Interview: Tajana Hašperger, ESEA HPE GreenLake – Selectium Program Manager

IDC has just held its first ever Multi-cloud Adriatic event and Tajana Hašperger, HPE GreenLake Selectium Program Manager in East South Europe and Africa (ESEA) was instrumental in presenting core HPE solutions at the major event. Fresh from that success at the beginning of November 2022 and other recent promotions, we interviewed Tajana about her path to prominence and success in the IT industry.

Q: Can you tell us about your beginnings in HPE? You started working as an engineer and in time, were promoted to one of the most important positions in Selectium. How did you manage to achieve this?

Yes – I was lucky to get a job in Hewlett-Packard 16 years ago, where it was, and still is, possible to grow, develop and advance. After the company split back in 2015, I became part of the newly-formed Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Now I am in Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium, which is a part of Midis Group, and again it is a great company for future growth and advancing constantly through new challenges. This is my second position in four years in Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium.

My current position, ESEA HPE GreenLake – Selectium Program Manager, did not exist a year ago, and to be able to enable the HPE GreenLake platform for our countries is really big achievement for me and Selectium. Of course, my past roles and jobs prepared me in great length to be able to do it, as well as to understand the whole process from sales to delivery. Additionally, to be fast and efficient I needed big support from Selectium management and the central team, which I got, and now we have implemented the full consumption solution on our markets. Selectium is now the only HPE partner which can do that.

Q: Could you tell us more about the HPE GreenLake – Selectium Program that you are leading for Selectium?

With this edge-to-cloud platform, we bring the Cloud experience, single point of contact, pay-per-use, scale up and down and management for our customers. With this platform, Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium now makes modern Cloud experience possible everywhere – across edges, colocation facilities, data centers and multi-clouds. It enables our customers to free up capital, boost operational and financial flexibility, and free up talents to accelerate what’s next for them.

We are especially proud that we presented our program at IDC’s first ever Multi-cloud Adriatic event, that took place at the beginning of November 2022. The fact that we were invited to participate in this event shows that the market and IT community recognized the importance and capabilities of our HPE GreenLake – Selectium Program.

Q: You have recently been appointed as AmCham Digital Economy Committee’s Vice Chair. Could you tell us more about the whole process, and how do you feel about being selected for such a prestige position?

Because of my job role in the local Selectium office, I am representing Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium in AmCham Croatia, and as such, I am participating in all regular meetings. Additionally, I am part of the AmCham Digital Economy Committee team tasked to give help and advice to local government around the EU digital transformation recommendations and obligations. This year, a new Vice Chair election took place and I applied. I ran against two other candidates, both regional managers from two vendors on the market. After I delivered the presentation and the election was held I was honored to get elected.

I think this is a great way for our company promotion, as well as mine. I am very happy about this opportunity as it is true confirmation of our company’s work and because now I can influence even more our country’s digital transformation. It is also a great opportunity to share more information about Selectium and HPE GreenLake – Selectium Program to the wider C level management audience in Croatia and in the region.

Q: Would you say that being a woman in a traditional male industry gives you a unique view or a competitive edge?

I would say both. I am very privileged to be able to contribute with my knowledge and way of thinking to my customers and Selectium team. In Selectium we nurture a very good and open atmosphere and diversity is around 50%. This, with support of the Midis Local team, gives me the opportunity to additionally develop my skill set so I can give back when needed.

Q: What can you say about working within Selectium and the Midis Group – what makes the Group distinctive, do you think?

I’ve already mentioned lots of great things about Selectium and Midis, but for me the most important is the possibility to develop and advance. We have lots of possibilities in this area. Also, I need to mention our great people and great teams I am working with. It is all rounded out by great management leadership, both in Selectium and Midis, without which all of this would not be possible.

Q: What piece of recent work are you most proud of?

For sure the HPE GreenLake – Selectium Program enablement for our markets. I still can’t believe we did it… Especially if we think about the differences and specifics in every Selectium country. It was made possible only because of the great team members, big support in Selectium and HPE help.