Rising Star Emily Scott

Name: Emily Scott

Age: 27

Organization: IBM Global Business Services, Public Sector Supply Chain Management, contractor for the Task Force to Improve Business and Stability Operations-Iraq

Title: Managing consultant

Nominated for: Quarterbacking an initiative to provide Iraq with a nationwide retail payment infrastructure, supporting the use of debit cards, credit cards, point-of-sale devices and other modern financial conveniences. Personally traveled into the“red zone” to meet with Iraqi officials and bankers to better understand their needs and the demands of the working environment.

First IT mentor: Ed Laine, associate professor of geology at Bowdoin College. I learned for the first time the value of data and the ability to measure and track the success or failures of a system. Laine and the other professors taught me that with an understanding of data and some imagination, you can first identify and then solve some amazingly complex problems.

Latest accomplishment: Receiving one of the first MasterCard debit cards issued by an Iraqi bank (Bank of Baghdad) and being able to use it on ATMs and points of sale around the world, from Baghdad to Thailand and Washington, D.C. Since then, the retail banking infrastructure network has expanded to four Iraqi cities and includes some of the largest and most prominent vendors there.

Career highlight: Visiting Iraq for the first time and being able to see the effect of our project and meet in person the staff I'd been working with for so long.

Favorite bookmark: Kayak.com

Dream non-IT-related job: Travel writer