Accelerating Action on International Women's Day 2025

Saturday 8th March 2025 marks International Women’s Day and this year at Summize we are drawing focus on the theme: Accelerate Action.

We sat down with Leanne Hayes (Product Owner), Kate Rowlson (Senior Legal Engineer), Mari Cimpureanu (Implementation Manager) and Fran Bennett (Customer Success Manager) to learn how they Accelerate Action on a daily basis, and how their career has led them to continued success at Summize.
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Our interviews

Hello ladies, please can you all describe your current role and what you enjoy most about it?

Leanne: I work across all things Product - shaping the roadmap, collaborating with developers, gathering feedback from customers and internal teams, and ensuring smooth releases. What I love most is the variety, no two days are the same! My role is a mix of problem solving, strategy, organization, and communication, which suits me perfectly.

Mari: Just like Leanne, I love the fact that no two days are the same and the creativity and problem solving that comes with it! When it comes to describing my role I would say, think of me as the line that connects everything and everyone. I help bring Summize to life for our customers while interacting with multiple people around their business and ours. I get to meet great people, understand their needs, and make sure they have a smooth experience. I really enjoy being there for the ‘aha’ moments, when everything clicks for those customers!

Fran: My role revolves around making sure customers are seeing value from our solution, and ensuring they are getting a return on the product that they’re paying for. I work with teams across the business, from Implementation to Development to ensure any issues or roadblocks are resolved for customers and in turn keeping them happy and using the solution. The thing that I enjoy the most is speaking with customers and resolving problems, I love identifying gaps in their use case and seeing their usage increase.

Finally, last but certainly not least, Kate: I am a part of the Implementation Team, and I help to implement the product into customer accounts and run training, support and general engineering fixes.
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What does the theme #AccelerateAction mean to you personally?

Fran, let’s start with you: Accelerate action means to me, pushing those limits and striving for the best in my career!

Leanne, what about yourself?

Leanne: To me, it’s about focusing on what’s most important. There will always be hundreds of things on the to-do list, but prioritizing what delivers the greatest impact is key - whether that’s in product development, our internal ways of working, or, in the spirit of International Women’s Day, meaningful steps toward gender equality. Small, continuous improvements compound over time, driving real acceleration.

Kate: Similar to Leanne, it's about driving acceleration and for me, it means to keep pushing forward, not letting professional setbacks hold me back, and continuing to move both personally and professionally in my growth.
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What are your thoughts on the support and inclusivity at Summize?

Kate, what do you think? I feel included and supported, in every aspect. My colleagues are my friends, and Summize supported me when I have wished to advocate for my illness, as well as listening to and actioning my ideas and thoughts.

Leanne, how about yourself? As part of our ESG initiative at Summize, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is one of our key pillars. I’m a part of this group, so I see first hand the initiatives we drive to educate, support, and create a truly inclusive workplace. On the topic of International Women’s Day, we have a 'Women @ Summize' group, which provides a space to connect, learn, and champion each other’s success, making a real difference in our culture.
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What are some of your biggest accomplishments or projects you’re proud of?

Mari, we’ll come to you first: I worked with a great team of women here to create a one-to-many customer training plan led by our Legal Engineers. This helps our Legal Engineers develop new skills while expanding their knowledge. It also makes training more efficient for our customers. Seeing it in action and the impact it has made has been a proud moment in my career.

And Kate what would you say is your biggest accomplishment? I was promoted recently to Senior Legal Engineer! It shows that even when you’re struggling (in my case, it was with my health) you can achieve what you put your mind to, and I feel as though I have thrived in my role here.
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What advice would you give to women considering a career in technology?

Leanne, do you have any words of wisdom? I’d say that you shouldn’t see your gender as a barrier to entry. There are incredible female role models in this industry, and while challenges exist, it’s also important to highlight the positives. Personally, I’ve always felt valued and supported in my role, even as the only woman in my team. Find a company that fosters inclusivity and go for it!

And Fran, what advice would you share in a few words? Like Leanne said - Go for it. We need you!
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What initially drew you to the industry and to your current role?

Kate, we’ll come to you on this one: For me, I have had a very ‘squiggly’ career so far. I studied Law with a year of placement, working as a family law paralegal, and then graduated. After graduating, I moved into the events space, then into sales, and now into the legal tech/engineering scene. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness a couple of years ago, and this turned my world upside down, but it also brought me to legal engineering, which turned out to be my dream role! It taught me that sometimes bad things can happen, but often, redirection is what you need, and working in the legal tech industry has been a learning experience and an amazing journey – all wrapped into one.
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Leanne, can you share how has Summize supported your career advancement and professional development?

Leanne: I joined Summize almost 2.5 years ago as Head of Implementation, responsible for ensuring our customers were setup for success. But my long-term ambition was to move into Product - a space I’d always been passionate about. Summize fully supported me through that transition, and I’ve gained a mass of knowledge and experience in a short amount of time, through the support of my team and the rest of the business. That level of trust and investment in people’s growth is something I really value here.

Mari, how about yourself? Summize has pushed me to grow in so many ways. I've become more confident in leading projects, solving problems, and adapting to different challenges. Completing Agile ad PRINCE2 courses has also changed how I approach my work, helping me improve processes and manage projects more effectively. Most importantly, working with such a talented team and manager has taught and continues to teach me a lot. Every day brings something new, and I love that!
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Thinking more specifically about women on this IWD, what are the challenges you have faced as a women and what would you say for women in STEM?

Fran, what are your thoughts? I think we need more women in senior leadership and C-suite roles. Not to offend anyone but I’m tired of going onto LinkedIn and seeing yet another male C-suite appointed. I believe we need to big ourselves up and realize we can, and we will succeed within the industry if we put ourselves out there. C’mon girls!

Kate, do you have anything to add? Touching on what Fran said, I think working in a male-dominated industry is sometimes tough, and I think originally, I thought it may be tough to fully feel comfortable within this space, especially struggling with imposter syndrome. As a company, we have a ‘Women @ Summize’ chat and we make an effort to have women-only coffee mornings and meals, as well as educating the wider company on important dates, such as International Women’s Day, which makes me feel accepted and able to freely open up to my female colleagues in a women dominated space. We also do sessions to help overcome confidence issues such as imposter syndrome.
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We’ve spoken about the challenges, what advice or actions would you give to combat these and make your mark as a Woman in technology?

Mari, what advice would you give? I With my formal project management training,  I now see every project as dynamic and full of opportunities to adapt, collaborate, and deliver results more efficiently.  These frameworks have helped me adjust my problem-solving skills, streamline processes, and make implementation smoother for both project owners, but also those users that will use Summize in BAU.

And Fran to round out this interview, what would your advice be? I’ve always spoken up about any issues or problems I’ve faced. Whether that be with the technology we’re using or even the lack of socializing. I’ve found that when you speak up you find that others will agree and eventually change happens for the good.
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More IWD interviews with Summize

Explore even more about our IWD's theme of Accelerate Action by taking a look at the IWD's interview with our Chief Financial Officer Rachel Cunliffe.