In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8, we’re recognizing influential women at Zscaler who have made a significant impact within their careers, teams, and on the Zscaler family as a whole.
Marina Ayton has been at Zscaler for a year and a half and currently serves as a Regional Director for the UK team. Her career journey has been eventful and fast-paced, and she hopes to continue that success in the coming years while mentoring and fostering career growth in others.
“The thing I'm most proud about in my career has probably been my progression over a short amount of time. I have been promoted about eight times in the last six years,” she said. “And I think just the nature of working for a high-growth company that operates on a totally meritocratic basis gives you a huge opportunity to grow.”
“I would say that recently, my complete career highlight has been having the opportunity to become a leader,” she said. “And with that comes a huge responsibility, right? To help train, and develop all of this talent—high potential, incredible individuals—to support them on their next phase of growth.”
“I think my favorite thing about working in technology and for a company like Zscaler is the environment that's built around it,” she said. “We have this incredible culture of excellence, which has been developed, which gives you this kind of huge feeling of pride as you're working alongside some of the industry's best and top performers.
Outside of work, Marina enjoys being in the outdoors skiing and playing tennis and squash. She also sits on the board of the Prince's Trust RISE program, which is a youth charity that helps young people aged 11 to 30 get into jobs, education, and training.
Wendi Lester began her journey at Zscaler in February 2020 and is currently the Director of Global Real Estate and Workplace Operations. She has served as a mentor to many and believes in the power of personal connections to succeed and build a career you love.
“What I am most proud of in my career is the people that I've mentored and worked with that have grown and matured and become leaders at other multinational companies,” she said.
“The advice I would give to women who want to get into tech is: be brave and be willing to network and be willing to get out there, try something new, and to want to engage with people, because it's through building relationships and networking that you will find your best success,” she said. “And you will be able to find advocates, and you'll be able to find people that you can mentor, and that will be very fulfilling in your career.”
For more about how Zscaler is celebrating International Women's Day and Women's History Month, read this blog: Fostering Corporate Inclusivity: Honoring Zscaler Leaders on International Women’s Day.
Further reading:
Celebrating Women at Zscaler: How Jey Govindan Empowers Future Generations of Women in Tech
Celebrating Women at Zscaler: Sandi Lurie and Karen Mayerik
Celebrating Women at Zscaler: Melissa Balentine on Professional Growth and the Evolution of Zscaler
