Shellye Archambeau has spent her entire career in the tech industry, rising through the ranks at IBM before eventually becoming CEO of MetricStream, which she grew into a market leader. She began serving on corporate boards while CEO to gain insights that would make her a better leader. Archambeau currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Okta, and Roper Technologies. When joining a board, she focuses on areas where she can add value based on her technology, marketing, transformation, and international experience.
As a board member, Shellye believes in being direct, transparent, and courageous. She strives to ensure diverse perspectives are heard and to surface important issues, even if uncomfortable. Archambeau aims to be a thought partner to the CEO and lead director. To be effective, she emphasizes the importance of coming prepared, staying in one’s lane of expertise, asking thoughtful questions, and having the courage to raise critical matters.
On the topic of diversity, Archambeau believes she has a strong role to play in ensuring that perspective is present in boardroom discussions. While progress has been made, she thinks the pace may slow and that it’s critical for current black directors to use their power and voice to drive continued improvement. Shellye wants her board legacy to be that she was considered a critical member who made a real difference. Her advice to aspiring directors is to treat board service as a real job, put in the work, and proactively seek performance feedback to maximize one’s contribution.
