It would be fair to say that the launch of Oracle Women’s Leadership (OWL) in Brno was a huge success. Over 400 Oracle NetSuite employees turned out to show their support—almost half of the entire organisation in Brno. So, naturally, we wanted to find out more. We caught up with Oxana Arapova—the woman who made it all happen—to hear the story first-hand.
“It all started when my manager sent me to the Oracle Emerging Leaders Summit in Amsterdam in March 2019. It was truly inspirational. By the end of the summit, it was agreed that I was going to be the one to start an OWL community in Brno,” Oxana begins enthusiastically.
“My colleagues and managers were a great help from the outset. When I got back from Amsterdam, the RVP of our Customer Success Enablement organization, Heather Miller, visited Brno and helped me rally support. Heather organized a Women in Technology recognition dinner, with local female leaders who were nominated by the NetSuite leadership team. I pitched OWL to them and their reaction was immediately positive! Straight away we were brainstorming who was going to do what, what skills we each had, and how we could move things forward.”
From there, everything began to fall into place for Oxana and her budding OWL community. “I definitely felt like luck was on my side when we realised that Evan Goldberg, the Founder and Executive Vice President of NetSuite, was actually going to be visiting Brno around the same time as our launch. That’s when we got the bright idea to synchronise both events. I got in touch with Evan and he was very receptive to the idea.”
Among the speakers was also a representative from Czechitas, a non-profit organisation that works to strengthen diversity in IT and fight for greater digital literacy among women and the next generation. “They’re a very high-profile organisation in the Czech Republic, so it was a great kudos to have them on board,” Oxana says. “The feedback from the event was really phenomenal. People were so engaged. We straight away got around 50 names from people who wanted to start being active in the OWL community. They were already asking about workshops and our future plans!”
On that front, Oxana has a very clear vision for OWL—and it’s centred on inclusivity. “First and foremost, I want OWL to be a platform where men and women can work together. We promote female leadership and opportunities for women, but this is a platform that can help everyone at Oracle increase their leadership potential,” she explains. “It’s about having tangible resources at your disposal. Everyone can leverage these development opportunities and tools. It’s not a competition between men and women—it’s about collaborating and creating opportunities for all.”
Oxana says that self-awareness is the key to achieving this kind of synergy in the workplace. “We need to learn who we are, the different things that motivate us, and how to prioritise them. If we do that, we can help each other grow and create an environment where everyone can succeed.”
Listening to Oxana, it’s clear that her views on personal growth and development are rooted in experience. So, it comes as no surprise that her role as a Customer Success Enablement manager is in the learning and development arena. Given this, what career advice can she offer us?
“Resilience. Don’t give up when you fail. Try again. Even if that means going back to the drawing board. My second piece of advice goes back to self-awareness. Don’t try to change your personality—think of it as an asset. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Focus on what you can do, rather than what you can’t,” she advises wisely.
“And finally, you don’t have to wait to become a leader. You can start practising these skills right now. That’s what OWL is all about.”
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