Women in Technology | Katia Gonzalez: All About Spreading Positive Vibes

Women in Technology | TelecomDrive.com

Meet Katia Gonzalez - the Head of Fraud Prevention Operations and Services, BICS she has this unique ability to spread positivity around everything she does. Whether it is her professional career or personal life – she has always managed to find the all so essential ‘good’ in every difficult situation of her life. This has also become the big secret for her success and happiness.

In an interesting discussion, Katia Gonzalez talks with Zia Askari from TelecomDrive.com about her professional and personal side of life journey.

Personal Profile – The Positive Attitude

How would you describe yourself?

I like to think of myself as a positive person, always looking to find the good in any given situation. I consider myself to be very open-minded and am always willing to listen to friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances, caring and empathizing about what they have to say.

What are your personal priorities?

My family is my first priority. I believe it is very important to maintain a healthy and stable balance between family, personal, social and work spaces.

Please share with us some of your personal milestones and their contributions towards developing your personality?

Becoming a mother was a very personal milestone, as building my family gave me a real purpose to life.

Moving from my home country, Spain, and settling in Belgium – a country I am very fond of – was also a significant moment in my life. Working in a global environment for a number of years has helped broaden my perspective in so many different ways. It is this love for international environments which makes me feel so at home working at BICS!

How do you see yourself as a person? What are your three qualities that have helped you grow as a person and a professional?

I endeavor to be there for my family and friends; always doing my best to help them whenever they need me.

The three personal qualities I consider have helped me grow both personally and professionally are:

• Determination: I have clear objectives and goals
• Open-mindedness: I am always interested in new opinions
• Creativity: I enjoy the freedom to think outside the box

Please share with us some of your hobbies and interests?

I read a lot to broaden my mind, and have become very fond of Yoga as a form of exercise. I also try to simply make time to be around family and friends; I think that’s very important.

Please tell us something about your family? How has been their support in terms of helping you grow professionally?

I am extremely fortunate to have a supportive family who respect each other’s professions and interests. It is my family who constantly give me the energy I need to continue growing within my job role, and surround me with positivity and the strength to stand up tall.

Katia Gonzalez: Spreading Positivity, Balancing Professional
 and Personal Life

Professional Profile – Good Luck Comes with Hard Work

How do you define success? What is your mantra to succeed?

My definition of success is being fortunate to do a job that you like and that brings positive value to others, while being surrounded by the people you love. I wouldn’t say I have a mantra for success as such, but I believe you should never settle - hard work puts you where good luck can find you.

How has been your professional journey so far? Please tell us about your various job profiles?

My professional journey has been a varied one. I started as an ERP consultant before taking a position in the supply chain industry with an American company, with whom I had a pre-sales consultant role.

From there I moved into the telecommunications sector, where I have held several different roles including Project Manager, Pricing Manager and Fraud Manager, before I progressed to my current position as Head of Fraud at BICS; a role I am thoroughly enjoying.

When you look back in your career – what according to you can be termed as big turning points. How have these turning points helped you professionally?

The biggest turning point in my career was joining the telecoms industry in 2004, where I have met people that have helped me evolve, and encountered professional challenges that have been fulfilling and have helped me to develop and build my skills.

One specific example was my starting and chairing the i3Forum Fraud group. On a personal level, this has given me the opportunity to meet different organisations and people from around the globe, all with similar interests, and with whom it is extremely enriching to share time and thoughts and exchange experiences. It has given us another dimension to fighting fraud and provided an industry-wide perspective on the whole problem, which has not only been a positive for myself, but I hope for the whole industry too.

What are some of the challenges that you faced and overcome during your professional journey? How did you overcome these challenges?

Finding the right balance between my personal and professional life is a constant challenge. It is mainly thanks to the deep respect we share at home that it been possible to grow both professionally and as a family. BICS as an employer is very engaged with its people and has provided me with the flexible work environment that helps me balance my work and family life.

How do you see yourself five years from now? What are some of your big goals that you want to achieve?

I don’t know exactly what the future will bring in terms of my role in combating fraud, but it is clear that there will be many challenges ahead with emerging technologies. And I’m ready for it!