Hi, I’m Natalie!
Here are a few facts about me and also why I’m so passionate about inspiring and empowering people just like you to explore opportunities in STEM…
My career specialism:
Technology.
My current role:
I am currently the Chief Operating Officer at LEMA Logic, a small company providing AI-driven web technology solutions that enhance business growth, marketing, and customer support. In addition to my operational responsibilities, I also specialise in AI training, web design, and developing marketing systems.
When not STEM-ing you can find me…
Exploring our new home, the Isle of Man, spending quality time with my husband and kids, practicing Reiki, or enjoying meditation to keep life balanced. I also love watching TV, playing board games and crafting!
3 fun fact about me:
- I’ve immigrated three times—from South Africa to the UK, then the US, and finally to the Isle of Man. My favourite quip about my UK to US move is, “I came for work and stayed for love!” referring to falling in love with an American who is now my husband.
- I met my husband on a popular dating site by using unique search terms that I knew would lead me to someone special. Turns out, technology and SEO (search engine optimisation) really can help with love!
- I became a biological mother for the first time at 40, and while I don’t necessarily recommend waiting that long to have children, I feel incredibly lucky to have my miracle children who keep me young at heart—despite my very white-grey hair!
My career path:
My 30-year career has taken me on a diverse journey, across the world and through the vast fields of technology and business.
I graduated from WITS University in Gauteng, South Africa, in 1993 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in Business Economics with sub-majors in Business Information Systems and Marketing.
After graduating, I took the first job I could find to pay my bills and multiple student loans, working as a commercial and then corporate insurance underwriter. I moved into various supervisory roles before transitioning into software testing—a responsibility that turned what was supposed to be a six-week stint into more than six months. During that time, I impressed the programmers I worked with and was offered training as a Natural Adabas programmer, kickstarting my IT career in 1997.
That programming job, along with my degree, opened the door for me to move from South Africa to the UK in 1999, where I worked as an analyst programmer for an international investment bank.
Realising the decline of mainframe programming, I took the initiative to cross-train in Java at a local university while working full-time. This reskilling helped me move into client-server technologies and eventually led me to an area where I’ve excelled since my very first job at the age of 11—customer support—and specifically IT back-office, client-facing support in 2003.
After eight years with the bank, I was laid off due to a department restructuring that relocated my role to a combination of the UK, Australia, and Mumbai. By this time, I had built a life in the US, owning property and pets, and was engaged to my American fiancé. Rather than relocating, I decided to stay in the US and cross-train into something I had been quietly yearning for: a more colourful and creative side of IT—web design. In 2007 I took a 50% pay cut to become a “web master” at a university (a term that’s no longer used!).
Within a year, I was back at my previous salary, working as the Director for Web Services at another university. As websites naturally sit at the intersection of IT and Marketing, these roles led to further diversification into marketing functions such as social media, communications, and PR.
In 2014, I took all of these skills, taught myself even more, and joined my husband’s web company, Gallagher Innovations, which I’ve co-run since then.
Within our company’s sub-brands, Virtually Nat and LEMA Logic, I’ve applied everything I’ve ever learned—from branding and copywriting to web technologies and AI to customer support and business development—blending creativity with technology.
Today, as the Chief Operating Officer of LEMA Logic, I focus on the day-to-day operations of running our company, as well as digital design, integrated marketing systems, and AI. I’m passionate about working with cutting-edge tools and bringing increased profitability and process efficiencies to our clients.
My career path has shown me that technology is a broad and exciting field with opportunities for everyone, no matter their background or interests.
