Career Journey with Nam Ahuja
Meet Nam Ahuja, Senior Practice Manager, Global Delivery in Integrated Tech at CDW! From channel partner management at Microsoft to leading global delivery at CDW, Nam’s career journey has been anything but linear.
Read on to learn more about her career growth over the past 13 years, her experiences with CDW, and what advice she’d give to aspiring CDW coworkers.
What was your path to CDW?
I got to know CDW Canada while working at Microsoft Canada; CDW was one of the channel partners I managed in my role there. I built a good relationship with my Product Manager at the time, and as I was exiting my role, she suggested that CDW would be a great fit for me. Three months later, I joined CDW Canada in the Product & Partner Management (PPM) department.
What are the roles you've held at CDW?
So many in the last 13 years! I spent seven years in PPM, progressing through various roles as I grew in my career. I started out as a Partner Development Associate, managing our new and emerging software partners. I was promoted four times over my tenure in PPM, holding the roles of Product Manager, Senior Product Manager and Supervisor, PPM. Entering leadership was not only an exciting milestone for me professionally, it was also a trigger for pushing me to make an impact on leadership development in general.
In 2019, I pivoted my career and took on the role of Talent Development Lead for CDW Canada. I couldn’t have gotten that role if the leadership team didn't have full faith in me. Through this role, I got to build a strong foundation of talent programs for the Canadian organization.
In 2021, I got the opportunity to move to the US business, joining the Integration Management Office to work on the integration of one of our largest global acquisitions. This was a specialized project and gave me the opportunity to work with global teams across various functions.
At the end of 2023, I accepted my current role in Integrated Technology, as Senior Manager for Global Delivery, marking another pivot in my CDW career!
Did you learn different skills in each role?
No doubt about it! Learning new skills has been a key driver for me to change careers multiple times. Each role was interesting and challenging in its own way, allowing me to hone skills from negotiating and influencing, to teamwork and leadership, critical thinking and decision making.
How did the opportunity to work in several different roles allow you to be more successful?
Early in my career, I knew that I may not want to be in one career path “forever.” That felt too long to do the same thing! At the same time, I was raised to think that success was a vertical path. I wrestled with a balance of the two, and learned to accept a different definition of success over the course of my career. Success to me became the opportunity to make an impact and finding meaning in the work I was doing, more so than upward mobility. My ability to adapt through the various roles, bringing my skills and knowledge to impact a new function/business area has allowed me to be (and feel) more successful in my career.
What are the benefits of changing jobs internally?
New roles, particularly in a completely different functional area, can be highly uncomfortable. Imposter syndrome is real and you question everything you know. But being comfortable with the uncomfortable is a very important life skill! The benefit of doing so internally though allows you to keep one aspect constant, which is the larger organizational mission. It also gives you an opportunity to work with a lot of different coworkers, and I thoroughly enjoy learning from my peers and leaders.
How has CDW supported your career development?
I’ve been lucky to have great mentors and leaders that I’ve got to work with throughout my career at CDW. Good leaders have been essential to my growth and development, as they have not only served as a coach, but also opened opportunities through their networks, and trusting me to do work I may have never done before. I gain confidence through doing, and leaders that have recognized and encouraged that have been pivotal to my growth. I also had the opportunity to participate in the Emerging Leaders program that helped me build various skills and confidence.
One word to describe CDW: Growth
– Nam Ahuja, Senior Practice Manager, Global Delivery at CDW
What advice do you have for others interested in a career at CDW?
One of the things that continues to surprise me is the long tenure of coworkers at CDW. This really speaks to the value people find in working here. If you enjoy wearing multiple hats, being challenged, and most importantly, working with good people, CDW is the place for you.
–CDW Team
Meet Nam Ahuja, Senior Practice Manager, Global Delivery in Integrated Tech at CDW! From channel partner management at Microsoft to leading global delivery at CDW, Nam’s career journey has been anything but linear.
Read on to learn more about her career growth over the past 13 years, her experiences with CDW, and what advice she’d give to aspiring CDW coworkers.
What was your path to CDW?
I got to know CDW Canada while working at Microsoft Canada; CDW was one of the channel partners I managed in my role there. I built a good relationship with my Product Manager at the time, and as I was exiting my role, she suggested that CDW would be a great fit for me. Three months later, I joined CDW Canada in the Product & Partner Management (PPM) department.
What are the roles you've held at CDW?
So many in the last 13 years! I spent seven years in PPM, progressing through various roles as I grew in my career. I started out as a Partner Development Associate, managing our new and emerging software partners. I was promoted four times over my tenure in PPM, holding the roles of Product Manager, Senior Product Manager and Supervisor, PPM. Entering leadership was not only an exciting milestone for me professionally, it was also a trigger for pushing me to make an impact on leadership development in general.
In 2019, I pivoted my career and took on the role of Talent Development Lead for CDW Canada. I couldn’t have gotten that role if the leadership team didn't have full faith in me. Through this role, I got to build a strong foundation of talent programs for the Canadian organization.
In 2021, I got the opportunity to move to the US business, joining the Integration Management Office to work on the integration of one of our largest global acquisitions. This was a specialized project and gave me the opportunity to work with global teams across various functions.
At the end of 2023, I accepted my current role in Integrated Technology, as Senior Manager for Global Delivery, marking another pivot in my CDW career!
Did you learn different skills in each role?
No doubt about it! Learning new skills has been a key driver for me to change careers multiple times. Each role was interesting and challenging in its own way, allowing me to hone skills from negotiating and influencing, to teamwork and leadership, critical thinking and decision making.
How did the opportunity to work in several different roles allow you to be more successful?
Early in my career, I knew that I may not want to be in one career path “forever.” That felt too long to do the same thing! At the same time, I was raised to think that success was a vertical path. I wrestled with a balance of the two, and learned to accept a different definition of success over the course of my career. Success to me became the opportunity to make an impact and finding meaning in the work I was doing, more so than upward mobility. My ability to adapt through the various roles, bringing my skills and knowledge to impact a new function/business area has allowed me to be (and feel) more successful in my career.
What are the benefits of changing jobs internally?
New roles, particularly in a completely different functional area, can be highly uncomfortable. Imposter syndrome is real and you question everything you know. But being comfortable with the uncomfortable is a very important life skill! The benefit of doing so internally though allows you to keep one aspect constant, which is the larger organizational mission. It also gives you an opportunity to work with a lot of different coworkers, and I thoroughly enjoy learning from my peers and leaders.
How has CDW supported your career development?
I’ve been lucky to have great mentors and leaders that I’ve got to work with throughout my career at CDW. Good leaders have been essential to my growth and development, as they have not only served as a coach, but also opened opportunities through their networks, and trusting me to do work I may have never done before. I gain confidence through doing, and leaders that have recognized and encouraged that have been pivotal to my growth. I also had the opportunity to participate in the Emerging Leaders program that helped me build various skills and confidence.
One word to describe CDW: Growth
– Nam Ahuja, Senior Practice Manager, Global Delivery at CDW
What advice do you have for others interested in a career at CDW?
One of the things that continues to surprise me is the long tenure of coworkers at CDW. This really speaks to the value people find in working here. If you enjoy wearing multiple hats, being challenged, and most importantly, working with good people, CDW is the place for you.
–CDW Team
