✨ Series: Getting to know the wonderful Continuous Delivery Community
Sarah McCasland
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Jefferson City, MO, USA
Who are you?
First and foremost, I am a mom to three daughters. On the professional side, I am the Chief Strategy Officer at Modus Create. We are a fully remote global consulting org of 500+ technologists.
I have spent my entire career in technology but with a non-traditional degree in marketing. Throughout my career, I have worked on the non-developer side of software. Roles have included QA tester, Project Manager, Business Analyst, Product Manager, Consulting Operations manager, Head of Sales, VP of Consulting which all lead me to where I am now.
In my role as CSO, I am responsible for the execution of our overall business strategy, including our Practices and Offerings (consulting), our M&A strategy, Modus’ OSPO, and our Product Studio.
I am a huge believer in education—whether informal or formal. I enjoy both aspects of continuous learning and also sharing my knowledge with others. This has been a catalyst in my career growth. In addition to my undergrad in Marketing, I also have an Exec MBA. Tying all this together has allowed me to understand the importance of all pieces of a business.
What are your hobbies?
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my kids. We love to travel, cook, and with three girls….shop. 🙂
I also enjoy exploring the world at every opportunity I can. This feeds my need for knowledge. In addition, I love food, learning about wine, the sunshine, good coffee and tea, and spending time with my best friends.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I wanted to be a high school English teacher up until my freshman year of undergrad. I decided instead to focus on Communication. My mother encouraged me to look into a business degree, and I ended up deciding that marketing was what I had a passion for.
What led you to a career in tech?
I graduated from college and realized that the career I aspired to have in product marketing (this was prior to digital and remote work) would be extremely difficult to do where I was located and I was not prepared to move at that time. A friend worked for a tech company and they needed manual data and web testers. I got the guts to apply and they took a chance on me. I was hungry and motivated to be successful. I’m still extremely grateful for her and my first boss for giving me the life- changing opportunity.
How did you get involved in the Continuous Delivery Foundation?
I saw an opportunity to represent women in technology that are not engineers or developers on a program committee. Oftentimes, I feel that “Women in Tech” emphasizes only technical contributors. I work with many strong women in technology who fill a multitude of roles that have a major impact on the success of the company. As the Exec Sponsor of our OSPO, I am passionate about open source communities and contributions and ensuring Modus abides by this personally and at our clients. I don’t have to write a line of code to contribute to that culture!
What is your favorite thing/project/tech to work on?
While I am not an engineer, my favorite thing to work on is identifying a “Big Picture” problem and helping technical teams break it down into chunks of work that are digestible and manageable. Taking something from many years down to a couple of months of planning can be daunting, but it enables teams to be successful.
Tell us about the thing you’re most proud of and why?
I am most proud that I have been able to contribute to the growth of others. When others achieve their personal and professional goals, and I can play even the slighted role, it’s extremely gratifying.
What is the best connection you’ve made through open source?
Mathieu Boespflug
What is your #1 top tip for getting involved in the community?
I think the OSS community is one of the most accepting groups. I encourage anyone to TAKE THE FIRST STEP.
Where can we find you?
Sarah was on the Program Committee for cdCon Japan last December.
