Marianne van Duin, Regional Vice President of Sales for growth and emerging markets in EMEA, leads seasoned sales teams in 11 countries to help some of our global customers accelerate their digital transformation journeys. In this article, we chatted with Marianne to learn more about her leadership journey.

It’s okay to make mistakes

Over the years, I had the pleasure to work with different leaders. I am still grateful for all the leaders I have worked for and can say positive things about each—how they coached me and helped me to progress my career. The biggest impact was at the start of my career. Not knowing anything, a real rookie, my first job was in IT, which at that time was still a very male-dominated environment. I am still grateful for the great leader that took me under his wings and taught me the traits of selling, customers, and leadership. At the start of my career, I was taught that it is okay to make mistakes, as you will learn the most from making mistakes. During my career, I had different leadership styles—I learned from my mistakes, adapted, and moved on. It’s okay to make mistakes if you learn, adapt and change. 

Having great leaders above me makes a difference

I am not new to managing people. But having great leaders above me makes it such a nice experience.  Having a great leadership team reporting into me also makes a difference. Looking back at my career at Equinix, I am so proud of my sales leaders and what we as a team have accomplished.  Teamwork makes the dream work, and together we excel to new heights.  I am proud that people in our team can say “I am safe, I belong, and I matter.”

My advice for new people managers would be to be an effective communicator and be creative in your approach. My current leader has the drive for excellence and makes those around him perform to higher standards. It fits like a glove with our company culture and the Magic of Equinix values. 

Lead when the time is right

One of my best career moves was declining a country leadership role that I didn’t feel right taking, as I was pregnant at that time and was not willing to take on a new role with more responsibility.  I didn’t feel it would have been fair of me, given that I was going on maternity leave for four months.  I later turned down another sales leadership role and stepped back into an individual contributor role. People questioned this decision, but it was right for me. I always said when the time was right, I would step back into a leadership position, as I know my value and I have trust in what I am doing. 

Putting people first

I spent 15 years with my former employer and had made several career moves within the same organization. When the opportunity with Equinix came, many people questioned my decision to move, as I had built a great legacy and had proven myself in the organization.

Going to Equinix was the best move I could have made. In my interviews, I was so impressed by the people and the culture of the company. After two and a half years at Equinix, I can truly say that this is a magical company. 

The Magic of Equinix was created systematically and intentionally, asking what can be done to demonstrate the statement "I'm safe, I belong, and I matter." It requires commitment of time and money and, importantly, listening to the people who make up the company. Much of this work is initiated within the heart of the company rather than top-down.   

Our culture is at the heart of our success. It is driven by our people, who share a passion for winning and put the customer at the center of everything we do. 

At Equinix, we put the people first. The in-service to culture that I've experienced is the one difference that I don’t see in the other companies I have worked for in the past. A lot of companies are talking about it, but at Equinix, we execute this magic every day. 

We’re also invested in nurturing and developing the capabilities of aspiring leaders. We have set ambitious goals for ourselves, and the key to achieving those goals is having the right leaders to take us there. So, I invite you to explore opportunities with us and join us to drive bold and meaningful change at scale.