Empowering women everywhere, Regina Kunkle is NetApp‘s Vice President of State and Local Government and Higher Education (SLED). In her seven years with NetApp Kunkle has contributed greatly. She is currently helping the company rapidly grow, gain market share to reach its goal of expanding its presence in state and local government, and K-12 and higher education. In her previous position with the company Kunkle lead NetApp’s Commercial Mid-Atlantic Region by tripling the company’s regional revenue.
Before NetApp Kunkle was a lawyer and computer science specialist. After working as a systems engineer and then a sales representative, she went back to law school. Kunkle worked for a large DC firm (Bryan Cave) where she started specializing in software licensing and bid protests. She was then offered a sales leadership position with Sun Microsystems, where she worked for seven years before coming to NetApp.
When not leading NetApp, Kunkle is passionate about the advancement of women within the technology industry and other leadership positions. “When I am presented with candidates for all our great positions, the candidate pool is predominantly male. I believe it [technology]is an excellent career field for women. I am concerned that young women are turned off by the storage/technology industry because they believe it is difficult or un-interesting and I want to change that perception! From sales to marketing to writing – the field offers something for everyone.” To help women advancement, Kunkle sponsors Women-in-Technology events at universities throughout the country to keep young women interested in math and sciences. She hopes to be a role model for future women leaders in the United States, encouraging them to pursue technical careers. “I think it [leadership]is one of the most rewarding activities a person can do. I encourage women (and men) to be leaders and not just managers. I believe we want to make ourselves and others around us stretch to do more than we ever thought possible by creating a vision.”
Kunkle spends majority of her free time with her family. “Having a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter right now my free time is all about them. We do a lot of college visits for my son, and I’m working with my daughter as she pursues her love of theatre. I love to sew and the last three years I have made the costumes for my daughter’s school musical. I try to be a consistent volunteer for their schools, to keep me connected with my kids and their lives. If I do get a free moment – I love spending time at the beach, or doing a jigsaw puzzle and Sudoku.”