Making the move from politics to the tech sector and Dropbox, Dublin
Maria Parodi, account executive, Dropbox

Making the move from politics to the tech sector and Dropbox, Dublin

1 Aug 2014

She grew up in Miami, Florida, to Irish parents, studied international relations, and became deputy lord mayor of Dublin. Now, Maria Parodi has made the transition to tech with Dropbox.

When Parodi moved back to Dublin, after living and studying in Miami, she quickly pursued her dream of a career in politics, rising at a young age to be deputy lord mayor of Dublin.

Her current role in cloud storage player Dropbox’s European headquarters in Dublin is no accident. It was during her time in politics that she found herself interacting with many in the tech sector in the city and, in her own words, she was blown away by the energy and vibrancy in the industry.

It was that experience that set her thinking that the tech sector could be her next challenge, and was thrilled when she was accepted into a role in accounts and sales management at Dropbox in Dublin. She clearly has a taste for areas that are traditionally male-dominated. Of course, in her view, it’s only though people like herself blazing a trail in these sectors that others will see fewer barriers into politics and tech.

Watch the full interview with Parodi here:

Women Invent Tomorrow is Silicon Republic’s campaign to champion the role of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. It has been running since March 2013, and is kindly supported by Accenture Ireland, Intel, the Irish Research Council, ESB, Twitter, CoderDojo and Science Foundation Ireland.

Dropbox is a Silicon Republic Featured Employer, comprised of top tech companies that are hiring now.

Ann O’Dea
By Ann O’Dea

Ann O’Dea is CEO and co-founder of Silicon Republic, an online source of science and technology news since 2001. She was also the founder and curator of Inspirefest, a unique international sci-tech event that aimed to disrupt the traditionally homogenous tech conference calendar. Today, that event has evolved into Future Human to showcase the leaders building the products and services for a new tomorrow. Ann is a fellow of the Irish Computer Society and the Institute of Art, Design & Technology. She received a Net Visionary award from the Irish Internet Association in 2015 for her work on ensuring the visibility of women role models in her industry, and was named Media Woman of the Year at the 2014 Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards. In 2015, she was the first woman to be inducted into the Irish Internet Association’s Hall of Fame. Ann sits on the advisory board of TeenTurn, which provides teenage girls with experience in STEM.

Loading now, one moment please! Loading