Lauren Clark is 45 yo woman, mother to a delightful and adventurous 4 yo son, daughter, sister, aunt, co-parent, friend, colleague, fellow human. Lauren has worked in HR her entire career spanning over two decades, and is currently the Head of People for a technology company. She loves HR and especially thrives on working to engage and empower people within the organization as well as getting more young women into technology careers.
Mint Group is a South African-based global Microsoft partner, and we have offices in SA, the USA, and Hungary. She joined the company in January 2013 when there were just 63 people. They are now comprised of over 250 people. Mint Group provides solutions across the Microsoft stack including Dynamics, Modern Worker, Azure, ERP, Managed Services, and AI.
Lauren heads up the SA chapter of The WITNetwork which focuses on women in technology, and partners with organisations like GirlCodeZA and TechnoGirl.
Q&A
1. What’s your biggest achievement / Something you’re proud of yourself for?
“My son. At age 40 I really wanted to become a mother but I didn’t want to do it alone. So I asked a long-time friend of mine who was divorced and had always wanted to be a dad. Six months of fertility treatment (IUI) including 3 failed attempts, and finally I fell pregnant. I remember that positive test like it was yesterday – my co-parent had come round to my place on the way to work, and when we saw the + sign we jumped around the room like crazy people! My son was born in November 2017, and he is truly my sun, moon, and stars. Our co-parenting situation works beautifully for us. We share our son three days on/off, and because his dad and I have been friends for over twenty-five years, we have a wonderful and balanced family dynamic. Definitely my greatest achievement.”
2. What’s your biggest fear / something that holds you back?
“A year ago, I did a Dare to Lead (Brenè Brown) workshop, and learned some life changing things about myself. Most specifically my low self esteem and poor sense of self worth. I realized through this that my biggest fear was failure and rejection, and working on my self love and self compassion has enabled me to rewrite my internal dialogue and become my biggest supporter. Self doubt was my biggest challenge, but no longer. Still I rise.”
3. What’s your biggest contribution / Something you like to share?
“I am a very engaging and empathetic person, and I have co-created a people-centric culture in our organization with our leadership team which I drive beyond to all my professional networks as well. I love helping the people around me, giving others an opportunity to better their knowledge and opportunities. I try to keep learning and improving myself, and sharing what I’ve learned with my circles. I believe this makes me an effective and successful leader and woman.”
4. Fun Facts:
“I love traveling and I’ve lived in four different countries. I practice Pilates and enjoy reading and my newest hobby is paint by numbers.”
Thank you for being you!
“Where do you find your inspiration? In all the places, but mostly inside.” – SOW
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