April Sharpie of the Month: Georgia Demetriou

This month, we caught up with Georgia Demetriou to learn more about her journey into tech!

Name: Georgia Demetriou

Location: Originally from London, now living in Amsterdam.

Role: Project Manager 3D Digital Transformation

Tell me a bit more about your journey into tech?

My career started in London (where I was born and raised) as a technical fashion designer working mainly in the outdoors industry at companies such as Rohan and Adidas. Nothing I did was directly related to tech, other than I was working primarily with Adobe tools and had a natural skill with them.

Around 10 years ago, 3D tools targeting the fashion industry started to take off and 5-6 years ago, I became curious so I decided to take a stab at them, creatively. I was technically-driven and I found that using these tools really allowed me to be innovative. From early on, I could see this was the future of this quite traditional industry, so I took every opportunity to learn as much as I could about 3D technology. Then, 4.5 years ago, I took the step to apply to CLO Virtual Fashion, the leading 3D fashion software in this field and I was lucky enough to get it!

So I uprooted my life back to Germany and got stuck in to the 3D technology space. The startup culture in the company meant my job consisted of multiple roles: I worked primarily as an implementation specialist with all the leading brands in Europe. But my day to day tasks consisted of being a product specialist, a customer success manager and a project manager as well, just to name a few. I loved the diversity of the role, the openness of my team, but most importantly connecting with my clients and seeing their 3D growth.

Nearly a year ago, the opportunity came to move to Amsterdam and apply all the skills I learned in my previous roles, directly in-house at PVH. Here, I work as a Project Manager in 3D Digital Transformation and work across multiple technologies, teams, and countries to enable 3D digital product creation with the supply chain. 3D technology and digital ways of working are the future of a more sustainable design and I am excited and proud to be part of the group leading this change.

What challenges have you faced in your career and how did you overcome them?

I guess because I haven’t come from the conventional tech background, it’s always been difficult to know where I fit within the industry. The industry is so vast and there are so many avenues you can go down, I struggled to fully know what resources or skills I should focus on to put myself ahead.

So, what I did and will continue to do, is firstly stop putting pressure on myself to know and be an expert in everything. Instead, I continue to be curious and absorb everything I hear.

Secondly, I look for companies where I believe in the product - this is my driving force to constantly contribute and help the company grow.

Thirdly, I would apply for jobs where the required skills are a good balance between ones I already have and ones I would like to improve on. Ultimately, challenges and hurdles will naturally come, so I need to learn to accept the uncertainty and trust in the process of learning and growing.

What made you decide to volunteer for SheSharp?

The openness of the community was my driving force to decide to volunteer for SheSharp. Having recently moved to Amsterdam, I wanted to learn from and connect more closely with a group of people that is leading in their fields and see where I could contribute. Already, these people have opened their arms and minds to me and I'm so excited to be part of this team!

What initiative(s) are you most excited to coordinate?

Working as an Events Manager with the SheSharp team, I’m really excited to help grow this community. I want to coordinate events that enable this growth naturally by creating networking opportunities and educational experiences for all in our community. Right now, I'm looking forward to the Hackathon, as this is the first time for me engaging in one and, as it's the first major event I'm working on, I'm excited to work with the team more closely.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into the tech industry?

Educate yourself and network! Educate yourself in new technologies, new ways or working, as well as new tools. There are so many resources out there so stay curious and keep learning. Also, network - find people that inspire you and connect with them. Be open-minded, because you never know when you will meet someone that can influence your career path.