At the cutting edge of digital innovation, we find exceptional leaders who are pioneering future-forward strategies and redefining the standards of the tech industry.
Jeanette Cajide, Vice President of Strategy for Dialexa, an IBM Company, is one such visionary who has had a profound impact on her organization.
In 2012, Jeanette joined Dialexa as its sixth employee, instilling the nascent firm with a digital product mindset that would eventually set it apart from other organizations. When Dialexa faced market entry challenges, it was Jeanette’s tenacity, expertise, and vision that guided them toward developing a digital product development framework that would later become invaluable to IBM.
After a five-year hiatus, Jeanette returned to Dialexa in 2021, tasked with the monumental role of defining, planning, creating, and documenting the company’s digital product strategy framework to facilitate its acquisition by IBM. Assembling a team to operationalize Dialexa’s strategy-product-delivery framework, Jeanette created a blueprint that offered a holistic view of Dialexa’s approach to digital product engineering. This critical accomplishment secured the company’s acquisition by IBM, cementing Jeanette’s legacy as a transformative tech leader.
Jeanette’s leadership extends beyond successful corporate transactions. She’s been instrumental in fostering an innovation-centric culture within Dialexa. Recognizing the importance of thinking like a product manager, Jeanette cultivated a dedicated community of practice within the company. Her efforts transformed the way employees approached their work, shifting their focus from features to business outcomes. This has led to a company-wide shift in language and perspective, with everyone now speaking in terms of business outcomes.
Jeanette’s influence stems from her unique ‘whole-brained’ approach, seamlessly melding creativity and analytical prowess. Prior to her return to Dialexa, she honed these skills at Clareo, where she oversaw strategy and operations and helped the company scale through the development of equitable hiring and performance review processes.
Further cementing her tech leadership, Jeanette was ahead of the curve in 2012 when she launched Blurtt, the first meme-creation app. As the CEO and founder, her product-centric mindset helped set industry standards for tech-centric businesses.
Jeanette’s talents extend beyond the tech industry. She’s a prolific writer, contributing to The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and TechCrunch on subjects ranging from technology to politics. As an early adopter of technology, Jeanette’s embrace of emerging tech platforms, such as AOL chatrooms and Blackberry, offered her valuable insights into the evolution and trajectory of user experience in the digital age.
Challenging convention is a defining part of Jeanette’s brand. Embodying the spirit of a contrarian, she’s consistently pushing boundaries, from her work in tech to her triumphant return to figure skating after a 30-year hiatus, an achievement recognized by The Wall Street Journal in 2021.
Jeanette Cajide’s tech leadership, innovative thinking, and dedication to fostering a culture of innovation make her a deserving recipient of this award. Her work at Dialexa demonstrates a unique blend of expertise, vision, and tenacity that embodies the essence of tech leadership.
