Today we’d like to introduce you to Muguet Bradbury.
Hi Muguet, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I graduated with a Computer Science degree in 1987 and moved to Atlanta to work for a software company called MSA. I worked for them for almost 20 years. Then in 2007, I began to work for another software company called NiCE Actimize, which is where I continue to work today. I was a software developer for the first 28 years of my career, moving from Mainframe Assembly Language programming to Client/Server C++ to Java/Web Applications. I started at NiCE Actimize as a software developer, and then I moved into management in 2014. I began with a team of 4 software developers in Atlanta and grew the team to 8 within a year. Then we transitioned into agile software development, where I became a group leader of a global team which added 8 quality assurance engineers from Slovakia. In 2017, I moved from R&D to Customer Support, managing a global team of 16 product maintenance engineers. In the Global CS organization, I have moved from being a group leader to a regional director (in 2021), and finally into a Global Director of Support Operations in January 0f 2024. This is where I am today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, when I think about an almost 40-year career in the same industry, I look back on it and think that it has been a relatively smooth road. For as long of a career as I have had, I have had a low number of managers – less than 10. Most of them have been awesome mentors and I learned a lot from each one. I did have one particularly bad manager, who patronized me and undermined my work early on (probably about 3 years in). I was able to free myself from the situation and learned a lot about how to listen to my inner voice and other mentors to keep my confidence high.
Another struggle was when I switched companies in 2007, I learned about getting laid-off due to no fault of my own. I had to re-enter the job market with 20 years of experience and was grateful that I had kept up with current technology skills. This helped me find another position almost immediately.
The only other challenge I would say was significant was my move from First level management to Director in 2021. I found that moving from being a manager of engineers to a manager of managers was quite challenging. It took me far away from the day-to-day work of the teams and I really did not enjoy it. Thankfully, I was able to relay my concerns to my manager, and he was able to help me to stay within his organization, making a lateral move and keeping my Director title, but moving into an area where I would be more hands-on and task oriented, managing a small number of direct reports.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about NiCE Actimize?
NiCE Actimize is a global software company that provides solutions and services specializing in financial crime and compliance, primarily for the banking industry. I like to say “We stop bad people from doing bad things”. These bad things include terrorist financing, identity theft, money laundering, human trafficking, and other suspicious activities in the financial realm. We are consistently leaders in our field, earning several awards.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t much believe in luck, although I do wish people good luck sometimes. I am a Christian, so I am more of an opinion that I have been put in the right place at the right time with the right people to shape my career and life.
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