“You don’t need to be techy, or the fount of all tech knowledge, to do ITAM” – Justine McSweeney

As mentioned in the podcast – “Volkswagen Golf GTI Mark 2 a classic German car from the 1980s the Mk2 featured a 1.8 litre fuel injected engine often described as a hot hatch”
ITAM Review Podcast: Change makers Series
In our new Change Makers podcast series, we’re speaking with ITAM professionals who share their ITAM experiences and insights to inspire those already in the profession and to encourage others to consider a career move into ITAM.
In this episode, we speak with Justine McSweeney, of Volkswagen Financial Services (UK), who won the 2020 Rising Star ITAM Excellence award.
This award is given to an ITAM professional with less than three years’ experience who demonstrates excellence in the ITAM industry.

Justine McSweeney, ITAM Review Excellence Award Winner – Rising Star 2020
Justine started her career a long way away from ITAM…filing paper and financial contracts for new Volkswagen car purchases. After 31 years with the organisation and various roles, it was during one particular conversation with her manager, when she asked for a new and challenging role, that the door opened to ITAM.
This wasn’t just a new role for Justine…it was a new role for her organisation, and Justine was a team of one; however, this didn’t put her off. In fact, she embraced it.
She read as much as she could about ITAM and started to have conversations with people she had never had conversations with before.
She truly is a people person and likes to work with people across her organisation to solve problems and find solutions. And, not coming from a technical background, that didn’t stop her either.
In this podcast, we speak with Justine about:
- The first things she did when she started her ITAM role
- How she determined what she needed to do and went about doing it
- How she has successfully built strong relationships with stakeholders across her organisation
- What keeps her motivated and excited about ITAM
- What she would tell others about ITAM to encourage them to pursue an ITAM career
Said Justine,
“I would encourage everyone who is even just a little interested in ITAM to have a conversation with the ITAM Manager in their organisation to see what it’s all about. It’s a great journey to be on. I’ve absolutely loved every minute of it.”
https://soundcloud.com/itamreview/change-makers-podcast-justine-mcsweeney-vw-financial-services
Podcast back catalogue: https://marketplace.itassetmanagement.net/podcast/
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About Martin Thompson
Martin is also the founder of ITAM Forum, a not-for-profit trade body for the ITAM industry created to raise the profile of the profession and bring an organisational certification to market. On a voluntary basis Martin is a contributor to ISO WG21 which develops the ITAM International Standard ISO/IEC 19770.
He is also the author of the book "Practical ITAM - The essential guide for IT Asset Managers", a book that describes how to get started and make a difference in the field of IT Asset Management. In addition, Martin developed the PITAM training course and certification.
Prior to founding the ITAM Review in 2008 Martin worked for Centennial Software (Ivanti), Silicon Graphics, CA Technologies and Computer 2000 (Tech Data).
When not working, Martin likes to Ski, Hike, Motorbike and spend time with his young family.
Connect with Martin on LinkedIn.