Sophia’s Biography

Sophia McDermott has over two decades of experience in the technology sector, beginning her career at the service desk and advancing through infrastructure support and various IT roles. Throughout her career undertaking technical and non-technical training and accreditations she embraced ITIL and more recently Agile methodologies, culminating in her current role as Senior Manager of Release Management. Sophia’s career has spanned across Media, Finance, Government, and a global SaaS company, where she leads a team focused on Release Management and process improvements, working closely with engineering and business units.

As a global ERG leader for Black employees, she collaborates with the DEIB team and other ERG groups to support Black employees, raise awareness, and foster allyship throughout the company to the benefit of the company’s culture. She is deeply passionate about promoting diversity in technology, especially encouraging young Black girls and women to pursue and ascend to leadership roles within the sector.  Aims to actively raise awareness about the diverse career paths available in technology, emphasising that the field requires a variety of roles of skills beyond coding.

Continually evolving and investing in broadening one’s expertise and personal growth. Having recently completed Said Business School and Oxford Universities Women in Leadership course, which provided the opportunity to reflect, share experiences with other women, take on tools and awareness to push forward in leadership.

A devoted mother to a 25-year-old daughter who lives in the Netherlands, having pursued a master’s degree there. Her daughter chose a path outside of technology, influenced in part by the challenges she observed in her mother’s career.  Times have changed and with that the industry is also changing, although slowly.

Additionally, Sophia serves as a trustee for a Domestic Violence Charity, an endeavour close to her heart following the murder of her sister, more than 20 years ago. Through the charity’s work, the aim is to help young people escape the cycle of domestic violence and understand what a healthy relationship entails, and opportunities that lie ahead.

Harbouring a keen interest in interior design, and in the past taking part in an TV production around renovation, it’s a field that she might have pursued professionally had her career not steered her toward technology.