Christina Richards is the Vice President of Marketing at AOptix Technologies Inc. She has overseen marketing efforts at AOptix for just over a year, during which time she launched a new website that increased viewership and engagement. Richards has a background in engineering and business and has worked in marketing roles for 19 years at various technology companies. She is committed to promoting gender diversity in technology leadership roles.

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From the Silicon Valley Business Journal
:http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2015/04/03/aoptix­technologies­inc­
s­christina­richards­women.html
AOptix Technologies Inc.'s Christina
Richards | Women of Influence 2015
Apr 3, 2015, 6:00am PDT
Gloria Wang Shawber, Contributor
Christina Richards
Vice President of Marketing
AOptix Technologies Inc.
Residence: Campbell
Education: B.S., electrical engineering, Virginia Tech; MBA, executive leadership, Southern
Methodist University­Cox School of Business
Christina Richards excels at STEM jobs — in her case, science, technology, engineering and
marketing. She spent the first 11 years of her career at Nortel Networks Inc., wearing
different hats: engineering, engineering manager, business operations leaders, and finally
product marketing. She then led marketing and business development at SkyFiber, Inc., before
becoming an entrepreneur.
Richards currently oversees marketing efforts for wireless company AOptix Technologies, Inc.
In just over a year at AOptix, she has launched a new company website that has increased
viewership by 425 percent and engagement by 105 percent; authored publications, appeared in
videos, and been featured in podcasts on the company and the wireless industry; and joined
top networking organizations for marketing executives and women in business.
Richards maintains a deep commitment to United Way. She is currently involved with United
Way of Silicon Valley, and volunteered as a mentor and a crisis manager for the United Way of
Metro Dallas, where she lived prior to joining AOptix.
Your age: 40
How long have you been at your current company? Just over 1 year.
Job description: As vice president of marketing, I am responsible for AOptix’s strategic
marketing vision and execution, including new product introductions, corporate branding,
digital marketing, analyst and media relations, and strategic channel marketing partnerships.
My goal is to make AOptix’s Laser­Radio technology known worldwide, and to have it deployed

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globally as a critical part of the world’s 4G/LTE wireless cellular backbone.
Company description: AOptix is a pioneer in high­capacity wireless transport solutions and
the inventor of Laser­Radio technology. Laser­Radio technology is essentially a “wireless fiber
in the sky,” and it enables a customer to connect two locations with 2Gbps of wireless
connectivity without the time, cost, and hassle of trenching for new fiber.
Employees: 55.
The number of years you have been in your line of work: 19 years.
Current civic/community involvement: United Way of Silicon Valley.
What was your first job? I was an entrepreneur from the start. At the age of 12, I launched
Christina’s Lawn­Mowing Service. My hometown had enormous backyards, and business
boomed!
Career path: My career path has been far more diverse than I ever could have guessed when
I graduated with my electrical engineering degree. My first job after university was with in
Texas with Nortel Networks, a multinational telecommunications manufacturer. At 26 I became
the youngest manager and first­ever female manager in my division (test/validation
engineering). After about a decade in engineering, I transitioned into Nortel’s Leadership Edge
program, where I earned the opportunity to serve as business operations leader for Nortel’s $6
billion Carrier Networks division. That generated the opportunity to get my MBA, and I moved
into product marketing. When I completed my MBA, I went to a startup called SkyFiber where I
started as director of marketing, and then later moved to vice president of marketing and
business development. Then, in 2012, I started my own marketing consulting firm, Richards
Morgan Enterprises, with clients that varied from motivational speakers, to the construction
industry, to telecom industry firms like NEC Americas. Then in 2013, I moved from Dallas to
Silicon Valley, and began my current role as vice president of marketing with AOptix.
Growing up, you wanted to be: An F­14 fighter pilot. I grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
near two Navy bases and an Air Force base. When I was 8 years old, I toured the USS
Eisenhower, and when I saw the Navy Fighter jets, my first thought was I wanted to fly them.
My second thought was I wanted to understand how such an incredible thing could exist. That
was the beginning of my path to get my electrical engineering degree.
The best advice you've ever received:“The longer you live, the more you realize the impact
of attitude on life. Attitude is most important. Life is 20 percent what happens to you, and 80
percent how you react to it,” Dr. James Caveney. My dad gave me this quote early in my
career, and a copy of it is still laminated in my home office. Sometimes all it takes is shifting
your perspective on a challenge to see the opportunity that it creates.
Your best advice for others: True leaders are the people who are willing to put that first
stake in the ground. You might use the wrong stake, put it in the wrong place, or smash your
finger with the hammer while you are putting it in, but if you have the courage to take that
first step, people will follow, and the doors to creativity and expansion will have been opened
for everyone. — This is from a speech I gave in 2011.

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Something about you that would surprise others: I performed in a trio on stage in front
of 10,000 people at the age of 13, and at 19 sang lead on “Birdland” with jazz great Maynard
Ferguson accompanying on trumpet. Also, I am a huge “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fan!
Who is your hero/mentor? Brian Tracy: Author, entrepreneur, visionary, success expert and
sales strategy guru. I find his books and speeches inspiring and actionable, and I got the
opportunity to meet him in person in August 2011. Linda Blackmon: CEO of ExtendMyStaff.com
(she taught me what it really means to be an entrepreneur). And Nancy Bateman:
Distinguished Toastmaster, strategist and mentor extraordinaire. Among many other valuable
lessons, Nancy taught me how to craft and deliver speeches that captivate and inspire.
What has been your biggest challenge professionally? Finding the right balance
between “assertive” and “aggressive.” For women, it’s an important balance to strike, because
the same statement or action can be interpreted differently depending on the context. To be
truly successful, we need to be both assertive and aggressive to ensure forward momentum in
our careers. The valuable skill is acquiring the knowledge to know when to use the carrot, and
when to use the stick.
You are a woman who has assumed a top leadership role. What needs to happen to
get more women in corporate leadership roles? We need to create and encourage more
mentoring opportunities! Men in technology tend to do this naturally with each other. Women
represent a smaller percentage of the tech population, so we need to take every opportunity to
build each other up as well. I have been fortunate to have both male and female mentors
along the way, but creating more women­to­women mentoring scenarios allows us to better
leverage the unique qualities we bring to the technology industry.
What is the biggest challenge facing women who want to take on leadership roles?
Having our skills and value underestimated. Here is the important twist though: the
“underestimation” does not always coming from our male colleagues. I have seen far too many
of my female colleagues completely underestimate the value of what they bring to their teams.
No one will ever fully recognize your contributions unless you do first. Be a champion for your
own career, and be confident in your contributions, and others (male or female) will see it too.
How would you assess gender diversity in Silicon Valley? (1: Not a problem; 5: We
still have a long way to go, baby)4
Your favorite gadget: iPad and my VimaRun app.
What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? What gets me out of bed in the
morning is the opportunity to create value: whether it is at work, with friends and family, or in
my community. For me, one of the main goals in life is to create value, and that can be done in
many different ways — building companies, bringing a new technology to market, investing in
relationships, learning a new dance, or creating a new way to solve an old problem.
Where may we likely find you during your downtime? Hiking on the California Coast, or
skiing in the Sierra Nevadas.
Your guilty pleasure: Unplanned weekend adventure trips.