Nancy Faigen
President and CEO
Voxeo
(formerly President, Sales & Service Delivery Group, Digex Inc.)
Nominated by: Ryan Demer
Excerpt from nomination: Nancy Faigen brings more than 20 years of high-tech industry experience to her role as president of Digex, Incorporated, a leading provider of Web and application hosting services.According to Forrester Research, the market for Web and application hosting services is projected to grow to over $10 billion per year. Digex relies on Faigen's ability to stay one step ahead of a rapidly evolving marketplace and provide strategic direction for all aspects of Digex's sales, marketing, customer and technical support and data center operations. Faigen developed her e-commerce expertise during her 19-year tenure at IBM. As vice president of IBM's e-business solutions, Faigen oversaw the worldwide development, distribution and deployment of end-to-end custom and prepackaged Web application solutions from both IBM and its business partners. Prior to that, she launched IBM's Global Web Solutions business unit where she was responsible for a range of value-added Web solutions including interactive media consulting, Web application development, Web hosting and Web site design."
What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
My first job was as a sales rep for IBM in boston. Biggest lesson learned
... never confuse effort with results.
Who is your hero, mentor or person you most admire? Why?
My hero is my husband, a true Renaissance man. He's my advisor and
confidante, my best friend and biggest fan. A wildly successful columnist
for thestreet.com, weekly contributor to the Fox News show Bulls and Bears,
he still finds time to take care of me and our two teenaged daughters. And
he's kind of cute, too.
What is your favorite book?
"The Joy of Cooking"
What advances in your field do you envision over the next 10 years?
We will no longer rely on the computer as the primary means to
obtain information, to communicate with business partners, suppliers and
employees, or to make business and personal transactions. Advances in
speech recognition, devices, and natural language development tools and
standards will allow us to interact with systems the way we do with people.
What do you see as the single most interesting element of your work?
Talking with customers and partners about how Web and speech technologies
are forever changing our lives. Over the past 2 months, since I've joined
Voxeo, I've learned how the next generation of self-service systems will
allow us to voice activate a phone to do almost anything, including ordering
take-out food from the car, getting directions, booking a flight, checking
email, requesting an update on sales results, selling stock, buying mom a
birthday gift, and checking on the children's mid-term grades, without
direct human intervention. I think this aspect of my job is fascinating.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
That my girls have turned out to be so warm, kind and generous.
What was your greatest challenge and what did you learn from it?
Leaving a 20 year career in a large, secure company to join a start-up. I
learned I should have made the change years ago.
What strategies do you use to maintain balance in your life?
Balance?? What's that? I'd be making it up if I said I had that solved.
What advice would you give to young women who want to enter your field?
Technology is a means to an end ... be excited and passionate about the end.
