children in need.

Biggest takeaway from receiving the EPIC₂ Achievement Award: That I’m so lucky to work with such smart, motivated and kind individuals. It was amazing how many people reached out and congratulated me because of the award. It was such a good feeling. And the culture at VMware is unlike anything I’ve experienced before at another organization. I remember when I was interviewing for my job, I kept hearing that. People would say, “Oh, the culture here is great. Everyone’s so nice. It’s so fun to work here. It’s such a team environment.” And I was thinking to myself, “You hear that a lot.” But when I actually joined, I realized that it’s true, and it’s really something special.

Giving Back: I chose to direct the funds* from the VMware Foundation as part of the EPIC2 Award towards the Institute for Learning and Development. They are a small organization in Massachusetts that is devoted to helping kids with learning disabilities succeed and build confidence. This organization is near and dear to my heart and I have been working with them for years on their mission to positively change the lives of children.

*Each of the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners received a monetary donation called a Citizen Philanthropy Investment to direct to the nonprofit of their choice from the VMware Foundation.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC₂ values

Search all of our open positions worldwide

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

Learn more about the workplace culture at VMware, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by following us on our social pages:

http://facebook.com/vmwarecareers

http://twitter.com/vmwarecareers

http://instagram.com/vmwarecareers

Dare to Be EPIC2: Emad Benjamin

The annual EPIC₂ Achievement Award is one way VMware recognizes outstanding members of our workplace community who exemplify our shared EPIC₂ values – Execution, Passion, Integrity, Customers, and Community – and make VMware a great company to work for. Get to know Emad Benjamin, one of our 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners, and discover how his integrity and curiosity shape his daily journey.

Emad Benjamin

Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.

Principal Architect and CTO Ambassador

VMware value that means the most to you: Integrity. I think integrity by far is the basis and the foundation of all of the other values because without it what we would do would hold no real value. No meaning. Everything else would crumble without integrity.

Hobbies: I spend time with my family. My wife and two boys. I also like to cook and travel.

People might not know:

I’m an avid analyst. I always take the needed time to analyze information. Especially the kind of information we get from customers. Customers will often pose a problem or a challenge they’re having, I then will go away and think about it, sometime for days to come up with a solution. I get them to try the solution, and then, once they try it and I walk away from it I’m actually still thinking about it. Trying to determine “what if…” What if we did this versus something else? What would happen if…? So I tend to have a habit of locking information in for a very long time.
I taught myself three other languages (in addition to my native language English) – Assyrian, Greek and Arabic. Assyrian is rooted in Aramaic. It’s a Biblical language. Whenever I get a chance to speak them I do.
I love to travel. I like to go to cities that I’ve never been to before. I’m very intrigued by different cultures and I like to know the languages that they use. How the language has inspired their day-to-day life. What kind of cuisines they have. Why the cuisines are such. I like to spend time tracing the language and the cuisine back to the history of the city. Cultures from around the world and why they have developed inspire me.
I love cars. My favorite car is not available in the U.S., but I keep pictures and drawings of it. It’s called the Marussia B2 – it’s a sports super car.

Best Quality: I’m a visionary, I would say, but with a pragmatic approach to bringing the vision to practice. I’m always dreaming about the different ways of technology and how it can be applied. I’m also very practical about what can actually be done that is practical and feasible.

Guilty Pleasure: That’s very easy. Chocolate. I like dark chocolate. So much so that people around me don’t believe that I like the 90% cocoa chocolate. And just to keep everyone around me not thinking that I am too crazy, I’ll buy the 75% cocoa just to kind of make them believe that I can keep the guilty pleasure at bay. But I love chocolate.

Inspiration: The challenges and the unique use cases that our customers have inspire me to come to VMware every day. And trying to figure out better solutions for them. That inspires me. But overall, what really drives me are the inspirational leaders that can reach across a divide and unite. Leaders that create peace for humanity. I’m big on that. And what else? I would say my children inspire me too. They always seem to have a unique perspective on technology. And my wife’s continuous support and motivation.

#1 passion: Making technology reliable, straightforward, and simple to use. I think elegant technology is really, really simple to use. And if it’s very simple to use, people will love it and adopt it just like the iPhone.

Occupation if money wasn’t an obstacle: I would like to be one of the the VMware CTOs. I’d love to have that job. I believe spending over 10 years at VMware has given me a unique perspective on the way VMware has grown and matured as a company, and how our customers have evolved with us. I have evolved with our customers and our product lines as they’ve changed over the years. I’ve witnessed the many opportunities and challenges that we’ve had as a company in such a highly competitive marketplace. I’ve seen how we’ve survived and thrived. I believe my ability to understand how the industry reacts to technology trends, and my understanding of the practical approaches of certain technology trends would help carry a CTO-level message.

Biggest takeaway from receiving the EPIC₂ Achievement Award: I think receiving the award really demonstrates how VMware cares and goes out of its way to look after and recognize its employees. And not only that, they help out the community by giving back to a nonprofit of winner’s choice. And so, the greatest thing about the award has been the ability to direct a monetary donation to a nonprofit. That was huge for me.

Giving Back: I directed my Citizen Philanthropy investment* from the VMware Foundation to the Assyrian Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO)

*Each of the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners received a monetary donation called a Citizen Philanthropy Investment to direct to the nonprofit of their choice from the VMware Foundation.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC₂ values

Search all of our open positions worldwide

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

Learn more about the workplace culture at VMware, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by following us on our social pages:

http://facebook.com/vmwarecareers

http://twitter.com/vmwarecareers

http://instagram.com/vmwarecareers

Dare to Be EPIC2: Silvana Torik

The annual EPIC₂ Achievement Awards is one way VMware recognizes outstanding members of our workplace community who exemplify our shared values – Execution, Passion, Integrity, Customers, and Community – and make VMware a great company to work for. Learn more about one of our 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners, Silvana Torik, and discover how her drive to lead an authentic and purpose-filled life is empowering her and the wider community to flourish.

Silvana Torik

Global Services Senior Director

Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.

VMware value that means the most to you: Each of the EPIC₂ values are important to me. The combination of the 5 attributes brings balance into my career and life. The one that can be a challenge to bring in on a regular basis is Community. VMware makes it easier. Earlier this year I had the honor of being on the Good Gigs Service Learning Trek to India where we had the opportunity to share our technical knowledge with the teachers who care for 100 girls every year at the Udaan School for Accelerated Learning. The teacher’s goal is to empower young girls, ages 11-14, through education. While all attributes of EPIC₂ were lived out every day on the Trek, I also discovered that there was one feeling that tied all of them together: Love. The love that was shared among the VMware people, our three Trek leaders, the school teachers and students was palpable and powerful. It was a profound experience and I will never forget it. When I bring it closer to home, my daily life at VMware, I love the culture at VMware and who I work with. This makes my job easy which translates to execution and results. Working and living with Integrity is how I show up for my colleagues, my customers, the community, and at home. VMware and my personal experiences truly embody EPIC₂ values.

Hobbies:

I love spending time with my grandchildren. My husband has 13 and I have two of my own. When I was growing up I knew I would be surrounded by children, I just didn’t know how blessed I would be. With grandchildren, I get to relive moments I had raising my own or experience brand new ones…and there are many. It’s so much fun to experience life through their eyes, watch their discoveries, internalize their logic, and experience their innocence. There is nothing more beautiful or sacred.
I like to train for and participate in endurance sports. I’m a late bloomer when it comes to sports. Growing up I rode my bike, roller skated, and was on the high school drill team, but I didn’t do any organized sports. In my 30’s, I discovered a love for aerobic-based activity which then led to endurance sports. Last year, I completed a Half Ironman triathlon relay with my kids, followed by a Half Ironman on my own. So much fun! Over the years, I’ve completed bike centuries, marathons, triathlons, and other events. One of my favorites was hiking the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in one day. This was an incredible experience of beauty, micro-climates, hydration, nutrition, fatigue, and teaming. With any of these sports, I like knowing I am physically and mentally strong.

People might not know: While I am tender-hearted, I also care about doing what is right. If something is not principle-based, I am decisive and will do what needs to be done. Even if it is tough. I learned from watching my father at his job and in his dealings with people. He was fair, principle-based, and he cared deeply.

Inspiration: It is very important to me who I work with, work for, and what I do. Inspiration comes from the people I work with. At VMware, I get to experience my colleagues being leaders, while being real, funny, and authentic. Individually or as a team, we laugh, work hard, and make things happen. Because of VMware’s culture, I feel that we have a platform to be who we are as individuals. That has inspired me to be more of who I am. When we are who we are, it’s amazing what we can do.

Best Quality: I would say self-motivation. I set personal goals, they may be explicit or not. Probably one of my biggest accomplishments was completing my college degree as a single mom while working full-time. It took 16 years and with the support of family and friends, I accomplished this very important and personal goal. I was the first in my family to graduate from college. My family flew in for the graduation, and with my family, friends and kids at my side, we celebrated. It was a big day. Throughout those 16 years, I was also blessed with wonderful leaders and great mentors.

Guilty pleasure: I like to read novels. I’m currently reading the Outlander series. Yep, I am. I also just love to relax outdoors with my shoes off.

Career ambition: So this is a hard one for me to share. First, I had to work through it with my husband, followed by lunch with a colleague, and then personally commit to being vulnerable in sharing it here. Throughout my career, I have purposely chosen different career paths and deliberately moved up, moved down, and moved laterally. I’ve gone back and forth between management and individual contributor roles. I moved between companies. Ultimately, what drives my career choices are cultures that connect with who I am. Of course, the job content has to be there too. I came to VMware five years ago. It was the combination of the hiring manager and the energy I experienced on campus while interviewing that brought me here. It’s been a wonderful 5 years at VMware. Frankly, how cool is it to have a career in high tech and be at an innovative company! At this point in my career, I’m ready to say that my next career ambition is to get to the next level, VP. And just as my career as evolved in the past, it will happen when it’s meant to.

Occupation if money wasn’t an obstacle: It would definitely be working closely with people, coaching and guiding them. Over the years, I feel like I have gained insights and perspectives that could be helpful and useful for others. Trust me, the insights were not always easily learned. I’ve had many leaders, mentors, and friends along the way and I would like to help others. I have a particular interest in empowering women in business. The good news is that I have been involved with VMwomen and am currently involved with the VMinclusion and the Women@VMware POD in Palo Alto. So I am on a path!

#1 passion: My grandchildren.

Biggest takeaway from receiving the EPIC₂ Achievement Award: It goes back to the love and support across VMware. The day I received the award I was completely caught off guard. My manager flew in to be at the company All Hands when the 2016 winners were announced. Several of my colleagues sat together to celebrate the moment with me. After the announcement, I received heartfelt emails that spoke volumes on the type of people who work at VMware. They are kind and generous. VMware walks and talks EPIC₂.

Giving Back: I directed my Citizen Philanthropy investment* to the Udaan School, located in Hardoi, India. This is where we did our Good Gigs Service Learning Trek. After experiencing first-hand, the school’s mission of empowering girls through education, observing the teacher’s 24×7 commitment, seeing the young girl’s excitement and hope shining in their eyes, I understood how VMware does make a difference. I want that difference to continue.

*Each of the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners received a monetary donation called a Citizen Philanthropy Investment to direct to the nonprofit of their choice from the VMware Foundation.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC₂ values

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Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

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Dare to Be EPIC2: Kumar Gaurav

The annual EPIC₂ Achievement Awards is one way VMware recognizes outstanding members of our company who exemplify our shared values – Execution, Passion, Integrity, Customers, and Community – and make VMware a great company to work for. Read on to learn more about one of our 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award Winners, Kumar Gaurav, and discover what inspires him to give more each day.

Kumar Gaurav

Director, R&D

Bangalore, India

VMware value that means the most to you: Passion. It is what drives me. Passion and perseverance is what counts, and I think it’s also the reason why VMware has recognized me as a 2016 EPIC₂Achievement Award winner. My passion helped drive me to lead the first New College Grad Bootcamp at VMware India, while still managing my regular job responsibilities. It was intense, but I saw a need for it, and it made me feel happy and proud to contribute back to our new hires.

Hobbies: I’m into consumer grade electronics. I make and break . Recently I made Amazon dash buttons.

People might not know:

I run marathons. I still vividly remember the 2013 Corporate 20k run, where each of our team members that participated had a personal best. It was such an inspiring moment for me.
When I take off from the office I enjoy going totally offline. I go where there is no phone and internet. Every year I go on an 8-10K trek with a trekking group in the Himalayas. No phone, no internet, and no family. It’s a detox of sorts for me. I enjoy the cold, the snow, the natural beauty, and the simplicity of life with a backpack. What I enjoy most of all is being able to fully focus on living and being in the moment like thinking about where I’m going to place my foot next on the ridge.
Before joining VMware, I created two startups, one in hardware electronics in 2004 and the other in the education domain in . These experiences allowed me to fully understand why it is that the team matters more, not the idea that you start with when creating a company.

Inspiration: I’m inspired by the successes of ordinary people. There are many stories from our people here at VMware too, which inspire me. A co-worker of mine named Vaibhav inspires me when it comes to ‘do-what-it-takes’. He is a recent university graduate from the class of 2014. I started out as his coach and mentor, and really admire his focus and dedication. He has really made his mark both within and outside of the company.

Guilty pleasure: Taking work home and spending late nights working against my wife’s wishes.

Career ambition: I would like to do something that benefits the larger community. I think that I am past the age to be a Nobel-aspiring theoretical physicist, and hence now have a more practical ambition of creating a successful tech startup by the time that I finish my career.

Occupation if money wasn’t an obstacle: I would continue to pursue my passion for electronics.

#1 passion: Electronics and math. Both are addictive and I can easily spend countless hours on them without getting bored.

Biggest takeaway from receiving the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award: I feel both happy and proud to know that I work for a company that recognizes the contributions of its people from all aspects of the business. The fact that my organization is recognizing me for the work that I’ve done outside of my core project duties tells me a great deal about our workplace culture. It is simply inspiring!

Giving Back: I spoke with multiple colleagues who partner with the VMware Foundation to determine which nonprofit to direct my Citizen Philanthropy investment* towards and decided conclusively on CARE India. Interestingly, this organization was also the partner for VMware’s recent Good Gigs Service Learning Trek in India. My colleague, Arun, gained first-hand experience on this trek and knew the impact they were making in the community. CARE India believes in using monetary gifts to seed long term benefits, which i something I truly feel passionate about.

*Each of the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winners received a monetary donation called a Citizen Philanthropy Investment to direct to the nonprofit of their choice from the VMware Foundation.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC₂ values

Search all of our open positions worldwide

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

Learn more about the workplace culture at VMware, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by following us on our social pages:

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Dare to Be EPIC2: Anne Daly

At VMware, our EPIC2 values – Execution, Passion, Integrity, Customers and Community – represent what we stand for as individuals and as a community. They dare us to reach our goals and drive us to create transformative innovations that are shaping the way businesses work. The annual EPIC2 Achievement Awards is one way we recognize members of our workforce who bring each of our values to life in ways that inspire our global community to flourish. Learn how 2016 EPIC2 Achievement Award Winner, Anne Daly, is making a global impact through her work.

Anne Daly

Indirect Tax Manager

Cork, Ireland

VMware value that means the most to you: Passion. I think you need passion to excel at what you do – question why we do things the way we do and see if there is a better solution for our customers. To thrive at your job, I think you need to have passion – you need to like what you do. And to work with other people, you need to show your enthusiasm.

Hobbies: I love cycling, hiking and running. Going to the cinema with friends and family is fun too!

People might not know: 

There is not probably not much people don’t know about me as I am a bit of an open book.

I love to travel – I’ve been all over Europe, traveled to Australia, Japan, Thailand and many parts of the United States.

I’m no chef but I like eating out and trying new cuisines.

I grew up on a dairy farm in Ireland and know how to drive a tractor!

I grew up in a large family. I have 8 siblings – 2 brothers and 6 sisters.

Inspiration:  I love the office environment at VMware and the people that I work with – they’re the friendliest. It is rewarding going into the office every day and working with them. I’m constantly being challenged, and for a young person, it’s great to have a job like that. There is always something new and innovative going on and there are great opportunities, initiatives, etc. to be had at VMware.

Guilty Pleasure: Shopping. I could shop until I drop.

Career Ambition: My ambition is to progress and diversify through new experiences at VMware. I work in Indirect taxes, but I would love to broaden my knowledge to different aspects of finance.

Occupation If Money Wasn’t an Obstacle: Own my own clothes boutique

#1 Passion: I’d say cycling. I’ve done a lot of races including the famous Ring of Kerry cycle, so yes, cycling would probably be one of my top passions.

Biggest Takeaway from receiving the 2016 EPIC2 Achievement Award:  The biggest insight was seeing what a great team there is at VMware and in particular in Cork. The day Betsy Sutter, VMware’s SVP and Chief People Officer, announced the 2016 EPIC2 Achievement Award winners was such a memorable day in my life – I was in awe by the thoughtful messages I received from well-wishers. I feel privileged to be working for such a great organization.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC2 values

Search all of our open positions worldwide

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

Learn more about the workplace culture at VMware, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by following us on our social pages:

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Dare to Be EPIC2: Dexter Arver

How do values guide your journey? At VMware, our EPIC₂ values – Execution, Passion, Integrity, Customers and Community – guide us in the work we do each day – both as individuals and as a community. The annual EPIC₂ Achievement Awards is one way we recognize members of our workforce who bring each of our values to life in ways that inspire our global community to flourish. Continue reading to learn a little bit more about how family roots, inspiration to continuously innovate, and the community at VMware, are shaping 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award winner, Dexter Arver’s journey to growth.

Name: Dexter Arver

Role: Office of the CTO Manager

Location: Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.

VMware Tenure: 10 years

VMware value that means the most to you: Integrity. I feel like if you don’t have integrity, what do you have?

Hobbies: Woodworking, photography, cooking, baking and hiking

People might not know:

I grew up on a farm in Korea where we didn’t have any running water. My family moved to the United States when I was 9-years-old.
My last name is Arver, but that is not because I have a parent who had Greek roots or anything like that. My last name used to be Kim, just like tons of Korean people. When we were living in Fresno, California we felt like we were being discriminated against, so when we got our U.S. citizenship. My father asked my brother and me to come up with an English version of our name. Kim means gold. We found the Greek prefix, aurum, which means gold, and then determined that we needed a Greek suffix to end it, so we chose vera, which means truth. So that is how my family got the last name Arver. We came up with it from a bunch of Greek words.

Inspiration: I feel very fortunate to have the life that I have. I feel very lucky to have found the people I’ve found, to have found VMware when I found it, and all the opportunities to grow. Because of this I am always trying my best because I would be doing a disservice to everybody who has every helped me out.

Guilty Pleasure: Drinking Coca-Cola made with real Mexican sugar cane

VMware Goal: I’m trying to think of innovation programs to help our engineers come up with the next crazy idea that’s going to make VMware successful.

Career Ambition: I’d like to officially be the Head of Innovation at VMware.

If Money Wasn’t an Obstacle: If money wasn’t an issue, like supporting my parent’s and my wife’s parents, I don’t think I’d be working-working. I think I’d make my wife quit, and then we would take our girls and live in various places around the world.

#1 Passion: I really want to be the best husband ever, and closely following that is being the best father ever.

Biggest Takeaway from receiving the 2016 EPIC₂ Achievement Award: After I received the award, I just realized, because I don’t think about it that often, how many friends I have here and how embedded I am inside VMware, and just how fortunate I am to be surrounded by awesome people.

Learn more about VMware’s EPIC2 values

Search all of our open positions worldwide

Visit the VMware Careers Site to learn more about life at VMware

Learn more about the workplace culture at VMware, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by following us on our social pages:

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