Why subscribe?
If you want help navigating leadership and life authentically and unapologetically, you’ve come to the right place. Subscribe to Some Guy Named Rae to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives filled with my musings on leadership, technology, innovation, inclusion, and so much more.
Who is Rae?
I’m a former CIO and current people leader in big tech. I’ve had what some may call a '“non-traditional” career, leading strategy and teams in multiple domains—information technology, product management, marketing communications, business development, and sales—across a number of industries, including higher education and technology start-ups. My career has always been guided by a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion and two simple philosophies: “keep moving forward” and “be unapologetically you.”
At this stage in my career what I enjoy most is mentoring the next generation of leaders, particularly those from non-traditional backgrounds and historically underrepresented communities. Some Guy Named Rae is my way of extending the conversations and lessons explored through 1:1 mentoring to all of you.
But….you’re not a guy?
So glad you noticed. While I am Rae (short for Raechelle), I am most definitely not a guy. Here’s the story behind this newsletter’s name:
When I accepted my first CIO job, I hadn’t met all of the college’s management team nor my soon-to-be team members. At some point before I arrived on campus, one of our VPs was talking to one of the IT folks and said — “hey, did you hear that some guy named “Ray” was hired to run IT?” So that’s me, some guy named Rae.
Now, I can’t blame them for thinking I was a guy. With a name like “Ray” and a CIO title it’s a fair, if unfortunate, assumption. At that time only around 10% of CIOs were women (now women make up 25% of Fortune 500 CIOs….woohoo, progress!). Sadly, information technology has never been a particularly diverse profession, either in gender or race. But I keep trying to change that.
Anyway…as it turns out, I’ve had an ongoing love-hate relationship with the word “guy.” Who hasn’t hopped on a video call to be greeted with “hey guys,” no matter the gender makeup of the group? It’s particularly ironic when the call is entirely women. The use of “guys” has become so commonplace that I’ve even had well-meaning and well-educated people look me dead in the eye and call me “the IT guy.” 🙄
Folks want to claim that “guys” is a gender neutral term. But let me assure you, it’s not. Don’t believe me? Tell a story about the “guy” or “guys” you ran into at the office, going to the gym, or in the lobby of your apartment building. Every single person will form a mental image of a man or group of men. They’ll ask what *his* name was, or what "*he* did. Want to take it one step further? Say “hey gals” the next time you greet a group of “guys” and see folks squirm.
“Guys” is NOT gender neutral. So when I say, I’m “some guy named Rae,” but I’m clearly a woman, it causes people to pause and think….
Which, I think, is a good thing.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
