Vera Silver

CIO at Bitvore

What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?

I’ve been in the tech industry for over 30 years, and I only got into comp science because I loved math, and computers simply fascinated me.

I started as a software engineer working at Lehman and quickly realized how important good data is as I as responsible for revenue reports for salespeople and they were really really passionate about their revenue (go figure)!

I realized quickly that building good quality ref. data, along with solid transactional data, was key to what we were doing for our customers.

I loved the complexities of reporting and slicing and dicing of data and that’s how I ended up uncovering and partnering with a start-up to help build the second-generation BI platforms that wanted to compete with Essbase.

They were really groundbreaking by using Excel for BI. I later moved on to Goldman and really enjoyed my 16-year career there.

I’ve led several large-scale initiatives, including our first generation of workflow tools, building enterprise organizational client and people entities and large data along with predictive analytics platforms. I have extensive experience in SalesForce and several previous predecessors of CRM platforms like Siebel –so quite familiar with getting 3 rd party software and data adopted and rolled out at large firms.

My career at RBC and Barclays was very much focused on Big Data, governance, controls and innovation, leveraging Data Science This has been my focus for the past 10+ years.

At Bitvore I lead, the engineering, data science, product and data content teams. My focus is to lead the organization through a tech-forward business strategy and delivering best-in-class customer experiences.  
I’m focused on continuously improving our next-generation capabilities through automation, growing our product and data offerings and delivering the next generation world-class AI solutions for our clients. I’ve evaluated the organization, focused on required skills that match our business model, working with investors to ensure continuous support of our existing business model and attracting and securing new funding with new round of investors. Of course, I’m also leading efforts in attracting new client base given my background in the banking industry and a vast network of ex-colleagues as well as working with the clients thru the project implementation, ensure all technical questions and issues are addressed

I’m excited to be here and bring my expertise and delivery-focused, can-do attitude to the firm.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

I always enjoyed the process of building software and using technologies to make people’s lives easier.  I never set out to reach any specific career goals, I just wanted to have fun and build good software that solved complex business problems.

My career continued to grow and afforded me the opportunities to run larger organizations where I was still able to be hands-on and involved in the development cycle of a product.  This is where I found my happy place, where I could still get involved in the architecture and design and work with the business/client to help them automate, get more value out of their data and help grow businesses.

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?

I’ve been fortunate to work with some brilliant people that helped me through my career.  They guided me, helped me find my next great role and give me advice.  I’ve looked up and immolated many of them, whether it was the way they handled themselves in stressful situations or manage and coach people or their strategic thinking.  I’d be remised to only mention a few of them, so I’d rather thank them in person for everything they’ve meant to me.

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

empathy, compassion and customer-focused commitment and passion for excellence 

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I’m an avid reader 

A big thank you to Vera Silver from Bitvore for sharing her journey to date.