Innovation is critical to the progress of any industry, and it necessitates prolific leaders who can contribute to this evolution through their expertise. Rhonda is a one-of-a-kind leader who embodies all-encompassing qualities that drive innovation to help companies reach their utmost stature. Her passion lies in transforming companies and leading digital transformation while creating high-performance teams.
Listening, communicating, and making SMART—Specific, Measurable, and Attainable goals—are the traits that have assisted Rhonda Vetere in becoming one of the most dynamic leaders in STEM. Her belief in maintaining healthy communication with companies in various industries has helped to maintain transparency, resulting in better functioning. She brings a wealth of knowledge spanning over 25 years to any company, leading them through change and building high-performance teams to grow companies twice as fast. She has done over 23 Mergers and Acquisitions and has paved the way as a technologist and for the next generations. She firmly believes in one of the famous sayings quoted by the great leader Nelson Mandela—sports have the power to change the world. She is a passionate sports lover and firmly believes in leading in STEM through sports. She is known as an Industry Icon and a Corporate Athlete. She is an active Board member and cares about people she speaks up for what is right to move the needle.
Rhonda values full-contact management, hands-dirty collaboration, and thought-provoking relationships, using emotional intelligence, listening, and ethics to guide herself and her teams. She reckons true innovation comes through strategy, learning, technology, and quality. Her approach to any situation is from a global perspective, evaluating both the audience and long-term goals individually, as solutions are not one size fits all. She opted for a specific career in technology by running cables in a data center and fell in love with how drastically technology changes. She started provisioning and coding circuits over 20 years ago, before Girls with Code or Women in Technology was a buzzword. Being a trailblazer in the field of technology and encouraging young women to pursue it gives her immense joy.
Rhonda is widely known as an industry leader who paved the way for many young people in technology. She is a veteran of the technology field and has over 25 years of experience across multiple industry verticals. She has moved around intentionally in her career so that she does not become stuck in one area of technology or a specific company. “If I would have stayed in one place, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” she states. “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” Being a strategic advisor, investor, and philanthropist, she loves to give back to others and the community. Her technology work includes STEM, known as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, which is known throughout the world. She has a biodiversity park and university named after her in India called ‘I CAN, I WILL ACADEMY’. She inspires aspiring leaders who desire to create benchmarks in the technology sector.
Rhonda came from humble beginnings and has dedicated her life to helping others. She has also brought many people with her on her path. She is a trailblazer in the realm of technology, having witnessed all the major global crises and successfully managed to keep businesses operating. For example, 911, Too Big to Fail, Lehman Brothers, Financial Crash, Storm Sandy, COVID, and many more.
Being Decisive
‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’—with such a firm motive, Rhonda has been striving to attain measurable goals. She believes in managing facts or data and irradiating any pre-held notions, perceptions, or opinions. Understanding the prerequisites to obtain success in justifying this motive is considered decisive. She reckons that bringing results forward to show that employees had been underpaid for years has been her best and hardest decision. Rhonda single-handedly brought the data forward, breaking industry benchmarks to get the team raised in technology. “Again, metrics and data speak for themselves,” she says. Along with her decisiveness, her never-give-up attitude assisted in her growth. Rhonda is Ironman 70.3 All World Athlete, and she has developed endurance in and out of the boardroom. She will continue to grind on an issue to ensure that all of the facts are understood before making a decision. She is extremely thorough and will go above and beyond to make sure others are on the same page when it comes to change management. Because of her approach, she has a devoted following, and her team members are aware that she is a servant leader who works for them. Still, before she makes a decision, she always looks for and listens to fully understand the situation.
Rhonda acknowledges with gratitude that mentoring has been quite important in helping her get to where she is now. Now that her profession is taking off, she wants to share her knowledge with those who need guidance. She takes pride in mentoring individuals who show seriousness in their work and do not consider the session a social hour. She also believes and suggests that everyone should have a mentor outside of the industry too. She states that her decision to enter the industry was by far her best decision. She has led authentically as a woman by being true to herself, speaking up, sharing feelings, going with intuition, and always asking questions. She encountered criticism early in her career for things like NOT cutting her hair short and dressing in color. Nevertheless, she has never strayed from her style of dressing with a fashion flare. People have learned from her over the years and have come to respect her approaches as well as the standards that fashion company culture should adhere to. “I never deviated from my female side,” she asserts.
Rhonda has never looked around and felt awkward about being the only female in a meeting. She is all about performance! She believes that workplaces require lots of empathy. “The world is changing so quickly now, and life isn’t a transaction,” she adds.
"If I would have stayed in one place, I wouldn't be the person I am today."
Elevating Others
Since she has a generous heart and enjoys helping others succeed, Rhonda has assisted hundreds of people both inside and outside of the business setting. Since 2016, she has finished more than 111 endurance races, and every one of them has had a profound impact on assisting others. Although she continues to be one of the most powerful women in technology and one of the most influential people, her actions are centered on improving businesses and elevating others.
When Rhonda isn’t competing as an Ironman 70.3 All World Athlete or sprinting 55 miles across the Serengeti with armed guards to empower young girls, she can be seen teaching at universities. Most recently, she was at VA TECH giving a keynote for a leadership summit and is dedicated to imparting knowledge to the next generation of leaders in STEM.
