Laura Haas of IBM was inspired by her former manager Pat Selinger.

In Laura’s Words

Pat Selinger was my first manager at IBM. She was technically brilliant (she invented query optimization for relational databases), but also a phenomenal people manager, making everyone around her feel valuable and appreciated, while challenging them to be the best they could be. Pat became one of IBM’s few female Fellows, and served as Vice President in strategy roles in both development and research divisions. I am currently a few rungs short of her accomplishments (I am a Distinguished Engineer and Director, and have led teams in both research and development), but have followed her footsteps in becoming an executive while still maintaining a strong technical influence and presence.