To commemorate Women's History Month 2022, the Airports Authority is launching another series acknowledging the tremendous efforts of women working in various sectors of MWAA. These women have contributed to every aspect of the operations of the Airports before and during the pandemic and are now shaping the recovery process.

From every department at the Airports Authority, both Airports, and the Toll Road, we salute the achievements and contributions of all the extraordinary women who work here.
 

Marcela Bassenyei
Technology Capital Investment Manager

Tell us your role here at the Airports Authority.
Hello, my name is Marcela Bessenyei. I am the CapitalInvestment Manager for the Office of Technology at the Airports Authority. I support all technology engagements working closely with the technology teams to assure deployments are financially sound.

Tell us about your career journey.
I dedicated over 12 years of my career to aviation. I started as a consultant advising some of the large airports in the US (in strategy, performance, and management), until I joined the Airports Authority.

Share an example of a hurdle or obstacle you experienced during your career journey and how you overcame it.
When I look back to reflect on my contributions, I like to think of success and challenges. And that challenge is what pushes me outside my comfort zone for betterment. For instance, my soft tone of voice can be perceived as luck of assertiveness discrediting findings and recommendations. So, I support conclusions with a wealth of data so the proposition can be validated by decision makers. It not only allows for more transparency, but also pushes me to be more detailed oriented and still be myself.

What has been your biggest career or personal achievement?
I must say probably the biggest accomplishment in my career was to join the Airports Authority. All the research and case files that I utilized in the past advising airports got to be put into practice at the Authority. It is a more rewarding sense of accomplishment for me.

What advice would you give young women about a career in aviation or technology?
Although aviation and technology are perceived as male dominant industries, there were prominent women in both arenas:

• Raymond de Laroche and Harriet Quimby first licensed women pilot (1911), and we have heard of Emilia Earhart, first woman to flight solo across the Atlantic Ocean (1932). It is true that the women to men pilot ratio is still in the one digit, but we see an increase of women in powerful roles in other areas of aviation, such as airports and aerospace corporations.
   
• In technology, for instance, Ada Lovelace is referred as the first programmer. She wrote notes on the notion of a specific engine could transition calculation to computation in the mid 1800s. Mother Mary Keller teamed up with two other scientists to develop the BASIC computer programming language. Karen Sparck Jones introduced the IDF term weighting that was later adopted by web search engines among other modern systems, and in relation to aviation, Grazia Vittadini, CTO of Airbus in France/Italy since 2018. What is important is your state of mind, your passion, and believing in yourself because with determination you can achieve your vision.