Alexandra Montgomery

As Director of IT at Comfort Keepers, Sodexo Home Care North America, Alexandra Montgomery’s efforts are focused on aligning the company’s global enterprise architecture, data, and digital transformation. 

“I look at it as harnessing the power of technology to truly add value and a better quality of life for our end users,” says Montgomery. “Examples of this work can be implementing artificial intelligence to reduce administrative burden on teams, or it could be to alleviate social isolation by implementing smart technologies in the homes of our clients.”

Montgomery’s career journey

As a university graduate, Montgomery began to reflect on the people, brand experiences and companies that had made an impact on her in some way. “My list started out typical with all the big brands and tech companies,” says Montgomery. 

She adds: “Then I thought back to this experience in university where an employee in the cafeteria had been well-known for checking in on the students, asking us how our days or weekends were and so on, and that’s how I discovered Sodexo.

“At the time, Sodexo took the approach of wanting to be the magic behind the scenes for their accounts. So when I think back to applying for my first role at Sodexo, I think it's really important to share how, throughout all levels of the business and at its core, we are a people company making an impact every day.”

Montgomery’s first role at Sodexo was a coordinator that shared assistance for both the Finance and IT Help Desk. “I had applied because I was seeing the impact tech was making in the world, and in order to get experience, starting in a Help Desk role was a great opportunity,” says Montgomery. 

She adds: “From that point, I continued to share with my manager(s) my interests and desire for more responsibility or exposure in different areas. Outside of work, I also wanted to make sure I was attending conferences or networking opportunities to always have additional industry insights.”

How did Montgomery find herself to be in the technology industry?

“I always liked that technology offered optimism,” says Montgomery. 

With a background in sociology, which requires a person to be always asking ‘why?’, Montgomery found that working in technology encouraged people to see new possibilities and challenge what was once done to what can be done. 

Montgomery reflects: “I’ve continued to stay under the home care sector because there has always been so much going on, whether its innovations, technologies empowering actions, productivity or just the people in general. It’s two industries where working together provides a better quality of life.”

What drives Montgomery?

When asked this question, Montgomery simply says: “Helping people both in my professional or personal life.”

She adds: “I love helping to solve problems, especially when it involves technology and creative solutions. The last thing I want is my team to view work as just a pay check. It’s important to have a connection and purpose to their work. One of my favourite quotes is ‘If you think solving all of your problems will bring you happiness, you’ll never be happy. Solving problems can give you happiness’. 

“Let go of perfect, say you don’t know when you don’t know. It’s important to help teams prioritise, nurture culture, and support a work/life balance, so employees feel more connected and are more positive about their work.”

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