Stephanie Newby (formerly Hanbury-Brown) is Crimson Hexagon’s CEO and previously founded investment firm Golden Seeds. Her prior experience was in financial services, the majority of which was with J.P. Morgan, where she headed several global businesses and served in roles including head of e-commerce. Stephanie retains a board position with publicly traded Amec Foster Wheeler plc. Her ten prior board positions include Riskmetrics Group, Design2Launch, UK Securities & Futures Authority and Archipelago Holdings. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Sydney.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
As an athlete, I was faced with the choice of whether to go the individual route with tennis or track & field, or the team sport option with field hockey. In my late teens and early twenties, I just made the decision that I wanted to be part of a team. It’s way more fun being on a team. We shared experiences, set big goals, celebrated victories, mourned losses and moved on. I spent a lot of time playing at an elite level, which was an important period for me, especially as a young woman. I discovered my leadership abilities during that period, especially my ability to rally people around some pretty outrageous goals (like winning the premiership!).
How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at Crimson Hexagon?
My years at JP Morgan were critical because they taught me what it was like to work for a world-class company and what that standard really means. If I were looking back at my career now and had only worked at small companies, I would still be thinking about what it would be like to work on that level and wondering “How do you do that?” But with that experience in my pocket, I know what world-class looks like, and I am confident pushing us to be number one in the world.
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Crimson Hexagon?
The highlight for me was when the cash flow broke even in 2014, as that enabled us to choose when to raise capital, rather than being a slave to it. And, of course, subsequently raising our growth equity funding from a really strong partner - Sageview Capital - was another major milestone. Our investors are really strong and provide me with good advice and validation, while challenging me in the right way. The current challenge is to get back to cash flow breakeven again. Knowing how it important it was last time around, we are committed to get there again as soon as we can.
What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry?
The technology industry needs people with all types of backgrounds, skills and experiences. This industry hires a lot of engineers and we know that there are many more men engineers than women. Don’t be discouraged by this. If you decide you want to take your career into technology, it’s never too late. We have an engineer who was an English major, taught herself to code and became an excellent engineer. There are also many technology positions that don’t require an engineering background. Don’t second-guess whether there are openings for you—there are. Don’t opt out before exploring it. It’s important for women to consciously follow the money, and the money today is in the high growth tech sector.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?
A combination of humility and resilience provides the ability to NOT take things too personally when things aren’t going according to plan. It will happen. You can’t hide away and suffer. As the CEO, you are the general and the general has to lead from the front through both wins and losses.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I’m pretty good at switching off when I need to. I try to keep weekends for myself, family and friends. It’s not always possible by any means, but I certainly don’t work every weekend. I don’t try to have any work-life balance during the week at all. I’m in for 12 hour days minimum Monday to Friday, and that enables me to free up on the weekends. Getting outdoors for me is a great break and rejuvenator, so I garden, ride bikes, play tennis and walk as much as I can. My favorite bike ride right now is a 34-miler in Farmington River Valley. I can’t wait for the leaves to turn so I can do it again in full color.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
Confidence. You must, of course, always do your best work, but it’s essential to be confident that what you’re doing is good. Also, don’t shy away from reaching for the next job. If you want it, you have to tell people you do, and explain why you’re ready for it.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
I’ve never really had a senior mentor, but I feel that the person who helped me the most was someone who actually worked for me. She pushed me to think strategically and rigorously. Mentors don’t have to be gray haired old wise people. They can be anyone who will push, challenge and help you think differently and better. Don’t let your ego get in the way of this being someone younger or at a junior level.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
Lady Astor became a member of Parliament in the House of Commons by running for her husband’s seat when he died. She said, “If you want a party hack, don’t elect me.” At the time, Churchill was the prime minister. They battled it out in public, taking and giving blows that were at times hilariously witty. I like how outspoken, opinionated and clever she was, and that she did not shy away from challenging the great William Churchill. How cool is that? Some more modern examples include Meg Whitman, Sallie Krawcheck and Sheryl Sandberg. They have shown staying power and resilience, too. We need more women to stay in the game to reach the top.
What do you want Crimson Hexagon to accomplish in the next year?
I want us to realize our product vision. Our vision is to create a consumer insights hub for large enterprise customers that features not only feedback from customers on social media, but also reviews, customer service tickets and chat data. Through our artificial intelligence engine, we will provide a 360-degree view of the customer.