A Portrait in Leadership: Women in EPM with Oracle Barbie aka Kate Helmer

Kata Helmer, aka Oracle Barbie formerly known as Hyperion Barbie, Oracle Ace Director, and oh yes ODTUG board member is just one person, but oh my, what an accomplished one.

I’ve always been intrigued by Kate’s alias: she’s quite obviously a professional of some import and yet names herself after a child’s doll. Why?

Subversion vs. celebration

Barbie (the doll, not the guest of this episode in the Women in EPM series) – or at least I thought so before recording this episode – sort of has a not totally awesome reputation. How wrong I was (again, Cameron, again?) and, having been the host (and listened to the episode eleventy times during the edit), how sure I am there can be real difference between a man’s and a woman’s perspective. Or I was just wrong. Or why not both?

Kate views Barbie as an exemplar of a woman that can do anything. Beyond the popularity of Barbie as a doll and the success of the recent Barbie movie, there are any number of academic posts on the subject.

So is “Oracle Barbie” a sly flip of an incorrect impression or an overt embrace of a powerful woman? Listen and find out.

NB – I was strictly a 12 inch GI Joe (surely the only real one – those Wee Willie Winkie ones are sort of an action figure abomination) fan and they taught me that camping is fun, which although a nice leisure activity, was not a transformative life effect.

Kate’s journey from the defense industry to Hallmark to consulting with an ever-increasing emphasis on managing the data that defines data is interesting.

What I also find interesting that Kate was introduced to Essbase in a manner similar to mine: her manager asked her to take a look at Hyperion System 9 and the rest is history. Performance Management has many branches but its roots are the same.

EPM Conversation episodes have a “rule of 3” where the guests tell us what their favorite three books, movies, and people in history are. Nowhere in that list is the subject of serial killers although I suppose opening it up to “people in history” could include them. Don’t believe me? Go to about 52:25 to hear the immortal words. “You’re not a true crime junkie until you have a favorite serial killer”. All I can think of is this song.

There’s more, much more than the above précis. The only way for you to know is for you to listen to Kate’s episode.

Join us, won’t you?