Visionary IT Executive Brings Global Business Perspective
As an executive with a $5.24 billion multinational company, Dorothea Henderson is a visionary IT leader bringing a global perspective to the relationships between information technology, business and operations.
As Rockwell Collins’ staff vice president of Technology Services and Operations, within the Information Management Systems (IMS) division, Henderson is responsible for corporate strategy and execution of IMS enterprise wide technology shared services, oversight of global technology, cybersecurity, mission critical facilities and the 7x24x365 network operations center. Her high performance team is accountable for an architecture comprised of highly integrated applications and global networks providing fully managed services to airlines and business aircraft operators around the world.
Henderson’s colleagues describe her as a collaborative leader who effectively directs her team to strive for their best. They say she utilizes her IT management and financial expertise to quickly analyze opportunities to drive down costs and grow revenue.
Her leadership has successfully guided technology groups though many changes throughout the years. She has experience in leading business units as well as CIO organizations, offering a unique perspective on leveraging technology to expand margins, optimize operations, and maintain strong relationships with internal business peers.
Henderson has worked in a wide variety of executive roles within the IMS organization. She was a senior manager of Global Products, director of Aviation Networks, director of Corporate Technology Business Planning, senior director of Corporate Applications and Business Planning, and now staff vice president of Technology Services and Operations. Henderson said the most important leadership quality a woman should have is the ability to lead in a collaborative way, while being decisive and acting swiftly. Her colleagues say her actions reflect her words as she doesn’t hesitate to make the hard decisions leaders need to make for the business. She lives by the words “never allow fear of failure to dictate decisions or choices.”
Henderson said being a woman in her profession has been challenging, but more due to internal conflict versus external factors. “I have been very fortunate in my career to have sponsors and strong supporters. I learned over time that acting like a man was not required to be a successful leader,” she said.
Henderson sits on a variety of boards and earlier this year was named to the board of the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council and the Anne Arundel Community College Foundation. She holds a BS in finance and accounting from Pennsylvania State University.
