Queens of Tech Podcast | 100 Voices of Impact | Representation Matters!

Caroline is a seasoned professional serving as a chairperson and board member, Tech Investor, accomplished CEO, keynote speaker, and author. Her leadership journey includes a significant tenure as the CEO of the Swedish insurer ICA Insurance, accumulating 25 years of extensive experience in various senior management roles within the financial industry. Beyond her roles in line management, Caroline has also ventured into entrepreneurship as a dot-com entrepreneur and contributed her expertise as a consultant with McKinsey.

In a groundbreaking move, Caroline became the first senior business leader in the Nordics to openly share her gender transition, transitioning from Carl Farberger. This transformative experience has positioned Caroline as a passionate advocate and ambassador for diversity and inclusive leadership.

Caroline's notable achievements have earned her prestigious awards, including the LGBTQ Person of the Year Award at the QX Gala in 2019, presented by the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. In May 2022, she received the Womenomics Leadership Award from HRH Crown Princess Mary, recognizing her accomplishments as a CEO and transgender role model who uses her platform and personal story to challenge corporate gender biases.

Caroline was also honored as the 2022 winner of the Kerstin Hesselgren Award, an accolade presented annually by Sweden's HR Association as a role model demonstrating long-term commitment to equality and humanity in workplaces and society. The award acknowledges individuals characterized by civil courage, bravery, and outspokenness, traits exemplified by Caroline's decisions and actions.

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ennifer Vessels is a dynamic business leader, consultant, facilitator, and speaker renowned for driving results and spearheading business transformation across startups, mid-cap, and multinational enterprises. In her role as CEO of Next Step, a distinguished Silicon Valley-based consulting company, Jennifer has played a pivotal role in transforming industry giants such as Adobe, Autodesk, Cisco, and ShoreTel.

Recognizing the global imperative for business future-readiness, Jennifer is the visionary founder of the Executive Growth Alliance (EGA), a global community uniting leaders from Global 100 companies, mid-size enterprises, and scale-ups. Leveraging EGA's proven peer learning methodology, members collaborate virtually across companies, geographies, and industries to tackle challenges and co-create new opportunities.

Jennifer brings a global mindset and unwavering commitment to achieving successful outcomes for clients at Next Step, EGA members, and diverse speaking audiences. Throughout her illustrious career in Technology Sales, Go-to-Market Leadership, International Expansion, and the growth of Next Step and EGA, Jennifer has consistently delivered measurable results:

• Led the global expansion of Tandberg, securing over $450 million in partner revenue within 5 years, culminating in a successful acquisition by Cisco at 35% above valuation.
• Increased market valuation by over 300% within 5 years for industry leaders like Adobe, ShoreTel, and others through digital business transformation. Jennifer, along with the Next Step team, orchestrated the change management process across sales, channels, operations, product management, and marketing.
• Pioneered a proven peer learning methodology and platform, facilitating future-ready growth for global leaders, including Cisco, IKEA, Norwegian Air, Novartis, Schneider Electric, and Wilhelmsen, through EGA Circles.

Jennifer is widely acknowledged as a high-impact speaker and workshop facilitator, contributing her expertise to esteemed platforms such as Gartner Group, Rotary, YPO, London Board Directors, UC Berkeley Haas School, and various global industry, corporate, and partner conferences. Additionally, Jennifer serves as a Facilitator in strategy and leadership for Cornell University and is a regular contributor to CEO Network, Harvard Business Review, and other industry blogs, newsletters, and podcasts.

Jennifer earned her MBA from San Jose State University, holds a Master's in Occupational Psychology from the University of London, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Louisville.

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Winifred Patricia Johansen is an old-school mechanical engineer from the NTNU, the last to adapt to new technology and not yet on ChatGPT. To change phones is worse than going to the dentist.

She worked with engine designs, and crankcase ventilation and wrecked a hopeless number of cars as a crush safety analyst. She stretched, yanked, twisted, and afflicted torturous loads to subsea umbilicals to test them. Why do things break or fail? To answer that question means to design for safe operations.

In later years she haggled like a carpet dealer in a bazaar as a global sales manager on contracts, agreements, and strategies. What makes contracts fail? To answer that question is to build successful partnerships, and mechanics of understanding people.

She grew up, apparently, and she is now a VP, sitting on several boards leading processes, and advising startups. What is the lived experience of the product, service, or workplace? People buy experiences, and people also leave companies because of lived experience.

Although still an old-school mechanic at heart, she is a doctorate researcher studying a philosophical matter: Why do crises find us unprepared even when we see them creeping in?

When all is said and done, you cannot change the laws of physics, they are just as applicable in sciences as in human behavior. Learn them, apply them, and have fun with them.

Tech leadership is no hocus pocus holy alter for the white boys only! Enter in as you are, and add your unique flavor and skill sets to spice things up. If this girl from Gulu, Uganda can do it, so can you! It’s just common sense.

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Jannecke Drangert-Hveding is a seasoned CX Strategist and fervent advocate for customer-centricity, bringing a wealth of expertise in adopting an "outside-in" approach to strategy and business development. Her extensive background encompasses roles as a business advisor, leader, and board member.

Jannecke made a significant mark in the industry by founding one of Scandinavia's pioneering CX and customer-driven innovation consultancies, collaborating with major brands in the Nordic region. Previously, she served as the Strategy and Transformation Lead at one of Scandinavia's largest health tech organizations, where she honed her skills in navigating change and transformation in complex organizational landscapes.

With a mission to support, advise, and connect value champions driving transformation through customer-centricity, Jannecke draws from her personal experiences to guide others in their efforts. She is not only a board member but also the founder of the Customer Community, a prominent network for customer-centric leaders in Norway. Through her strategic insights and dedication, Jannecke continues to play a vital role in shaping the landscape of customer-centric business practices.

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Anastasia Trofimova is the visionary Co-founder and CEO behind Your Beet, a pioneering Social Commerce platform dedicated to revolutionizing the way we approach food. Your Beet serves as a user-friendly app designed to seamlessly guide individuals towards healthier, more sustainable, and personalized eating habits.

Much like the curated recommendations of a Spotify playlist, Your Beet provides users with a tailored selection of creator recipes based on their individual preferences and health goals. These recommendations are made conveniently shoppable at online grocery retailers with just a click, enhancing the overall user experience.

Before embarking on the journey with Your Beet, Anastasia Trofimova gained valuable insights as a management consultant at BCG. Alongside her, co-founder Anna brought her expertise as a digital product lead at H&M. The driving force that brought them together was a shared realization of the challenges and time constraints involved in transitioning to sustainable and healthy food habits. Recognizing the scarcity of services facilitating this transition in an easy, personalized, and secure manner, they founded Your Beet.

Anastasia, along with her team of five dedicated women, employs cutting-edge technology to redefine the way millions of people worldwide approach their relationship with food. Through Your Beet, they aim to make the process of adopting sustainable and healthy food habits not only effortless but also enjoyable and accessible to everyone.

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Madona S. Wambua is a seasoned professional specializing in engineering exceptional mobile experiences for the Android platform. Currently, she serves as a key player at Jibu Labs, where she not only builds brilliant, human-centered applications but also oversees all aspects of technology development, including product design, engineering, and architecture.

Journey in Software Engineering

Madona's journey in software engineering and coding began after high school when her initial interest in becoming an Aeronautical Engineer shifted. Fascinated by how computers worked, she delved into Software Engineering. In 2014, she achieved a significant milestone by building her first Android application, Simple Maths, using Java. The app garnered over five hundred downloads and received a remarkable 4.5 rating, fueling her passion for mobile development.

Learning Curve and Achievements

Driven by her growing interest in building Android applications, Madona applied for and won the Grow With Google Scholarship. The advanced Android development nano degree from Udacity played a pivotal role in shaping her second application, Budgeting Buddy, which has since accumulated ten thousand downloads. Budgeting Buddy, a free mobile application, aids users in managing money and creating budgets.

Educational Background

Madona pursued her education at the Auburn Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, where she honed her skills and knowledge in the field of software engineering. Today, she stands as a testament to the power of continuous learning and passion-driven career pursuits in the dynamic world of technology.

Book: "Modern Android 13 Development Cookbook: Over 70 recipes to solve Android development issues and create better apps with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose"

Website: Madonasyombua.com

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Jyoti is on a mission to narrow the gap between skilled migrants and Norwegian companies, providing support to integrate them into the job market. Through Umbrella, her initiative, she assists companies in attracting and retaining multicultural diversity across all organizational levels.

An entrepreneur, recruiter, diversity coach, and educator, Jyoti boasts over 6 years of dedicated work with Norwegian organizations, focusing on developing programs and strategies within the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) space. Her expertise extends to delivering leadership programs that emphasize inclusive practices, onboarding standards, diversity and innovation, and employer branding.

In 2019, Jyoti founded Skillhus, a pioneering company specializing in workplace diversity and international recruitment within the Norwegian market. Her efforts have facilitated over 35 companies in finding the talent necessary to thrive in a globalizing market.

Recognized as a leader in her field, Jyoti actively participates in speaking events and leads essential conversations on key diversity topics. She also conducts workshops for leading Norwegian companies, leveraging her multicultural background and experiences working abroad across various industries and cultures to passionately champion Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) on a global scale.

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Kamilla, a first-generation immigrant hailing from Uzbekistan, achieved a significant milestone as the inaugural member of her family to pursue education in the United States. She successfully earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where a fortuitous encounter with her mentor laid the foundation for the creation of Rise First. This non-profit organization is dedicated to guiding fellow first-generation students through the intricacies of higher education and career pathways.

In addition to her impactful work with Rise First, Kamilla has embraced a full-time role as a Senior Product Manager at OJO Canada. This startup, backed by the Royal Bank of Canada, is committed to unlocking the myriad benefits of homeownership for Canadians. Kamilla's journey, from being a trailblazer in her family to her current roles in product management and non-profit leadership, reflects her dedication to empowering others in their educational and professional pursuits.

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Jasmine Tagesson, a former Creative Director, transitioned her passion for women's health and equality into a journey as a health tech entrepreneur. With a dedicated mission to create a substantial positive impact on women's lives, she leverages data and innovative solutions to reshape the future of women's health, contributing to advancements for better health globally.

Currently serving as the COO of Hormona, a digitalized hormonal health company driven by AI and at-home testing, Jasmine co-founded the company in 2020 alongside Karolina Lofqvist. Karolina's personal hormonal health challenges sparked the inception of Hormona. The company's primary focus is to empower women, offering them tools to understand and take control of their hormones and overall health.

Hormona's app, enriched with insights into hormones, provides actionable tips for hormonal balance. It enables women to track, comprehend, and manage hormone-related symptoms, fostering an environment where they can enhance their overall well-being. Jasmine Tagesson's leadership at Hormona reflects her commitment to leveraging technology to positively impact women's health and contribute to the advancement of healthcare for women worldwide.

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