Cecilia Harvey On Being A Trailblazer | The Extra Mile With Edward Enninful | British Vogue & BMW

Technology executive and entrepreneur Cecilia Harvey came from, she says, a “Wonder Woman type of a background”. Growing up surrounded by many female relatives meant, from a very early age, she saw “women supporting other women – strong independent women doing it for themselves,” she tells British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful in an episode of BMW and British Vogue’s The Extra Mile series. “I equated that with freedom and power, and I wanted that for myself,” she explains. After spending her early career in finance, she made the move into tech, becoming the CEO of Hyve Dynamics, a sensor technology company. The thing that excites her the most about her job? The opportunity to “improve the lives of the masses” with tech. Equally, she is passionate about making the industry more diverse and inclusive, which is one of the reasons she became the founder of Tech Women Today. “When you are the first or the only, you definitely have a responsibility to pave a path for those who are following,” she says of wanting to encourage more women into the tech world. “One of my favourite sayings is, ‘You need to lift as you rise.’” What does she think are the biggest misconceptions about working in tech? “That you have to be an engineer, or you have to be a coder. I don’t even know how to code! I really want people to understand that there are so many different opportunities to work in technology.” Over the next 10 years, Harvey wants to see more diversity on all levels.