Lisa Miller, President, Wholesale, Indirect and Alliances, CenturyLink, was one of three women to receive the 2018 Alliance of Channel Women LEAD Award recognizing exceptional female leaders in the tech channel. ACW LEAD Award winners were honored at a ceremony during the 16th Alliance of Channel Women ACWConnectLive Event on October 9th in Philadelphia during Channel Partners Evolution.
“Alliance of Channel Women launched the LEAD Award as a way to recognize those women who showed outstanding leadership, innovation in the channel, advocacy and mentoring for others,” said ACW President Stacy Conrad, Director of Channel Sales for TPx. “We had an overwhelming group of nominees this year. Lisa was nominated by her peers and voted for by the ACW Board of Directors as one of three women to receive this prestigious award. We are grateful for Lisa’s continued inspiration and leadership.”
Lisa Miller is President of CenturyLink’s $5.3 billion Wholesale, Indirect and Alliances business unit. In her role, Lisa is responsible for driving profitable revenue growth through alternate sales channels and building strategic partnerships that enhance the position of the company as an industry leader
Over the course of her nearly 30-year career, Lisa has held a variety of senior leadership roles across the enterprise and alternate sales channels, most recently as Senior Vice President of Wholesale and Alternate Channels for Level 3 Communications. Her experience spans the globe and she has led several cross-functional strategic programs to improve sales effectiveness. Lisa began her telecom sales career with Sprint Communications.
Lisa is an advocate and leader for women in STEM and serves as a mentor, working to develop rising talent, as well as contributes her insights on the importance of women in technology. She was recently recognized as one of CRN magazine’s 2018 Women of the Channel and was additionally named to their Power 100 list which recognizes women leaders whose vision and influence is a key driver of their companies’ success and instrumental in moving the entire IT channel forward.
Lisa is a member of Alliance of Channel Women and Women In Cable. She attended the University of Northern Iowa.
Q: Who is the woman who showed you how to lead the way (e.g., your role model)?
A: Oprah Winfrey. Oprah became known for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” yet it is her philanthropic, leadership, and personal brand for why I admire and respect her. Over the course of both her personal and work life, she overcomes adversity through developing an empowering way to address controversial issues, and uses her influence to develop, teach, and grow the next generation of women. If we all had the ability to work with people, rather than those fighting against us, we would create a world in which we are all successful – together.
Q: What are you doing to lead the way for other women in the tech channel today?
A: As a company, CenturyLink promotes technology in the channel through the Teacher and Technology Grant Program. This grant is open to full-time classroom teachers in PreK-12 public, private or charter schools, to help teachers innovatively implement technology in their classrooms to increase student achievement.
In my organization, I serve as a mentor, working to develop rising talent and contribute insight on the importance of women in technology. For example, my Chief of Staff, who is also responsible for marketing, business operations and offer management for my business unit, has been a high performer and has extremely high potential. I have been able to promote and grow her capabilities. We also have a lot of other strong and talented women across our Indirect organization. It is great to have strong women to develop, learn from and promote, especially when it leads that way for women in the channel.
Q: What is one thing we could accomplish that would most benefit women in the tech channel going forward?
A: As women we need to stand united. Women need to become great at complimenting and building each other up. As women, we tend to feel threatened by each other, and instead we should feel inspired and empowered by each other. By doing so, we are always able to lend a helping hand – in our workforce, in our community, across the globe. Together, we can rise up and ensure our voices our heard. When women work together, not against each other, we empower each other, and we move mountains.
About Alliance of Channel Women
Established in 2010, Alliance of Channel Women is a not-for-profit organization of women who are in leadership, ownership and revenue-generating roles in the indirect sales channel of the telecom and IT industry. ACW brings us together to empower and advance women’s careers and leadership roles in the technology channel. To learn more and to become a member, please visit http://www.allianceofchannelwomen.com