Susanna O’Sullivan – Going with the Flow

UNLIKE her six siblings who read for ‘traditional’ degrees at The University of the West Indies, Mona, Susanna O’Sullivan studied psychology, which she described as an unusual speciality in her parents’ eyes.

Yet, 21 years later, the discipline plays a critical role in the 38-year-old’s profession in technology. O’Sullivan was recently appointed vice-president for North Caribbean operations at C&W Communications, which operates Flow and BTC in the Caribbean.

She said throughout her years in the telecommunications industry, she has aided in the psychological development of her colleagues, especially since the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“COVID-19 started a month after I got promoted to the senior director role. I moved away from managing about 50 people to leading a team of over 400. I became not just a visionary and strategic leader, I became counsellor and friend. I had to play that role because people were impacted personally, and I had to provide that support. It just meant a lot more work and I had to pull on the psychology hat a lot more to support these individuals,” she told All Woman.

She explained that her parents had leaned more towards traditional professions, and psychology was new for them.

“It was a time when we weren’t very receptive to that discipline,” the St Andrew native said. “I remember my mother [Carol] saying, ‘You sure they never made a mistake?’, [but] I loved psychology because I was exposed to it at a very early age… I was always intrigued by the mind and what causes our behaviour,” she explained.

After completing her three-year programme, armed with a bachelor of arts degree, she was very optimistic about furthering her education. However, her plans did not work out as expected.

“Like most university students, I did not have a clue about reality. So I said, ‘Alright, I would get a scholarship overseas and do a master’s degree in clinical psychology. But it didn’t quite work out that way. I got into a couple of universities but did not get full scholarships so I decided to start working,” she shared.

When O’Sullivan landed a summer job in the contact centre at telecommunications provider, Digicel, little did she know that she would be given a major position within the first three months, which was pivotal to her professional development.

“The contact manager at the time said to me, ‘Based on how you process the information, there is an opportunity for you to transition to an analyst’. I was doing all the scheduling and the routing for agents based on call patterns and trends because I was always good at mathematics, so that came natural for me. Digicel had just created its first business intelligence group, and I headed the business intelligence team,” she said.

However, even though she enjoyed her roles, she wanted new challenges. O’Sullivan decided to pursue her master’s in computer-based management information systems, then copped project management professional certification.

“I moved into B2B [business-to-business] operations, project management and ICT [information and communications technology] projects such as microwave solutions and fibre technology for commercial customers. That’s where I really got a start from a pure technology perspective,” she said, adding that she later transitioned to Flow.

O’Sullivan started her journey with C&W in 2011 as regional operations manager. In February 2020, she became the first woman in C&W to hold the title of senior director of technical operations in charge of network transformation and customer experience for the Jamaica and Cayman Islands markets, before her recent appointment.

When she started her journey as regional operations manager, she noted that she had three potential strikes against her.

“I was the youngest one on the team; one of two women in a senior level position, and I was from a Third World country. I think being in that role, I had to work 10 times harder, because I walked into the room with the preconceived notions already formed,” said O’Sullivan.

“I spent a few years in IT and they ended up calling me the ‘godmother of IT’ because when teams weren’t performing, they would hand them over to me and I would put the right structures in place and get them to that level,” she added.

Of course, the potential strikes did not prevent the 38-year-old from moving up the ladder.

After holding various positions such as senior director of technical operations for the Jamaica and Cayman Islands markets in 2020, she is now in her new position.

The C&W North Caribbean region includes Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos, and St Kitts and Nevis.

While her role involves having oversight of the country managers and markets, O’Sullivan explained that she will not only focus on business.

“What I am expected to do is to transform not just the business, but the lives of the customers in these markets,” she explained.

Pointing out that her mom later realised how psychology helped to shape the trajectory of her career, O’Sullivan explained: “She said, ‘It all makes sense now’, she’s proud. Psychology is what helped me. My mother started to come around the moment I transitioned into technology.”

O’Sullivan expressed delight about her appointment and plans to make effective changes.

“My core objective is to transform the customers’ experience in those seven markets. Work hard and stay humble is the [mantra] I live by professionally because oftentimes we allow our egos to drive us and we are motivated by the wrong things and the moment we lose sight of that, we begin to fail,” she said.

She explained that she has adopted a few leadership attributes from her mother whom she described as the “strong one” and her father, the “calming voice”, while growing up with her six siblings.

According to O’Sullivan, those attributes have helped her to become an effective leader.

“It (upbringing) prepared me, as my mindset was different. We walk into the room already feeling less powerful because we are listening to all the noise in the environment that says a woman is not as strong, this is a man’s world, but I did not see gender,” she said.

“I’ve grown a lot professionally just by default in terms of intellectual skill sets which would have increased, but also on the emotional intelligence side. When you are responsible for individuals, you have to change your leadership style, so I’ve grown to be a more effective and authentic leader and personally, I have a lot more patience,” she added.

As she embarks on her new leadership journey, O’Sullivan is encouraging other young women to be exceptional leaders in their field.

“Don’t lose your voice, and don’t allow the stigma and the biases to direct your path and decisions you make. Just be mindful that you can achieve it, it is possible,” she said.