Women in technology continue to lag behind their male counterparts in terms of representation, leadership roles, and pay. Many systemic issues must be addressed for women to achieve greater equality in technology, and devmio wants to help by providing an opportunity for inspiring women to introduce themselves and share their stories about why they chose a career in technology.

Here on devmio, we celebrate women in the tech world. This week, we’d like to introduce you to Deepika Chauhan, Chief Product Officer at DigiCert

Today’s Woman in Tech: Deepika Chauhan, Chief Product Officer at DigiCert

Deepika Chauhan joined DigiCert in 2017. Chauhan leads a global team of customer-obsessed product managers and engineers, responsible for continued innovation on DigiCert ONE, the platform for digital trust. Chauhan oversees the overall product strategy to ensure that organizations from the largest enterprises to SMBs can provide comprehensive trust and security across all of their devices, users, servers, software and content.

Chauhan has a wealth of experience in product development, business strategy, marketing, sales and organizational transformation. Prior to DigiCert, Chauhan led Strategy and Business Operations for the Website Security Business Unit at Symantec. Before Symantec, she was at McKinsey & Company in Silicon Valley, working with a number of different area tech companies on some of their most strategic initiatives. Prior to McKinsey, she led product development as part of the mobile browser team at Nokia for several years.

Chauhan grew up in Delhi, India, where she obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Instrumentation and Controls Engineering from University of Delhi prior to moving to the United States. Once in the United States, she completed her master’s in Computer Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. After a few years of experience in various tech firms (EMC and Nokia), she proceeded to get her MBA from Dartmouth.

What first got you interested in technology?

I have a background in engineering and computer science, and I always loved maths and science in school, so I decided to pursue engineering and computer science and go into tech. When I graduated, I started working in tech.

What fascinates me about tech is how it impacts the different aspects of our lives, not just a vertical. Innovation and technology impact healthcare, finance, industrials, and everything else. It permeates through everything that we do and changes life.

As a VC said ten years ago, "software is eating the world."

What path did you take to get to your current position?

I became interested in cybersecurity around 2016 when I joined Symantec. Before that, at McKinsey, I interacted with a lot of tech companies, and the trends in the market/top of mind for many companies at that time were cybersecurity challenges. I left the consulting world to pursue cybersecurity, and Symantec was the leading provider at the time, so I decided to join them. I was looking at various options, but Symantec was a compelling opportunity at that time and was addressing a number of market leaders.

Flexibility, even when working full-time, can help support a home life. Remote work and flexible time have accelerated this need.

What are you most proud of in your career?

What I’m most proud of is when DigiCert acquired Symantec I was in charge of TLS/SSL, and we created a $100 million business and a growth engine for the company.

Taking the non-SSL business to scale and making it more than 3x is something I'm very proud of. We were working in many different areas, but unifying different parts of digital trust, disparate PKI solutions to a unified platform for digital trust.

What does your typical workday look like?

My typical workday consists of meetings, meetings, and more meetings!

The most interesting development and innovation happening is how everything is going to be connected, and how to make sure you are emitting digital trust in everything.

What do you think is currently the most interesting innovation happening in the world of IoT and secure computing?

The most interesting development and innovation happening is how everything is going to be connected, and how to make sure you are emitting digital trust in everything.

How do you combine connectedness and security? That’s the most interesting development and innovation happening. How do you create an ecosystem where everybody trusts each other? On websites, there are security standards. All of these IoT devices don’t have that.

Development is coming in the standards body, manufacturers working at different places, across the board is how you need to think about it.

How can the industry help support and retain women in tech?

Providing flexibility and a more supportive working environment is key. Women go through different stages in their careers, and we need to support that. There are stages where women are looking for full time, then part-time, then back to full time, and we need to enable them and provide flexibility.

Flexibility, even when working full-time, can help support a home life. Remote work and flexible time have accelerated this need.

We need to provide support and build a pipeline for capable candidates from university and mentor them and provide for them. Our mentorship program needs to be thought through so we can support and encourage them to speak up. I think that’s a challenge sometimes when women, even when they’re smart, don’t speak up because not everyone has confidence, so they need someone to tell them.

What was the biggest challenge you have faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge I faced was when I started at DigiCert. I knew everything about SSL, and the first day after the acquisition, the CEO asked me about the potential for the other side of the business, and we didn't know what to do yet.

It was the biggest challenge, but also the most exciting thing and rewarding project I was able to work on.

Make a difference in different areas by having a wider understanding of what the company wants to do and increase the surface area of your impact.

How do you keep your knowledge base up to date with new happenings in your field?

Through events, conversations with analysts and conversations with customers. Talking to the front line on what it is that we see is happening. Customer events and sales to see what’s happening to customers and what they see.

Analysts events are interesting because I am able to hear what’s happening within the broader landscape.

What advice would you like to give women looking to start their careers in tech?

I’d say do the best in the job that’s been assigned but also understand how the entire organisation is working and how the work you’re doing fits in. Find mentors to guide you and champions to help you. The best mentors don’t even have to work at the same company.

Find your own role models and chart your own path, you can’t comply anyone’s path.

Make a difference in different areas by having a wider understanding of what the company wants to do and increase the surface area of your impact.