If Gal Keshet, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager in Israel, could change one common assumption about working parents, it would be the belief that you can’t do both equally well. “It really is possible to have a strong career and still be a present, involved parent,” she said. “It’s even fun, because you feel you’re both a good mother and fulfilling your career ambitions. That’s a great feeling.” For Gal, that balance depends on one thing — the right kind of support.
At SentinelOne, we believe that thriving at work begins with feeling supported at home. Our culture is grounded in empathy, understanding, and giving parents the space they need to succeed in all their roles. From 16 weeks of fully paid, gender-neutral parental leave, flexible working schedules, and generous PTO to premium healthcare and a range of family-forming benefits, including fertility, adoption, and surrogacy support in locations where such care is often exceedingly costly, we’re committed to helping families grow and flourish.
“Being a working parent is a constant act of balance, and that balance is only possible when you feel trusted and supported,” said Divya Ghatak, Chief People, Places, and Corporate Engagement Officer. “At SentinelOne, we want every parent to know that their whole self — as a professional and as a caregiver — is valued. When people feel that level of trust, they do their best work and live their fullest lives.”
Being named once again among Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Parents, an accolade shaped by the voices of more than 600,000 working parents worldwide, is an honor that reinforces this belief. Supporting parents is not simply a benefit for us, but a business essential that allows every Sentinel to thrive at work, at home, and everywhere in between.
“As a parent, I really appreciate the amazing support from SentinelOne,” said Stylianos Steas, Staff Customer Success Manager based in France. “I feel that I need to give back, not out of obligation, but out of gratitude. They trusted me without even knowing me very well right at the beginning, so now I have to make sure that trust is not misplaced.”
From the U.S. to Europe to India and beyond, SentinelOne parents share a common story — one of balance, belonging, and the power of feeling trusted and supported. Here are their experiences.
Jolene Hickman, AVP, Corporate Controller, United States
For Jolene Hickman, becoming a first-time mother has been a journey of lessons, laughter, and perspective. Her son, Theo, just turned nine months old and is already on the move — crawling everywhere, exploring everything, and keeping both of his parents on their toes.
“Every day feels different right now,” Jolene said with a smile. “At this stage, their routines change so quickly — sleep regressions, teething, growth spurts — so flexibility is everything.” Both Jolene and her husband work from home, alternating childcare with help from visiting grandparents. Between calls, she finds small moments to check in on Theo or steal a few minutes of playtime. “Those little breaks are the best part of my day,” she said.
Jolene’s typical day starts early, often around 6:30 a.m., with feedings, diaper changes, and a quick coffee before the workday begins. “I’m in a lot of meetings, so I try to make the most of every minute,” she said. Evenings are for family — dinner, playtime, bedtime — and sometimes, another short shift once Theo is asleep. “I used to wonder how my team members with young kids managed it, logging off at four, doing the dinner and bedtime routine, then coming back to work later,” she said. “Now I get it. It takes so much commitment, and I have even more respect for the dedication they show.”
That understanding has deepened her empathy as a leader. “I’ve always been flexible with my team. I don’t care when people work, as long as the job gets done,” Jolene said. “But now I really understand what it takes to make that balance work. It’s changed the way I lead. I check in more, and I make sure people know how much I appreciate the effort it takes to give 100% at work and at home.”
Like many new parents, Jolene has learned to navigate both chaos and grace. “Some days feel like controlled chaos,” she said, laughing. “But when I see Theo happy and thriving, I know I must be doing something right. And when I see my team thriving at work, I feel the same pride. It’s the same kind of fulfillment, knowing you’ve created a space where people can grow and do well.”
SentinelOne’s flexible, family-first culture has made that balance possible. “I’m so grateful for the support I’ve received here,” she said. “From our generous parental leave to leaders who genuinely encourage us to take the time we need. It makes all the difference. Whether it’s swim lessons, story time, or a day when your baby just needs you, I never feel like I have to choose between being a good mom and doing my job well.”
For Jolene, motherhood and leadership share a common lesson: compassion. “We’re all doing our best,” she said. “And most of the time, we’re doing better than we think.”
Skylar Newton, Director, Sales, Canada
For Skylar, balance isn’t about perfect scheduling, it’s about being intentional. As a father of three boys — Lincoln, 15, Isaac, 7, and Elijah, 3 — and a sales leader managing a high-performance team, Skylar has learned that the key to thriving in both worlds is presence and patience.
“My days start early,” he said. “I’m up before dawn to train, listen to a podcast, and get focused before the house wakes up. That time helps me reset before the dynamics of family life and work.” When he gets home, the day shifts gears to breakfast with his kids, school drop-offs, and then a full day of meetings and customer calls. “In the evenings, I put the phone away between five and eight. That’s hockey practice, dinner, and family time,” he said. “After that, once the kids are in bed, I might get back online, but by then, I’ve shown up where I matter most.”
For Skylar, the line between leadership and parenthood often blurs in the best way. “Patience and presence, those are the lessons parenting teaches you every day, and they apply directly to leading a team,” he said. “Whether you’re managing a tough quarter or a toddler meltdown, people are watching how you respond. You have to stay calm, stay grounded, and remember what really matters.”
That mindset extends to his leadership style at SentinelOne, where empathy and flexibility define how he supports his team. “Sales is important, but family always comes first,” he said. “If someone needs to take care of a loved one, we step in and cover for them. We’ve built a culture of trust. You take care of your people, and the results follow.”
Skylar’s approach to balance is shaped by his own upbringing, one that left him determined to be present in moments his parents couldn’t be. “My parents never made it to school drop-offs or events — not because they didn’t care, but because that was the reality of their generation,” he said. “Now I get to be at Halloween parades and hockey games, and that means everything to me.”
He sees parenting not as a distraction from work, but as a lesson in focus. “Having kids forces you to be more intentional with your time and priorities,” he said. “It’s the same at work. I tell my team all the time, focus on what matters most. Whether it’s a deal or a family moment, be all in.”
Varsha Shastry, Senior Recruiter, India
A mother of two, five-year-old Avyukth and one-year-old Avyana, Varsha balances work and motherhood with a steady calm. “Patience, staying calm and being a good listener is definitely something I’ve learned since becoming a mother. You have to be attentive all the time, always checking what they’re doing or what they’re putting in their mouths,” she said with a smile. “But I believe it’s important for work as well, to stay calm and not lose your cool, even when things don’t go the way you want.”
Her days start early. “My typical day begins with getting my son ready for school and sending him off. By then, my daughter is up, so I take care of her and then start my workday,” she said. “I plan my schedule around them so I can be there when they need me. Because of the flexibility SentinelOne offers, it’s possible.”
Working from home and having a strong family support system, something common in India, allow her to be present both for her children and for work. And the company, she added, makes sure she never has to miss either. “When my son was very young, there was a People Team offsite in Bangalore. I had just joined the company a few days before,” she recalled. “Being away from home can be hard when your child is small and you’re still breastfeeding. SentinelOne made sure I could attend by letting me bring my baby and my husband to stay with me throughout the event. I was so impressed by how thoughtful that was.”
The same thing happened this year when Bangalore hosted OneVoice, a major event for Indian Sentinels. It brought people together in person, giving them time with leaders and colleagues and a chance to celebrate SentinelOne’s culture in the region. “I saw the same approach again,” Varsha said. “All young mothers were encouraged to bring their babies, and we were given separate rooms to accommodate them. I’m forever grateful because I didn’t have to miss these opportunities just because I couldn’t travel without my child. SentinelOne made sure I had the support I needed.”
Varsha believes that giving one hundred percent as a mother and then again at work is no fairytale. “People assume I can’t be a good mom and a good employee at the same time, that I can’t balance both well enough for one not to suffer because of the other. I’d like to change that,” she said. “I do my work, I take pride in it, and at the same time I’ve never missed a single school event for my son, even while managing work. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.”
It always gives her real joy when people notice and praise her accomplishments. “Especially when I know how many challenges I faced behind the scenes and how hard it was to achieve them,” she said with a smile.
Moments like these remind her that she’s doing more than balancing both worlds. She’s thriving in them.
Stylianos Steas, Staff Customer Success Manager, France
Originally from Greece, Stylianos now lives in France with his wife, Maja, and their 14-month-old daughter, Lina. “She’s perfect to me,” he said, smiling. “She just started walking, so it’s a brand-new chapter. She walks around the house, looks at us, smiles all the time. She’s just so happy.”
Working remotely allows Stylianos to be fully present in Lina’s life. “For the first year of her life, all three of us were home together,” he said. “Between meetings, I could go play with her and give my wife a little break. That’s the thing I appreciate most about SentinelOne. I could see the first year of her life almost in its entirety. If I had to go to an office, I’d only see her in the morning and before she went to sleep. I would have missed everything in between.”
Joining SentinelOne came with a few surprises. “I was comfortable in my previous job,” Stylianos said. “We’d been trying to have a baby for some time, and I didn’t want to make any big changes.” Then came the offer, along with a link to SentinelOne’s Glassdoor page. “I liked what I saw and decided to go for it. I accepted, and almost immediately after, as fate would have it, we found out Maja was pregnant.” Discovering that he could take sixteen weeks of fully paid parental leave was another surprise.
At first, he hesitated to tell his manager he was going to be a dad soon. “It’s your first year in the company; you’re trying to prove yourself, to get results, to show you’re worth the position,” he said. “Asking to take four months off to be at home with my child felt outrageous. I even tried to say I’d take less time, but my manager wouldn’t allow it. He told me, ‘This is what you’re entitled to. Take it.’”
There were smaller gestures too, the kind that stay with you. “Our People team sent me a baby kit with SentinelOne onesies,” he said. “It may seem like a small thing, but it really showed that the company cares.”
The time off allowed the couple to reconnect with their families. Stylianos is Greek, Maja is Croatian, and both of their families live abroad. “With those four months, we could travel back home and make sure everyone met Lina early on. I would never have managed that otherwise. I feel really grateful.”
For Stylianos, it’s not just the policy that matters but the mindset behind it. “Some companies have similar benefits on paper, but when you take them, people look at you with judgment,” he said. “Here, it’s honest. I felt supported before, during, and after my leave. Being absent didn’t affect my position or career. It felt really good.”
The support, he added, continues to this day. “A couple of weeks ago Lina was sick. She had a high fever, and I had to take her to the doctor. I told my manager I couldn’t work that day, and he immediately told me to go, no questions asked.”
“In Greek, we’d say I’m the ‘stupid dad,’ because I’m proud of everything my kid does,” Stylianos said with a smile. “But I’m also proud of my work and what I’ve achieved here. When I tell my friends that after I found out I was going to be a dad, my company sent me baby clothes and gave me four months off to be with my child, it makes me proud too. Because that’s what really matters.”
Gal Keshet, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, Israel
Working in a hybrid rhythm of two days at the office and three from home, Gal manages both her career and the demands of three young children — Noam, 5, Lia, 3, and Ido, who just turned one. “Because all of them are still little, my schedule is very intense,” she said. “I wake up as early as possible to get them ready for school and daycare and start working around eight. Apart from Monday, which is my longest day at the office, I usually pick them up around four, which is amazing. I get to be with my kids every afternoon, take them to their activities like swimming, football, or dancing. I can make dinner, give them a bath, and put them to sleep.”
The time she devotes to her children during the day, she often makes up in the evening. “If I need to, I jump on a call later. Sometimes I actually have to be available for the U.S. time zone anyway, so it works very well,” she said.
Sometimes, she does it all on her own, as her husband works full time from the office and often stays late. “It makes me proud at the end of the day to look back and feel like I can do everything,” Gal said with a smile. “It’s very empowering.”
Motherhood, she believes, has made her more focused and efficient, both at home and at work. “I don’t waste time anymore. I just come in and do my job. It’s very different from before I had kids and all the time in the world,” she said. “Surprisingly, they also make me more relaxed and less stressed about the small things. They really help me keep things in perspective.”
At SentinelOne, Gal has taken two parental leaves, each nine months long, which is uncommon in Israel. “They always made me feel like I could take my time,” she said. “My manager told me I didn’t need to say when I would come back, just to start my parental leave and stay in touch. That was very helpful.”
When she returned from her latest leave last October, she was promoted. “Yes, it is possible here to be a good mom and still grow your career here,” she said, smiling. “There’s a lot of trust between us. My manager knows my everyday schedule is intense, so she encourages me to take a real break once in a while. ‘Go book that flight, go make that trip,’ she always says.”
Understanding and flexibility, Gal believes, are the most important things a parent can receive from their employer. “I can’t imagine working from the office five days a week while having three kids. It’s crazy. Remote options work so much better,” she said. “And I love that we support mothers and fathers equally. My husband didn’t get to take any parental leave, but our male colleagues do, and it’s completely normal. That’s truly amazing.”