Spotlight Series: Jeannine Hillen, Seasoned People Leader for Fortune 500 Companies

Jeannine Hillen

ARTICLE SUMMARY

Jeannine is a seasoned people leader with over 15 years of experience in Fortune 500 companies in Ireland. Her professional journey began in the public sector, working for His Majesty's Customs & Excise. Discover her career journey so far.

Transitioning to eBay Inc, Jeannine led the Global Team, overseeing Billing & Payments and Policy & Compliance functions.

Later she joined Meta (Formerly Facebook), where she held a number of pivotal positions including, Head of Business Integrity for Global Markets and Head of European Risk Prevention for Global Operations. In her most recent role at Stripe, she was responsible for Strategy and Partnerships in her position as Head of Risk for EMEA.

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Jeannine is passionate about learning and development. She spearheaded the leadership development work-stream at Meta, guiding over 70 managers towards professional growth. Deeply committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives,  she played a pivotal role in the resource group for Women@Meta in Global Operations, driving impactful change.  Outside of her professional endeavours, Jeannine is an avid volunteer for the United Nations where she recently completed a summer program supporting education for women and girls. 

What does an average work day look like for you? 

Every day is different in the tech industry. That’s one of the big positives about working in a high-stakes sector. I find that the main ingredients of a successful day involve meeting my team for strategy calls and one-to-ones. I’ll usually have some collaborations with Cross-Functional Partners on strategic Initiatives and I tend to reserve some time to review and assess my department metrics. I like to have a quick check-in with my own manager, once or twice a week to align on priorities. It’s also great to carve out weekly slots to spend time with peers, so we can move forward on open-items together.

Are there any specific skills or traits that you notice companies look for when you’re searching for roles in your field? 

Previous experience in a tech company is usually a pre-requisite and this can be a barrier for those starting out or changing industry. It’s actually really easy to solve for this by doing volunteer work with an NGO or charity. Those segments are always looking for top talent to drive initiatives. So you’re helping others while gaining necessary experience to open future doors. I highly recommend exploring that as a option. It will boost your CV and give you the tools you need to move forward. 

Entering the world of work can be daunting. Do you have any words of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed? 

Take it one day at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’ll have great days and you’ll have not-so-great days. And it’s really the most human quality to experience ups and downs. Being prepared for that and having a support network of peers you can reach out to will help you to recalibrate.

What advice would you give other women wanting to reach their career goals in technology? 

 Keep moving forward and keep showing up. There is a great deal to be said about consistency over time. It’s like compound interest. If you continue to learn, evolve and accelerate, those traits lead to infinitely better outcomes.

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