Meet Northdoor’s women in tech: Mandy Howell

Women In Tech: Interviewing the brilliant minds at Northdoor

This International Women’s Day, Northdoor is spotlighting the women who play a vital role within our organisation. By shedding light on their respective career paths, experiences, and successes, we hope to inspire other talented women to make their mark on the tech industry.

In this series, we’d like to introduce you to the inspiring women who have chosen different careers in tech and share their experience.

Meet Mandy Howell, a Support Specialist at Northdoor with over 40 years’ experience in the tech industry.

What inspired you to work in tech?

“I have worked in the tech industry since 1981, but I went into tech almost by accident. My original plan in life was to work as a nurse with deaf people, and while I was studying pre-nursing at college, I took up a summer role working in call dispatch for IBM. We would answer calls from customers and put them through to engineers, and I was enjoying it so much that I stayed on permanently.

I worked in call dispatch for five years in total and was quickly promoted into the radio room, where I would speak to engineers instead of customers. I have never considered myself to be a technical person, but I found myself absorbing more and more technical knowledge. I was drawn to the industry and the wide range or roles and experiences it offered me. 

I worked at IBM in a range of roles for the next 25 years, in total, ending my time there as a Service Support Account Manager, working closely with business partners in IT sales.

IBM works closely with Northdoor and I was offered a role in support, where I’ve been for the last 14 years. Over that time, I have been able to work in customer-facing roles and stay keyed into this incredibly fast-moving industry 39 years on.

There is a misconception about working in a technology company, people just assume it is a highly technical role. I have had a long and successful career working closely with highly technical engineers and businesses, but there are so many areas that you can go into and so much opportunity to progress.”

Are there any women who inspire you in your career?

“I have always been inspired by an old colleague and friend of mine, Jan Sinclair. We joined IBM at the same time in the same role, but while I went into tech sales, she found her passion for HR. Over her career, her ambition and business acumen has amazed me, leading to a long career working as a business development leader, advisor, and mentor for young women.”

Do you have any advice for young women who are new to their career in the industry?

“Even if you don’t believe that you’re technically minded, if a career in tech interests you, go for it. You’ll be surprised at the number of roles you can work in within the industry, and by how much you can learn. The modern world is centered on technology, it is everywhere. The generation entering the workforce today are digital natives and naturally skilled users of both hardware and software, and it is so exciting to be a part of that.”

Interested in finding out more about the talented women central to the Northdoor team? Check out our most recent interview with Anjela Ubogu, Client Manager for more inspiring stories.