Her Story
About Leslie
Leslie White is a seasoned Client Executive Manager at Lumen Technologies, supporting federal and public sector clients in the Washington, D.C.–Baltimore region. With more than three decades of experience in account management, client services, and customer success, she is recognized for driving revenue growth, strengthening strategic relationships, and delivering measurable business outcomes in complex enterprise environments. Leslie is known for her ability to translate client objectives into effective, results-oriented solutions that enhance performance and long-term value.
Her career in telecommunications began unexpectedly nearly 20 years ago, when she was preparing to relocate from New Jersey to Virginia and was encouraged by her mother to apply for a sales role at Verizon. With no prior industry background, she was hired and quickly introduced to the fast-evolving world of telecommunications—an experience that reshaped her professional path. That opportunity sparked a long-standing career in the industry, where she developed deep expertise in network infrastructure and learned how technology directly drives business transformation and operational success.
Over the past 10 years at Lumen Technologies, Leslie has advanced through multiple roles, growing from account management into her current leadership position as Client Executive Manager, a role she has held for the past three years. In this capacity, she leads teams, manages high-value customer relationships, and navigates complex challenges with clarity and composure. She is widely respected for her ability to communicate difficult messages with professionalism while maintaining trust and a solutions-focused approach. Leslie is also deeply committed to team development, drawing on her own sales experience to mentor and motivate others. Recently, she helped her team expand into new strategic opportunities beyond transactional sales, driving broader portfolio growth and elevating overall performance.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Leslie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have to say my mother. I watched her get up every single day, go to work. She was so dedicated. She was very professional. My mom was the one who encouraged me to apply at Verizon when I didn't think they would hire me because I had no experience in telecommunications. She told me to just try, and that advice changed my entire career trajectory. Watching her dedication and professionalism throughout my life gave me the foundation and work ethic that has carried me through my 20-year career in this industry.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is be your true, authentic self. Show up as yourself, communicate often, and just be honest, transparent, and upfront with people, and deliver on what you say you're gonna deliver on. This advice has guided me throughout my career and helped me build trust with my teams and customers. It's allowed me to be comfortable jumping in to handle difficult situations and to communicate effectively even when delivering bad news, because people know I'm being genuine and that I'm committed to helping them succeed.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would definitely give them the same advice that someone shared with me - don't be afraid to ask questions. Find an engineer, find someone who understands the business that you're trying to work in, that's willing to explain it and help you grow. I tell my daughter this, who is 22. When you're young, you're intimidated, you're not sure who to talk to, you don't always voice your opinion. But finding that mentor who can guide you and explain things makes all the difference. I've been fortunate to have people around me in each job that I was able to learn from, and I took those pieces of what I learned and incorporated it into who I wanted to be and the career path I wanted. Don't let intimidation hold you back from seeking out those learning opportunities.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge right now is deciding what's next for me, because I'm being offered two different opportunities. It's that balance of staying where I am with this really amazing team that I feel like I've grown up with, or taking a different direction in my career which still will catapult me eventually. I'm at that funny portion of my journey where I can stay right here and keep developing people, or do I take that step off and go to a different part of the business where I'll be working on the business and not in it - working on the organization's priorities versus working on your customer's priorities. That's a challenge for me right now that I'm going through, but I know I'll make the right decision in the end. Things will show me what direction I'm supposed to go.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
From a value perspective, the things that are most important to me are trust and integrity. These values guide everything I do, both professionally and personally. Trust is essential in building strong relationships with my teams and customers, and integrity means being honest, transparent, and upfront with people while delivering on what I say I'm going to deliver on. These values have been the foundation of my success and have allowed me to build lasting relationships throughout my 20-year career in telecommunications.
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