It really shouldn’t be a surprise that Sandra Beaver is carving out a very successful career at GTECH. After all, she has been working and learning for nearly half her life.
Beaver says in her 40 Under Forty application that she was fortunate to have the most influential person in her career be her mother, whom she credits for an early and fruitful start to her work life. Beginning with internships that her mother helped to arrange while Beaver was in high school and continuing with summer positions at Staples Inc. (again facilitated by her mom) while in college. Beaver earned enough money to graduate debt-free from college. And she was able to participate in high-level activities with corporate executives, allowing her to grow in ways that just can’t happen in the classroom.
In fact, she felt so blessed by her college experience in and out of school, that she spent a year after graduation working for the Americorps Vista program, helping a San Diego nonprofit make microloans to the immigrant community. It was an “incredible growth experience,” Beaver said.
Soon after, Beaver wanted to come back closer to home and took a position with GTECH, which has been the beneficiary of her experience and drive. She has advanced in a short time from a senior analyst position to being senior director of technology finance, a role that has her responsible for systems implementation and maintenance, as well as research and development projects valued at more than $600 million. Included in her responsibilities is management of third-party vendor relationships across the globe.
What stands out about Beaver is not just her career success, however. She is driven to help mentor others as she was mentored growing up in Chelmsford, Mass. She is a “passionate supporter” of GTECH’s internship program, hiring two to three people every summer and, coming full circle, even hiring some when they are out of school. •
