For VP, Engineering, Clare Wilkinson, the ultimate catalyst for technical innovation is the environment you create for your people.
When guiding a global engineering team through a massive AI transformation, it’s easy to focus solely on architecture and deployment speed. But for Clare, true technical innovation requires something deeper: building a team environment where people aren't afraid to fail.
Over her decade at Anaplan, Clare has steered teams through hypergrowth and our transition back to a private company by Thoma Bravo. Her biggest takeaway is that the only way to scale groundbreaking technology is to create a culture where engineers feel safe to experiment.
"I had to unlearn the idea that leadership means having all the answers," Clare says. "Leading a global engineering team in a period of AI-driven transformation means leading with curiosity. Can the people around you do their best work? Do they feel safe to say, 'I got that wrong' or 'I need help'?"
At Anaplan, we believe that innovation cannot thrive in a vacuum of perfection. It requires active, deliberate investment in the people doing the work — a concept Clare defines as sponsorship.
"Mentors talk to you. Sponsors talk about you, in rooms you're not in," Clare explains.
She experienced this profound impact firsthand. Two years ago, while facing an intense recovery from breast cancer, her Anaplan peers quietly advocated for her behind closed doors, holding her place, and ultimately backing her promotion to VP. It proved that a high-velocity tech environment doesn't have to come at the cost of human connection.
Today, Clare is applying this philosophy of active sponsorship to future-proof our engineering velocity, spearheading Anaplan’s new engineering Dev Academy in York and Manchester to give emerging talent the space to take risks and innovate early.
"If I believe in investing in people, it has to start before they've proven themselves," Clare notes.
Great software isn't built by individuals working in isolation; it’s built by connected, resilient teams. At Anaplan, our ultimate competitive advantage remains our people.
"Influence is only useful if you use it," Clare challenges. "A seat at the table means nothing if you don't pull up a chair for someone behind you."
