By Jo Bertram, Chief Digital & Strategy Officer, O2
Recently Ana Herranz, O2’s (Telefonica UK) Head of Customer & Commercial Strategy was named in Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35, the UK’s longest-running, prestigious list of female business talent. I was incredibly proud to learn of Ana’s inclusion– having been selected from a competitive shortlist for her diverse experience and expertise in technical and commercial strategy.
Ana joined O2 in December 2014 where she is the Head of Customer & Commercial Strategy within Digital & Strategy directorate that I head up. She is responsible for leading strategic initiatives and working with the executive team and stakeholders. Her achievements include leading a team effort devising O2’s five-year vision, presenting it to over 100 colleagues and working with the business to design company strategies such as our approach to future pricing, partnerships and distribution.
Ana is a great leader and a great team player, and has built a powerful network with stakeholders across the business at all levels. She is hugely respected by many key members of the exec team and senior leadership team, and her team consider her “a pleasure to work for.” Outside of work she has a huge passion for travelling. She took a sabbatical for a round the world trip in 2017, and was on the Trans-Siberian railway in deepest Russia last year.
Amongst all this, Ana still finds the time to progress equality as a member of the O2’s Women’s Network. She’s also led workshops on skills for young female entrepreneurs as part of the Cherie Blair Foundation.
On learning of her inclusion, Ana told me: “I felt really honoured to be featured in this list and included in the Telegraph article alongside such talented women. I spoke with many of them at the Management Today event last week, and what we all have in common is that we followed what we wanted to do – without letting ourselves be limited by expectations that come from gender, nationality or upbringing.
“For me personally, it was hard at times to convince my family of the choices I wanted to make and be one of the few women studying engineering or working in banking. In many meetings I was the only woman among 20-30 traders, but I learned to embrace being different.”
From an early age, Ana’s passion for engineering was dismissed by almost everyone, but this only spurred her on. Her determination led Ana to complete two Masters in engineering by the age of 23.
After graduating, Ana became an FX and IR Analyst for BNP Paribas during the peak of the financial crisis. The prospect of a third Masters was too appealing, however, and Ana was sponsored by ArcelorMittal to do an MBA in Paris. Her career to date has seen her master five languages, oversee projects in over 30 countries and work across 10 sectors. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to O2, and we’re delighted to see her achievement recognised on a national level.
Congratulations Ana, a huge well done from everyone at O2.
The post O2’s Ana Herranz named in Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 appeared first on O2 The Blue.
Source: O2 Blog
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