Lab Top — 7 Questions with Justyna Zolna

Highlighting women in tech: meet Justyna Zolna, Senior Solution Architect S/4HANA at SAP. She values imagination and the curiosity to learn: How can tech revolutionize business processes?

1. Please explain: what is your specific job?

I work as Senior Solution Architect S/4HANA Finance in Consulting Services in Poland. My job is to support SAP customers in their Digital Transformation, define the optimal target solution landscape and potential accelerators.

2. Your initial inspiration to enter this industry?

My background is in Finance, but my first SAP R/3 implementation project (in 2000) was the moment when I decided to stick close to IT, especially SAP solutions.

Women in Tech From Around the World! This time we have Justyna Zolna from Kraków, Poland!

3. Your most exciting project to date?

I participated in many large-scale and international assignments. But I still find my first project the most exciting. Since I understood the business requirements, I was able to design new processes in an optimal way for both business and IT.

4. Top skills that anyone who wants to work in tech needs?

Definitely curiosity about new technologies, and imagination: How can they trigger a change in business models and processes? Teamwork, good communication skills and a customer-centric approach are a must.

5. What advice would you give to young professionals starting in tech?

As your first employers, choose companies investing in new technologies. Find the right balance between project and support work: Both teach us different skills.

6. Your biggest role models?

My biggest role model is my mother. She first started university at the age of 36. Very soon after graduation, she was a Finance Director, driving business transformation and implementation of accounting software in a large state company in Poland. She taught me a lot about finance – but she also learned from me, about IT solutions. I admire her drive for results and ability to keep on learning.

7. People or media to follow?

Scientist Jeanne Ross (MIT Sloan School of Management) – known for her work in the area of IT Governance and Enterprise Architecture

Essayist Nassim Taleb, whose work concerns problems of randomness, probability and uncertainty

Cloud Academy and Systems Innovation on YouTube