Business Chief USA October 2019

LEADERSHIP
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Knight became interested in
computers at a very young age,
learning to program when she was nine
and falling in love with the world of
technology and its potential
applications. “In high school, I was
startled to be told that computers were
for boys. None of my new classmates
were interested in computers, so I
spent my high school years learning
how to dumb down my intellect in an
attempt to be datable.” She didn’t
rekindle her love for computers until she
was 26, enrolling in technical school
and quickly accruing certifications and
making up for a decade of missed
opportunities to learn. After receiving
her MBA from Athabasca University,
Knight proceeded to hold increasingly
senior jobs in the tech space, founding
her own IT consulting company in 2008.
Alongside her current role as Director
of IT at the Calgary Drop-In, Knight
still speaks professionally on IT
transformation and diversity in
technology at universities and
conferences across North America.
“When I go to CIO conferences, I’m
often the only woman in the room
who’s not in marketing,” she says.
“For the last year, I’ve been talking to
OCTOBER 2019