Anita Lynch started her career as a software engineer building applications from scratch. She went to business school at Harvard to gain financial acumen and business strategy skills. After consulting, she returned to tech as it was transforming with the cloud and data. She became a Chief Data Officer, leveraging her tech skills in business strategy. Her first board opportunity came through relationships – an introduction led to an offer within months. She has served on private and public company boards. She seeks opportunities where she can have a broad impact on strategy and technology.
Proximity helps build relationships with fellow directors. She handled being the only black director by understanding others’ perspectives, anticipating reactions, and framing her own views as one data point among many. She built trust through sharing personal/professional experiences with fellow directors. She focuses board contributions on improving strategy and risk management, not just voicing her singular view.
She asks for examples when directors disagreed to understand power dynamics. She rejects boards with integrity conflicts she can foresee. She honed communication to retain authenticity while increasing relatability. She prepares extensively for meetings and events. She maintains a list of accomplishments for confidence. She augmented nonprofit board experience with coaching to understand perceptions and become an active listener. She translates her technical directness into constructive collaboration. She aims to inspire better questions and decisions, not command action.
She expects black board representation to dip before rising longterm. Substituting credentials like “Chief” with underlying skills will expand access. Boards need more technology expertise through new voices. VCs should groom and fund diverse leaders. Directors should diversify succession planning, increase visibility of board careers, and educate/mentor future directors.
