Kellene Parra

Background

About Kellene Parra

As a young person, I loved math, was fascinated with factory automation, and wanted to see the world. With these interests, I studied industrial engineering at Iowa State University. After graduation, I started my career in GE’s iconic Manufacturing Management Program where I rotated through roles in manufacturing supervision, production engineering, and supplier quality management while receiving world-class leadership training. Seeking international experiences, I jumped at the opportunity to transfer to a manufacturing plant in Mexico where I led a production line in Spanish. To better understand the language of business, I earned my MBA while working full-time and then transitioned into the technology business at GE where I held various roles in technical project management, process improvement, and quality positions at GE Information Services. During this time, I became a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and assumed the role of the Asia-Pacific Quality Leader based in Hong Kong where I supported quality programs in 15 countries throughout the region. I then moved to Bangkok,Thailand and lived in Southeast Asia for a total of six years.For the past 10 years, I have held various IT application development and support roles at OpenText managing global teams based in the US, Canada, Europe, Israel, and India supporting internal and customer-facing applications. Throughout my career, I have focused on process improvement in everything I do, leading my teams to deliver on immediate commitments while also striving to make things better for the future.I’ve learned from great mentors over the course of my career and am passionate about coaching and mentoring others. Although most of my mentoring is informal, I’m also a mentor in OpenText’s Women in Tech program and the national Girls in Tech organization which supports high school girls in their interest in STEM careers.In my free time, I enjoy playing French horn in a local community band and horn choir, reading, traveling to new places to experience new cultures, and spending time with my family.