As the telecoms industry continues to rapidly change in the face of COVID-19, new innovative devices, and constantly evolving networks, we’re taking a look at 10 of the most influential women driving the industry’s ongoing transformation.
Patricia Obo-Nai - CEO of Vodafone Ghana
The first woman to become Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai is a giant in the African technology and telecoms sector. Prior to her appointment as CEO of the country’s second-largest mobile carrier by market share, Obo-Nai was a 20 year veteran of the country’s communications space.
Keri Gilder - CEO of Colt
Keri Gilder was appointed as the CEO of Colt in May 2020, having previously held the role of Chief Commercial Officer. Gilder is responsible for implementing Colt’s strategy which is aimed at transforming the world through connectivity. As well as being the company’s CEO, Gilder is also an advocate for diversity and inclusion, and leads Colt’s Diversity Council.
Nicole Berg - VP, Head of Cross Mobile Engineering at SAP
Nicole’s involvement in the company goes back over a decade. She held various specialist and management positions in SAP Hosting, SAP Consulting, SAP IT & SAP Engineering. Her track record speaks for itself. She was in charge of various leadership positions such as Head of Innovation Control Center, VP Application Operations, VP Strategic Central Services and VP for SAPs own Cloud Spend & Workforce Solutions including Concur, Fieldglass, Ariba & SuccessFactors transforming and setting up different areas. In her current role as VP Cross-Mobile-Engineering, she is setting up a whole new area from scratch, changing SAPs mobile experience for standard products.
Tamara McCleary - Technology Futurist at TamaraMcCleary.com & CEO of Thulium
Tamara McCleary is not only a CEO and a Harvard graduate, but also a top influencer, being named the Most Influential Woman in MarTech by B2B Marketing. McCleary has been deemed a technology futurist and believes that technological innovations such as AI will positively impact the business world.
Julie Fedele - Vice President of Emerging Business Activation at Liberty Global
Liberty Global is among the largest converged video, broadband, and telecommunication companies, with annual revenues of US$11bn, 11mn customers and 20,000 employees. At the forefront of this enterprise is Julie Fedele, Vice President of Emerging Business Activation. Since joining Liberty Global she has also been appointed a board member of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT). Julie Fedele is also a great advocate for wellness and has since founded her own self-growth platform, Twofeetin.
Funke Opeke - Founder & CEO of MainOne
Funke Opeke has had an extensive career in the telecommunications industry and, after working in the US telecoms sector for 20 years, she returned to Nigeria to focus on the connectivity problems in the country’s telecommunications industry there. She is now the founder and CEO of MainOne, West Africa’s leading communications service. Opeke was also named as Women of the Year at Capacity Media’s ‘Global Women in Tech & Telco Awards’ in 2020.
Claire Caminade - Head of 5G Innovation Product & Partnerships at Digital Catapult
After an extensive career in the telecommunications industry, working for the likes of Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Inmarsat, Claire Caminade now works as the current Head of 5G Innovation Product & Partnerships at Digital Catapult.Digital Catapult is the leading digital technology innovation centre in the UK with the aim to deploy emerging technologies to drive business and economic growth. Caminade was also part of the winning team at 5G Week, where Digital Catapult won ‘Most Innovative Use of 5G Technology’ with their 5G Festival.
Amy Wettenhall - Senior Vice President at Macquarie Group
Also taking part at 5G Week, as both a speaker and part of the advisory board, was Amy Wettenhall, the current Senior Vice President at Macquarie Group. Before being appointed as the Senior Vice President at Macquarie Group in August 2019, Wettenhall worked for various telecommunications and media companies, such as the BBC and Ericsson, where she gained in-depth knowledge of the TMT industries.
Belinda Finch - Chief Information Officer at Three
Belinda Finch was appointed as the Chief Information Office at Three in September 2020. Before joining Three, Finch worked for various different companies, including Vodafone where she worked as both the Head of Partner Delivery and Head of Transformation and Online. Her current role at Three see’s her delivering the final stages of the company’s IT transformation programmes as well as focusing on how best to better its customer experience.
Reshma Saujani - Founder & CEO of Girls Who Code
Reshma Saujani is the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a non-profit organization aimed at reducing the gender gap in technology as well as giving girls the confidence and skills through coding. Saujani is also the author of three best-selling books including ‘Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World’.
