Feature Article - Zipping Through Barriers -
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Published on: 6/19/2001
Last Visited: 1/26/2002
Never one to color inside the lines, Zipora Brown took charge of her career and landed on the top
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But then, Zipora Brown is used to breaking barriers.
Brown, 50, is vice president and co-manager of the federal solutions group at American Management Systems (AMS), one of the world's largest IT consulting firms.The organization provides the software and services that power the financial systems of many of the U.S. government's largest and most powerful agencies."When I look at where I am today and how I started, I sometimes have a hard time believing what has happened," says Brown, whose friends call her "Zip."
Born in Israel, Brown earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in both statistics and English linguistics at Tel Aviv University."The statistics degree was for my career, the linguistics degree was for my soul," she says.While in school, she began planning for a career in statistical analysis."Back then, computers weren't as big a deal as they are now, so I never envisioned myself managing a major computer business," she says.
During school and for a short time after graduation, Brown worked as a statistician at Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, the nation's census bureau.She then joined the Israeli Institute of Transportation Planning and Research, a government-funded urban planning group.For someone with an interest in numbers, the job was both enjoyable and satisfying."I designed surveys and analyzed the results," she says.
While working at the institute, Brown got her first close look at a mainframe computer."I met a couple of software developers, and they showed me how a computer could do the work of several pen-and-paper statisticians in a fraction of the time."Shortly thereafter, Brown cut a deal with her boss: If the institute would train her in PL/1, a high-level IBM programming language that was popular in the 1970s, she would continue to work at the agency for several more years.
Brown lived up to her promise, but after fulfilling her commitment to the institute she decided to expand her horizons by seeking work in the U.S. Brown moved to Washington D.C. in 1977, contacted several employment agencies and eventually landed at AMS (against the advice of a headhunter who warned her that working for a startup "headed by a bunch of kids" wasn't a good idea).Brown recalls that AMS seemed like a perfect fit because, "I didn't really know if I wanted to go on programming for the rest of my life, but I did know that I wanted to know more about computers."A startup, she believed, would give her the chance to try her hand at different things.
Based in Fairfax, Va., AMS started life with a bunch of eager, young programmers and a handful of government contracts.It has since evolved into a prime government technology provider, developing and customizing a wide range of system-specific software, including customer care and billing applications, tax and revenue systems and e-commerce programs.Local, state and federal government agencies and schools currently account for about half of the company's sales.Other customers include telecommunications firms, financial institutions and energy companies.
Brown enjoyed her first few years at AMS."It was a genuine learning experience and a lot of fun, too," she says.But Brown soon realized that while she did want to work with computers for the rest of her life, she didn't want to remain a programmer."I discovered I wasn't only interested in how to code a program, but how the software would affect the end user-what business problems would it solve and so on," she says.
As a result, Brown asked for opportunities to work on systems analysis and design tasks.AMS management quickly recognized her work in these areas, and her climb up the corporate ladder began.Eventually, Brown became responsible for the design, development and implementation of AMS financial systems for over 40 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service and the Patent and Trademark Office.
Today, Brown is focused on Momentum, an object-oriented financial and administrative system for federal offices.The technology has already been acquired by several government agencies, including the General Services Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.Brown's staff works hard to find additional customers and to service and support the agencies that are already using the technology.
Brown claims that the secret to her success has been to concentrate on what she does best."If you do something that you enjoy, it's almost impossible not to do it well, " she says.Brown also believes it is important to be open to new ideas."If you don't seek out new interests and opportunities, you're probably not going to move very far ahead in your career."
It's important to work for a company that recognizes and rewards skilled and ambitious employees, says Brown.AMS, for example, sponsors the Executive Woman's Alliance, an organization committed to increasing the number of talented women in the executive levels of corporations and organizations.
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