Women in Tech: Phoena Pang Shares Lessons from Startups, Ad Tech, and Beyond

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Tell us about yourself!

My name is Phoena Pang, and I’m the Vice President of Sales and Operations, Americas at Mintegral, a leading global mobile advertising platform. I started in the mobile ad tech world about 11 years ago as an engineer, and over time, I’ve held a wide range of roles, engineering, technical sales/BD, and product. At Google and now at Mintegral, I’ve led product initiatives and currently oversee sales, operations, marketing, and product on the management side. It feels like a full-circle journey because I’ve touched so many parts of the business.

I’ve worked in both startups and global companies, from Vungle, which had fewer than 50 people when I joined, to Google, which had over 100,000 employees. A running theme in my career has been serving as a bridge between markets. Earlier on, I helped U.S. companies expand into China; now I help an Asia-based company expand into the U.S. market and beyond.

I’ve also lived, studied, and worked across mainland China, Hong Kong, Sweden, Canada, and the U.S. That international background has shaped my perspective and approach. Overall, it’s been an exciting and constantly evolving journey.

Why did you choose this field in the first place?

The field really chose me. After grad school, I’d accepted an offer from Microsoft and planned to move to Seattle. During a 10-hour layover in San Francisco, a friend invited me to drop by Vungle, without telling me he had arranged interviews. I ended up doing five rounds on the spot, fell in love with the startup energy, and received an offer. I ultimately turned down Microsoft to join Vungle.

I’ve been a gamer since childhood, so working with mobile games and helping developers monetize their games with rewarded ads to make them more sustainable felt like a dream. That passion is what kept me in the industry.

What tech are you most excited/passionate about right now and why?

AI. I’m especially excited about how AI can transform operational efficiency. In ad tech, a lot of campaign optimization and operational work still requires manual effort.

At Mintegral, we’re building internal agentic AI tools to support account managers and campaign managers. We haven’t externalized these tools yet, but we'll likely do so soon. Seeing AI reshape workflows in a meaningful way is something I’m genuinely passionate about.

What tech are you most worried about right now and why?

Also AI, for similar reasons. It’s a double-edged sword. Fraudsters are using AI to create incredibly sophisticated invalid traffic that mimics human behavior, making it far harder to detect. Fraud creates a compounding risk—hurting revenue, distorting model performance, and ultimately eroding advertiser trust and lifetime value. The more advanced AI becomes, the more complex the fraud landscape becomes as well.

What are your hobbies and interests outside of tech?

Two major ones: gaming and dance.

I still play games, though less often, since many require long hours and I already spend most of my day at a computer. Dance, on the other hand, has become a creative outlet. It gets me away from screens and helps me connect mind and body in a way that’s totally different from engineering or business work. It’s also boosted my confidence and given me another form of expression.

Let's talk about breaking the glass ceiling. What were the biggest challenges you faced as a woman in tech, and how did you deal with them?

A lot of challenges come from assumptions. People sometimes expect that, as a woman in tech, I must have faced certain hardships or discrimination. But my perspective is that if you see yourself as “different,” you’ll behave differently, and others will treat you that way.

I’ve always approached my work from a mindset of equality. I don’t want special treatment; I want equal treatment. Carrying myself that way has shaped how people interact with me. It’s really about mindset and confidence.

Any questionable misogynistic story/situation you faced/handled, and you want to share with the HackerNoon Fam?

Not particularly. People often assume I have such stories simply because I’m a woman in tech, but that hasn’t been my experience. I don’t want to manufacture a victim narrative when it doesn’t reflect my reality.

What was the biggest setback/failure that you faced, and how did you manage it?

My biggest setback was my own startup in China. My cofounder and I built a business helping major brands gamify their ads. We hired a team and had early traction, but the model required heavy customization and manual work, essentially functioning like an agency instead of the scalable platform we envisioned.

Our goals were aggressive, and we fell short. We realized the business wasn’t aligned with our original vision and decided to sell it to one of the largest ad agencies in China. It was a tough but necessary decision, and we learned a lot about expectations, market fit, and what we truly wanted to build.

What's your biggest achievement that you're really proud of?

One of my proudest achievements was successfully transitioning from the business side into the product world at Google after several years in BD and partnerships, and taking on the responsibility of helping shape a product with billion-dollar run-rate potential. I had to quickly learn how to translate real market pain into product strategy and work cross-functionally with engineering and the business side. I also did the launch of the product in front of thousands of people, live, on stage and on livestream, which is also a stressful moment.

In your opinion, why do we see this huge gender gap in the tech industry, and how can we reduce it?

A lot of the gap starts in early education. When I told my parents I wanted to study computer science, they discouraged it because they thought it was “too hard for a girl.” They believed I was smart, but not “computer science smart.” That mindset is common and puts limits on the number of girls who enter technical fields.

The solution is early exposure: coding programs, computing education, and encouraging girls to explore tech long before college. If more girls enter the pipeline early, we’ll naturally see more women across the industry later.

Who is your tech idol? Why?

Tech idol: Li Fei-Fei, a pioneering leader in artificial intelligence and a powerful role model for women in tech. As a woman, an immigrant, and a scientist, she embodies resilience, vision, and impact at the highest level. That’s the kind of leader I aspire to be.

Do you have any advice for aspiring girls who want to join the field?

Be yourself, and don’t see yourself as “less than” because you’re a woman in tech. Confidence and mindset matter.

Stay curious. Curiosity has driven my entire career, from engineering to sales to product to management. Follow the things you’re genuinely interested in. The path may not look like what you imagined at the start, but it will lead you somewhere meaningful.

:::info HackerNoon editorial team has launched this interview series with women in tech to celebrate their achievements and share their struggles. We need more women in technology, and by sharing stories, we can encourage many girls to follow their dreams. Share your story today!

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