You have a long history with AT&T – from organizing a programming academy, through programming for girls or the hardware library TechLab collaboration, to a “Girls’ Day” your company has been actively engaged in.
What did your career look like before you became the General Director of AT&T?
I joined the company from college (I studied at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), starting as a salesperson, and gradually working my way up to sales manager. Later, I became visible by building a sales department that supported European traders. I have also built such centers in Asia and Canada.
After about 16 years in various sales positions, I wanted a change. I applied for the position of Executive Director of Client Support and got the job. I did this for 2 years and was then asked to restructure the service delivery department worldwide. Currently, I oversee service delivery outside of the USA. I have employees across the world and the headquarters here in Bratislava. This year, I have taken over the position of general director of AT&T in Slovakia.
Mr. Labai, do you remember the beginnings of your cooperation with AJ TY v IT (You too in IT)?
To be honest, I wasn’t fully engaged at the very start of the collaboration. I perceived it only through the visits of girls during Girls’ Day, where I presented AT&T or recommended some of my colleagues to support the activity. I consider it to be a very important activity because AT&T has been here for 139 years and we plan on being here for a long time, and for that, we need smart people.
So, do you still encounter the girls who come to you on Girls’ Day in person? If so, how do you perceive them?
Yes, I meet them. At the beginning, some can be shy because they do not know what to expect. However, after an hour or two, they learn our company culture is very open and friendly. They start asking questions and the interaction improves. This is important because those who do not ask will learn less.
Why do you think it is important to motivate young girls and women to acquire digital skills?
I personally think that every team must have the right mix of people with different skills. Women bring creativity and a sense of responsibility. When I oversaw the sales department, we had many excellent female sellers in the team.
Can you tell us what percentage of women currently work at AT&T and what is the representation of women in the leadership?
The number varies but approximately a third of our current employees are women.
Are you taking any systemic steps to increase the number of women in your company or to increase the diversity between men and women?
First, I want to make sure it is understood that candidates are chosen based on their suitability, regardless of gender, religion, skin color…. everyone has the same chance to get a job here. At the same time, however, we are always looking to increase the diversity of our teams. We do this externally (for example with you), but also internally, where we have groups such as Women of AT&T, which bring together female employees who share experiences and help one other in career growth.
Do you currently have junior positions open for which our female course graduates could apply?
An ideal way to get into the business would be in a technical support role, working with our customers. For that, it is necessary to have good command of English, and be interested in technology. We provide the training for everything else. Of course, people can advance to more senior positions from there.
What do you think women bring to technology?
From my experience I would say a different perception of a situation or a problem. This is crucial because while AI can do simple things for us, we will need that a cross-section of perspectives for the more complex ones.
