CDW Women Making History
CDW has grown exponentially since the company was founded in 1984, and this would not be the case without the contributions from our female coworkers. This Women’s History Month, we are celebrating those women who have been here since our early days. Check out their stories below.
Cathleen - 32 Years of CDW Service
Marketing Operations Coordinator
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your years at CDW?
Seeing the coworkers growing from 46 to over 9,900 and expanding our footprint globally.
How has CDW influenced your career for women in Sales and Technology?
I see it all around me, women succeeding at all levels and career paths. From the warehouse to the boardroom, CDW allows all women to think big. CDW supplies every coworker the resources for next steps, and encourages everyone to do more, try more, ask more and reach the goals that they have planned for themselves.
What are you most looking forward to at CDW in the coming years?
In keeping with the theme, celebrating women! I look forward to seeing how Sona Chawla, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, will propel CDW in the coming months with her style, growth plan and mostly innovation.
Candace - 26 Years of CDW Service
Sales Manager
What was your first role at CDW? What attracted you to the company?
My first role was Billing Supervisor. What attracted me to CDW back in 1994 was a guy I met wearing a CDW Circle of Service logo on his sweatshirt. He was so excited to tell me what the logo stood for and how great the organization was! He was surprised I had never heard of them so I had to ask more about this company.
How has CDW impacted your career for women in Sales and Technology?
For me to have the ability to move around the organization in different roles, in several capacities, from Finance, Marketing, Operations and now Sales has been wonderful. I’ve had the opportunity to have a lens into the overall big picture and vision. For 26 years, I have been excited each day to contribute to that vision.
Chris - 28 Years of Service
Senior Vice President of Integrated Technology Solutions
What attracted you to CDW?
I sold to our founder, Michael Krasny, when I had worked at Price Electronics. Then one of my coworkers at Price went to work for CDW. I kept in touch with him and liked what he was saying about the entrepreneurial feel. I joined shortly thereafter. I told my husband, Bill that I was coming to CDW for two years, and now almost 29 years later I am still here! I think that what kept me here is the people, the culture and the ever-changing dynamics of the tech industry.
How has CDW impacted your career for women in Sales and Technology?
It has shaped my entire career. I am proud of the focus that CDW has had in developing all of its coworkers. This development can be seen in the make-up of our Executive Committee, as well as our Board. The fact that our Executive Committee and our Board are diverse and have a high concentration of woman is wonderful to see and does set us apart from many other organizations.
What are you most looking forward to at CDW in the coming years?
Continued change! Continuing to align our go-to-market with how our customers are thinking about solving their business problems. Watching the company mix shift into solutions and services. Improving the participation rate of our customers and sales people in selling all aspects of services making our relationship with our customers that much more meaningful.
Donna - 29 Years of Service
Senior Application Developer
What was your first role at CDW? What attracted you to the company?
My first role when I started 29½ years ago was Biller. It was a data entry position that has since been automated. I was a senior in high school and enrolled in work co-op program. Given my goal to be a computer programmer, my teacher thought CDW (MPK Computing at the time) would be a good fit. When I finished high school, I stayed with the company and went to night school for my degree in Computer Information Systems. My first position in IT was Help Desk and the department had under ten coworkers at the time!
How has CDW impacted your career for women in Sales and Technology?
Since CDW has been my employer for my entire professional career, you would think that my knowledge would be limited, but because CDW uses so much technology and changing so fast, I have continued learning new things and my job has never been boring.
CDW Women
CDW has grown exponentially since the company was founded in 1984, and this would not be the case without the contributions from our female coworkers. This Women’s History Month, we are celebrating those women who have been here since our early days. Check out their stories below.
Cathleen - 32 Years of CDW Service
Marketing Operations Coordinator
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your years at CDW?
Seeing the coworkers growing from 46 to over 9,900 and expanding our footprint globally.
How has CDW influenced your career for women in Sales and Technology?
I see it all around me, women succeeding at all levels and career paths. From the warehouse to the boardroom, CDW allows all women to think big. CDW supplies every coworker the resources for next steps, and encourages everyone to do more, try more, ask more and reach the goals that they have planned for themselves.
What are you most looking forward to at CDW in the coming years?
In keeping with the theme, celebrating women! I look forward to seeing how Sona Chawla, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, will propel CDW in the coming months with her style, growth plan and mostly innovation.
Candace - 26 Years of CDW Service
Sales Manager
What was your first role at CDW? What attracted you to the company?
My first role was Billing Supervisor. What attracted me to CDW back in 1994 was a guy I met wearing a CDW Circle of Service logo on his sweatshirt. He was so excited to tell me what the logo stood for and how great the organization was! He was surprised I had never heard of them so I had to ask more about this company.
How has CDW impacted your career for women in Sales and Technology?
For me to have the ability to move around the organization in different roles, in several capacities, from Finance, Marketing, Operations and now Sales has been wonderful. I’ve had the opportunity to have a lens into the overall big picture and vision. For 26 years, I have been excited each day to contribute to that vision.
Chris - 28 Years of Service
Senior Vice President of Integrated Technology Solutions
What attracted you to CDW?
I sold to our founder, Michael Krasny, when I had worked at Price Electronics. Then one of my coworkers at Price went to work for CDW. I kept in touch with him and liked what he was saying about the entrepreneurial feel. I joined shortly thereafter. I told my husband, Bill that I was coming to CDW for two years, and now almost 29 years later I am still here! I think that what kept me here is the people, the culture and the ever-changing dynamics of the tech industry.
How has CDW impacted your career for women in Sales and Technology?
It has shaped my entire career. I am proud of the focus that CDW has had in developing all of its coworkers. This development can be seen in the make-up of our Executive Committee, as well as our Board. The fact that our Executive Committee and our Board are diverse and have a high concentration of woman is wonderful to see and does set us apart from many other organizations.
What are you most looking forward to at CDW in the coming years?
Continued change! Continuing to align our go-to-market with how our customers are thinking about solving their business problems. Watching the company mix shift into solutions and services. Improving the participation rate of our customers and sales people in selling all aspects of services making our relationship with our customers that much more meaningful.
Donna - 29 Years of Service
Senior Application Developer
What was your first role at CDW? What attracted you to the company?
My first role when I started 29½ years ago was Biller. It was a data entry position that has since been automated. I was a senior in high school and enrolled in work co-op program. Given my goal to be a computer programmer, my teacher thought CDW (MPK Computing at the time) would be a good fit. When I finished high school, I stayed with the company and went to night school for my degree in Computer Information Systems. My first position in IT was Help Desk and the department had under ten coworkers at the time!
How has CDW impacted your career for women in Sales and Technology?
Since CDW has been my employer for my entire professional career, you would think that my knowledge would be limited, but because CDW uses so much technology and changing so fast, I have continued learning new things and my job has never been boring.
CDW Women
