Women of the Channel: A moment with Candace Romascindo

[HPE-Editor]

In honor of both International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we’re taking a moment to highlight our women of the channel. Learn more about Candace Romascindo below.

What did you aspire to be growing up?
What didn’t I want to be? J A nurse, veterinarian, teacher… I think what appealed most to me through all of it were roles that allowed for deep connection & the be in a position to help others.

What do you enjoy most about your role? 
Aside from supporting one of our best channel partners, I thrive in the fact that we are helping organizations accelerate.  Especially with COVID-19 and all of the challenges last year that significantly impacted our partners and customers – being able to be there, leverage our scale, resources, expertise & technology to help them build back – across all sectors, healthcare & first responders, education, government, and commercial businesses offering services to our communities – that really brought it home for me.

What’s your favorite book and why? 
One that I re-read recently (tribute to her speaker spot at the upcoming Simmons Leadership Conference) is Why Not Me? By Mindy Kaling. It’s a pretty funny collection of essays but the meaningful underlying message I took from it was that to achieve success, you have to pick your priorities & be comfortable making sacrifices at every turn.

Favorite quote
One of my previous managers (also a strong female leader!) shared a poem called “Attitude” by Charles Swindoll with me last year.  I use it as an affirmation daily now – but my favorite excerpt from that is “The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.  We cannot change the past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”

This year’s International Women’s Day is themed #ChooseToChallenge, what does that mean to you?
Not to settle.  To be fearless in challenging the status quo.  It took me years to learn to not be afraid to fail, but once you do – it’s the most freeing feeling.  Having the courage to be visible, to let go of the idea of everything having to be perfect, to be vocal and not apologize for it.  And to always look for opportunities to extend a hand and pay it forward.

How do you think we can forge a gender equal world?
We have to keep encouraging each other.  Lift up folks in your network and ensure your peers have the power to speak & be heard.  Have the courage to drive accountability and call out actions that inhibit that.

Featured articles

• In Her Element
• The Element Podcast: Keeping Women in Tech 
• How these women used their tech experience to fuel their passions 

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Interview with:  Candace Romascindo
Channel Sales Manager, HPE

HPE Editor
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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