GALA Champion Olga Beregovaya

In this series of interviews, GALA members share their insights on the pursuit of globalization & localization brilliance.
 

Olga Beregovaya, VP, AI & Machine Translation at Smartling

Olga Beregovaya has over 25 years' experience in localization and language technology, with a particular focus on machine translation/other NLP applications development and deployment. She is currently driving the AI and strategy for Smartling. Olga is very active in the translation/localization industry; she is a frequent presenter at Localization World, AMTA, TAUS and GALA conferences. Olga is a former President of AMTA and a current Vice President and Technology Track sponsor of Women in Localization. 

What’s in a Job Title

I am responsible for all AI functions within Welocalize (except for Operations and Delivery of our AI Data Services), that being AI R&D, MT, NLP Engineering, Program Management and Language Engineers supporting our AI Data Services. All in all, I lead the organization that drives AI innovation across all of Welocalize, from inception and ideation through experimentation and execution.

Starting Out in Localization

I got my second MA in the US and I knew that I will always be working in the field of linguistics. So my first job relevant to where I landed (language technology) was creating dictionaries for rule-based MT systems, and there it started. From there on I held multiple leadership positions helping teams select localization vision and build both operations and technology strategy, everything evolving around language technology, starting from TMs and moving towards MT and now ML and AI.

Where GALA Fits In

In the landscape of various industry associations GALA has always attracted me as an organization where an open and honest dialog was (and is) possible between LSPs of all sizes, technology providers and buyers, which is rather different from what one sees in conferences organized by other associations. GALA to me is more of an open forum than an industry positioning event, and to me this is the biggest attraction.

I’ve always loved "live" conferences, now I follow "GALA Connected" for great content and networking opportunities; not an easy thing to pull together and be successful in the new virtual world. I delivered a tech product demo and liked both the format and the audience/questions. I thought the two days were very well organized, not sale-zy but giving tech owners an opportunity to present our innovations.

Accomplishments

Being a CEO of PROMT Americas (Enterprise) I was able to drive the development of the company's enterprise MT product and over the first year have a vision and execute on it. The product was used at scale by 7 Fortune 100 companies.

Career-building Strategy

Get out of this company as successful as you are here if you know it is not for you.

Networking Tips & Techniques

Don't just mingle, find conversation subjects ("live", virtual networking rooms, LinkedIn) that are of interest for both you and your counterpart; small talk may not be the best approach in a professional setting, even less so in ours.

In the Last Year...

Zoom and Hangouts did not divide us, ironically they brought us closer. I spent way more time with colleagues, industry friends, personal friends and family and had time to attend way more events.

Finding Inspiration

TED talks, inspirational leaders (mine is Richard Branson), following many people on LinkedIn, great fiction, my friends who have books out (and I am planning to do the same with no “once time allows” excuses, well, once time allows), one specific dear friend who is truly amazing and very accomplished, plus an amazing woman in every way. 

My Brilliant Second Career

If I didn't work in the language industry (and money wasn't a factor), I would write fiction and have a ranch in Mexico growing organic produce.

Life Beyond Localization

1. I was a child actor. For real. TV shows and all that.

2. Sports - I am still having a hard time telling the difference between baseball and American football. Someone told me to look for shoulder pads to know it is not baseball. It helps a bit.

3. I recently rescued a dog, or what I thought was a dog in the Mexican desert. It turns out she is at least one third a coyote. Ok, a very sweet coyote.