In this 6‑questions‑in‑7‑minutes interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with Juliana Zaremba (known as Jay‑Z), who leads strategic projects and strategy support at CDW Canada. Juliana highlights why she loves the technology sector—its constant evolution and the chance to work with clients across many industries. She stresses that the most critical business chapter is understanding the customer and grounding decisions in solid numbers, drawing on her CCXP certification. She attributes much of her leadership success to a diversified career path, having held roles from project manager to strategic consultant in companies of varying sizes, which taught her to view problems from multiple angles and embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. Juliana also discusses the importance of leading as a peer, encouraging team feedback, and building trust. She shares her first jobs as a restaurant server and a tour guide, explaining how those experiences honed her customer‑service, presentation, and logistical skills that still benefit her today. Finally, she recommends fellow leaders Nick DiPietro and Chris Black for future podcast episodes and invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn.
Chapters
This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Thanks for having me today, Professor Pete. My name is Juliana Zaremba. I'm probably more commonly known as Jay-Z though. That shorthand has really stuck. And what I currently do is I am responsible for strategic projects and strategy support for CDW Canada.
Juliana, it's so great to have you on the show. Question number 2, what's the best thing about working in your industry?
So it might be a cliché answer, but working in technology, it's always changing. And so it keeps me on my toes and there's lots of things to think about. COVID has been a great example, though, of another thing I love about the IT industry, which is that I get to work with clients from all across the industries that are available. I don't just work in healthcare or a certain area. I get to talk to everybody.
Yeah, so you get a good variety, it sounds like.
Yeah, and technology impacts every industry differently. So that's part of the keeping me on my toes and always challenging me is how does the same tech help two different clients in different industries achieve their goals.
I love it. Question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I'm going to need you to mail me the book because that, I think, would be incredibly helpful. Although there is a lot of benefit in making mistakes first. So I think, you know, if I had to pick a chapter, I'm a CCXP, which is a customer experience professional. And as a CCXP, like, I have to tell people to to know your customer, and then to build your business around your customer and their experience. I think that often comes late for people. But if you start there, and you know who your customer is, then you'll build a business around what you want them to have. And there's a lot less afterwards that you need to think about. And a big part of that is knowing your numbers. And I'm a numbers person. I started in math way back when. So I think those two things go really hand in hand.
Mm-hmm. I couldn't agree with you more. That's great insight. Thank you. Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
You know, I thought a lot about this one, Professor Pete, because I think there's just so many things that you could talk about here. And one of the keys to my success has been diversification. And I mean that in a number of different ways. But if I really look back, I've done a lot of different jobs. I've worked for small companies, medium companies, growing companies, large global companies, now with CDW. And the ability to work with different companies, different sizes, different people, and in different roles, anywhere from project management to strategy, or leading a team, working as an individual contributor, all of those things really helped me learn how to think differently. And to really like look at the big picture and to take myself outside of my comfort zone and what I personally am impacting and really start to think about how things and decisions I'm making would impact other people. And so that does, you know, that's part of your team, that's part of your customers, that's thinking about all those things you said that are the typical kind of generic answers. But looking at it differently, and I really don't think that I would have that mindset had I not been in different jobs and been in different companies and industries and had to look at it, um, from a different way. Because as a project manager, you feel differently than you do as a strategic consultant. And so it allows me to kind of break problems down, uh, into different components, and then that's how I tackle solving them. And so for me, what I've seen even with other leaders that I work with, if you're looking at it with all of the things you've learned in the past, and like I said before, making mistakes is how you learn. If you think about all those mistakes you made and road bumps that you hit and how you overcame them, you can probably think about different ways to tackle a problem and really get creative. And then that's when I think the magic happens. And that's when we really make a difference for our customers and for the industry and the economy. And it gets really big at that point.
And it's really interesting, as you said, with the diversity, diversification, the— in, in addition, going outside your comfort zone and being willing to make those those mistakes to be able to learn. It's really insightful what you, what you talked about.
Yeah. The other thing I would just add to that is, you know, it allows you to connect with your team in a very different way because your team usually then sees you as a peer and a coworker as opposed to a boss. And so I know there's lots of conversations about leader versus manager, and I agree there is a big difference. But I think when your team feels that you're part of the team with them, then, and that you have made mistakes and you're willing to get their feedback and they feel comfortable doing that, that place is a place where just so many things can happen, not just for you as a leader, but for your team. And then, like I said, it just gets wider from there. And that to me is outside of the comfort zone of a lot of leaders. But I think it's key. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
I agree with you. It's great. Question number 5. What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
You know, there's so many people that I talk to on a regular basis that inspire me and challenge me and help me. And part of the diversification for me, especially at CDW Canada, is talking to customers and partners and vendors and all these different people. And so I really thought about this one. And there's tons of names I could give you, but two people that I tend to go to a lot are Nick DiPietro. And Chris Black. And those two individuals I find really like make me think hard a lot, uh, which I think is great. And so I think they would provide a ton of insight for leaders, uh, on your podcast.
Perfect. I'll reach out to both of them. Thank you for the referral. Last question, question number 6: please tell me about your first job.
Yeah, first job. You know, a lot of people think of that differently, and My first, first job was a server in a restaurant, and I grew up in Niagara Falls, and so that was in the heart of tourism area, and that can be challenging. And so I, you know, there's not much that you could talk about with a server. It's pretty obvious, but obviously customer service skills are really critical and thinking on your feet are really important. So as I moved through different roles, that became really evident, and where I noticed it the most was actually a job where I was a tour guide, and A lot of people have been on my team know about this because they find it crazy. I still keep it on my resume, which sounds a little weird. But I was taking students from Toronto either to New York, Chicago, Ottawa, Niagara Falls, or Montreal, Quebec. And I would take them for like anywhere from 3 to 5 days. I was in university, I wasn't that old, and I had like 60 people on a bus. And we had to take them around the city and I had to memorize all the history and arts and culture and, you know, topics that maybe weren't my favorite because I was going to university for math and statistics and economics. And it sounded like a cool job. But what I learned was that it really made me who I am today. So when I talk to people and when I do presentations, people ask like, did you do Toastmasters? It's a great program, but I didn't. I had to keep 50+ high school students engaged talking about history while they were in New York City on a school trip, and they just wanted people to leave them alone. Let's be honest, I had to take 50 kids on a subway and get them all into the New York subway system, on and off at the right stops. Like, that's crazy when I think back about it. And so I didn't realize the skills I was forming at that time But now when I really look back on it, that was a fundamental role that I played that helps me in my day-to-day and with things that you don't think about. So, yeah, I would say that's, that's my first job that is really impactful to me.
Absolutely. And I love how you look at it, that what you learned in terms of the presentation skills and the patience and, and being able to, to direct an audience that may not necessarily be interested in the topic at hand. So that's a wonderful story. I love it. So, Julianna, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
Thanks, Professor Pete. Again, it was great chatting with you and I really appreciate the opportunity. And thank you to Chris Collins for recommending me for the show. The best way to connect with me is through LinkedIn. I mean, technology is where I live and breathe. So on my LinkedIn is the best place to shoot me a note or drop me a connection. I'd love to chat.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
