(upbeat music) >> Announcer: Live from Orlando, Florida It's theCUBE, covering Grace Hopper's celebration of women in computing. Brought to you by SiliconANGLE Media. >> Welcome back to theCUBE's coverage of the Grace Hopper conference here in Orlando, Florida. I am your host Rebecca Knight. I'm joined by Lybra Clemons. She is the global head of diversity and inclusion at PayPal. Thanks so much for joining us, Lybra. >> Thanks for having me. >> So this is your first time on theCUBE. >> First time on theCUBE, first time at Grace Hopper, first month of PayPal so it's great. >> A newbie, well we are thrilled to have you. >> Thank you. >> And you're actually, frankly, quite new at PayPal, so-- >> Very new. >> You're a month in, so tell us, what does the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion do? >> I think they do everything, because somehow, someway my calendar is full. It's a combination of things. You know, DNI, Diversity Inclusion, is so important to the CEO, and to the company. So, not only am I involved in all kinds of business meetings, but we're a function of human resources, so there's a recruiting piece of it. There's also the talent management, the development of our diverse talent, as well as engagement. So I'm hitting every single part of kind of your HR employee life cycle, as well as all of these amazing opportunities, like coming to Grace Hopper, partnering with a lot of our smaller organizations and nonprofits who are working on ensuring that there is STEM and tech for young women and girls. As well as, looking into different affinity groups in LGBT, our veterans, just so many opportunities, so I'm constantly like, but it's so fantastic because there's such enthusiasm. Our CEO is really top notch. I mean, Dan Schulman, not only does he talk about diversity, but he is really committed to it. So, I'm telling you, I feel like almost a celebrity, and it's just like, usually the diversity person, they're like, yeah he's our diversity person. But then like, I got introduced the first week, and my email is blowing up, and people were just excited about it, in a good positive way. >> So, let's back up actually, and talk about, you know, one of the things our keynotes were talking about this morning is what do women look for in an employer. What do they want? What do women want Lybra? >> What do people want? >> So when you were looking for your next move in your career, what stood out to you about PayPal, and what made you think, "This is the place". >> That is such a good question. One thing I did, the first thing I did actually, was go to their website, and I looked at their board to see who was on their board from a diversity perspective. And I have to tell you, PayPal's Board of Directors 45% diverse in terms of gender and ethnicity. I don't know another company, or tech company, that's achieving that at that point, so that was completely impressive. I also go to the leadership, and I look to see how many levels down you have to go, to find a woman or a person of color. I didn't have to go that many levels down, and it was an abundance of it. So, for me, that's critical, and I think a lot of woman and even underrepresented minorities, they look for that. If you can't see yourself in the senior ranks, then you just question whether there is a life for you there, and a trajectory for you. So, for me, that was important. Also, just a great, cool culture. I get to wear jeans to work you know. >> But Lybra, how did you find out about the culture? What kind of homework did you do? >> You know, that's a good question. I actually knew someone that worked at PayPal, but it's a far cry from my life in New York, which is wonderful, and there are a lot of companies that actually are casual, but beyond just your attire, there is something about it, every time I met someone at PayPal I didn't hear this, "Oh, I work at PayPal". There's enthusiasm, there's authenticity, which is critical, people are who they are, who they are. They don't come to work and they don't shed whatever it is, they can be whoever they want. That, to me, is so important, because I have a personality, I also have an idea, I have a vision. >> Rebecca: I have no idea, Lybra. >> Yeah, no personality, but that's so important to me. So, there was a place where people can feel like they can bring themselves to work, and I know it's a cliche, but you really can. And I think there's also a piece where people actually care about what other people think. I think there's like not a lot of group think, which, a lot of companies are like, "Get along, "go along to get along," that's not there. So, for me, it was so important that I can show up, and be myself, and in the interviews I was all Lybra, and if you can take all Lybra, then, you know, I'm in there, but I think a lot of woman and just people in general want to see themselves at work, and feel like they don't have to try to be someone else. >> And see their aspirational selves, as you said. >> Their aspirations, their goals, people that look like them, but an opportunity to influence, and be creative, and be entrepreneurial, and that is what I needed and wanted, and I think a lot of people are looking for that these days. >> So, earlier in your career you worked in Nicaragua, with the One Laptop per Child Organization. Tell us a little bit about that, and then also connect it to what you're doing today. >> It's so interesting, it is like, first of all I left American Express, moved to Nicaragua and ran a laptop program. I have no tech background. I had never been to Nicaragua, but it was such an amazing opportunity, and it was an opportunity for me to not only to introduce the concept of using laptops to various schools and teachers, but to also get kids to really understand how to use technology to solve problems. This was in 2009, right? But was also just full circle, and it's funny because I talked about this in my interview, was living in Nicaragua, I had a cellphone at the time, but I would have to walk blocks and blocks and blocks in the heat, to the ATM, which may or may not work, to get cash, to go walk a few more blocks to pay for my cellphone to add minutes. And I just thought in my mind, how much easier it would be, like literally just so, >> Rebecca: (laughing) Yes. >> How much easier would it be if I didn't have to do that. So, one of the things I learned was understanding how important tech is, introducing it at young ages, ensuring that people understand, not just the children understand the use of technology, but also we were training teachers who didn't understand technology. That's a huge gap a lot of people miss. But also, the function of how to operate when the infrastructures aren't there. Fast forward to 2017, interviewing at a company like PayPal that actually opens up opportunities for people who wouldn't have that. >> And here in the US we can be very Western centric. >> That's right. >> But to think about how tech is this great equalizer for developing countries, helping, making person to person payments easier, more seamless. >> Financial inclusion, that's what this company is about. So not only did I go to the website to look at who was on the board, who were the leaders, you know, Dan Schulman, following him, but also really being behind the vision and the mission of a company, and there's not a person at PayPal that does not agree with what we're doing. And it's so fantastic, and it's everything I thought about during my time at American Express, also at One Laptop per Child, but it all just is full circle, and it's just everything that I've always wanted. So you feel like you're in the right place, you know? >> So, you're one month in. >> Lybra: One month in. >> I want to know what you want the future to hold for PayPal, so when we're sitting down next year Lybra, at the next Grace Hopper conference. >> Lybra: Yes. >> What do you want to look back as the accomplishments of PayPal, both in terms of recruiting more women, retaining more women, and also the programs keep them happy in their roles. >> Yes, yeah. I mean, you know what, in one year, I would love to see more people of color here. I mean, I definitely think that, even as just looking around the room, I definitely see diversity within Grace Hopper, but I definitely see that we're missing the Black and Latino population. And that part is very critical, as we look at the numbers and we look at diversity within the women's movement. So that part, I would love for PayPal to be able to contribute to that. But how do we bring more women of color into these conversations and having a seat at the table so I would love for that. Grace Hopper, more men, we have men here. Our Chief Technology Officer is here. >> Rebecca: (laughing) It's a secret. >> We've got probably two to three men that are with us, and I definitely want to bring more. I think the only way to have a conversation is to bring everyone to be part of it. And so, I know we can do that next year, and I just have a feeling that the way that global diversity is looking at DNI as it relates to women. We can look at women, but we're looking at everyone. And we want to create those opportunities. And there's a lot of focus on recruiting, but for us we really want to talk about retention and culture. Because we can bring them in the door, we need you to stay. We need you to stay, we need you to build, we need you to be entrepreneurs, and we need you to ascend through the ranks. So anything that our team can do to ensure that, that's where the dirty work is. This is all fun and exciting, but it's like getting back to PayPal offices, ensuring that not only do we have the women at PayPal, but they see themselves in leadership opportunities, and they have those opportunities. So that's exciting for us too. >> You talked about the numbers, and the numbers are bleak right now. >> Yes. >> So, it's 25%, women represent 25% of workers in the tech industry, 15% of leaders, and the numbers are even more abysmal for Black and Latino women. >> Lybra: Yes absolutely. >> So if you could talk to the young Lybra out there >> Lybra: Oh my God. >> The person who aspires to have a rewarding and rich career in technology. What would you say to her? >> Here is what I love though. I have to say this. This is my first tech job to be honest. What I'm hearing about are all these organizations, and even Melinda Gates talked about this. There are so many organizations that are going into the schools to ensure that a lot of these young women from all walks of life have access to technology. Computer Science. To really understand the value of using technlogy to solve problems. So, what I would love to do is continue those partnerships, and be very, very targeted and specific about it. Because, there's a lot of that's happening, but we need to pull through all the way. Like, do they stop at the fifth grade, what happens in Middle School, what happens in High School? Do they go to certain schools that don't have these programs. So there has to be kind of of a pull through affect. I think if you're interested, there are opportunities. But you have to stay involved, and I think that's the hard part because there's that drop off that I was just talking about. I think there's a lot of commitment in the schools, but then you may drop off after that, so what do we do to kind of bridge that gap. I would love for companies to think more of this middle to high school bridge program. Where, not only do you learn at the young age, but also you're starting to invent and be more thoughtful and be entrepreneurs, because that's what we need more of. Hopefully, we'll be able to tackle that at some point, we'll see, but the sky's the limit I think. >> Do you have any also advice for, I know you're an expert in public-private partnerships. >> Lybra: Yes yes. >> Do you have any advice for companies as well as organizations that want to team up and work on this problem. >> Yeah, you know what though, I think there's a lot of these organizations as I said earlier, but I think that if companies take one particular school, or one particular idea and just go full throttle, I think that helps. >> Rebecca: And use it as a test case or? >> It's a pilot, and see what else happens. But I think when there's a more specific and targeted goal with one particular entity it helps to build a momentum. You're constantly involved and engaged, and you don't lose anything as a result of kind of hopping around. Public-private partnerships are so hard, you know there's political, there's the politics behind it, there are people that leave, so you don't get the continuity as much, but you try. >> So, I think that's exciting to note, the experiment, you see what works, and then you are able to take those best practices and scale them up. >> Absolutely absolutely. >> Great. Well, Lybra Clemons, thanks so much it's been really fun talking to you. >> Thank you I had a wonderful time. >> Good luck and thank you. >> Thanks. >> I'm Rebecca Knight, we'll have more from the Grace Hopper conference here in Orlando, Florida, just after this. (upbeat music)

>> Wait. Welcome back to Boston, everybody. This is the Cube. We're live on a special presentation of BMC Day atop of sixty State Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Beautiful view of Boston Harbor. Evelyn Ehrlich is here. She's the vice president and research director for service delivery at Force that we're going to talk about job control, language and cobalt. No, I'm just kidding. We're talking about service delivery. Who'd Evelyn? Yes. So you have a really deep background in it, And I know what J C l stands for, So I had to make that joke. So anyway, uh, welcome to the cubes. Great to see you gave a fantastic presentation today. Who doesn't need better service delivery? It's an imperative for the digital transformation. So, again, welcome to the Cube. Thank you. So tell us a little bit about what you do at Forrester, what your area is, and I want to get into your presentation today. >> Sure. So service delivery. Basically, when the application development team is ready to hand us something, whatever that issa Web service and application a service, we actually make sure that that gets to the work force or to the customer. So anything from Police Management Service Management, the front end relative to the service desk. Tell them anything around management after a performance of the applications operations. Anything like that is all about service delivery. >> And they were two. Two pieces of your talk really struck out to me on Dino. No George for a long time. So two things to majorities that you don't like to use one is users, right end users use it, and then the other really was. So talk about it. Why those terms don't make sense in this digital economy. And what does make sense? >> Yeah, so your users, it almost seems like to me, it is something where people are putting folks into a box that they are that they can like addicts. You know, user. Like I said, in a camp in the drug industry, we have users because they're addicts way have to somehow keep them at bay. We have to somehow keep them low and our engagement with them. It's no, it's not going to be enjoyable. It's not going to be fun, and it's not going to be actually effective. Unfortunately, these users today those are our workforce. There's our employees There's our partners and customers. They have other places to go. They don't need us and technology. So if we don't shift that thinking into that, their customers, so that we can actually enable them, we're might be able to lose our jobs. Because there's outsourcers service providers to workplace services, for example, as many companies out there who provide the service desk who provide of VD I who provide the services cheaper, faster and better. But what we have been lost or what if that's gonna happen? We are losing the understanding of the business for losing the connection to the business, and is that that could be a strategic conversation right? There should be a strategic conversations, not justa cost conversation. And when we think about user, it's all about cost. If you think about customer, its value and relevancy, >> okay, And of course, that leads to not its business. There's no such thing as a project. >> No, there isn't because anything we do if we think of information technology is anything almost like in the back room. It's something which is hidden in a data center somewhere in a storage or a server or in a device and it doesn't really add any value. >> Boiler, the boy, the room >> Exactly and way have done that. We have massaged it, what with whatever way measured the heck out of it. We measure meantime to repair. Well, who cares? It's time to business impact. This what we need to think about. So if we start thinking about customers to empty, TR becomes time to business impact. We're now thinking outside in and the same is true with I t. If we just use it for technology sake to Dr Information, we're not connected if the business, because it is about business technology, is dear to win, retain and sustain our customers. If we don't do that, we become borders. We become the, you know, the companies who all have not focused on the winning technology to make them successful. >> You had a really nice graph, simple sort of digital failing digital masters, and I were in between talked a little about things like I Till and Deb ops, and they feel sometimes like counter counter to each other. Once one's fast one feels home. As you talk to customer, you talk to customers. What can they expect? How long might these transformations take? Or what of the one of those key stepping stones you talked about? It being a journey? >> How do you >> will think about all this change? >> But that that's a good question. It's a very difficult question to have an answer to, and I think it has to. It has to be a little bit more compartmentalized. We have to start thinking a little bit more in smaller boxes, off influences or or areas where we can make some progress. So let's take, for example, Dev Ops and Vital and connect the process release, which is an I told process into this notion. If we combine Deaf ops and Tyto release, we're starting to see that the police management process. It's now a process which is done very agile very much. There is a lot more things behind that process and a lot more collaboration between a D and D and I, you know, to make the process of faster process. So we're now married, I told release management with the journey of Death, Bob's as we're starting to see release cycles off one day. Lookit, lookit Amazon. What they do I mean again, Amazon is a very extreme. Not everybody needs a police processes Amazon has, because it's just not that not every pieces is in the Amazon business. Maybe in ten years, who knows? Maybe in five, but those kinds of things that marriage happens through, more off for design thinking. And I think that's the practical way. Let's not adopt a Iittle blandly and say, All right, we're going to just redo our entire twenty six processes. Let's look at where is the problem? What, where? Where's the pain? What is the ninety day journey to solve that pain? Where's the six months? Nine months, twelve months, twenty four months? And if twenty four months is too far out, which I believe it's staying a twelve month road map and start adjusting it that way and measure it, measure where you are. Measure where you want to go and prove that you have done to Delta. Because if I don't measure that, I won't get funding for support, right? I think that's key. >> Devlin. You talked about the, you know, pray or a predator, right? That's good of a common theme that you hear conferences like this isn't a zero sum game, is is the taxi drivers. You know, the taxi companies screwed is, you know, the hotels in big trouble. I mean, Ken, cos you know who are sort of caught flat footed transform and begin to grow again. Talk about that zero sum game nous. >> Yeah, I think I think there is. There is hope. So I hope it's what dies last week saying right. But there is hope, hope if customers of organizations he's enterprise to see that there's a challenger out there. And if they don't necessarily stand up to fight that challenges start innovating in either copying or leveraging or ten. Gently do something else. Let me give you an example. When about two years we had a two years ago with an event in London and stuff I got Square was completely blocked off by the taxi drivers because uber was there were striking against uber or they were going on. It wasn't really a real strike was in London. It's a little bit of a challenge with unions, but anyway, instead, off going on a strike, why did they not embrace whatever they needed to and example is in the cab At that time, you could not use American Express or discover credit card uber. I never have tipple any money out of my pocket because that's a convenience. It's easy. It's enjoyable. >> Love it, >> We love it. It's simple. So why don't these other companies this cos the taxi cannot? Why don't the equip that technology in such a way? They can at least start adopting some of those innovations to make it a even part right. Some of the other things, maybe they will never get there, because there whatever limitations are there. And so that's what that's what I think needs to happen. These innovators will challenge all these other companies and those who want to stay alive. I mean, they want to because they have for street is forcing them to stay alive. They are the ones who will hopefully create a differentiation because of that >> essay, really invention required. It's applying technology and process that's well established. >> Thinking outside in thinking of you and him and me as >> customers, it becomes, you know, who just does the incumbent get innovation before the the challenger gets distribution? Exactly. You know, Huber, lots of cars. I don't have to buy them, but somebody like Tesla isn't necessarily disrupting forward because they don't have the men. They can't distribute it faster than you know. It depends where you are in the distribution versus innovation. So it's in the brief time. We have love to talk about the landscape. So and that's particularly the transformation of beings. BMC Public Company to private They were under a lot of fire, you know, kind of flattish revenues. Wall Street pound. You got companies like service now picking away at the established SM players. We're talking off camera, saying that's begun to change. Give us the narrative on that that sequence and where we are today. Yeah, we're going. >> Yeah, so if you go back, maybe me way back seven years ago or so you know, it started service now they had a fairly easy game because BMC with a very old platform, it wasn't really it wasn't. There was no fight. Um, and I think they were the enterprises. We're ready for something new, and it is always some new vendor out there is a new shiny object, and I have teenagers, so they always spent the next latest iPhone or whatever. I would >> sort of wave >> so So. And and it kept going in the other vendors into space hp, cia, IBM really had no challenge had no, no, didn't give service now a challenge either because the SAS cloud, the adoption of the cloud in this space was absolutely important. And service now was the first one to be on the cloud. BMC was not really doing much with remedy force at the time. Itis them on demand was in an A S P model. Not really an itis, um, and so service not just took names and numbers and that just grew and grew and steamrolled. Really? All of them and customers just were like, Oh, my God, this is easy. I loved it. Looks it loves it looks beautiful. It's exciting >> over for the >> same thing that innovation, right, That challenge, they served the customers. Then suddenly what happened is service now grew faster than native. You experienced some growing pains Customer saying my account rep. I haven't seen him for a while. They changed the pricing model a little bit too started to blow up their solution. And now board nebula, which is the ninety operations management solution der extending into financials and they're bolstering themselves into more of an enterprise solution, which is where BMC already has been. But they lost the connection to the customer. BMC did not love the customers at that time. Now, through some executive changes to really starting to realize that the install base they need to hug them, they're back in the game >> and watching >> service now. And they're going private. As you were asking the question earlier, try about giving them the funding to invest in R and D. >> It's so necessary if I want to give me your take on icy service now. Is someone on the collision course with sales Force? In a way, where does BMC go for to expand their their tam and to grow? >> Yeah, I said, I think so. So on the first comment Sales force and service. Now, absolutely now the CEO of service now does not think that sales force is his target off competition. I think it has to. He has to, because it is about business applications, everything. It's everything exactly So sales force and service now in I don't know. Is that the year you know, wherever Chris >> No, no, no, >> no. But they will there will collapse. Deborah Crash or you'LL see a fight. I think BMC should stay and really extend in this digital performance management in this operational management and really make it intelligent, intelligent decisions for operation for operations to become automated. To have a staff of eighty eight PM solution the application dependency mapping solution happening to be one of the best, really one of the best in the market. And customers love it. Tying that into two side intelligence, giving them the ability to understand before it happens not when it happens or after and then drive intelligence into different organizations to cmo the CEO, the CFO. Because that's what basis technology is all about. It's not about the journey anymore. They have that capability with products where service now does not have that >> great insight from a sharp analyst. Evan are like Evelyn Evelyn Ehrlich. Thanks very much for coming on the Cube. Forced to research wicked, we find more about the research that you do force the dotcom, obviously, but anything new for you, any upcoming events that we should know about where people should watch >> you go into Crystal Rica, Nicaragua >> mochi ice all right. We'LL leave you alone for a while, right, Evelyn? Great to meet you. Thanks for coming on. I keep right there, buddy. We're back with our next guest Is the Q ber live from BMC Day in Boston right back.