Women in Services

Advancing Women in Services Leadership

Women in Services Profile—Mary Cay Kosten, Vice President of Global Customer Services Delivery, Sun Microsystems

Mary Cay Kosten is vice president of Global Customer Services Delivery (GCSD) for Sun Microsystems. She began her career with Sun 14 years ago as a commodity manager, responsible for managing logistics suppliers. Over the years, she has held management and leadership positions in departments across the services organization including supplier management, service alliances, customer care, and services delivery. In early 2008, Mary Cay was given the opportunity to lead the Global Customer Services Delivery organization, which is responsible for delivering Sun’s support and managed services in more than 160 countries worldwide.

We asked Mary Cay how she got involved in the services arena. Her story is a unique one. In 1995, like many of its peers, Sun Microsystems was hiring extensively to meet the fast-paced growth of its business. Mary Cay happened across a job opportunity in the local paper and contacted the Sun recruiter. “The funny thing is, I never actually interviewed for the job I expressed an interest in. Instead, based on my application, I was offered a different position—the commodity manager role in the services organization.”

Mary Cay has developed a deep commitment to the services industry over the years. “What attracted me to services 14 years ago is also what keeps me in services today,” she says. “First and foremost, there is never a dull moment in services; it's a dynamic environment that is constantly evolving, and while this can be extremely challenging, it also keeps me engaged. By my very nature, I am also an extremely results-driven and operationally focused individual; the services environment matches these traits because it's run by numbers and processes.”

The “people factor” plays a key role for Mary Cay, keeping her passionate and engaged in what she does. “There is an incredibly strong focus on people in the services industry—both from an employee and customer perspective,” she explains. “Our goal is to drive customer satisfaction, and you can't do this through process alone; you need to have a passionate and engaged workforce. I love the people factor. For me, working on behalf of customers and with employees is where I get my energy.”

Mary Cay first became involved with the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) when she took a role as line manager in Sun’s Customer Care Center, where her manager asked her to run the stewardship for Sun’s SSPA membership. She says the value she’s gained through her SSPA affiliation has been significant. “Being a member of the SSPA has given me the opportunity to learn more about the services industry and, specifically, the best practices of other large service organizations,” she explains. “Being a member of the Association gives me access to a wealth of knowledge and best practices, both from the resources available online and through networking with fellow members.”

Sun’s participation at SSPA conferences and the Organizational Development Program (ODP)—a fully integrated SSPA members-only program designed to guide service and support excellence—have proven to be invaluable experiences for both Mary Cay and for Sun. “I’ve had the opportunity to attend many of the SSPA conferences, where I have connected with my industry peers and discussed the direction of the services industry. These conversations have been extremely valuable; having access to key resources through the Association has influenced many of our services strategies,” she explains. “We have also received a wealth of value by participating in the SSPA's Organizational Development Program, which played a critical role in identifying our strengths, as well as areas where we could be doing more.”

When it comes to leveraging SSPA resources, Mary Cay has some “golden nuggets” to share with others looking to obtain the most value from the Association: “I have the SSPA Web site as one of my bookmarks, because it contains a wealth of knowledge and resources that I refer to when looking for best practices, white papers, or leading-edge thinking in the services industry. I also make every effort to attend the SSPA conferences, as they are a great opportunity to hear from some of the top performers in the industry, and the conference presents a great forum for networking. Our SSPA membership director (Ken Dahl) is also extremely helpful, and he helps us to connect with other SSPA members for sharing of best practices.”

Mary Cay has achieved much in the way of success and professional accomplishments throughout her career with Sun. When asked what professional achievement she was most proud of and why, she says that achieving the SSPA/J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology Services & Support (CTSS) Award in October 2007, was, by far, one of the proudest moments of her career. “The whole organization worked on this award for nearly 12 months,” she states. “It was a real testament to the dedication and skills of our entire services team. It was a great gift for the organization.”

Helping other women in the services industry to advance and shape their careers is especially important to Mary Cay. She takes pride in being a mentor and is very enthusiastic to be a part of the AFSM/SSPA/TPSA Women in Services community of interest that was recently formed. Women in Services is a unique and dedicated forum for AFSMI, SSPA, and TPSA service professionals, designed to provide networking opportunities for women, offer professional skills development and career education opportunities, and promote services as a key area for growth and achievement. “The Women in Services community presents a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and share experiences and best practices. Personally, I am looking forward to collaborating with members, to share experiences and learn from others.”

Mary Cay also participates in Sun's Mentoring Program and generally requests that the individuals she mentors are women. She also strives to make herself accessible for women, both internal and external to Sun, to have one-on-one networking meetings or informational interviews. She also supports the Women@Sun program, a global organization that works to provide professional opportunities for women in the workplace.

Mary Cay attributes her professional success to being results-oriented and focusing on operational excellence. She also credits much of her success to the people she works with on a daily basis. “I have always made it a personal goal to give people every opportunity to excel in their roles, and I believe that this approach has been inherent to my own success,” she explains. “I am also passionate about our customers, and this passion challenges me to continually evolve our business to improve the way we deliver service.”

For those just starting out in the services profession, Mary Cay offers some sound advice: “Build your experience working across the many functions within a services organization. Don't just aim for upward progression in one particular function. I also would recommend spending some time in services sales or marketing, as, for many companies, services is a key contributor to revenue and profit, so understanding the full life cycle of services—from marketing to sales to services delivery—would definitely provide a professional advantage.”