Title: Director of Product Development

Company: BMC Software

Location: Jarrel, Texas

Initially, Dianne Johns became involved in her profession because she had an interest in computers and went to college for it. She worked for IBM for 17 years in a variety of positions and areas, including professional services, project management, development, QA, and liked the management side. Now, in her first year at BMC Software, garnering 32 years of combined expertise, she serves as director of product development, with expertise in communication and creative problem solving. Ms. Johns’ daily operations consist of hanging the development of common installation and configuration support, in addition to release packaging, with internal and external tools support also included.

Ms. Johns started a recovery relief fund for the victims of Jarrell in 1997, when they were hit by a tornado; 44 homes were destroyed and 27 people lost their lives. The systems she put into play were adopted by others. She received a Bachelor of Science in computer science and personnel management from East Texas State University, and is PMP certified. Through her increasing skill-set in leading her team, Ms. Johns intends to become senior director, and eventually take contracts.