At SAS, where you start doesn’t have to be where you end, and opportunity for internal career mobility and skill growth abounds. Stacey Cooper has been at SAS for 11 years, and during that time, she’s experienced SAS’ support for internal career mobility firsthand - not only as an employee, but also as a manager!  

Meet Stacey

“My first role at SAS was a Technical Account Management role – I was an individual contributor and supporting customers. I realized quickly that while I loved interacting with and supporting our customers, I really missed leading and mentoring others,” Stacey shares. “After a couple years, I moved into a management position on that team, and later a Sr. Manager role - I enjoyed being a people leader again and in 2020, began to leverage some of my previous operational support experience to assist a cross-functional team with process, procedure and workflow during a period of high volume,” she explains. “I wasn’t looking for a new role, but my background and business need aligned, and led to a permanent offer to move to the SAS Cloud Operations team.”  

Today, Stacey holds a senior leadership position focused on global operations, supporting SAS’ global hosting customers.  

“It’s been exciting to join a new team and learn more about SAS’ technology,” she shares. “The future here is bright, and our Cloud Operations footprint is continuing to expand globally.”  

Internal Mobility  

Stacey’s been on both sides of the Internal Mobility journey – as an employee making a move, and as a people manager. “My leadership philosophy is that as managers, it’s our responsibility to promote talent from within,” she explains. “If someone is interested in growing outside their current role or team, it’s in our best interest to keep that talent at SAS and help them grow to where they want to be.”   

“When you’re a leader, your career “wins” become less individual and more about your people, helping them grow and be successful,” she shares. “It’s not about individual accomplishments – it’s about helping my people grow. It’s rewarding to see them move on to other areas of the company and help develop them along the way. That feels like an accomplishment to me, and it’s a big motivator.”   

Advice for others 

Stacey’s advice for career development? Don’t box yourself in by degree or skillset. “I have a solid fundamental technical understanding from working in the industry for many years, but my educational background is different from many of my colleagues’,” Stacey shares. “I didn’t go to school for computer science or analytics. My degree is actually in Communications with a concentration in Speech Pathology.”  

“I think people often shy away from applying to internal and external roles at SAS because they think they don’t have the right degree or skillset – but those skills can be learned outside the classroom,” she explains. “There are many people at SAS, myself included, who don’t have technical degrees but drive careers in highly technical spaces.”  

When it comes to exploring new roles, Stacey encourages others to be open to the conversation: “If you think you may be interested in a role or skill, pursue those opportunities,” she explains. “Have the conversation, even if you aren’t sure. Be open about your experience and goals, and see where it goes,” she says. “For me, I wasn’t looking for another job – I was just wanting to help the business and it led to a new opportunity.”  

Living the #saslife  

“At SAS, there’s never a dull moment,” Stacey shares. “You’ll learn something new here every day. That’s what excites me the most about SAS – there’s always more to learn at every turn.” 

For Stacey, it’s the people who make the #saslife special: “The people at SAS are like family, and that’s what keeps me here,” she shares. “Everyone is so collaborative – there is always someone willing to help if you need it. I’ve made some lifelong friends during my time at SAS.”  

Outside the Office  

Outside the office, you’ll find Stacey refinishing furniture, entertaining friends and embarking on road trips with her husband: “We love to travel, whether it be to see live music or visit one of our three kids in college,” she shares. “We also have three dogs, so sometimes they prefer that we stay at home and relax with them as well,” she laughs.