publive-image
Axiad is a leading provider of cloud-based passwordless authentication and secure interactions for users and machines. It delivers a user-centric identity management platform to accelerate enterprises’ journey towards passwordless.  

 

As passwords become increasingly vulnerable to security attacks, enterprises are searching for a passwordless solution that is secure but also doesn’t impact user productivity  Currently there is no single identity credential that can fully secure all their users and data, so multiple credentials are adopted to protect access to all of their applications. Often, this requires creating a patchwork of authentication tools that are time consuming for IT to manage, and complex for users to keep a track of With Axiad, businesses can adopt biometrics, PKI, Mobile MFA, YubiKeys, TPM, Smart Cards, and other credentials without complexity. The Axiad Cloud platform simplifies identity management and is trusted by Fortune 500 companies across healthcare, aerospace & defense, energy & oil,  transportation, finance, and more. After implementing

Axiad’s SMARTidentity solution, customers have reduced operation costs, enabled their IT team and end-users to spend less time on credential management, and heightened their security.   

 

A Passionate Leader

Harpreet Mangat leads branding, marketing and talent management at Axiad. She has over 10 years of international marketing experience in developing and directing strategic marketing initiatives in highly charged environments. Harpreet’s background includes a blend of internal and external marketing communication, public relations, advertising, and unleashing high-energy marketing strategies that swiftly advance aggressive objectives.

Harpreet also has a strong track record of improving employee morale, streamlining processes and cultivating strong and lasting relationships with stakeholders and employees at all levels of the Prior to joining Axiad, she held senior management roles within Healthcare, Logistics and Commissioning industries. Harpreet also holds a Master’s in Leadership.

Learning from Real-Life Lessons & Experiences

An invaluable early experience for me was attending an all-girls Grammar school in England, where you had to take an entrance exam to get in at the age of 11. With thousands trying to get a space in the school and only 128 chosen, the pressure to achieve started at a young age. I am honored to have been educated with the most ambitious and level-headed women, who were taught there were no limits, no glass ceilings, and that everything was possible,” says Harpreet.  

During her early career, Harpreet was also fortunate to have had multiple inspirational women as her managers, who were role models for the leader she wanted to be one day. They showed her how to support and encourage one’s team to deliver the best work and assure that the team has fun along the way too, despite the chaos. It’s important to understand one’s team's’ ambitions and career goals and to give them the opportunity to develop new skills and showcase their work.

Combating the Challenges and Barriers

“Never stop learning or trying new things,” says Harpreet. Her journey began with a Bachelor’s of Science in Audiology, and although she loved her subjectjob, Harpreet wanted to have more impact in the future of healthcare. She decided to adopt completely new career path where she managed patient and public engagement to commission and shape new healthcare services. This led Harpreet to complete her Master’s in Healthcare Leadership and transition into marketing and communications. She fell in love with marketing, and ultimately followed this passion through various fields: commissioning, education, logistics, and now cybersecurity. Harpreet says “I obviously had the typical panic like anybody else moving career - would I be successful in this new field? Is it worth making this shift?” There were a lot of uncertainties, but she knew she had to try.

Important Qualities Every Leader Should Possess

Harpreet believes every leader needs to be flexible in their approach, honest, and supportive, with a true interest in their team's needs and their development path. A good leader should first set a clear vision, then articulate it in a way everyone can understand,  and finally inspire others to follow that vision, so they can go on to share that vision with others. A great leader isn’t one that has all the answers to every problem, but one that is able to have the right people around them who feel nurtured, inspired and driven to achieve the same vision.

Strategic Innovation to Boost Target Audiences

Axiad innovates its products to ensure they are focused on what the customers needs instead of what its competitors are doing. That’s why it listens to its customers and ensure every solution is user centric. The company deploys its solution inas a virtual private cloud to each customer to give them an extra level of security. It developed new features such as One Click Issuance and Airlock to make credential management simple for IT and end-users and to bring consistency in security no matter where employees were based around the world.

Disruptive Technologies' Influencing Today's Innovation

According to Harpreet, disruptive technologies are changing the way leaders need to manage their employees. Innovation is essential, but often can lead to confusion and logistical problems for employees – especially when new technology is deployed to remote workers. New solutions need to be developed with employee experience in mind - this helps user adoption of innovation and also increases satisfaction across the workforce.

Path to the Future

In its field of identity and access management, Axiad sees businesses undergoing digital business transformation and grappling with how that impacts their authentication. As users, devices, and their interactions become increasingly digitized, the industry needs to offer automated, user-centric solutions that authenticate all these identities.

Essential Advice to Rising Female Leaders

Harpreet advises them to:
Grow. Dream. Learn. Set yourself a direction but don't be afraid to change it mid-way. I have always set myself a 5-year plan – which gives me a focus as to what I want to achieve - that I tweak constantly. It’s not about whether you achieve your plan or not, it’s about the journey you’re taking, who you meet along the way, and what you learn. Along that journey, you’ll discover what kind of leader you want to be and my advice I to demonstrating those qualities early. You don’t have to be in a leadership role to be recognized as a leader.