Category Archives: Women In Technology

Inspirational stories of global women in technology.

Global Summit of Women – Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age

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Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age

In late 2015 I received information about the Global Summit of Women (GSW) from a colleague at Capgemini. Although I’ve been involved with organizations that support advancement and development of women professionals for many years, I’d never heard of this one before. My first reaction was I needed to be more aware of international programs like this.

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Seeking more information and a better understanding of the potential of this organization I checked out the website and was very impressed. The breadth of geographical areas represented and the backgrounds of participants were unbelievable. Not only did I want to attend but I identified a panel on addressing the skills gap in the digital age, where I knew I could make a contribution. I immediately reached out to Irene Natividad, President of Global Summit of Women to introduce myself and offer my service. I wound up attending the 2016 Summit, served as a panelist, and came away forever changed.

Wonderful welcome as you arrive at the Global Summit of Women

Writing about the experience hardly conveys the impact it had on me. At least this blog will provide an idea of how meaningful this annual event is and hopefully encourage more of you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to immerse yourself in a truly global environment of friendship and support.

Each year the Summit is held on a different continent. Brazil hosted the 25th anniversary program in 2015. In 2016 the location was Warsaw, Poland. In 2017 it will convene in Tokyo, Japan. Over 1200 women from 95 different countries participated. The purpose was well described in Irene’s welcoming letter:

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“The Summit’s goal of providing a global forum in which exchanges of effective strategies forged by women in all three sectors of society- government, business or civil society- continues to be timely and much needed.“

“The 2016 theme- Women- Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age– spotlights women’s influence in creating stronger economies in this era of new technologies.”

Speakers at the opening ceremony included:

Beata Szudlo, Prime Minister of Poland

Dnag Th Ngox Thinh, VP of Vietnam

Laimdota Straujuma, Former Prime Minister of Latvia

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Honored to meet Atifete Jahjaga, Former President of Kosovo.

The two days of the Summit start with a few plenary sessions in the morning followed by breakout sessions featuring 3 different tracks: Leadership Development, Entrepreneurship, and Issues. One of the plenary sessions on the first day was a Male CEO Forum- Defining an Equitable Workplace. Moderated by Lisa Kassenaar, Editor of Global Diversity for Bloomberg News, the panelists were:

  • Manfred Bischoff, Chair of the Board, Daimler (Germany)
  • Michel Khalaf, Presdient, EMEA Metlife (UAE)
  • Alastair Teare, CEO, Deloitte Central Europe (U.K.)
  • Marco Vilaa, President-Technip, Region EMIA (Italy)
  • Slawomir Sikora, CEO, Citi Handlowy (Poland)

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The insights these world leaders shared displayed their commitment to working across countries and boundaries of diverse thinking.

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As I shared earlier, I was a panelist for one of the Issues breakout sessions: Bringing More Women Into Tech Careers in the Digital Age. The topic resonated with me as it’s an issue I’ve been working on for years and was looking forward to sharing my perspective with my fellow panelists, Claudine Schmuck, Founder of Global Contact (France) and Katarzyna Majewska, Head of Operations & Technology, Citi Handlowy (Poland). Our moderator Gloria Lorenzo, Senior Director of Software Development for Oracle in Spain, was a master at brining our ideas alive on the stage. Gloria described the panel as follows:

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“I learned a lot from three women on my panel. Sheryl Chamberlain, share her experience at Capgemini and her role as Head of Hult Prize Foundation Council. Claudine Schmuck, shared the results of her investigation through Global Contact plus some of the initiatives she is supporting in France and Katarzyna Majewska and her work in a big company like CIO Group and the challenges she has to find good IT girls. All women shared the same goal, to bring more women to STEM. During a short conversation we learned a lot and got very good tips to progress in our own work or to even to progress together. It was a unique opportunity to connect all the work done in different fields”

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For me, the perspectives each of us brought to the discussion where inspiring, but more importantly the audience agreed to take action as we returned to our day jobs, at home in our respective countries.

There was a lot of content to absorb in just a few short days. I wish sessions had been recorded since the breakout format meant we were always missing what was happening in the other breakout rooms. But, then the Summit was about so much more than the meetings. It was an opportunity to connect with a remarkable group of women coming from wildly different backgrounds, all committed to make the world a better place by working together.

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One of my new ‘sisters’ is Claudia Freed, CEO & President of EAL Green. EAL stands for Empower Access to Learning. In other words- it provides scholarships. The “Green” refers to how they get the money. They collect excess inventory from major companies (which otherwise would go into landfill), providing sorely needed equipment and supplies to universities at little or no cost, and providing scholarships for students in need. Claudine’s been doing this for over 20 years. This Summit was her second. What made it worth her while to attend?

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“I believe it has been an important milestone in my career to be committed to participate in these and other global-scale purpose- driven networking convenings. I want to help improve the world.

“….the most important takeaway is the re-affirmation that relationships take time and that they are invaluable asset not easily replaced with technology or digital communication.”

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In 2017 the Global Summit for Women will be held in Japan May 11-13. I already have it on my calendar. I hope to see some of you there.

Boldness & Creativity, Drivers of Success For Women

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Women Large

In recognition of my passion for supporting and promoting the advancement of women in business and technology, and of my leadership role in this capacity within our firm, I was asked by Isabelle Roux-Chenu Founder Women@Capgemini and Group General Counsel to organize an event that would present a panel of women leaders discussing the importance of making bold choices to achieve success in business.  It was an honor to be asked to do this and the event was held at Capgemini’s corporate headquarters in Tilsitt, Paris on July 7, 2015.  Isabelle was the host and together we moderated the panel discussion.  The panelists were successful women executives and leaders representing diverse cultural, generational, and professional backgrounds and experiences.  They were:

  • Hélène Barnekow, CEO Sweden at TeliaSonera
  • Nutan Wozencroft, Chief Financial Officer at UNESCO
  • Katherine Corich, Global CEO & Founder of Sysdoc Group
  • Aurélie Sykes-Darmon founding member of WoMen’Up

Each panelist was asked to discuss the challenges she has faced in her professional and personal journey and the bold actions she sometimes needed to take to address those challenges.  The result was a fascinating discussion filled with useful and practical insights, some commonalities, and a mutual understanding of each woman’s unique path.

The audience

Challenges across cultures and generations  

Hélène explained her perspective on the power and impact of more diverse teams. She stated that “in today’s digital world anything can be replicated. To differentiate yourself in the market companies need to ensure they have leadership teams with diverse perspectives thereby instilling fertile ground to drive innovation solutions, cultivating collaboration, and delivering new levels of success”. Recently promoted from Chief Commercial Officer to CEO of TeliaSonera Sweden, Hélène discussed some of the bold steps she has taken to transform her teams by including more women and requiring that at least one woman be included on every short list when recruiting managers. Now, as CEO, she can ensure her vision is implemented more broadly across the organization.

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Nutan shared her experience of cultural and social obstacles as a woman of Indian origin born in Austria and educated in England. She chose to follow an unconventional career path with the intent to broaden her skills, beginning as a trainee accountant at a medium-sized firm to gain experience in many types of enterprises and different areas of finance. Frequently finding herself to be the only female and the only ethnic minority in the room, Nutan realized that it was important to define her own working style. Following a long stint as a Financial Controller of a large international charity, she worked as a consultant focusing on strategic planning and change management, impacting countries like Malawi, Kenya, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and South Africa.

GWLN Sisters

When Katherine started working, she found very few role models to provide guidance. About the time she was starting her own business, she decided she wanted to get a pilot’s license. She was told that women couldn’t be pilots. [This was at a time when women did not become pilots.] Rather than give in to that view, she used her own money to learn what it takes to manage a plane and what is required for being a great pilot ultimately becoming a licensed commercial pilot. Key to both: a structure that enabled the pilot to systematically make sure the plane was in good flying condition and all appropriate steps were done prior to takeoff. Katherine used that sense of order to convince her boss to improve their risk management procedures at the London Stock Exchange. She went on to create her own consulting firm – Sysdoc Group, which now has a consultant reach in over 72 countries. Katherine brought that kind of orderliness to her business, implementing policies that provided guidance and creating a healthy environment to empower her employees. She finds these practices are in line with the younger generation’s expectations and are in fact attracting more male employees.

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Aurélie shared her thoughts from the point of view of a young woman working as a consultant in the television industry and an active member of WoMen’Up. WoMen’Up is an organization that deals with gender balance issues within the corporate world from the point of view of “Gen Y” or “Millennials” – the generation of people born in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Based on a survey titled “What do men think?” taken by WoMen’Up in partnership with the consulting group Mazars, she explained that “Millennials” have long been exposed to gender balance issues and are thus much more favorably included to having women in the corporate world and working with diverse teams.

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Closing the discussion, Katherine reminded all women to know their personal and professional worth and to negotiate their careers with confidence based on this knowledge. And Nutan added: “It was interesting to see that, despite our different backgrounds and cultures, we  (as women leaders) upheld common principles.  I feel strongly that as women in position of influence we must think about the policies and management ethos that we promote and whether they limit access. Being a role model is good, but we really need women leaders that advance the cause for ordinary women.”

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The question for senior women leaders is- What can you do to support other women to be successful in whatever they choose to do? As for male leaders- What can you do to raise awareness of and reduce subtle biases that hinder advancement of women in your organization and elsewhere?  In case you’d like some guidance, here are some useful resources:

Burnish Your Brand, Using Your Best Talents More Often

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Wherever you go, whatever you do, the most effective tool you bring with you is the brand called “You.”  My brand, cultivated over time, reflects my vision and passion of being an agent of change leading innovation in the corporate world.  For me, this involves helping others find their unique gifts and then orchestrating the sharing of those talents to innovate new ways to contribute to the organization’s success. These collaborative efforts provide personal growth, development, and meaningfulness for us as individuals as well. Truly, this is a winning combination in a competitive global world.

Women of World

Many leaders from different industries have tied their brand to ground-breaking innovations. I personally admire, and strive to emulate, those who have paid it forward, setting the stage for the next generation of leaders and innovators. When preparing for a recent keynote at USENIX, I took the opportunity to showcase women leaders who transformed their respective industries. Part of my message was highlighting how, in this increasingly connected world, we still need to depend on others to achieve success and meaning in life.

Kay Koplovitz

Kay Koplovitz

Kay Koplovitz, founder of USA Network, was the visionary who conceptualized satellite-based networks. She also created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams—licensing and advertising. When she founded USA Network under the banner of Madison Square Garden Sports in 1977, she was the first woman to head a television network. But she didn’t stop there. Understanding that access to startup capital has consistently been cited as the biggest pain point for female entrepreneurs, she founded venture-catalyst Springboard Enterprises to help women build ”big businesses starting small.”  Over 500 women-led companies have participated in Springboard’s accelerator programs, raising nearly $6 billion. Of note, more than 80% of Springboard companies are still in business as independent or merged entities, including 10 IPOs, and many are the technology engines of publicly traded companies.

Mae Jamison

Mae Jamison

Astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, also founded Sally Ride Science and Sally Ride Camps to encourage girls’ interest in science and technology. The girls, who are at the middle-school level, participate in innovative, hands-on science learning activities in an environment that designed to be supportive, enriching, and—most importantly—fun!

Following Dr. Ride’s footsteps, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to travel in space in 1992. She resigned from NASA in 1993 to form a company researching the application of technology to daily life: 100 Year Starship. The organization designs and implements independent, collaborative, and open-source projects to advance and promote the public engagement, research, development, and capabilities needed for humans to reach another star.

Another woman who has had an impact on an entire country and the global startup community is Dr. Orna Berry. Prior to joining EMC as the first Corporate VP and GM of the Israel Center of Excellence, Dr. Berry was the Chief Scientist in Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor. One of her strengths is bringing together communities of leaders and innovators to identify a gap in a market, and then racing to identify a solution.

Joe Tucci and Dr. Orna Berry

Joe Tucci and Dr. Orna Berry

Combining technology and social entrepreneurship, Juliana Rotich founded “Ushahidi” , which means “testimony” in Swahili. This platform was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Since then, the name “Ushahidi” has come to represent the people behind the “Ushahidi Platform” web tools for crowdsourcing crisis information and reporting on topics related to the environment.

Juliana Rotich

Juliana Rotich

Each of these women was a pioneer in her own field, and each used her success to help others. All have a global perspective and consistently reach outside their normal sphere of influence. In taking these leadership lessons to heart, you should note that it’s important to first figure out what you care about most, tie your brand to your vision, and remember that success is not only about the body of work you deliver, but the impact you can have on your community and beyond. Reach for your true dreams and goals and don’t be afraid to innovate. Goals are the starting point to taking action, building a plan, realizing your brand, and using your best talents more often.

Edwina Mays, Jackie Gleen, Gail Deegan, Sheryl Chamberlain and Stacy Schaeffer

Edwina Mays, Jackie Gleen, Gail Deegan, Sheryl Chamberlain and Stacy Schaeffer

See more at: EMC Reflections EMC Executives Report From the Road

Connective Behaviors That Spur Innovation

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Simmons Conference 2013

Women Leaders at Simmons Conference 2013
Edwina Mays, Jackie Glenn, Gail Degan, Sheryl Chamberlain and Stacy Schaeffer

Leaders aspire to build ever more nimble and responsive businesses while seeking a competitive advantage in a global economy. Today’s successful leaders must not only be strategic thinkers, but innovators as well. And the successful leaders of tomorrow must be able to drive organizational innovation by tapping into the knowledge and creativity of their teams. Innovation is often the key driver of an organization’s growth and performance. It can be the single best way for a company to differentiate itself from competitors. How can we help foster a culture of collaboration and creativity to help drive growth and success? Fostering connectivity, first and foremost amongst other things, promotes creativity and spurs innovation.

More than ever before, we have the ability to share our ideas and encourage a discussion around them, unconstrained by time, physical borders or distance. We live in a connected world. Connectivity is about having the practical means to connect with others; but it is also about having the connections we need to enable and encourage innovation. Connectivity increases exposure to new opportunities, new ideas, and to feedback. Communities of corporate innovation are connected to every facet of business from product development, customer engagement, marketing programs, to employee development. Empowered workers care more about developing high-performing cultures that drive customer value over time.

As the founder of EMC’s West Coast Women’s Leadership Forum (WCWLF), my vision was to make EMC the center of Leadership and Innovation through the eyes of women. Our programs follow this theme and are delivered to internal and external audiences of men and women often in partnership with nonprofits, universities and other corporations. In 2012, we delivered more than 50 programs, making EMC’s WCWLF one of the most diverse and interesting venues with a rich community of attendees. Looking to further our influence and reach, we developed a new Leadership and Innovation in the Executive Suite speaker series. The program brings leaders and innovators with different points of view to EMC and creates a community to inspire leadership through the voice of innovators, showcase thought leadership, and establish new partnerships while building connective behaviors that spur innovation. To increase our impact, we partnered with digital book publisher Vook to create an eBook commemorating the program while expanding our reach. “Connective Behaviors That Spur Innovation” was released in March and has since inspired a global community of thought leaders to share their perspectives. Jeremy Burton, Executive Vice President, Product Operations and Marketing was the program’s host and keynote speaker.

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At EMC World I will once again be working with Vook to commemorate EMC Women in Technology through the Women of the World program called “Boost Your Credibility – Hidden Behavioral Cues,” scheduled for May 8th, 2013. More than 50 largely hidden behavioral and contextual cues have been discovered that deeply affect how others respond to you. Cues cover situations as diverse as setting, female/male differences, sounds, and the sequence of “scenes” we experience. Keynote speaker Kare Anderson, a Forbes Columnist and expert on quoteability and connective behaviors will be joined by Helene Barnekow, EMC Senior Vice President, World Wide Field & Channel and Bill Teuber, EMC Vice Chairman. The eBook planned release date is scheduled for July 2013.

Women of EMC Celebrate International Women’s Day With Their Favorite Quote

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Women of EMC

On International Women’s Day the women of EMC connected and shared their vision of women’s leadership. I have to admit I started the dance, but it was Annie Mclure that ended it with her energetic quote: “Deliver life gloriously experiencing everyday firsts!!!”

It isn’t often you get an opportunity to deliver rapid fire global emails on the topic of women’s leadership during a busy work day. But the passion was high and the exhange powerful. Here are some of the amazing quotes created on the fly and found in personal journals.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“Take time for yourself. Plan for longevity.” Leslie Rourke

“Your difference makes a difference.” Stephanie Lubrano

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” Maya Angelou

“We are born to live, not to prepare to live.” Tammy Merrill

“Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is success!” Jennifer Axt

“There is no too for development more effective than the empowerment of women”  Kofi Annan

Care more than others think is wise,
Risk more than others think is safe,
Dream more than others think is practical, and
Expect more than others think is possible.
An African proverb

Proverb

“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” Diane Mariechild

“It is difficult being a full time working mom but if there is a will to succeed in both arenas, there are ways, just a little more sacrifice on our part. We women are known for our perseverance, sacrifice, and the ability to multi tasks.” Jessica Huynh

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.” Thich Nhat Hanh

“Appreciate the women under your skin”

“Live………….Love……………Laugh!” Millicent Madison

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?” Marianne Williamson

“A leader take people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be!!” Rosalynn Carter

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“Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.” Sherry Rothfield

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” Karoline Ross

“We can do anything that we set our minds to – Don’t let anything stand in your way.” Michelle Green

“You can tell the quality of a leader by those who choose to follow.” Tsun Tsu

“Women who behave, rarely make history.” Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

“Life is too important to be taken seriously. Cheers!” Teri Goldy

“ring out their better side so they see and support yours, and ‘we” accomplish greater things together and for each other than we can on our own + more http://www.sayitbetter.com/quotes/” Kare Anderson

“If you educate a man, you educate an individual; if you educate a woman, you educate a community.”

Denver With Dan

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” James Oppenheim

“Live everyday as if it is your last …” Suzanne Rainwater

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Helen Keller, author, political activist, and speaker

“Being a woman is to be a princess on the 20’s, a queen on the 30’s, an empress on the 40’s and special the whole life through.” (unknown author)

“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” Eleanor Roosevelt.

“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.” B. R. Ambedkar

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Maya Angelou

“We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies.” Emily Dickinson

“Find your passion, whatever it may be.
Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen
FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.” T. Alan Armstrong

Women

“Life is like a day at the market, you have to go home at the end of the day, whether your basket is full or empty.” So live life to your fullest and believe in the possibility of the impossible.” Geetha Prabhukumar

“People like what they know; they don’t always necessarily know what they like.” Art history professor Dr. Toni Sepeda referring to art, but SO applicable to technology!

“Your Significance is not in Your Similarity to Others, but in Your Point of Difference.” Donna Williams

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“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Lauren Thatcher Ulrich

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain” Anonymous

I love this quote because it reminds me of just how strong I am, how much we as woman have overcome and how much strength I can look around and gather from so many other strong woman around me.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Live every day to its fullest and appreciate what you have, not what you want.” Maria Mathios

If you are not being treated with love & respect, check your “price tag”. Perhaps you have marked yourself down. You are the only one who tells people what you’re worth by what you accept. Bottom line – Get yourself off the “clearance rack” & get behind the glass where they keep all the “valuables”. You are highly VALUABLE and one-of-a-kind!” Tena M. Paparelli

“Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force. “ Dorothy L.Sayers
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What I was impressed here is that this quote has multiple connotations and tries to advocate people to be not plain followers but to create new paths and drive the way. Meaning, LEAD through Transformational Thinking which is very much aligned to EMC Vision of 2012 and 2013 namely Transform Yourself, IT and Business and Lead to take more share.” Ms. Madhu Bindiganavalae Manjunath

“If you obey all of the rules, you miss all of the fun.” Katharine Hepburn

You’re Awesome by Tammy Ward
The nurturing, caring, mother..the passionate,
Exciting vamp..the romantic dreamer
The playful child. The determined go getter
The loyal friend all these woman
And more are you

Acknowledge and treasure each one
Give each of your inner women time and
Opportunity to surface, for each has
Wonderful things to offer and make you
So lovable.

Make time for nurturing and passion and
Romance. Follow your goals and let nothing
Stop you. Find opportunities for friendship
And fun. Respect all your inner womanly strengths and values.

Be proud of these things, for together
They create one truly AMAZING WOMAN.

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“Just as EMC is leading customers’ transformation, women are leading a global transformation enabling companies to innovate through collaboration and communication.” Sylvie Otten Sollod

I asked GOD for a Flower,
He gave me a garden
I asked for a tree
He gave me a forest
I asked for a river
He gave me an ocean
I asked for an angel
He gave me you!

“Our woman of EMC: Enthusiastic, Mature & Customer oriented. “ Ana Verdegais

“Enthusiasm + Magnificent + Commitment + Women = BEST LEADERS IN THE WORLD.” Zamanta Anguiano

Embrace our difference! “The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels.” Simone De Beauvoir

“Every aspect of EMC’s corporate management, technology, products, solutions, support and services are enriched with a caring touch of EMC’s women.” Anjali Fields

“Journey Continues but Celebration should also continue.” Seema Tahaliyani

And my quote that started the exhange.

“EMC is the center of leadership and innovation through the eyes of women.” Sheryl Chamberlain

Happy International Women’s Day!

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Women of Influence

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Women’s leadership is at an exciting turning point in history. Around the world, women are stepping into positions of growing power and influence in business, politics and society.   As they grow in stature many become women of influence committed to supporting the next wave of leaders.

One such woman is Linda Alepin, a successful corporate executive with over 30 years experience in high tech. She epitomizes a woman of influence having served in senior positions as an officer of a Fortune 200 IT company, CEO and Founder of an early Internet start-up, and now as Founding Director Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN). Linda formed the network in 2004 which has trained 160 women leaders from more than 40 countries and various sectors of society and encouraged them to transform their work into breakthrough global projects.

So what is Global Women’s Leadership Network ?  First I have to admit I am a graduate and while I was clearly going down the leadership path, this community was transformational, providing new tools allowing me to rise to new heights and levels of influence. They taught me three basics: 1) to raise my vision make it bigger; 2) imagine the journey from the top of the mountain not from the bottom, and most importantly and;  3) we are a global community and through our network collectively we have more power and influence than any of us have alone. While it sounds simple, it isn’t.   Learning new skills is like building muscles, developing them and keeping them strong through exercise and diet.

GWLN is dedicated to igniting a new future for humanity by liberating women leaders around the world. They do this through capacity building activities, such as education, and also building a network of support among leaders from many countries.  Their projects cover wide areas of involvement including, but not limited to,  environmental sustainability, health care, economic development, food security, gender equality and human rights. Simply stated, Global Women’s Leadership Network GWLN exists to help women step out of survival and dependence into their inherent power, enabling the transformation of world conditions – woman by woman. Their policy is to work for women, in partnership with individuals, NGOs and corporations, to create an environment conducive to broad participation for major social change around the world.

GWLN Graduation

GWLN Graduation

Join me as I catch up with Linda by viewing this video I recorded at EMC’s Leadership & Innovation event on Jan 24th.

Adapting Innovation to Create Tangible Results

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While some would think innovation is tangible sometimes it is simply about adaptation; It is through adaptation that we can realize tangible results. There could be no better example of this than Dr. Orna Berry currently EMC Corporate Vice President and GM for Israel COE. Orna was the first Chief Scientist Israel; Being first is her hallmark. While there are many firsts, Chief Scientist of Israel has had a powerful impact on her, her community and most of all on her country, Israel. Israel’s water resources and other natural resources being as limited as they are, the utilization of innovative technologies gathered from a knowledge based society becomes necessary and  critical in order to harbor and maximize those resources as efficiently as possible. At the junction of this society is the collaboration between government, university and industry. Orna understanding the opportunity quickly and once again the first (in Israel) to focus on this community sometimes referred to as the “Golden Triangle of Innovation”.  This union helps ensure the continued realization of the value of of innovation, entrepreneurship, high-risk production development, and international collaboration.

She clearly understands goods created intellectually need to be exported because the local Israeli market is very small, and regional trade doesn’t exist. She also believes that Israel is not just a startup nation, it’s a “restart nation“.  This is due, largely, to the cultural heritage of Israel, which requires that people learn how to read situations differently, and think of things in a different context. This has been a part of Israeli culture for many generations, since The Diaspora.

Dr. Orna Berry opens EMC’s 6th Annual Innovation Conference in Israel

Join me as we catch up to Dr. Orna Berry at EMC Forum – Israel:

Dr. Orna Berry EMC Forum Israel

A little more about Dr. Orna Berry

Dr. Orna Berry is a recognized entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in Israeli science, technology and venture capital.  Known for her efforts to promote excellence, entrepreneurship and innovation in Israeli society Dr. Berry has held a wide range of positions with significant social and public impact throughout her career.  One of the hall marks of Orna’s career was her 4 year tenure as Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Israeli government where she managed an annual budget of a ½ Billion dollars.  Having served as the Chairperson of the Israeli Venture Capital Funds Association she continues to follow her passion and is currently the Chairperson of the Israel Australia Chamber of Commerce.