Employee Spotlight: Vice President of Solutions Engineering

In this blog series, we’re going behind the scenes with the individuals who make Kimble Mavenlink successful — celebrating the work they’re doing to transform client outcomes through purpose-built solutions. In this second installment, we’re spotlighting Lauren Leonard, Vice President of Solutions Engineering at Kimble Mavenlink.

Question: What is your role at Kimble Mavenlink?

Answer: I am the Vice President of Solutions Engineering — leading the global Solutions Engineering organization that combines the extremely talented SEs from both the legacy Kimble and Mavenlink teams.

Question: How has your career changed in the last year?

Answer: I began as a Solution Engineer, shifted into the role of Vice President of Product Management at Kimble, and am now the Vice President of Solutions Engineering — back to my roots — for the newly merged Kimble Mavenlink team.

The last year has been transformative — I began it as a Solution Engineer, then I came back from maternity leave into a new role as VP of Product Management. When I was away, our head of human resources — Kylie Gaouette — approached me to learn more about some of Kimble’s open positions. I was interested in this career opportunity and after being invited to interview for the position of VP of Product Management, I was successful.

Now, with a shift back to my roots as Vice President of Solutions Engineering for the newly merged Kimble Mavenlink team, I am in a position where I am able to hone and develop skills that I learned in my previous role and to build on them. It is a challenge — but it is a great challenge.

Question: What are some opportunities you are looking forward to in your new role as VP of Solutions Engineering? How will the recent merger of Kimble and Mavenlink impact these opportunities?

Answer: I’m most excited about the opportunity for me and my team to learn from our new friends and colleagues. As a solution engineer, the learning never ceases: we continually hone our business and sales skills and we are constantly acquiring product knowledge. Now, we have the opportunity to broaden our product knowledge, and we have the luxury of learning new methods and best practices from one another.

They say that change breeds opportunity, and indeed, opportunity abounds in our newly merged business. SEs will have more opportunities for career and personal growth than ever – from learning a new product and platform to joining combined marketing efforts to engaging with new customers and new verticals.

I’m really passionate about the services industry, and I’m personally excited to continue sharing that passion and helping my team serve as thought-leaders in the industry. I know that each individual on my team has passions and I’m eager to see how they leverage those to grow our business.

Question: What values do you think are most important in workplace culture?

Answer: Empathy. The last couple of years has given me more understanding. Being pregnant (including suffering severe morning sickness) and having a baby have changed how I think about the world. I have always been someone who is keen to get the job done — and while I’m still that person, now I have more compassion for things that are going on in people’s personal lives. I understand how important it can be to feel that you are part of a supportive team. I hope my personal experience and empathetic approach to management will make me a better, more supportive leader.

Question: What is your educational background?

Answer: In college, I studied French and French literature. I then studied for an MBA at night school. My MBA program introduced me to professions that I had never considered or really known anything about. I was most drawn to technology because the growth of technology impacts every industry. After the legal publishing firm I was working at was acquired, I took a job as a Solution Engineer. This has led to the fulfilling career I now have.

Final Thoughts

Keep your eye out for the next installments to this blog series where we get to know more members of the Kantata team! Visit this link for our spotlight on Mark Clewett, Product Manager: Reporting and Analytics at Kantata.