Shawnna DelHierro, CIO of SoundHound AI, shares her journey from unexpected beginnings to leading technology innovation. She discusses AI, strategy, and empowering young women to build confidence, embrace responsibility, and make an impact in tech.
From Curiosity to Leadership: How Shawnna DelHierro Navigates Technology, AI, and Empowerment
Realizing the Impact of Technology
Shawnna DelHierro is a Transformation Technology Executive and CIO at SoundHound AI, a leader in voice‑enabled AI that helps businesses automate customer interactions and deliver natural, conversational experiences across industries such as retail, banking, hospitality, and automotive.
She was recognized with a Tech Leadership Award at the 2025 Women Tech Awards, cementing her impact in the industry.
In her role, she describes herself as an enabler—someone who looks around the corner, anticipates what’s coming next, and helps her teams use emerging technology to move the business forward.
But she didn’t grow up planning to work in tech.
In fact, she remembers sitting in her AP Literature class when a career advisor visited to talk about future career paths. DelHierro couldn’t believe they were expected to decide their entire future so early.
“How are we supposed to make decisions like this?” she remembers thinking.
That question didn’t stop her—it fueled her.
Finding Technology by Solving Problems
DelHierro didn’t begin her career in technology. Her first role focused on helping people find their careers. She wrote employee handbooks, policies, and procedures, and worked across multiple departments within the organization. That cross-functional exposure helped her notice something important: there were major gaps in how the company operated.
Instead of ignoring the inefficiencies, she leaned into them.
Her first real leap into technology came when she began using tech tools to improve operations. She wasn’t hired as a technologist—but she became one by solving problems.
Later, she joined a startup that grew rapidly—from 14 locations in Central Texas to 400 locations nationwide. Watching that level of scale happen in real time gave her firsthand experience with how systems either support growth—or hold it back.
Her next move was to Toyota, where she worked at the first Toyota manufacturing plant in Texas. That’s when she realized something big: Toyota isn’t just a car company. It’s a technology company built on systems.
She spent time in Japan learning the Toyota Production System, where she saw how deeply technology shapes daily life inside an organization.
“I recognized that the systems were either the disablers or the enablers of how people had quality of life,” she explains.
Over time, especially through engineering changes and operational improvements, she began to see the true impact technology could have—not just on efficiency, but on people.
A Day in Her Life
Ask DelHierro what a typical day looks like, and the answer depends on when you ask.
“If you’d asked me that question a year ago, my answer would probably be very different than it is today.”
Technology evolves. Organizations shift. Priorities change. And her role evolves with them.
Some days are deeply strategic—aligning technology initiatives with long-term company goals. Other days focus on execution—ensuring teams are working toward the same objectives and not in silos.
She can’t have one team focused only on stabilizing infrastructure while another is planning aggressive growth for 2026 without coordination. When goals aren’t aligned, companies end up reverse-engineering solutions later, creating unnecessary work and missed opportunities.
Her job is to prevent that.
As a technology leader, she spends much of her time connecting dots—making sure strategy, systems, and people move in the same direction. If it’s not about the technology itself, it’s about how technology supports the strategy.
At its core, her role is about enabling others to succeed.
Pros and Cons of AI
As CIO of SoundHound AI, DelHierro is deeply passionate about artificial intelligence—but she’s also realistic about it.
“There’s a delicate balance that we have to strike around how you use it to work smarter, how you use it to be more efficient,” she says.
She believes AI can be incredibly helpful in daily life—especially for students. For example, AI-powered note-taking tools can capture lecture content quickly and efficiently.
But she’s clear about one thing: AI shouldn’t replace your thinking.
Students should review AI-generated notes, reflect on them, and create their own summaries. Learning happens in the interpretation.
"Interpretive writing is meant to engage your mind and perspective — it isn’t something an AI agent or chatbot can interpret for you."
For DelHierro, responsible AI use isn’t about avoiding technology—it’s about engaging with it intentionally.
Everyone’s Voice Matters
One of DelHierro’s core leadership beliefs is simple: people support what they help build.
If she wants to introduce change, she doesn’t walk in and declare that it’s happening. Instead, she lays out a clear narrative, anticipates questions, and invites discussion. She thinks through what her audience might challenge before the conversation even begins.
“Don’t anticipate the response if you’ve not thought through your other part,” she explains.
Preparation matters. Perspective matters. And giving people a voice creates buy-in.
Leadership, to her, isn’t about overpowering a room—it’s about aligning it.
Don’t Say “Sorry,” Say “Thank You”
Of all the advice she gives young women entering their careers, one stands out.
Stop saying “sorry.” Start saying “thank you.”
Of course, if you knock someone’s drink over, apologize. But if someone reminds you about a deadline, don’t say, “Sorry.” Say, “Thank you for the reminder.”
“Changing that in your vernacular will shift your mindset,” she says.
The language we use shapes how we see ourselves.
DelHierro believes that from a young age, girls are often taught to be “ladylike”—to apologize, to accommodate, to shrink themselves. Over time, that habit can follow women into professional spaces.
“So as we grow into young women and women in the corporate world, we walk in with an immediate apology,” she explains.
Her message is clear: walk in with confidence instead.
Confidence doesn’t mean arrogance. It means owning your space.
Technology may shape the future. But the way we show up in it shapes just as much.
Learn more about SoundHound AI at www.soundhound.com.
Kennedi Gonzalez and Alyzabeth Grover are 2025-26 SheTech Media Interns with the Women Tech Council and TechBuzz News.
Kennedi Gonzalez is a junior at Taylorsville High School with a strong interest in both the humanities and STEM. Her goal in this internship is to highlight women’s stories in ways that inform and inspire broad audiences.
Alyzabeth Grover is a junior at Taylorsville High School in the Granite School District. She is passionate about STEM and aspires to pursue a career in nursing.
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