Ep15 - Do It Anyway with Valery Gross, Head of Data Center Demand Planning, AWS Artwork

Finance Guys In Tech

The opinions on this show are our own. The voices in our heads... still figuring that out. Charlie & Sid bring you some humanity, fun, and other useful stuff from the trenches of working in finance at Amazon. An interview show with our friends and colleagues at Amazon about how they ended up here, how they thrive, and most importantly…what are they doing this weekend. This show is all geared towards helping you perform better in your career, forming stronger teams, reducing stress & anxiety, and having plenty of laughs along the way. We’ll go micro on the day-to-day tactics and tips. We’ll go macro on creativity and mindset. We’ll give you all kinds of new ideas to play with about how to get into tech finance or what an optimal career might look like for you. We'll also bring you guests who you might not otherwise have access to. And since our number one objective is to bring you value we'll listen to you about the things you really want to hear. Sid joined Amazon in 2016 and AWS one year later. He's a value investor at heart so his presence on the show should be all you need to know about choosing to listen. Charlie (that’s me) has worked in finance at Amazon since 2014 and joined Amazon Web Services in 2015. He is also 1/2 of GoodBaby.band | Bass and songwriter for fornow.band | Recovering drummer | Author of the Art & Work weekly newsletter at charleskunken.com | Writer. Rider. New Yorker. Artist.

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Finance Guys In Tech

Ep15 - Do It Anyway with Valery Gross, Head of Data Center Demand Planning, AWS

February 19, 2020 • Charlie Kunken & Sid Dhodi, Finance At Amazon

“Do stuff anyway, even if people tell you no…just keep going.”

Today Sid and I got to talk with our friend Valery Gross, the inspirational Head of Data Center Demand Planning here in AWS Infrastructure and a 9 year veteran of Amazon.

This was a great episode about many things but especially getting to talk about women in business. We talk about the founding of the WIFI, (the Women In Finance Initiative affinity group at Amazon), the long term game of networking, and waking up at 4:30am to hit the gym.

As fathers of daughters, Sid and I took copious notes. The truth is we were recording things we want to start doing ourselves! Please enjoy!

3:45 | A regimen for success…a 4:30am alarm!

8:00 | Currently on audible: ‘Call Sign Chaos’ a book on leadership by James Mattis

10:30 | Growing up, wanting to be an astronaut, gravitating towards engineering

13:30 | Career pivot via B-school at UW go towards finance, Amazon after UW

17:10 | On mentorship and coaching people – helping others on their path

18:50 | Leadership philosophy – giving autonomy and rewarding initiative - bring solutions don’t bring problems

21:30 | The founding of WIFI – Amazon’s Women In Finance Initiative

24:00 | Unconscious Bias – Being aware is a big step for inclusion

27:20 | What you can do (and what men can do) – being an ally, speaking up when unconscious bias is occurring, actively seeking input from all voices

33:10 | Advice on finding mentors – first, what qualities do you want to emulate? Seek those whose style feels authentic and comfortable to you

39:45 | Advice for someone starting out in their career? Try different things…don’t be afraid to jump

40:30 | Message for girls – do stuff anyway, don’t worry who says no

41:30 | Advice to someone in the middle of their careers? – Invest time in building relationships. Up, sideways, and down

42:30 | The long term game of networking really is helping others and being friendly

47:20 | Other interests outside of work – snowboarding, teaching kids to ski, travel

48:40 | Some recommended books: on leadership – Stephen Covey (‘The 7 Habits…’ guy)/ for new leaders & managers: study the principle of ‘Situational Leadership’ – the best theory and practical guide/ Good crime fiction: ‘The Naturalist’ / Good memoir: ‘Educated’ by Tara Westover

51:55 | 3 people to meet for lunch: Michelle Obama, her grandmother, Warren Buffet

Valery on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valery13/

CONTACT THE SHOW:

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.charleskunken.com/subscribe

Website | https://www.charleskunken.com/podcast

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Email | charlie@charleskunken.com (Hit us up! Questions, comments, requests for guests, etc)

Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/
Charlie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken

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Theme music by Good Baby. ‘Rose Colored’ (instrumental version). You can peep the full music video here: https://www.goodbaby.band/musicvideos