Mandy Botsko-Wilson is the type of coworker people naturally gravitate toward at VMware.
Mandy is a Principal Architect in VMware Global Support, a member of the VMware Office of the CTO (OCTO) Global Field, and VCDX #189 earning the Design Expert certification in Cloud Management and Automation. Mandy has been at VMware since 2010 and loves to lift others up, whether that’s through work, mentoring, speaking about technology, or coaching her Girls Who Code club.
Mandy’s journey into tech
Speaking of girls who code, we like to say that Mandy found her way to VMware through her love for databases.
“Like many, I graduated with a liberal arts degree, which didn’t immediately translate to a job,” she shared. “Following graduation, I went home and grew bored immediately, so after six days, I applied to a temp agency through a friend. From that work, I realized I have quite an affinity for databases.”
Within a year, Mandy realized that she had a real love for technology. She got a job as a database manager and continued her career path and education, eventually earning a Master of Software Engineering while working full time for the software startup that was acquired twice, ultimately by VMware.
“I think having a liberal arts foundation gave me skills to be a leader today,” she said. “I have a large platform of focus to stand on. I don’t regret my degree in the slightest. In fact, I’d tell others interested in this field to get liberal arts and then go into tech.”
The ultimate customer advocate
As a Principal Architect, Mandy is a problem solver, strategist, and, most importantly, an advocate for customers and her VMware teammates. “What I do in Global Support varies day to day,” she said. “I am a change agent in a sense. Because I’m in Global Support, I have the opportunity to work with different customers, usually in challenging situations. In many cases, I am involved for a longer-term perspective for some of our largest or most strategic customers.”
Because she is often involved in support situations for long stretches of time, she can ensure the customer is successful and set up with the right IT solutions.
She explained that her team’s problem-solving dynamic requires not just technical computer science knowledge, but also creativity and innovation — within the guard rails provided by VMware adoption frameworks. “It’s puzzle work within a framework that you can wrap your head around,” she said.
To her team of wonderful colleagues, Mandy can only gush at how well they work together to solve customer problems. And when they hit their stride? “When things churn smoothly and in the right way, that’s when I start to back up and let them take over.”
Mandy also supports customers as a member of the VMware OCTO Global Field, a group of VMware’s top field thought leaders and strategic advisors. Alongside VMware’s R&D team, the group ensures that VMware product roadmaps, messaging, and field enablement align with customers’ current and future needs.
Mandy’s favorite memory working in tech for 15+ years
“I work on products that are solutions, integrated with lots of other aspects,” she said. “In this instance, I was working on a product that was an IT service management solution, similar to ServiceNow. It was an integrated tool and you had to pull information from other systems and then represent it in our product visually.”
However, there was a disconnect between the information being brought in from the product and how the customer needed it to be represented in the tool. “It lacked context and didn’t make a lot of sense,” she recalled.
Mandy brought together the product development team for the ITSM tool and the product development team for the source data to collaborate and solve the problem. Working in tandem, they identified a solution that made sense for both products.
“It stands out as a core memory because we did it differently than I would’ve done by myself,” she said. “It was a small team of five folks that helped come together with which data should be in there and what it should look like. The whole project provided the right mindset, and it was incredibly successful.”
Ultimately, creativity and teamwork walked hand-in-hand and Mandy’s skillset shined where it always does — supporting the customer.
“I like making a difference internally or externally, as well as advocating for that change,” she shared. “Those are the two things that I like best. They help me get up in the morning.”
Life outside of the office
Outside of VMware, many of us know Mandy for her affection for dogs — and, more specifically, her canine agility training skills.
A beloved hobby, Mandy enjoys training and competing with her dog, a standard poodle. “She’s a giant ball of fluff,” Mandy said. “She’s not very big and only 32 pounds. All legs and hair.”
With her dog, her 14-year-old daughter and husband of many years, Mandy also loves to hike, camp, and ski.
Her one piece of advice for a young person in tech? “No one has all the answers, despite how confidently they speak to it. It’s okay to not know and it’s okay to also speak confidently when you feel like you do.”
Chat with Mandy at VMware Explore
Mandy is a longtime VMware Explore speaker and she’s ready to mingle! “Synergy is built, and new project ideas unfold when you can actually meet with customers and others,” she said.
Mandy is teaming up with her VMware colleague Kimberly Delgado in her CXS Theater session, Collaborating to Avoid Cloud Chaos. This session will show IT professionals how to move from siloed cloud teams to collaborative, cloud-smart operating models that improve productivity and career growth. Sign up, stop by, and meet these stellar women in tech!
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