Board Member Emeritus - Gail Farnsley

Gail Farnsley
gfarnsley@gmail.com

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work." Thomas A. Edison

Gail Farnsley is a VP, Executive Partner with Gartner Executive Programs. In this role, she partners with CIOs and other executive clients as a trusted advisor to provide expertise and guidance to help them achieve their business objectives.

Prior to joining Gartner, Gail led the Affinity Group Alliance for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). In this role, she worked with affinity groups and networking organizations across the globe to share promising practices, establish an international communications network, and provide members access to cutting-edge research-based strategies for recruiting, retaining and advancing women.

As a visiting professor in Computer & Information Technology at Purdue University, Gail co-taught a Women in Technology course and developed a CIO leadership course. She also developed a study abroad program to take students to India over spring break to learn about the Indian IT services industry.

Gail has worked in a variety of corporate IT roles in the US and UK, from programmer at Public Service Indiana to Vice President of IT and CIO at Cummins. She has also been active on a number of boards throughout her career. Gail is currently a member of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute Dean’s Council and actively involved with the Techpoint Foundation for Youth and is committed to providing experiences to help underserved kids gets excited about technology.

Gail lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Art. Her older daughter, Sarah, is a Butler grad and ballet dancer in London. Her younger daughter, Caleigh, completed her BA & MS in the Netherlands, and lives in Lithuania. Luckily she has always loved to travel, so she spends a lot of time on planes going to cool places to visit her kids. Life could be worse!

Early in her career in IT there were always other women in around – in her classes and on her teams, but as she moved into management, too often Gail was “the first” or the “the only” woman around. She started looking for groups that were interested in supporting women in their careers and mentoring young women and girls. Now, Gail can’t imagine her life without her network of amazing, strong women.

Gail's goal for Women & Hi Tech has always been to see the organization continue to support girls and young women so they can pursue careers in technology.

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gailfarnsley