Nellie Scott is the 2020 CompTIA Member-of-the-Year. She has benefited from CompTIA’s knowledge and partnerships, and she also gives back to the technology community by contributing her expertise and time to it. This article first appeared in CompTIA World magazine Issue 8. Nellie Scott has been involved in CompTIA for 20 years. She knows how to get the best out of membership. Scott has enriched her relationship with CompTIA at every stage of her career. Not only to gain new skills and knowledge, but also to give back to the technology community by contributing her expertise and time. Her two-decade-long commitment to helping technology sales professionals grow their businesses has had a lasting impact on CompTIA as well as the industry. From Tech Novice to Tech Leadership
Scott wasn’t originally destined for the tech industry. Scott’s journey to a career as a technology professional began in a publishing company. “We heard about a new Windows operating platform and the associated software packages that were newly released. They were unfamiliar to me, but I knew that I needed to be able to do well in my job. I was a weekend software trainer for CompUSA, and they trained me. It was a great way for me to get my first training on all of these applications and also helped other students increase their productivity. Scott recalled that she continued working in publishing on weekdays and taught her bosses and colleagues how to use various software programs. Scott’s work was noticed by CompUSA’s director of training and convinced to join the team full-time. She said, “I had the opportunity of training big companies like Boeing and Blue Cross Blue Shield. It was great.” Scott eventually became the company’s manager of its training center. This was where her talent for sales became evident. Scott began her involvement with CompTIA as a Dell Services sales executive. As she advanced in her career, she discovered that CompTIA offered a platform to have a greater impact on the technology sector. Scott eventually joined Lenovo and left Dell Services. This was the next step in Scott’s career, as well as her commitment for CompTIA. “When I came to Lenovo, they were very involved in CompTIA. Scott said that this was when she became more involved. Scott joined the Advancing women in Technology Community and continued to learn and network. Driving the Business of Technology
Scott joined SAS in 2014. It was only then that she saw the opportunity for her company and CompTIA. Her contribution to the organization grew exponentially. “Nellie was a catalyst and motivator for our transition from our legacy membership to the expanded, more inclusive ‘business-of-technology’ membership we now serve. Nancy Hammervik, CompTIA’s executive vice president of industry relations, said that she was brought to my attention by her experience as a person from a big data company. She wanted to find out how she could better engage with emerging technologies. CompTIA was able to recognize the growing demand for membership from a new segment in technology professionals and businesses thanks to Scott’s insight. It was an opportunity to find the right kind partners for vendors. “The technology world had changed. SAS was expanding and selling to an broader audience. Scott stated that CompTIA saw an opportunity for software as a service and emerging technology companies that was not available in any other association. CompTIA’s leadership was behind the new strategy of shifting to the business side of technology. The Channel Advisory Board (CAB), which Scott was a founding member, was established. Scott was elected co-chair of CAB in 2017. She was most recently co-chair of Business Applications Advisory Council. Scott was the leader of the effort to redefine CompTIA’s membership focus. He launched a new path forward for CompTIA, which retained legacy partner members while focusing on new vendors and emerging technologists.
