Eugina Jordan- Episode 33

On today’s episode of The Route to Networking podcast, we’re joined by our host, Eve McKenna and a special guest, Eugina Jordan, Chief Marketing Officer at Telecom Infra Project. 

During this episode, Eugina shares her journey from 1970’s communist Russia to working her way up in the tech industry in corporate America, to writing her debut book UNLIMITED: The Seventeen Proven Laws for Success in the Workplace Not Designed for You.

Getting into the industry. 

When Eugina started in the telecom industry 23 years ago, it was just after the dot com boom. Initially, her career began as a receptionist at Starent Networks, which was an IT and Networking company that 2009 was acquired by Cisco. As a newly divorced single parent, she was driven and motivated daily by the need to provide a good life for her child. 

Whilst at Starent Networks, Eugina worked her way up to the position of Chief of Staff and then to Communications manager, expanding her skills and experience rapidly. Eugina recalls the moment that everything changed for her, the opportunity arose for an entry-level role in the marketing department, and she knew this was her shot to learn the skills she needed to take her career to the next level but without the financial burden of going back to school.

Advice for the younger generation…

For those getting started in the industry, Eugina says the way to excel is to diversify your skills early and to put yourself out there to gain experience in as many areas of your industry as possible. Although her career has been in marketing, Eugina has expanded her knowledge into engineering and co-authored more than ten patents from 5G Infrastructure to Openran architecture. She shares how important it is to expand your experience, especially early on in your career when you are figuring out your next steps. Throughout her career, she was able to gain expertise first as a corporate marketer and then as a product marketer, building on her experience and the value she was able to bring to work.  

Encountering bias

When asked about her experience in the industry as a woman, Eugina shared a story of when she felt the impact of gender bias. A few years ago, whilst attending an industry conference, an attendee started to explain the technical acronyms to her, assuming she could not understand. When she revealed her position as CMO at Telecom Infra Project and her achievements in the industry, including the creation of more than ten patents, he apologised. 

The encounter went viral after Eugina shared her story on LinkedIn, the overwhelming response came from two groups of people. First of all, there were women who had been in a similar situation who took to the comments to share their own stories and provide support to each other. The second group was men who apologised for their own mistakes and times when they had unconsciously stereotyped their colleagues. 

Eugina’s advice for women 

Going back to her book, UNLIMITED: The Seventeen Proven Laws For Success In The Workplace Not Designed For You, Eugina stresses that if you want to be something, anything, first you have to believe in yourself, that you deserve the position. Building a growth mindset is the first step that Eugina recommends taking, covered in the first part of her book. Learning to ask "why not me" when faced with challenges or a crisis of confidence. 

Looking forward 

When asked what is coming next, Eugina shares that she aims to continue to bring more diversity into telecoms. “My goal is having lines at the female bathrooms at Mobile World Congress because when we have lines at the female bathrooms at any mobility, wireless or telecoms conference it means we have gender parity”

Listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple podcasts- out now.