Celebrating women in leadership: Sarah Taggart

In recognition of Women's History Month, Bell Techlogix is highlighting some of the women in leadership who drive change in our company. Meet Sarah Taggart, Managing Director of Sales & Services.

What is your role at Bell Techlogix?  I have been with Bell Techlogix for almost 14 years. I work with our education customers as well as some of our commercial managed services customers.

Please share your career path prior to joining Bell Techlogix?  I started my career as a call center representative selling tickets to large art museum exhibitions that traveled around the country.  In less than a year, I was promoted to an inside sales manager. I later worked for two companies as a sales representative before joining Bell Techlogix in April 2018 to grow its education business.

What do you consider as one of your biggest accomplishments in your career?  The biggest accomplishment in my career was winning my first Maryland Education Enterprise Consortia (MEEC) Microsoft agreement in 2014. Bell Techlogix had this contract since 1999, but every couple of years we have to go through the competitive bidding process. By 2014, I was heavily involved in MEEC and along with the help of my colleagues John McGrath and Bryan Zatkulak, we generated a strong response for the RFP, conducted oral presentations and won the business. We won the bid again in 2017 and continue to support MEEC’s Microsoft agreement today. This contract generates about $30M in revenue each year for Bell Techlogix.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a leader?  Building strong relationships with your customers, the vendors you work with, and your internal team is the key to being successful. I work very hard to provide the best customer service that I can, and in a field with so much competition, customers are going to do business with people they can relate to and trust.

What advice would you offer women just starting out in their careers? I have a 24-year-old daughter that is a couple of years into her career.  We had many “what do you want to be when you grow up” conversations.  Her career path changed many times. I told her that the most important thing is to choose a career that you are passionate about, that challenges you and one where you wake up every day excited to go to work.  She has been with the same organization now for five years and is on track to be the youngest female managing partner by the summer of 2023.  She has found her path and her passion, and I couldn’t be more proud of her!  

Favorite quote... “If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt Disney.  I have a plaque with this quote sitting on my desk and read it many times a day.  There is a lot of truth to this because you CAN do anything that you put your mind to through hard work and perseverance. 

Read more insights from women in leadership at Bell Techlogix.