Cristina Coelho, Senior Manager QA Engineering at 8x8, is the newly appointed EMEA regional leader for Portugal. With more than 15 years of experience in engineering and quality assurance, Cristina’s new position will involve expanding the reach of the 8x8 Portugal office and promoting 8x8’s culture of being customer-obsessed. We caught up with Cristina to ask about her new role and learn a little more about the 8x8 Portugal office.

8x8: How is 8x8 perceived in your region?

Cristina Coelho (CC): 8x8’s history in Portugal is recent, starting after its acquisition of Fuze in 2022, where I’d worked since 2017. The majority of our work is in engineering, but over the last six months we’ve seen a lot of growth in user experience (UX). We have team members working across all 8x8 areas, along with several prominent figures with strong international profiles within the organization.

8x8: How do you feel about being appointed as an EMEA regional leader?

CC: When I found out I was going to be an EMEA regional leader, I was almost speechless. I never imagined I would be chosen for the role—it’s certainly an honor. I have a passion for learning and I’m a dynamic person, so I’m confident I’ll make a positive impact in Portugal. I’ve also already been doing parts of the role in an unofficial capacity alongside key team members in HR, so that has given me a head start.

8x8: What do you see as your key priorities and what does success look like?

CC: For me, success has two parts. My main role is in quality assurance, where success is having zero customer escalations. Every morning we have a meeting to review customer found defects (CFDs) and my goal is for my team to always have zero. At an office level, success is finding and hiring quality people to add to our thriving office environment.

8x8: What previous experience helped you prepare for this moment?

CC: I’ve been in managerial positions for more than ten years, so I have plenty of experience of leading teams. Before 8x8 and Fuze, I worked at several smaller companies. As anyone who’s been at small organizations will know, you’re never limited to your own job, you do many other things alongside it. For a long time, I’ve been dealing with several issues and tasks across the breadth of the organizations I’ve worked in, and this has given me the ability to have a bigger picture view of things.

8x8: How has the local team reacted to the news?

CC: You’ll have to ask them! But, in all seriousness, I think it’s appreciated that we have an EMEA regional leader, and it helps to put our office on the map. It’s an opportunity for the whole of the 8x8 Portugal office.

8x8: What are the challenges and opportunities you see facing 8x8 in your area?

CC: In our Portugal office, because we have lots of engineering, quality assurance, UX and other areas, there’s always an opportunity to improve and develop the products in a direct, hands-on way. At the same time, recruiting teams and acquiring new skill sets and perspectives is another big opportunity for us.

We have our unique culture—I think we bring our own identity to 8x8. I just heard that it’s everyone’s favourite office to visit, I guess it’s because of the sunshine and of course the fact that we’re amazing hosts!

If you’re interested in joining the team, check out the career opportunities available and we’ll share more details.

8x8: For you, what’s the appeal of working at 8x8?

CC: There are many. As a large company, there’s always options for me to learn new things and work with new technologies. I know that my work has an impact on millions of daily users worldwide, too. I also appreciate the 8x8 workflow and the speed and productivity with which we work. It's really exciting to work in a product organisation that has such cutting edge deployment mechanisms. We release new versions regularly and can get our software changes into the users' hands all over the globe in seconds. In some companies it takes months to get your work to the end user. We're lucky to be able to deliver so quickly for our customers—it's very motivating for the engineering team.

8x8: For others in the IT industry and beyond looking to advance to leadership, what advice would you give them?

CC: After my degree in engineering, I completed an MBA which was an opportunity to learn about finance, law, people management, and lots more. It also expanded my network and allowed me to learn from colleagues who were coming from very different fields. I didn’t take the degree to help me advance to a leadership role, but I certainly think that it ended up helping me. I’d also say that advancing in leadership is a journey that requires a lot of patience, continuous growth, and learning, so seek every opportunity you get and embrace the challenges that come your way.

8x8: What relevant books/podcasts/websites would you recommend for others to listen to?

CC: I’m a bookworm, so it’s hard to recommend only one book. If you’re starting on a leadership journey, I’d suggest The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, and The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. They’re all quite short and offer practical resources for you to apply to your daily work. For quality assurance, I am an avid reader of the Ministry of Testing website.

8x8: In your downtime, what does relaxing look like?

CC: Besides reading, my other two favorite hobbies are exercise and travel. I get a lot of enjoyment from trekking, mountain biking, and even simple functional training sessions. Here in Portugal, we have beautiful scenery for outdoor activities. I would recommend the Azores, an archipelago in the Atlantic, for trekking and surfing.

If you are interested in learning more about life and career opportunities at 8x8 in the EMEA region and around the world, check out our Life at 8x8 page on LinkedIn.