Rachel is a global tech sales leader with an incredible drive to learn, an inspiring belief in herself and others, and a non-tech background! She shares how an open, trusting culture with nurturing leaders has made Nintex a great place for her to successfully develop a career.
Born in Japan and raised in the U.S. with a Jewish father and Japanese Buddhist mother, Rachel experienced a multicultural upbringing that ingrained in her a desire to explore, understand, and experience as much of the world as possible. She just returned to the U.S. from a work trip to visit the team in Australia and is appreciating—despite the jetlag—that her passion for travel is something her workplace nurtures. In fact, she’s off again next month and this time it’s personal – a honeymoon in Bali!
In 2016, Rachel was selling men’s suits at Nordstrom with a desire to use her recently acquired college degree, but not sure how to start. Claire Hendrickson, a friend she’d had since grade school, urged her to interview for a BDR (business development representative) role at Nintex.
“I never could have imagined how much this opportunity would change my life – both personally and professionally.”
Six years later, Rachel is the global leader of Nintex’s BDR and SDR (sales development representative) organization. Her curiosity and analytical nature have helped her flourish at Nintex. But upon joining, Rachel admittedly knew nothing about tech and went in and out of imposter syndrome with so much to learn in a whole new industry – that’s where Nintex VP of sales, Phil Luong, came in.
“Phil had the biggest impact on me because when you’re as young and inexperienced as I was, you’re a sponge! I’m fortunate that Phil laid a strong foundation for me and opened a lot of doors with his communication, cross-functional alignment and problem solving. His mantra of “see it, try it” left the greatest impression.”
Rachel sees people overlooking tech as a career option because they don’t have the precise industry background or don’t know where to start. Her experience at Nintex has shown her that whatever you want to do, you can step into it. She’s particularly passionate about women in tech and reminds her team and herself that just because you don’t tick all the boxes, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it.
“I am an advocate for women in tech feeling worthy to apply for ambitious roles – know your worth and the value you bring to the table. You are not underqualified! My true passion is bringing a diverse group of people with non-tech backgrounds into tech – get them in the door and build their careers at Nintex. I just hired a former teacher and she’s doing amazing!”
Rachel’s passion for the tech space and experience and belief that opportunities abound here, paired with her inquisitive mind and willingness to act on it, have really driven her career growth at Nintex. But nobody catapults like this without shoulders to stand on along the way. Constantly receiving encouragement, a push forward, a confidence boost from her hype men, Michael DeDonato, Winslow Moran Hodge, Tyler Pelluer, and countless others, Rachel’s always had support.
“They just build me up. When I’m doing a big presentation, I lock eyes with them and they make it so I’m not nervous! They’re honestly proud and happy to see me succeed and I feel the same way about seeing their career successes too.”
This support has helped Rachel stay confident in following her curious mind and ambitious nature and is a huge factor in her successful pursuit of global sales leadership, where she continues to explore, understand, and experience as much of the world as possible.
To grow like Rachel has, check out other career opportunities at Nintex by clicking here.
