🎧 Episode Summary

In this episode of Introvert Ally, Jennifer sits down with Carrie Wheeler, a seasoned technology and operations executive and current CEO of Liquid Web. Carrie shares her professional journey from pre-med to business to becoming a key global tech and operations leadership player. With deep insight into what it means to be an introverted leader in a male-dominated industry, Carrie discusses how embracing her personality has contributed to her leadership success.

Listeners will take away powerful lessons on authenticity, emotional intelligence, and how to create space for quieter voices in both in-person and remote workplaces.

🧠 Topics Covered

Career Journey:
From COBOL programmer to corporate translator and ultimately CEO, Carrie reflects on her transition across industries including oil, gas, telecom, and healthcare.

Upbringing & Personality:
Raised in a mixed introvert-extrovert household, Carrie shares how she navigated early freedom as an only child and adapted to workplace expectations.

Evolving Leadership Style:
Carrie discusses her shift from a reserved, stoic leader to one who embraces vulnerability and connection, with encouragement from her mentor Jim Geiger.

Supporting Introverts at Work:
Tips on encouraging introverted team members to speak up, including the strategic use of open-ended questions and gentle facilitation techniques.

Remote Team Engagement:
Strategies like mandatory cameras, huddles, and “hangout roulette” to maintain human connection in a hybrid work model.

Women in Tech & Meritocracy:
Carrie shares the progress she sees for women in operational roles and highlights the critical role of hard work and skill development.

Networking as an Introvert:
Carrie recommends LinkedIn as a low-pressure way for introverts to network and stay visible professionally.

💡 Key Takeaways

Introverted leaders thrive by leaning into their strengths—listening, reflection, and thoughtful communication.

Trust grows through authenticity, humility, and vulnerability.

Leaders must intentionally create room for introverted voices to be heard.

Remote work requires structured, human-focused engagement strategies to succeed.

📌 Resources & Mentions

Carrie Wheeler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-wheeler/

Liquid Web: www.liquidweb.com

Ms. Wheeler is the President of the Liquid Web Family of Brands which include Liquid Web, Nexcess, StellarWP and Modern Tribe.

Carrie is passionate about building products, services and comprehensive solutions for entrepreneurs, designers, developers and digital agencies who are building their business on the web. She brings more than 35 years of experience in high-tech across consulting (Accenture), Telecommunications (MCI, AT&T, Cbeyond) and Cloud Hosting (Liquid Web, CloudOne Digital).

In previous roles, she held leadership positions across a variety of organizational functions, including IT strategy, merger and acquisition planning and execution, customer operations, systems development, quality assurance, program management and capital management, and process definition and development.

Ms. Wheeler holds a Master's in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Finance from Trinity University.

Ms. Wheeler is the Chair of the Board of Directors, Michigan Data Center Alliance and was recently recognized as the “10 Most Inspiring Women” 2022 by Outlook Magazine.

Previously, Ms. Wheeler has been recognized as the Georgia CIO of the Year, Enterprise Business; Atlanta Technology Professional of the Year, Finalist and Women in Technology’s Woman of the Year in Technology. Wheeler has also served as Board Chair, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Education Collaborative and a Member of Georgia CIO Leadership Association.