Women in Tech spotlight: Stephanie Klecha

Describe your role and what a typical day looks like for you?

I've always been fascinated by difficult problems. Not just the technical challenge itself, but how technology can help people make better decisions when the stakes are high.

Today I lead Optima at PA, a technology-enabled business that helps airline organisations optimise complex asset decisions. In simple terms, we use advanced mathematics to help leaders answer questions that are too complicated to solve through spreadsheets or experience alone. What makes the role exciting is that it sits at the intersection of technology, business leadership, and people.

What I love most is that no two days are the same. Last week, I spent a morning discussing aero engine strategy with an airline executive and the afternoon working with data modellers and engineers on a new capability for maintenance contracts. The previous week, I met a highly respected leader in UK defence to explore ways to tackle a complex availability puzzle.

The common thread is people. Technology doesn't create impact on its own. The real challenge is helping people trust it, adopt it, and use it to change how they make decisions. I've spent much of my career building that bridge between technology and reality.

I enjoy spotting potential in ideas, technology, and people, then helping the ideas grow into something bigger than originally imagined. Seeing talented individuals develop confidence in themselves and achieve things they didn't think were possible is still one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

What has your career journey been like so far?

My career has never followed a straight line, and I think that's one of the reasons I've enjoyed it so much. I studied Aerospace Materials Science and started my career at Rolls-Royce. I was fascinated by how complex engineering systems fail, why assets degrade, and how technology could help us understand and manage that risk. It’s this curiosity that’s shaped everything I've done since.

After Rolls-Royce, I moved to Australia and joined a small mining rail technology company. We were developing remote condition monitoring technologies to predict problems before they happened. I spent countless hours experimenting, testing ideas, and challenging assumptions. This led to worldwide patents and taught me that innovation isn't usually a single breakthrough moment but persistence, experimentation, and teamwork.

Over the following years, I moved into leadership roles, helping businesses grow, building engineering teams, and leading digital transformation programmes across rail and transportation. Eventually I joined PA (while I was nine months pregnant) to help create technology-enabled businesses that complement our traditional consulting model.

Looking back, the common thread has always been the same: using technology to solve meaningful problems and helping organisations adopt new ways of doing things. Every role has taught me something different, but curiosity has been the constant.

Does personal branding have value in career placement?

When people hear the phrase ‘personal branding’, they sometimes think of self-promotion. I see it differently. To me, your personal brand is simply your reputation. It's what people trust you for and what they associate with you when you're not in the room. Over the years I've worked hard to build a reputation for curiosity, honesty, and delivery. I don't need to know all the answers, but I do want people to know that I'll tackle difficult challenges and follow through on commitments.

Many of the most important opportunities in my career have come through relationships rather than formal processes. Those opportunities weren't created overnight. They came from consistently doing good work, supporting others, and building trust over time.

I also think it's important to be authentic. Some of the most successful people I've worked with are not trying to fit a particular mould. They're successful because they understand who they are and what they bring to the table.

My advice would be to focus less on creating a personal brand and more on creating a reputation you're proud of. If you do that consistently, your brand will take care of itself.

How do you handle setbacks or failures?

I've become quite comfortable with failure over the years. That might sound strange, but when you spend your career working in innovation and technology, things don't always go to plan. If you're genuinely trying to do something new, setbacks are inevitable. I’d even go as far as saying if you’re not experiencing setbacks, you’re perhaps not pushing the boundaries hard enough.

Earlier in my career I saw setbacks as evidence that I needed to work harder or find a better answer. Now I see them as part of the process. Some of my biggest lessons have come from projects that were difficult, ideas that didn't work first time, or situations where I had to completely rethink my approach.

One thing I've learned is that technical problems are often the easier problems to solve. The harder challenge is usually helping people change. Technology adoption requires trust, belief, and patience. I've seen highly sophisticated technology fail because nobody used it, and I've seen relatively simple ideas transform organisations because people embraced them. Personally, I try to remain open minded when things go wrong. I want people around me to feel safe enough to experiment, make mistakes, and learn quickly.

What advice would you give to other women looking to pursue a career in technology?

Firstly, don't underestimate yourself. Throughout my career, I've met incredibly talented women who were waiting until they felt completely ready before putting themselves forward for an opportunity. In reality, very few of us ever feel fully prepared. Growth often happens because we take on challenges that stretch us.

I'd also encourage women to think broadly about what a career in technology looks like. We need problem-solvers, strategists, scientists, communicators, designers, leaders, and commercial innovators. There are many different paths into the industry, and the technology landscape changes constantly.

Finally, find people who encourage you to be ambitious. The moments that have shaped my career most have often been when someone believed I could do something before I believed it myself.

Technology will continue to shape the future of how we live and work. We need diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas to make that future better. So be curious, be brave, and don't wait for permission to pursue something that excites you. You don't need to have all the answers before you begin!