Susan Larson
Former Dell Vice President Susan Larson is unfazed by her minority status in the male-dominated technology industry.
She doesn’t sensationalize her rise to power, insisting instead, “It
was easy to get a job and get trained because as a burgeoning industry,
they were desperate.”Larson’s debut in the computer world at IBM marked
her emergence from a tough period in her life. “I was divorced and
needed to go back and find a job. It was the early ‘80s when IBM and
Apple had just introduced their first computers,” Larson says.
The industry’s early success resulted in fierce competition and a lot
of consolidation, which ultimately landed Larson a job with Dell.
Despite her relatively seamless rise within the industry, Larson
acknowledges skepticism surrounding women in technology. “There were
biases that women didn’t know as much as they thought they did...turns
out men didn’t know as much about women as they thought,” Larson laughs.
That unflinching attitude was necessary when working for a company
that was hiring a staggering 100 employees per week. As Larson explains,
“Dell hit the sweet spot at just the right time.”
After running Dell UK/Ireland, Larson wrapped up her 12-year-tenure
and refocused her attention on her husband and four sons. “Anybody who
says you can do it all and not have any guilt or personal conflict, I
think, is crazy,” Larson says.Since retiring to Steamboat in 1998,
Larson has gotten involved with philanthropic work. She helped
kick-start the annual Girls to Women Conference and has served on the
boards of the VNA, Hospice, Boys and Girls Club, Yampa Valley Community
Foundation and the Casey’s Pond Project. Her interests in children and
supporting the underinsured are common threads among her projects.
After a demanding career, it’s only suitable that Larson would choose
to retire in a town that allows her to revisit the fond memories of
family ski vacations. “You have an opportunity to make a difference and
impact and see that impact in a small town,” she says.
But a woman like Susan Larson doesn’t necessarily need a small venue to stake her presence.
