What do you get when you take over 100 women and allies from around the world, put them in a room for three weeks, and ask them to change the world?

You get Women in Cloud (WIC), hosting their fifth annual Women in Cloud Summit beginning January 26, 2023. 

The three-week hybrid experience will combine unique virtual programming with in-person events and exclusive opportunities that promise to be memorable, empowering and inspiring. The 2023 Annual Summit ignites the power of “Collective Responsibility” through purpose, innovation and excellence to accelerate ESG leadership and solutions to drive responsible businesses.

The summit will explore the increasing pace of Cloud & AI technology, create a global hub for sustainable tech solutions, accelerate ESG + T innovations and provide the platform to transform our collective community into resilient leaders and responsible global enterprises. 

 Across the hybrid programming, attendees will hear from inspirational speakers, connect and communicate with industry leaders and experts, and network with each other, both virtually and in-person.

The summit also offers a unique opportunity to participate in a virtual World Record attempt, as WIC community is ready to set the record for most vision boards uploaded in 24-hours. 

Since its inception, Women in Cloud’s Annual Summit has become one of the world’s most influential community events for women in technology, led by top industry women leaders, CEOs, Executives and allies focused on global, sustainable impact.

Attended by an international audience from more than 25 countries, the Annual Summit is driving the economic access narrative on a global scale. 

To learn more or get your tickets to Women in Cloud’s Annual Summit visit: https://womenincloud.com/wicxannualsummit-2023/

So don’t miss out on this opportunity—register today!

 

Impact of 2022 Annual Summit: 

The Women in Cloud Summit 2021 will build on the success of last year’s event. Themed Collective Influence, the 2022 Summit brought together 1000+ participants and speakers from 28 countries, including the UN of cloud brands, entrepreneurs, technologists, policy makers and global leaders. The event programming was specifically designed to drive curated and organic connections for driving economic development to create $1 billion in economic access for women tech entrepreneurs. 

 

What Our Community Is Saying:

  • “It has been awesome. I’m so impressed with the lineup! I’ve written down quite a few gems
  • to meme-ify to keep me inspired!” – Sarah C.
  • “Thank you WIC! For me there is a bit of silver lining for having the Summit online. It would have been hard for me to participate in person. I am grateful for every minute spent with you amazing ladies” – Zana P.
  • “So refreshing to discuss these topics with other women technologists!!!” – Bailey M.
  • “So moving and vulnerable! Thank you so much for showing us it’s all possible.” – Maria
  • “Amazing panel!! Love how it felt actionable!” – Nicole C.
  • “Marketplace strategy, invest in customer demand, build and expand .. Whoa! I am learning big time! Thanks to the whole team!” – Carolina
  • “Thank you WIC for all the support so far!” – Bhavya A.
  • “Thank you panelists! Lots of helpful takeaways to digest. Thank you Patti for the brilliant visual to support and inspire!” – Sara B. 
  • “Great insights and inspiration today from the founders. #CollectiveInfluence in action!” – Gena G.

 

To learn more or get your tickets to Women in Cloud’s Annual Summit visit: https://womenincloud.com/wicxannualsummit-2023/

So don’t miss out on this opportunity—read the press release to get involved.

We got chance to read the research KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook, which asked more than 1,300 CEOs at the world’s largest businesses about their strategies and outlook, reveals that 58 percent of leaders expect a recession to be mild and short. Fourteen percent of senior executives identify a recession among the most pressing concerns today — up slightly from early 2022 (9 percent), while pandemic fatigue tops the list (15 percent).

This is a fantastic news!!

Global CEOs see a ‘mild and short’ recession, yet optimistic about global economy over 3-year horizon

Few Insights

  • Hiring freezes and headcount reductions under heavy consideration for CEOs
  • Uncertainty fueling long-term digital transformation : While current uncertainty is driving CEOs to continue to prioritize digital transformation, 40 percent of businesses have paused their digital transformation strategies and another 37 percent plan to take such steps in the next 6 months.
  • Evolving focus toward reputational and technological risks : Emerging and disruptive technology has landed as the top risk to business growth over the next 3 years. In addition, CEOs have identified several other areas as top risks to growth: reputation, regulatory and operational issues, and climate change.
  • Cyber security no longer corporations’ biggest threat, with more companies prepared for attacks. Cyber security has dropped from the top 5 risks to growth over the past year, with only 6 percent of CEOs naming it as their top risk (17 percent in February 2022).
  • Stakeholder pressure increasing accountability in ESG : More than one-third (38 percent) of CEOs say their organizations struggle to articulate a compelling ESG story. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72 percent) also believe that stakeholder scrutiny of ESG issues — gender equality, climate impacts etc. — will continue to accelerate.
  • Economic pressure slowing ESG ambitions : Global CEOs recognize the importance of ESG initiatives to their businesses, especially when it comes to improving financial performance and driving growth. In fact, 69 percent of senior executives noted greater demand from stakeholders for increased reporting and transparency on ESG — 58 percent in 2021.

Download the report

If you are looking for answers I would like to invite you to join us on October 13th for our #WICxUNGA 2022 Signature Summit event presented by KPMG!

The 2nd annual #WICxUNGA 2022 Summit is bringing together business, tech and community leaders for enriching and inspiring discussions about the future of ESG+T and UN 2030 Goals.

The agenda includes keynotes, in-depth fireside chats, interactive panels plus power talks with some of the top names in tech and leading experts including Kim Folsom – CEO & Founder of Founders First Capital Partners, Erika Murdock Balbuena – Head of ESG at Robinhood, Colleen O’Brien – CMO at Armoire, Andrea Perkins – Vice President at Insight Enterprise, Tegan Keele – IMPACT Climate Data & Technology Leader at KPMG, Gena Goh – Channel Inclusion & Impact Senior Strategy Lead at Microsoft and many more.

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What can you expect at #WICxUNGA virtual event?

  • Keynote on ESG plus T Mega Trends
  • CLevel ESG Fireside Chat: Exploring Your Career: An Executive’s Journey Leading ESG Narratives
  • CXO Panel: ESG plus T: Tech as ESG Issue, Risk and Value Influencer
  • Power Talk: Differentiate and Grow your Business Microsoft #BuildFor2030 Hackathon 2022
  • Own Your Narrative Bootcamp: ESG=T Focused Personal Brand Building
  • ESG+T Advisory Roundtable Discussions

 Signup: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wicxunga-building-a-sustainable-tech-industry-tickets-403527289987

KPMG and Meylah has total of 30 virtual scholarship tickets and available at no cost with the code “WICxESG”.  Please feel free to share this special invite and promo code with your colleagues, or community network.

ESG – Three simple letters that will continue to have a tremendous impact on the way we do business today. 

Understanding our environmental footprint, advances in social infrastructure and progress in governance and policy-making are the critical backbone for the way we tackle some of the world’s great challenges.  This is the new gold standard for global business.  Whether you are the CEO or executive for a Fortune 100 company, large enterprise or even a small to mid-sized business, ESG is changing the landscape for all of us to build a more inclusive, sustainable and ethical economy that benefits everyone, including generations to come.

5 Reasons Why Every CEO Needs to Know Corporate ESG 

According to Dell, Deloitte, Microsoft and other industry thought leaders, here are the top reasons why every CEO and future leader need to know ESG:

  1. Builds trust and stakeholder value – A company people can build and stand for trust and believe in is a company clients, customers and stakeholders will support. ESG practices and operating models empower businesses to develop strong partnerships across their communities and value chain, and help ensure all stakeholders are considered as a key part of any solution. Harvard Business Review reported that workers at companies where trust is high report 106% greater energy in the office, 74% lower stress levels, 76% greater engagement, and 50% more productivity than their peers at low-trust businesses.
  2. Manages effective compliance, policy and regulatory practices – All businesses are affected by some or other forms of regulations depending upon the markets they operate. The business with strong ESG measures, especially on Governance, invite less scrutiny from the regulators and have greater operational freedom. They also face less pressure from climate change from activists, employee unions etc. The consumers also prefer such brands too. For example, Starbucks introduced “Starbucks China Parent Care Program” in 2017 which provided health coverage to over 10,000 parents of Starbucks’ employees in China. It was seen as a strategic move as Starbucks planned to expand in China amid the growing trade dispute between USA & China.
  3. Reduces cost, mitigates risk and increases productivity – Companies which choose to use more sustainable methods of production and manufacturing tend to be more efficient and reduce their costs. One such example is Nestlé, which announced that it will invest up to USD 2.1 billion by 2025 to shift from virgin plastic packaging to food-grade recycled plastics and the development of other sustainable packaging solutions. This will not only help it cut its carbon footprint but also save it from non-compliance costs among different geographies where it operates and have stricter laws related to the use of plastic packaging.
  4. Attracts and retains top talent – With 50% of the world’s population under 25 and the pandemic changing the face of the marketplace in all industries, attracting the right talent has become a job unto itself. However, ESG is creating new opportunities to transform that process. Strong companies with good ESG scores attract better talent and have longer retention. Having a clear sustainability, social and diverse mission and vision generates an internal sense of pride among employees. The younger generation prefers to work for companies with stronger commitments towards society. As per a study by Cone Communications on Millennial Employee Engagement in 2016, 64% of Millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work.  And this is just the beginning.  CEOs must think about succession planning and how to accommodate the dynamically changing workforce mindset.
  5. Creates meaningful global impact through innovation – In a post-pandemic world, innovation that creates impact has become a cornerstone for successful brands to thrive.  The great news? The opportunities for ESG are endless. Prior to COVID, only one third of companies reported that social impact was a core pillar of their business.  Now, that number has shifted greatly as more and more leaders see the value in ESG impact-related initiatives that are adding to global recovery. In essence, companies that are adopting ESG operating models can improve people’s lives through healthcare, education, sustainability and digital inclusion, among a host of other topics, enabling companies to double-down on core values and act boldly to create real change for the success of their business and society.

In response to the growing awareness of ESG, Women in Cloud (WIC), a community-led economic development organization, launched their WICxLEAD program, designed to empower corporate women and entrepreneurs to ignite economic access. 

Over a six-week, 25 purpose-driven women scholars will learn how to be among the first to lead and influence digital transformation projects through cloud and AI technology, teaching them how to grow their executive presence, personal brand identity, public speaking impact, global access creation and community development strategies giving them a powerful platform to accelerate as industry ESG influencers and purpose-driven leaders.

The uniquely created accelerator program will help corporate women find and define their leadership purpose and create impactful ESG strategies, operating models and reporting mechanisms that support women tech entrepreneurs in the supplier ecosystem. Scholars will also gain access to a global network while learning from industry experts to accelerate their influence and market impact.

This leadership program is open to women-led companies and corporations looking to develop their women leaders. Applications are open until Jul15, 30, 2022. To learn more about the WICxLEAD program and secure your spot visit: https://womenincloud.com/wicxlead/.

NASDAQ said it very well in a recent article. Environmental, social and governance issues should be a top concern of corporate management and boards. There was a time when a public stance on ESG issues was a public relations tactic. However, in today’s rapidly changing business climate, attention to ESG issues is becoming critical to long-term competitive success. Welcome to the next generation of global business standards. 

This is the power of how three simple letters are architecting the future of economic success for top brands who want to create the greatest impact possible.

On May 6, the Women in Cloud community joined together as we hosted a premier #WICxFortune100 Lunch and Learn with Microsoft. This series is a networking experience designed to open the doors for leading fortune companies and brands to connect with technology business builders. This intimate learning series offers a space to learn about how to do business with Microsoft, understand their company culture, and get access to decision makers & procurement officers. 

Fortune L&L Session Microsoft

To begin the event, Chaitra Vedullapalli, Co-Founder and President of Women in Cloud (WIC) set the stage delving into the impact of the partnership between Microsoft and WIC, focusing on important topics such as:

  • Driving an Inclusive Digital Economy by accelerating representation of 50% of population (women) that were left out in the $7 Trillion cloud opportunity
  • Cloud Skilling – Providing 1,500 cloud scholarship and First Cloud Center of Excellence
  • Inspire fortune brands and other companies to partner strategically to accelerate Corporate ESG efforts
  • Digital Co-Selling with Microsoft & access to Community PDM
  • Cloud Marketplace – Diversity Lens on The Marketplace
  • Voices for Innovation – Policy Advocacy

Watch Empowering Women in Tech keynote with Charlotte Yarkoni here:

Following Chaitra Vedullapalli’s Opening Remarks, an inspirational Keynote: Empowering Women in Tech was led by Charlotte Yarkoni, President, Commerce + Ecosystems at Microsoft.She shared the impactful statistics that less than 2% of software startups in the USA feature a woman founder, and the Covid-19 pandemic will increase the time it will take to close the digital gender gap by 36 years. As a strong advocate for girls, young women, and women to be in STEM, Charlotte explained how diverse companies generate more innovation and better financial results than non/less diverse organizations.

The attendee chat feed was filling fast as the community quickly resonated with Charlotte. 

These alarming statistics call for change, showing how important workplaces and allies are to creating economic access and opportunities for all. Charlotte showed us how Microsoft values creating a healthy ecosystem for employees, partners, and customers to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft is committed to creating a culture where diverse perspectives are invited, where inclusive behavior and authenticity are the norm, and everyone is empowered to bring their true self to work. Microsoft has implemented multiple programs to create access for women, such as a program supporting women founders in their end-to-end start-up journey, and a mentoring program to pair women employees at Microsoft with women founders. Through collective action, we can foster women’s talent in tech, which is a critical component to growing women’s presence in technology.

Watch the Inclusive Economic Opportunity Panel here:

Next, we excitedly introduced the Inclusive Economic Opportunity Panel: Talent, Business Development, and Supplier Diversity with moderator Diego Rejtman – GM, Developer Relations at Microsoft, Mazhar Mohammed – CVP, Partner & Seller Experience at Microsoft, Jaci Santos Shibao – Tech and Sales Strategy, GPS Sr Director; WAM ERG Co-Chair at Microsoft, and Shara Holliday – Sr Director, Procurement at Microsoft. 

 

The attendees were heavily engaged in the conversation via the chat, making this panel highly interactive for the audience. The panelists provided numerous words of wisdom to the audience regarding the Microsoft workforce, partnerships, customers, and resources for entrepreneurs to be positioned for supplier diversity opportunities —  giving the attendees a realistic look at how Microsoft values and celebrates a diverse ecosystem. 

A unique component of the #WICxFortune100 Lunch and Learn Series is the Cloud Solution Showcase, where we feature two entrepreneurs and their solutions for the marketplace. This month, Lucy Flores – Elyon International, and Natasha Tetruyeva – eKidz.eu were brought to the stage to bring awareness and education to their companies. 

Watch Elyon International Inc here: 

 

Watch eKidz.eu here: 

Closing out the session, but definitely a community favorite, was the Roundtable Advisor Experience where leaders in Microsoft met face to face (virtually) with attendees and discussed important topics: Leadership & careers, Changemaking for inclusive growth, Women thriving at work, Skilling opportunities, Supplier diversity, Marketplace engagement, and Hiring & culture.

Featuring Microsoft Roundtable Advisors: 

  • Diego Rejtman – GM, Developer Relations
  • Gena Goh – Channel Inclusion and Impact Strategy Lead, Global Partner Solutions
  • Jaci Santos Shibao – Tech and Sales Strategy, Sr Director, Global Partner Solutions; Women at Microsoft ERG Co-Chair, Microsoft
  • Debbie Uttecht – Partner Marketing Lead, Worldwide Learning
  • Joel Gillespie – Program Manager, Supplier Diversity
  • Madiha Khan – Engagement Lead, Commercial Marketplace Services
  • Michelle Shafer – Sr Talent Acquisition Manager, Talent Acquisition 

Watch the Introduction to the Roundtables and the event Closing Remarks to catch a glimpse of this experience.

As the highest registered and attended #WICxFortune100 Lunch and Learn in the series, this event impacted greatly the Women in Cloud community. With outstanding engagement on social media (Tracie Cobian) and in the event chat (Stacy Tatem), WIC encouraged this behavior with gift cards giveaways. 

Useful Resources: 

Corporate sustainability has come a long way since the early days, when executives were focused on the “triple bottom line”—a commitment to environmental, social, and economic goals. These days, sustainability is not just a public relations effort; it is a fundamental part of the business.

When was the last time you think about how your company engages with sustainability?

You’re not alone. In fact, most CEOs and business leaders don’t often consider their corporate sustainability engagements. That’s why we’ve put together five ways that executives can improve their company’s engagement with sustainable practices.

Start with a working definition of ESG — and set some achievable goals.

As a business leader, you’ll want to set some concrete goals that are based on ESG metrics specific to the industry in which your company operates. Start small and be realistic about what your team can realistically achieve within a certain period of time. For example, if your industry is energy production, you might start by committing to a 10% reduction in energy use at all facilities over the next three years. This goal is measurable (simply compare this year’s energy use against last year’s) and specific (10%). It also has a clear endpoint (three years). You may not be able to reach that goal immediately: your facilities were built in an era before environmental responsibility was top of mind, so you may need to invest capital into new equipment or retrofitting old equipment before you can reduce energy usage by 10%.

Construct an Corporate ESG Framework.

Constructing a framework to determine how to prioritize and implement ESG practices is vital. It starts with picking your framework such as SASB, TCFD, GRI, SDGs and measuring your MSCI ESG Ratings. These will help you determine which ESG factors are important to your business, industry, and stakeholders. These standards should be tailored to meet the needs of your organization, as well. ESG Focused framework development involves identifying internal expertise and external partners that can assist with the process. Once you identify what those ESG factors are, you must develop a strategy for implementing them into your organization’s operations in order to achieve measurable results.

Get CEO and Senior leaders on board.

Don’t expect your ESG strategy to gain momentum or even see the light of day without the support of your company’s CEO and senior leadership. When you’re just starting out, your role will be more about collecting data than coming up with strategies, so start by introducing yourself to senior leaders. You’ll want to book a meeting with the CEO and her inner circle (COO or CFO, if you have them) to discuss ESG goals. Explain that you would like their input on what they think ESG should look like for your organization. If they aren’t already familiar with ESG as a concept, take a few minutes to give them some background information and explain that you are taking these initial steps in order to get ahead of possible regulations and meet investor expectations, which will help preserve growth over the long term. With these points in mind, ask the CEO if there are any aspects related to sustainability or social impact that she thinks could be improved within the company (e.g., waste management), and then take notes on how she answers these questions.

Once you’ve wrapped up this discussion and taken note of what they said, schedule another meeting 10-15 days later where you can share some concrete next steps based on their feedback from last time. At this point it’s likely that many people will still be curious about exactly what needs to happen for an ESG strategy at your company—the key is providing clear direction instead of being overly vague about why it matters or allowing stakeholders to fill in their own blanks based on assumptions they may have heard elsewhere but aren’t relevant for your industry/company specifically.

Identify and Prioritize ESG Reporting and Disclosures Needs

  • Identify and prioritize ESG reporting and disclosure needs. This should include analyzing your company’s current state as well as understanding its competitive landscape.
  • Establish metrics to track key ESG performance indicators. By establishing a baseline, you can more accurately measure progress toward your goals. As you select your key metrics, keep in mind that the objective is to create a system that is both relevant and easily accessible for multiple stakeholders. To ensure relevance, consider using framework-specific metrics (e.g., those that align with MSCI ESG Scores) wherever possible—it will make it easier for those familiar with the MSCI standards to compare you to other companies using MSCI, who are also likely reporting on similar metrics, which allows them to understand how your company stacks up against competitors.* Be transparent in disclosing ESG information—optimally through a publicly available report which covers material issues and provides an independent assurance statement as appropriate

Recruit Women Leaders to Lead ESG

Although the world of corporate responsibility is still largely male-dominated, women are making their mark as rising leaders in Asia. The reason? They tend to take a more holistic approach to ESG issues and have better relationships with stakeholders. These two traits go hand in hand in building trust among those that make decisions, which can lead to positive business outcomes down the line. As companies continue to grow and their missions expand, it’s important that they put their arms around sustainable practices—but it’s equally important that they find ways to make them feel like home for all employees.

This year more and more enterprise companies are in search of comprehensive global sustainability operating models and developing more leadership opportunities for women.

So, where do they start? To address the market needs, we are launching the WICxLEAD, the next generation Corporate ESG Women’s Leadership Accelerator, designed to empower corporate women and entrepreneurs to ignite economic access. Our scholars will learn how to lead and influence digital transformation projects through cloud and AI technology, teaching them how to grow their executive presence, personal brand identity, public speaking impact, global access creation and community development strategies giving them a powerful platform to accelerate as industry ESG influencers and purpose-driven leaders. 

Identify Digital Transformation Solution

Digital transformation, or the use of digital technologies to solve problems and create value in an organization, is a powerful tool for helping your company achieve its ESG goals. With digital transformation, you can show employees and customers that your company is committed to change and improvement—and by demonstrating this commitment through positive action, you’ll be able to prove your worth as a shareholder.

Successful companies know that taking care of their people will lead to better business performance in the long run. A digital transformation solution that focuses on creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is an excellent way to show employees (and potential talent) that they’re valued by the company.

Additionally, moving business processes online increases efficiency—which means fewer hours worked for employees who need time off for family or personal matters, less wasted materials from paper-based forms, and more streamlined production cycles. Even if the process itself can’t be automated or digitized just yet, it’s still a great idea to give employees mobile tools so they can work faster from anywhere. In other words: with less time spent doing menial tasks like paperwork or waiting around for approvals from managers at headquarters, workers have more time to focus on innovative projects and produce higher quality work overall. Here is an example of how FEDx leveraging digital transformation efforts to reduce carbon footprint.

Establish Community Partners to Scale company’s impact.

  • Co-brand and co-develop solutions with a dedicated community partner like Women In Cloud
  • Leverage social media campaigns to spread the word about your partnership and efforts, as well as its success stories.
  • Use community partnerships to help with funding your programs, particularly those in underserved communities.
  • Community partners are also useful for testing ideas before scaling up, and have access to volunteers that can be used for small-scale projects or events before larger scale implementation begins.

We believe when we work together to make our planet and people healthy through our actions, we all can accelerate our growth in ways that generate sustainable outcomes including profits.