Q&A: Meet the new addition to the WICT UK & Ireland Board
We’re delighted to welcome a new face to the WICT UK & Ireland Board: Claudio Costa, stepping into the role of Programming Co-chair.
Together with the wider Board, he’ll help shape our chapter’s programming, partnerships, mentoring, and member engagement, supporting WICT’s mission to Inspire, Connect and Grow across the TMT industry.
We caught up with Claudio to learn more about his journey, why WICT matters to him, and what he’s excited to build in 2026.
Aline Deglas: Welcome to the Board. Tell us, the WICT Community, more about yourself.
Claudio Costa: I have +25 years in Telco, Media, and Manufacturing, and have had many mentors that directly or indirectly shaped my career in many ways. I've also mentored others through partnerships like The Prince's Trust in recent years, I’m a mentor at my University in Portugal, and also a mentor at the WICT mentoring programme.
AD: Why did you decide to join the organisation – what does WICT, and its mission to Inspire, Connect and Grow, mean to you?
CC: I’ve been a WICT member for +5 years now, so joining the WICT board was a natural new step for me, it felt like formalising something I already believed in.
You need to see what's possible first, then you need people around you who open doors, and growth follows. I'm on the Board to help build that path on purpose for our community, instead of leaving it to chance the way it was for me to same extent.
AD: What do you plan on achieving in your first year on the WICT UKIE Board? What are some challenges and opportunities you’d like to take on?
CC: Continue the great work Sarah Wood has been doing to date and ensure I find new and innovative ways to mix up formats, workshops, firesides, socials, so we're reaching people at different stages of their careers. I also want to reinforce the collaboration with sponsor companies to became more active and realise the full value of being involved.
The honest challenge is volunteer capacity as everyone's giving their time around their day job, and how I can carve out some of their time to further support and attend our WICT annual programme of events
AD: What are you most excited about for the TMT industry and the people contributing to it for 2026? Are there certain topics or trends you’re most passionate about?
CC: AI is genuinely the most exciting event at TMT these days. Not the hype version but the part where it changes how organisations actually serve customers, and the new skills people must develop in a new AI work environment. I believe this is a that's a real opening for women to build authority early rather than play catch up later.
I'm just as passionate about the human side of organisations, and how to use storytelling, emotional intelligence, and knowing how to be heard in the room skills. After 25 years consulting, that's what I've seen separate good executers from people who actually get listened to – the leaders.
AD: What is the best piece of career advice you’ve received so far?
CC: Build your house around what you've actually done, and make it shine. Don't chase what's trendy, understand what's genuinely transferable in your experience and build from there.
I've leaned on that every time I've changed sector or role, and it's the same thing I tell the people I mentor now: know what you want to be known for, then build outwards.