INTHEBLACK August 2022 - Magazine - Page 43
KAREN STOCKS FCPA
STAYING TRUE TO
HERSELF IN A MALEDOMINATED INDUSTRY
Karen Stocks FCPA has had an intriguing
career path. She started out studying for an
accounting degree, but ended up becoming
Google’s global head of measurement, based
in California. Not bad for someone who
finished high school with only a vague idea
about her future career.
Stocks’ professional life began at Vodafone,
where she spent more than a decade
progressing up the career ladder from entrylevel accountant to general manager service
strategy. She then moved to Google, heading
up media and product solutions, before
helping Twitter Australia establish its first
Australian business operation as managing
director.
Stocks then moved to Silicon Valley to lead
Google’s global measurement team, which
tracks advertising sales across products
including Search, YouTube and the Google
marketing platform.
Working in a male-dominated industry has
required a special approach, says Stocks.
“It’s about making sure I hold on to who
I am,” she says. “I try to avoid becoming ‘one
of the boys’; the further I am in my career, the
more confident I become about who I am.”
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SANCHI KARIYAWASAM CPA
MAKING HER OWN LUCK
Confidence in her own abilities and the support of trusted mentors have given
Sanchi Kariyawasam CPA a career boost from the outset.
At 22 she started her own successful practice, A360 Accounting, specialising in
serving medical practices and small traders. She also jumped at the opportunity to
take on a contract role as CFO of Melbourne-based Safeworking Solutions, helping
to re-engineer the business and most of its processes, embedding technology into
all areas.
The journey hasn’t been easy for Kariyawasam, an emigrant from Sri Lanka and a
young mother.
“People do tend to discriminate, no matter how much they might say they don’t,”
she says. “They have their doubts – she’s a woman, young and of colour – but I knew
the results would do the talking for me.”
Kariyawasam hopes her journey will inspire other women to pursue their career goals.
“If I can do it, all the mums and women out there can, too!” she says. “Too many
people stay in their comfort zone instead of chasing their dreams. I choose to be
very ambitious in any role I perform.”
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intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au August 2022 43