Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs 2021 is featured and celebrated by Insight Magazine

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Drum Roll! What a fantastic recognition of contributions made by Women In Cloud Entrepreneur’s.

‘1$ Billion in Economic Access by 2030’; that is the audacious goal Women in Cloud is in pursuit of. With the Women in Cloud Accelerator, $80 Million has already been generated towards that goal which aims to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator has had an immense impact in the technology industry. Over the last three years, we have had five cohorts, with over 55 entrepreneurs who have contributed to building an inclusive economy.  Women In Cloud’s Microsoft Cloud Accelerator is an immersive 6-month program to assist women-led tech companies to co-build, co-market, and co-sell with Microsoft and their distribution channels. This program is designed to help you win enterprise opportunities, get access to Azure credits, an advisor community, and a global stage to showcase your business.

The Insight Success Magazine has recognized the Women in Cloud Accelerator and the entrepreneurs who graduated from the Accelerator and went ahead to make an impact in society. The “Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs” Edition honors 10 women entrepreneurs from the technology industry who are shaping the future of the industry with their unique solutions.

Checkout the Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs 2021 featured on Insight Success magazine.


Women In Cloud Entrepreneurs in Cloud Computing Market.

We at Women in Cloud are excited to share this news and are proud to announce the following Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs; 

A seasoned entrepreneur who has founded four successful companies in the Home Improvement and Retail industry, and is a pioneer of leveraging technology to optimize business processes and strategies to accelerate growth. Kristen is a leader within the women in the technology community, as a board member for The Beyond Project, and advisor to Women In Cloud.

Cathy Light is a serial entrepreneur and organizational consultant who has helped countless global corporate clients achieve business results by transforming workplace culture and building teams that thrive. Her most recent venture, Liderança Group, introduced a unique, metrics-driven roadmap for driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, helping leaders identify opportunities for improvement, elevate conversations around diversity and inspire change.

With over 28+ years of worldwide IT, telecommunications, food and agricultural, and supply chain experience. From setting up production lines across the world for telecommunications to sourcing ingredients from the Americas to Asian countries. Traveling while delivering projects beneficial for the supplier and customers in over 4 continents, Martha dealt with both small and industrial size stakeholders or suppliers, government entities, and sophisticated buyers.

Allie’s passion for talent management has spanned her twenty-year career. Although her career started with nationwide companies, Allie’s recent focus is helping small business owners master their talent management. She has experience in all things human resources related for companies from one employee to 80,000 employees. Allie is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) with CPHR Alberta and a Registered Professional Recruiter (RPR) with the Institute of Professional Management.

Gail Mercer-MacKay is the proud founder and Chief Storyteller at Mercer-MacKay Digital Storytelling, an organization focused on creating amazing content and closed-loop marketing campaigns for technology firms. With double-digit growth year-over-year, the Mercer-MacKay client list includes many of the world’s leading technology organizations.

A renowned expert in her field, Geneviève Desautels, MBA, CRHA, MCC worked for 16 years in human resources in SMEs and large private and public companies. In 2010, she left Hydro-Québec to start her own professional practice which would focus mainly on the development of authentic and conscious leadership skills and abilities.

Kiyeon Nam is an award-winning inventor, fashion designer, and the Chief Executive Officer of B’ZT® (Beacon Zone Technology) and S’HUG (Sweater Hug).  B’ZT is the world’s first Smart Clothing pre-embedded with a machine washable smart chipset, which is created to prevent vulnerable individuals from going missing.

Nehal Mehta is an artist, mathematician, statistician, tech engineer, and cyber solutions inventor helping the world realize digital transformation dream through her efforts in cybersecurity, social and cultural involvement, and giving back to the community through her leadership efforts. She works with SMBs and Enterprises, helps them upgrade their cyber readiness, and provides usable security solutions through her user-centric cybersecurity research and innovations.

Donna Conroy, MS is an accomplished founder and CEO with extensive scientific experience including clinical microbiology and pharmaceutical sales and marketing. While in the corporate environment, she launched three drugs into the marketplace with great success. Throughout her career, Donna has focused on two passions: translating complicated science to understandable and usable insights and building work environments that support women - especially working mothers, a mission close to her heart.

Sarah Haggard is a proven business leader who has led multiple start-up initiatives within her decade-long career in product marketing at Microsoft, raising $40M to scale her last business. Expert in P&L management, enterprise software, and GTM strategy, Sarah’s tenacity and drive for results led to her being widely recognized as a turnaround expert and new business incubator.

We congratulate the entrepreneurs for their continued effort to build an inclusive technology industry and paving a path for the future generation of women to make their mark in technology. 

Check out their solutions in the Women In Cloud Marketplace.

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How Hitachi Solutions Creates An Inclusive Environment and Enables Growth Mindset for Employees to Explore: Lunch and Learn Series

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The movement has begun! With the launch of the first-ever Lunch and Learn Series led by Hitachi Solutions in collaboration with Women in Cloud, the Women in Cloud’s #Fortune100 initiative is starting a new revolution in the technology industry. 

#WICxFortune100 Lunch & Learn 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 Fortune companies, understand their company culture, and get access to decision-makers and procurement officers.

Under the leadership of Sharan Hildebrand, Hitachi Solutions, a business application consulting firm and trusted provider of vertical industry solutions built on the Microsoft Cloud, joined the Fortune 100 Initiative launched by Women in Cloud to make opportunities available for women in their network accessible. 

With Sharon Hildebrand, Vice President, Hitachi Solutions setting the stage for the panel discussion, the session was off to a great start. Sharon highlighted Hitachi’s dedication to the mission at hand. “Contribution is our keyword. Our vision to contribute to society through the development of superior technical products must welfare and benefit our employees, and customers. As a part of the Tokyo-based Hitachi limited, we are dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse environment for all our partners.”

The Lunch and Learn Series Panel hosted, Mayr Tarvin, Director of Business Development, Hitachi Solutions; Lisa Mitchell, Vice President Human Resources, Hitachi Solutions; Sharon Hildebrand, Vice President, Hitachi Solutions and was moderated by Meg Johnson, Business Manager, Hitachi Solutions. 

The power panel dived into a discussion about career experiences and growth, Hitachi’s organizational culture, and also about opportunities Hitachi creates in the industry for female technology enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and leaders to contribute to an inclusive economy. 

Hitachi often organizes programs and sessions for employees and leaders which helps in adopting a growth mindset. “As a team, we are committed to continuous learning with various programs and sessions at Hitachi. One of the programs revealed some important facts about Unconscious bias and its presence across the spectrum. Personally, this helped me identify areas in which I had to change my views. Being educated from leadership to down helps promote collective learning”, Mayr Tarvin spoke about one of the programs conducted in the organization.

The leaders from Hitachi Solutions also spoke about their organizational culture and environment. “In my opinion, perfection is overrated! Adopting the growth mindset means being okay with not knowing everything, and asking for assistance when required. This is something we encourage in Hitachi; we strongly believe that failing is a part of success in the long run.” Lisa Mitchell spoke about Hitachi’s work atmosphere. 

The importance of stepping back from the routine to do better, which Hitachi encourages, was also discussed. “Earlier in my career, work harder, longer and faster was equated with success, but often leads to burnout. However, my view of that philosophy has completely changed today. I truly believe that self-care and taking time to connect with friends, family, and yourself is critical for success. Stepping back from my routine helps me show up better!” shared Sharon.

Furthermore, Mayr also highlighted the inclusive work environment created at Hitachi, which enables female employees to be part of various initiatives within the organization; “Hitachi’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion has been stronger than ever before. With the launch of our program, Kansai women; launched with a small group of women two years ago in Seattle inspired by Women in Cloud to now over 100 people in this community has been a big achievement for us towards building a greater and inclusive organization.”

Finally, towards the end of the panel discussion, Lisa Mitchell spoke about Hitachi’s organizational values and commitment to serving its customers. “At Hitachi, our foundation is built on Harmony, Sincerity, and Pioneering Spirit. Layered on top of that foundation are three pillars; What our clients can expect, what our employees can expect, and what our company can expect from the employees. Our entire operations are built on these values and operations and we are committed to creating the best for our customers and employees,” Lisa added. 

“Come as you are today with a willingness to learn and grow, and we will provide you with tools to build your career, expand your knowledge base, and deepen your sense of self, all while having fun along the way.”

 Hitachi Solution to their employees

Hitachi Solutions will continue to provide resources for women tech entrepreneurs, leaders, and enthusiasts via the Fortune 100 Initiative.

Click here to find out all the opportunities available for you and your company with Hitachi Solutions and also watch the complete power panel.

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Women in Cloud Announces the #EmpowHERAccess Inaugural Awards: Nominate Today!

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Today, Women in Cloud is thrilled to announce the first-ever #EmpowHERAccess Awards, a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to recognize those who have facilitated their access and ensured business stability throughout the pandemic.

Women in Cloud (WIC) partners with M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Capital Fund to award those who have created access for women in tech to support their stability and recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

#empowHERaccess is an annual digital advocacy campaign by Women in Cloud to generate greater economic access for women in technology. Launched in 2020, the campaign reached over 600K women all! This year, as part of the #empowHERaccess campaign, we at Women in Cloud invite you to join us in acknowledging and celebrating the many stories of pivot and perseverance during the global pandemic. The application ends on June 30, 2021. So start your nominations today!

Women in Cloud has created eight awards to recognize and commemorate these vital members of our community: 

  1. Digital Transformation Project of the Year Award: This award celebrates excellence in digital transformation through the cloud and AI technologies. This award is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation. 
  2. Cloud Solution of the Year Award: This award sponsored by Insight, celebrates the cloud solution that most successfully innovates through the use of cutting-edge cloud and AI technologies as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
  3. Supplier of the Year Award: This award celebrates companies who have managed to be accessible to female entrepreneurs during the recent epidemic and have increased their supplier ecosystem to accommodate their diverse needs.  
  4. Advisor of the Year Award: This award celebrates the advisors and mentors who have continued to support women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic by unlocking their rolodex, volunteering their time, and sharing their knowledge. 
  5. Investor of the Year Award: This award celebrates investors who continued to provide economic access to women entrepreneurs during the pandemic by investing $1M+ into women-owned or led technology businesses. 
  6. Innovative Partnership of the Year Award: Sponsored by Accenture, this award celebrates companies that have partnered with women technology entrepreneurs to co-sell their solutions into the enterprise ecosystem. 
  7. Cloud Technology Deal of the Year Award: Our Cloud Technology Deal of the Year will be notable for creating new partnerships, coalescing resources, or injecting funds into innovative cloud businesses. This award is sponsored by Meylah Corporation. 
  8. Women in Technology Outstanding Leadership Award: The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the cloud industry by an individual. Our Outstanding Leader will be an industry leader whose creativity, passion, and innovation are driving the space forward—someone who embodies cloud excellence. M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund sponsored this award. 

We welcome you to nominate organizations, suppliers, advisors, investors, and women technology leaders and help us recognize powerful force contributing to your success in the technology industry. Those chosen will be honored at an Award Ceremony on July 16th during the WiCxInspire event. 
Important:

1. Organizations and initiatives can nominate themselves!

2. Nominations are open until 30-Jun-21. Learn more!

3. This year’s award ceremony will be on July16th, 2021 during the WiCxInspire Event

For information on the #EmpowHERAccess Inaugural Awards, click here. 

The countdown begins! 

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Do Women Make Better Alliance Managers than Men?

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Recently, I was reminded of the book ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (1993)’ by the American author and Relationship Coach, John Gray. While facilitating an alliance workshop between two high-tech partners, I was reminded of a suggestion the book makes; there are incompatible differences between the way that men and women act in any given situation, and that conflict arises from these different viewpoints. One partner was a global systems integrator and consultancy; the other was an equally large (and global) software company. The workshop was to discuss the current state of the global alliance relationship that they had formed many years ago and reset the vision for the alliance.

Despite the number of senior key stakeholders at the workshop from both parties representing: product lines, consulting practices, sales, marketing, R&D, and corporate planning, the two global managers leading the discussion caught my attention. Experienced Vice Presidents in their respective companies, both responsible for managing global relations, the only obvious difference was their gender. For the purpose of this article let me call them Sally and Simon.

During the course of the workshop, we addressed the question of ‘Joint Business Value Propositions’, and I asked the question: “What is the Joint Business Value Proposition for this alliance? What is different and exciting to the customers about using the combination of both of your company’s products and services?”

Simon immediately jumped right in: “Well, it’s obvious right? Between us we control a large degree of market share in our chosen fields, we are both acknowledged leaders in our respective products and services, what I need is to agree on a target figure with Sally about how many of our software licenses her company will sell this year.”

Sally replied: “What are we trying to achieve with our offerings here? Between us, we need to understand better how we come across to the market and I’d like to know more about Simon’s business strategy and how my team can help him.”

Simon: “Great! That’s just what I said… now let me tell you in detail about my sales targets territory by territory around the world and we can then agree on what numbers you will allocate …!”

And before I could stop him he jumped up to the whiteboard and started doing just that!

The incident put me in mind of the Mars versus Venus debate sparked all those years ago.

If one is to consciously observe and compare the language that Simon is using, which is, ‘me, I, my targets, my objectives, my territories’ to Sally’s conversation which is, ‘us, we, our team, our common goals’, it wouldn’t be hard to differentiate between the leaders. One might say this is negligible and unimportant, however, I believe it is indicative of a deeper mindset. 

Whilst flying home I ruminated on our conversations in the workshop, I confess I couldn’t decide whether the fundamental difference highlighted by the two professionals was the difference between men and women or the difference between sales executives and alliance executives.

In traditional sales, the business landscape is quite clear. I am a seller and you are a buyer; my job is to convince you of the suitability of my products and services to your challenges and needs and I will use appropriate and suitable tools and methodologies to help me do that (e.g. Challenger Sales, Consultative Selling, SPIN Selling, Relationship Selling, Closing Techniques, and on and on). The language involved in the conversation is focused on the seller. It’s a binary type conversation. I win, you ‘lose’ (because you pay out the highest price I can negotiate).

In alliance selling on the other hand it’s a little more subtle. Sally isn’t trying to sell to Simon, she’s trying to understand how they can both together sell to an (as yet) unknown customer, and do it in the most efficient and effective way possible.

The conversation is peppered with words like Us, Our, Joint, Collaborative, Together, Consensus, Joined-Up Approach, and so on.  During my flight I thought about two different scenarios:

  • The different background, mores, and language used to typically describe men and women and,
  • The different background, mores, and language used to typically describe salespeople and alliance people

In both cases, I daydreamed about the words that I had heard used in the past to describe the two groups and I wondered if there was some kind of connection.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you can’t have good male alliance managers and I’m not saying that you can’t have aggressive and hard-driving female executives, but the more I thought about my own experiences with all four groups (men, women, sales, and alliances) the more I resonated with the differences and the apparent connection between the two groups.

Could it be that women are more genetically ‘programmed’ over many thousands of years to view harmony and collaboration in the family unit as preferable to personal advancement?

The jolt that I got as I hit the runway in Birmingham (my hometown) jerked me awake and afterward I couldn’t decide whether it was clear thinking and deep insight or pure gibberish?!

What do you think?  I’d love to hear from you!

If you’d like more information or would like to contribute to this research, feel free to contact me at mike.nevin@alliancebestpractice.com

About Mike Nevin
Mike Nevin is a highly experienced international strategic alliance consultant, coach, and author. Mike was the founding Chairman of ASAP in Europe (ASAP is the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals) which he launched in March 2002. and his seminal work (The Strategic Alliance Handbook) is recommended reading on MBA courses throughout the world.
https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Alliance-Handbook-Business-Business/dp/0566087790

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Three Ways To Engage with Fortune 1000 Companies to Create Billion Dollar Economic Impact. Join Us!

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We are so excited to announce the launch of #empowHERaccess campaign this month.

#empowHERaccess is an annual digital advocacy campaign by Women in Cloud to generate greater economic access for women in technology. The inaugural 2020 campaign focused on the disruptions women in technology founders were facing, and anticipating, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, while WIC’s 2020 programming aimed to offer the access and opportunities women technology professionals need for recovery and continued success.

The 2021 #empowHERaccess campaign will bring together a number of facets to better understand the Global Crisis the pandemic has created for women entrepreneurs, and celebrate the many stories of pivots and perseverance.

As we were shaping the narrative, the community and Fortune companies wanted us to provide solutions to involve women tech founders as part of the digital transformation roadmap. Based on the feedback, I brainstormed the Forbes article to highlight tangible practices that can be implemented now to double the supplier diversity to create billions of dollars in economic impact using the collective power of Fortune 1000 companies.

So, What can Fortune 1000 companies do?

Systematic change requires collective action by organizations large enough to influence and maintain change. Some groundbreaking ideas to doubling the supplier diversity in Fortune 1000 companies for digital transformation could be:

  1. Strategic digital transformation planning with diverse suppliers. Digital transformation is shifting the competitive landscape for many organizations. As you seek to partner with new partners, it is important to look for diverse suppliers who are willing to work with you on the journey while you extend your talent workforce.
  2. Policy Refinement. Research conducted by the Harvard Business Review claims that 52% of women in STEM careers will eventually leave because of hostile work environments where the company culture is not accommodating of women. The gap in the pipeline can be addressed by establishing policies within Fortune 1000 companies changing the landscape, forever allowing women to lead and develop solutions for the future and bring them into supplier ecosystems.
  3. Underwrite certifications. To accelerate the rise of women-led supply chains, Fortune 1000 needs to take on the onus of underwriting certifications to reduce the burden on diverse technology suppliers trying to build and raise their business. Supplier certifications are a huge investment that largely contributes to small businesses with a lack of funds being unable to deliver to their full capability.
  4. Focused networking with buyers. It is a no-brainer that networking is an essential element for business growth; however, facilitating focused networking sessions will help explore unique and creative solutions developed in a diverse environment.
  5. Solution Showcase. Sixty percent of digital sales are carried out through online marketplaces already, and the number of new marketplaces is growing rapidly to create visibility of potential solutions. Access solutions from Women In Cloud solution marketplace that helps buyers access enterprise-ready solutions developed by women founders for Fortune 1000 companies to incorporate in their supplier network. 

The solution is quite simple to pinpoint, if we double down on investments and engagements with female founders, the world’s largest organizations could succeed in abolishing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship while accelerating economic recovery. 

At Women in Cloud we are committed to developing solutions and generating resources that are dedicated to enabling Fortune brands and enterprise companies to create an economic impact; 

1. WiCxFortune100 Initiative: A turn-key equity advancing solutions for Fortune 100 companies to come together and collectively solve gender-equity challenges through representation, recruitment and relationship building.

2. WiC Solution Marketplace: A one-stop-shop for technology solutions and services for the mid-to-enterprise market, created, owned, and operated by women entrepreneurs.

3. Fortune 100 Lunch and Learn Series: A high-level networking experience designed to open the doors for leading fortune companies and brands to connect with technology business builders. 

I invite you and your brand to get engaged with us to unlock economic access while making the supplier programs diverse and inclusive in the ecosystem.

Website: https://womenincloud.com 

Calling all female tech founders to take 2021 Edition of Covid19 Impact Survey to help us identify and build economic relief and recovery solutions

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