“Find a Tribe of Both Women and Men That Will Have Your Back”

Maréva Koulamallah, the Founder and CEO of Marevak Consulting, says women need to look at themselves and be more supportive of one another

Can you share your journey into the technology world? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?
I started my career in tech at Kingston Technology – HyperX as a PR for both brands for EMEA. I always liked gadgets, so even though I was in a non-technical support role, I spent a lot of time with the engineers in the lab. I got authorized to pick and send the product samples for tests to journalists on my own. I was inspired by all the innovation around me.

Then, I joined Acronis as Senior PR Manager EMEA, based in London, and left almost five years later as Head of Marketing and Communication for MEA, based in Dubai. Now that I have my own PR and Marketing Agency, I am on the other side and while we work with various industries, we do have a lot of clients that come from the technology space; so, I still feel part of the industry somehow.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a woman, and how did you overcome them?
Being heard is definitely something that has been very challenging all through my career as a woman and especially a black woman. Funny enough, the more responsibilities I was getting the more challenged I was. You would think that earning your spot with your hard work, and continuously over delivering on your KPIs would be enough for people to respect your skills and at least listen to what you have to say; but it could not be further from the truth.

Having to deal with toxic leaders actually pushed me out of the industry; so, I left to create my own safe environment for others and for myself. The one thing I need to highlight is that it is not only men who have created unsafe spaces for me through my journey, a large part also came from women which is very disappointing. As women, we also need to look at ourselves, and be more supportive of one another.

How do you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over time?
I have always led with empathy and from a place of care. I believe that you need to give trust first to earn trust back from your team. I would say that earlier in my career I was obviously way more stressed to manage several people, and especially that I led teams across different regions. Now, despite the pressure of my business being my livelihood, I am more experienced and way more relaxed, also because I got to choose all the people I collaborate with, definitely made the right choices. It feels great to directly positively impact people’s lives and to guide a very talented team to reach new heights. Kindness in leadership is underrated.

What strategies do you use to motivate and empower your team?
I try to provide a healthy environment, where speaking up is accepted, feedback well-received, active listening is key, with public praise for work well-done and fairness in compensation including financial perks. I am not perfect, so I often ask my team for feedback on how to improve. I try to be very transparent, except for confidential accounting and legal information, my team knows everything, whom I am speaking with, where our plan is going and their input is taken into consideration.

Have you had any mentors or role models who have significantly influenced your career? How did they impact your journey?
I always dreamed to have a mentor with whom I could sit down to openly ask all my questions about my career and receive the guidance I needed at the time, but unfortunately, I did not have one. I had zero network and had to build my ecosystem from scratch. However, I had people I was looking up to at work so I used my admiration for them to observe what they were doing and tried to learn from them.

I also did have two amazing managers in my career (out of the many roles I held), and even if they were not mentors as per say, having to work with them and to then compare it to toxic leaders, made me better understand what was okay at work and what was not. For me, the biggest role models are from my personal life; it is my parents and my best friends who have had very different but quite inspiring journeys with one thing in common: they never gave up despite the odds against them.

What advice would you give to young women aspiring to enter the technology world?
I would first tell them that it does not matter if it is a technical or non-technical role, there is space for everyone and they should take their space. Then, I would recommend them to find a tribe of both supportive women and men that will have their back.

Can you highlight some of your proudest achievements in your career so far?
I am proud of my corporate career and especially my time in the technology industry as I had to start back in a Junior role despite an existing career in other industries, and within two years, I landed a Senior role then got promoted to Head level. I also increased my pay during that progression to earn a comfortable six figure salary. And I am, of course, extremely proud of my pivot.

Starting a business as a solopreneur is a very challenging thing but I would not change my journey. Setbacks and failures in early days of my business have thoughts me invaluable lessons, and the company is now successful thanks to that. Today, I have a team of professionals and we have a lot of fun while collaborating with great brands for our activities.

How do you manage work-life balance, and what tips do you have for other women striving to achieve this balance?
I do not have kids, and I often feel that I have to compete against mothers on how busy one can be and how tired life can get. All of us should make mental health our priority. I have the highest respect for mothers, the hard work they do, but I also want to stand up for all women who navigate life with challenges of their own. Women without children can have other commitments, families to support in other capacity as well, health issues with heavy consequences, and they need rest too.

Additionally, in my case, owning a business obviously takes a lot of my time. I want to tell women to stop feeling guilty for putting themselves first when they need it. I definitely push myself to keep a balance and I “force” my employees to maintain one too. Except in rare occasions where we have to work on urgent tasks at non-business hours because our activities demand it – and the team gets to take time the next day then, I enforce a disconnection rule outside working hours.

The team is fully remote across several countries and decide on their schedule as they see fit. The main advice I would give is to put yourself first, no matter the level of responsibilities because you cannot pour into others from an empty cup. Focusing on both mental, and physical health early in one’s career is key. We invest in our professional growth; we should invest in ourselves the same.