Outstanding Women at RFS - Part 2
With this ethos engrained within RFS as a company we are celebrating more of our exceptional employees from across the globe.
Jessie Gu, HR Advisor for Suzhou plant at RFS
What is your job role at RFS and background?
I am HR Advisor for Suzhou plant at RFS. I have 11 years’ experience in human resource management, and joined RFS almost 3 years ago in. Before joining the company, I worked at Pulse, another Telecoms supplier that focuses more on the consumer side, and before that with Raken, a joint venture company by LG and Amtran.
What was your first job in telecoms?
My first role in telecoms was with Pulse electronics. I joined this company as training supervisor almost 8 years ago. I wanted to work in telecoms as I saw it as being one of the most thriving industries in the world, with the development of internet, mobile phones and IoT.
How has the industry changed since you started?
Since I joined the industry, there has been an explosion of companies playing in the space adding to the fierce competition. Particularly in China we have seen more and more local companies succeed due to their low-cost competitive advantage, but in the long term I expect that the technology and brand value will play a much bigger part as a deciding factor.
As for women, there are more and more women coming into this industry, in more senior positions. More women are beginning to engage in manufacturing engineering, information engineering, and even research and development jobs.
What still needs to change?
From a technology standpoint, the focus needs to be on making equipment that will last while at the same time improving operating efficiencies and reducing costs. For women, more of the encouragement we are seeing for females to pursue technical and senior roles in the industry.
Name one woman who inspires you
Sheryl Sandberg, who is the writer of the book Lean In and acts as COO of Facebook. In her books and videos, she encourages women not to be constrained by the world, but to take the initiative to participate in dialogues and discussions, speak out about our own ideas, inspire us to dare to take steps, accept challenges, and pursue our dreams.
Liliana Aponte - Technical Sales Manager at RFS
What is your job role at RFS and background?
I am Technical Sales Manager for Broadcast and hold a double master’s degree in Telecommunications and Management Engineering from RMIT University in Melbourne.
What was your first job in telecoms?
My first role in the telecoms industry was as an internship student at Telecom Colombia back in 2004; I had the opportunity to spend time in most of the technical areas of the company. I also had the opportunity to get involved in site field work which help me understand the industry in real life.
What attracted me to the industry? Since I was a high school student, I was always intrigued about how we can get to talk on the phone, listening to radio or just get the TV signal by adjusting an antenna installed at the roof of the house. My curiosity led me to choose a university course in Telecommunications Engineering.
How has the industry changed since you started?
Due to the rapid changes in technology, I believe the industry has changed dramatically. For instance, when I graduated from University back in 2004, digital television was not on most people’s radar. Actually, I remember my university thesis was about digital television; the topic was not much of an interest to my professors back in Colombia. Now, Broadcast TV is only digital, analogue TV was switched off already in the country.
What still needs to change?
For women, there hasn’t been enough change, since being an engineering student it is still unusual to see women in the industry and I’d like to see this change - I can’t wait until it is just normal to see women in the industry.
Name one woman who inspires you
I don’t admire one woman in particular, but those women that have the strength to speak by themselves really inspire me, and particularly women in technology that are able to raise a family and take on an important role at the same time. In this world where there is still the stigma that women are not capable or in a position to take on a role that was traditionally taken by men and I enjoy that many women, including those at RFS, are breaking this stigma.