Swinging the Pendulum — Women Technology Leaders in 2021

Living into our values means that we do more than profess our values, we practice them. We walk our talk — we are clear about what we believe and hold important, and we take care that our intentions, words, thoughts, and behaviors align with those beliefs.”

- Brene Brown

Six months ago, the content team at Evanta, who ensures all topics and agendas are driven ‘by C-level executives and for C-level executives,’ set a goal – to intentionally and deliberately showcase women technology leaders on the main stage at Evanta in-person summits. 

Why is this so important? Why, during a global pandemic, when it’s hard enough to fill a room at 75% capacity, would we set a goal that might be considered unachievable —  especially once you see the numbers to overcome?

Earlier this year, Statista published statistics showing the rise of female Chief Information Offers over the last 25 years. At first glance, this looks like progress – in 1995, only 6% of CIOs were women, yet today 25% of CIOs are women. Now, look closer… and one should really be shocked at the lack of consistent representation. If women make up 50% of the population, why isn’t this represented in leadership?

At Evanta, a Gartner Company, we are architects, creating platforms for leaders to share their stories. CIOs, CDAOs and CISOs across the globe attend local summits to hear the successes and challenges of their peers. As the architects, we are responsible for ensuring that the lessons delivered to the audience challenge their understanding of business and leadership. The perspectives that are given on stage must come from and influence a diversity of thought. By consciously providing space for women leaders, we act as a conduit for progress.

So, the Evanta team took on the challenge of swinging the pendulum – to intentionally give women leaders the platform to discuss their successes and challenges as IT executives. Michelle Obama wrote in her memoir Becoming, “If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's the power of using your voice.” We have learned that we can join this effort by providing the platform for these powerful voices.

The focus of the sessions were not about speakers being women, but their powerful impact on leadership and driving digital business as CIOs, CDAOs and CISOs.

Take a look at the many influential women who helped us swing the pendulum in 2021.

• Allison Krill, CTO, Deutsche Borse – DACH CIO Virtual Executive Summit
• Anne Coulombe, Head of Data Protection / Data Security, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co - Boston CISO Executive Summit
• Ashley Pettit, Senior Vice President & CIO, State Farm - Chicago CIO Executive Summit & Chicago CISO Executive Summit
• Atefeh Riazi, Interim CDO and Chief Information Officer, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center - New York CIO Executive Summit
• Carla Donev, Chief Information Security Officer, NiSource - Ohio CIO & CISO Executive Summit
• Chau Banks, CIO, Clorox - New York CIO Executive Summit
• Daniela Weber, CDTO EME, Compass Group – DACH CIO Virtual Executive Summit
• Di Mayze, Global Head of Data & AI, WPP - UK & Ireland CDO Executive Summit
• Diane Brown, Sr. Director, IT Risk Management, Ulta Beauty - Chicago CISO Executive Summit
• Elaine Bucknor, Group CISO & Group Director Technology, Sky Plc - UK & Ireland CISO Executive Summit
• Gertrude Van Horn, CIO, NCH - Dallas CIO Executive Summit
• Heather Mickman, CIO, Gap - Minneapolis CIO Executive Summit
• Helen Negre, CISO of Americas, Siemens USA - Boston CISO Executive Summit
• Jennifer Hohman, VP & CIO, Seadrill Americas - Houston CIO Executive Summit
• Jessica Nemmers, CSO, Elevate - Dallas CISO Executive Summit
• Jo Graham, CIO, Boohoo – UK & Ireland CIO Executive Summit
• Jodi Morton, Global & U.S. Chief Data Officer, KPMG North America - New York CDO Executive Summit 
• Julie Fitton, Vice President, Chief Security Officer, Stanley Black & Decker - Boston CISO Executive Summit
• Julia Bardmesser, SVP, Head of Data, Architecture & Analytics, Voya Financial - New York CDO Executive Summit 
• Karen Brandenburg Viera, Senior Vice President, Global Chief People Officer, Church's Chicken - Atlanta CDO Executive Summit
• Katia Walsh, Chief Digital and AI Officer, Levis - San Francisco CIO Executive Summit
• Kelly Aronson, CIO, Anderson Corp. - Minneapolis CIO Executive Summit 
• Kim Gray, Global Chief Privacy Officer, IQVIA - Philadelphia CISO Executive Summit
• Kylie Watson, CISO, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
• Lea Cornelius, CIO, Compass Group Australia - Sydney CIO Virtual Executive Summit
• Lisa Davis, SVP &  CIO, Blue Shield of CA - San Francisco CIO Executive Summit
• Marina Bellini, CDTO, BAT – UK & Ireland CIO Executive Summit
• Melinda Duke, CTO, RMIT University - Melbourne CIO Virtual Executive Summit
• Michelle Garvey, Former CIO, J Crew - New York CIO Executive Summit
• Monique St. John, Chief Technology and Security Officer, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - Philadelphia CISO Executive Summit
• Nancy Hunter, VP, Chief Information Security Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia - Philadelphia CISO Executive Summit
• Neelu Sethi, SVP, CIO, Reddy Ice Holdings - Dallas CIO Executive Summit
• Paula Kershaw, Chief Controls Officer, Cyber & Resilience, Barclays - UK & Ireland CISO Executive Summit
• Radha Subramanyam, President & Chief Research and Analytics Officer, CBS - New York CDO Executive Summit 
• Rhonda Vetere, Global CIO, Thought Leader & Change Agent, Herbalife - Southern California CIO Executive Summit
• Roberta Hyland, Chief Data Officer, National Student Clearinghouse - Washington, DC CIO & CISO Executive Summit
• Sarah Buerger, Director, IT Security, Coyote Logistics - Chicago CISO Executive Summit
• Sonja Hammond, VP, CISO, National Veterinary Associates - Dallas CISO Executive Summit
• Teresa Zielinski, Senior VP, Chief Information Security Officer & Product Security, GE Power
• Tina Rosario, Chief Data Officer EMEA, SAP UK - UK & Ireland CDO Executive Summit
• Trisha Lee, Head of Data Risk & Compliance, ANZ Bank - Melbourne CIO Virtual Executive Summit
• Victoria Page, Head of Data, Insight & Analytics, Capita - UK & Ireland CDO Executive Summit
• Yelena Pevzner, CIO - Corporate Technology, Ally - New York CIO Executive Summit
• Yolande Young, CISO, BP - UK & Ireland CISO Executive Summit