2023 Women Leaders in Technology: Dew Kher

"Dew is a Director in Cognizant's Technology Consulting practice and a market leader for the Canadian region. With over 16 years of experience driving successful transformations and delivering measurable results for her clients, Dew has developed a reputation as a trusted advisor to senior client leaders, providing guidance on the vision, governance and structure of transformational programs. She is passionate about helping organizations innovate by leveraging the benefits of disruptive technology and drive user-centric culture and drive more value from their strategic investments.

Dew has extensive experience in end-to-end account management, go to market strategy, consulting services realignment with changing market trends, program and project management, setting digital strategy, cultural transformation, and continual improvement and innovation. Dew's experience spans a variety of industries, including Banking and Financial Services, Insurance, Health Care and Telecommunications."

What has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

My ability to adapt and pivot in the face of changing business and technology trends has been a key factor in my success as a consultant. Since I have had the opportunity to serve clients across geographies, agility played a key role and enabled me to continuously learn and provide innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of my clients. While there may have been differences in language, ethnicity, economic background, and laws and policies, I have found that by upholding a set of core values such as trust, mutual respect, and a commitment to do the right thing, I can create a sense of unity, trust and drive successful outcomes. These values have been instrumental in my ability to navigate a wide range of challenges and deliver value for my clients.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

As a consultant, I have the unique opportunity to make a real impact on organizations by driving change that improves effectiveness, efficiency, and the overall experience of employees and customers. Leading transformations for clients requires a diverse set of skills and the ability to bring together and leverage the expertise of technology, business, industry and change management professionals. Every step of the process, from identifying the need for transformation and developing a strategy to securing sponsorship and executing the plan, is deeply rewarding as it helps clients achieve success and realize their intended business value. It is this sense of purpose and fulfillment that makes consulting such a rewarding and meaningful career for me.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

Throughout my 16-year career, I am most proud of my ability to tackle a diverse range of transformations for my clients with tenacity and determination. Some of my most notable engagements highlight the diversity of scope and challenges overcome to help the clients succeed, e.g., helping a North American health care company design and implement a five-year IT process and technology strategy that resulted in a 90% adoption, 30% process maturity rates in the first year, Transforming the enterprise internal audit function and processes for a UK-based organization to improve internal compliance to eliminate non-conformities from over 80% to 0% across 11 lines of business within a year, Collaborating with the office of the CEO to drive culture transformation and employee engagement that delivered double digit uptick in Gallup survey results, Establishing an Intelligent Automation Center of Excellence for a large Canadian insurer with a scalable framework and target state operating model to support enterprise-wide adoption, and most recently, Leading a multi-billion dollar merger and acquisition's technology resiliency effort for a bank across 16 lines of business.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

"Self-doubt is not only normal, but it is also healthy when managed effectively and consciously."

Self-doubt is a natural and healthy part of the human experience, especially in the complex and high-stakes world of consulting. However, it is important to manage and confront self-doubt in a conscious and effective way. By focusing on building confidence in small increments and reminding ourselves of our past successes and learnings, we can overcome self-doubt and achieve success.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to address and improve self-doubt both in myself and in the teams I have mentored. I believe in the power of open communication and breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable parts. By leveraging our experience and learnings from the past, we can instill self-confidence at every step of the journey. It is through this approach that we can successfully navigate the challenges and uncertainties of complex problems, and emerge stronger and more resilient on the other side."

What does this recognition mean to you?

Winning this award as a leader in technology consulting means a great deal to me. This is not just about my personal achievements, but a testament for the hard work and dedication of my team and the very supportive mentors and sponsors who have focused on building the next generation of leaders. I am always looking for ways to improve and grow, both personally and professionally, and I am committed to make a positive impact in the industry. Winning this award means a great responsibility to continue to lead by example and strive for excellence in all that I do and inspire and shape my next actions to set even higher goals and standards to achieve them and make my clients and Cognizant successful.