Bernie Dixon, 58, has garnered years of experience and technical know-how through various opportunities during her technology-heavy career.
A Simple Decision
“I like technology because it is a great tool,” she said. “You just never know how you are going to be able to use it, and it keeps getting better. A lot of people like it because it’s entertaining – that’s not me. I like what it does and what it enables us to do and how quickly we can do things.”
Having worked in the industry since 1979, Dixon got her first real world taste of the impact of technology when she was selected as one of the first class of female officers in the U.S. Army. She got her first choice of assignments to work with the Army Signal Corps which develops and manages communications and information systems.
“That simple decision formed the basis for the rest of my career,” she said.
After serving as an aide to a three-star general responsible for running the Defense Information Systems Agency, Dixon was a management consultant for national security at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, before serving as chief information officer at Hamilton Standard, Carrier and Raytheon. She eventually went on to lead the $1.2 billion HP Services Industrial Sector business.
LaunchPad2X
Dixon is passionate about helping other women make their mark on the startup scene. Through her creation of LaunchPad2X, a not-for-profit entrepreneurship program that leverages corporate and investor communities, she helps propel female entrepreneurs of early stage startups to the next level. The program has graduated 52 female CEOs with a new class launching in September 2015. According to Dixon, program results to date are outstanding.
- Alumni companies have an average growth rate of 300 percent.
- 94 percent are still in business.
- 12 percent have achieved more than $1 million in revenue.
She estimates the economic impact to the Atlanta area as close to $100 million.
Dixon is president and chairman of Atlanta Technology Angels. Under her leadership, membership has increased by 30 percent and the organization has raised more than $25 million in funding for startups across the Southeast.
Even though she loves how technology helps people communicate, one popular technology subset she doesn’t typically engage in is social media.
F2F Interactions
“I don’t do Facebook,” she said. “Instead, I enjoy human interaction and contact. I would rather hear someone’s voice than read what is happening in their life on Facebook.”
Dixon and her husband, both in second marriages, collectively have four grown children and when they aren’t enjoying family time, the couple often jets off for a quick weekend getaway on their private airplane. During those trips she often crochets. Dixon is also a fitness buff, golfer, reader and pastel drawing artist.
Tonya is a freelance writer who has successfully generated hundreds of newspaper articles and other written content related to current business and industry. She resides in Marietta with her husband and child and enjoys traveling.
