I’m Katy Zack (@katyzack) and I am a woman who does work in tech. Sometimes I say that I speak geek, partially in jest. I like technology and though I don’t know how to code or understand all the details of how to do everything, my goal is to synthesize and translate the basics of how things works and the benefits for consumers, businesses, industries, and ultimately, society.
Whether it’s to create sustainable industries and business models or change the face of healthcare and energy crises, draw attention to other industry innovations or even to create the next addictive game or gadget, there are many such women who inspire me. In honor of Fast Company’s call for nominations for top women in tech for 2011, here are a few that inspire me (in no particular order):
1. Padmasree Warrior, Cisco (@padmasree) – not only for having a bad-ass last name, but for her strong leadership in one of the most complex technology businesses (in my opinion) bringing green networking and collaboration to the consumer consciousness
2. Sandy Carter, IBM (@sandy_carter) – for leading SOA marketing at IBM and promoting social media’s value in the global corporation.
3. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook (@sherylsandberg) – the woman behind Facebook. There’s no question she’s running the show turning Facebook into the profitable business model that it’s become. Yes, the product matters, but Sheryl seems to have a firm understanding that it’s not just the product that matters: marketing and sales are critical to success.
4. Caterina Fake, Hunch (@caterina) – creating social products that are fun and you WANT to use, even when it’s all about gather your data for better consumer predictions
5. Charlene Li, Altimeter Group (@charleneli) – for being a respected, oft-quoted thought leader and industry bellweather for new trends and why we should care as well as a founder of an independent industry analyst firm.
6. Marissa Mayer, Google (@marissamayer) – for leading many of Google’s most successful products
7. Jessica Verilli (@Jess) and Chloe Sladden (@ChloeS) - ladies of Twitter both leading many strategic partnership initiatives to make Twitter as relevant, useful, and successful as it is today
8. Beth Comstock (@bethcomstock)* – for turning one of the largest global corporations into an incubator and fund for new technology ideas, many that take decades of R&D.
9. Judy Hu, GE (not on Twitter)* – for translating GE’s technologies into consumer-friendly ideas to make complex solutions like medical imaging solutions, wind turbines, and jet engines become accessible
10. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. State Dept (@StateDept) - For creating and supporting “21st-Century Statecraft” for using digital technologies for modern international diplomacy.
11. Esther Dyson (@edyson) – seems like she’s ahead of every curve and an inspirational pioneer in investing in emerging markets and technologies quite early on.
12. Ory Okollah, Ushahidi (@kenyanpundit) – one of the founders of the open-source crisis mapping platform.
Up-and-comers who I’ve met and admire:
13. Soraya Darabi from NY Times and Foodspotting (@sorayadarabi) – for evangelizing social media and its applications for news organizations, consumers, brands, and local businesses
14. Rachel Sterne of Ground Report, now moonlighting as a Columbia University professor of social entrepreneurship (@rachelsterne) – for sharing her experience growing a new media, grassroots news organization
15. Laurie Segall, CNN Money’s new startup reporter, also my friend (@lauriesegallCNN) - because she seems to have a charm for creating — and cutting through — the hype.
I’ve created this Twitter list as well to follow all these women as well here: http://twitter.com/katyzack/wit11/members
I welcome comments and suggestions. Who’d I miss? Please share and keep it positive. Let’s recognize the great women leaders and encourage more to come into the tech world in the future.
-KZ
*Disclosure: GE is a client of my company, Howcast, and I’ve worked directly with Judy Hu on two digital media campaigns
Update: Here’s the published list of Women in Tech for 2011: http://bit.ly/i6Mnr1. Four of my recommendations/predictions were included… reflection of glaring omissions or bad predictions?
