“The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform. It can follow analysis; but it has no power of anticipating any analytical relations or truths. Its province is to assist us to making available what we are already acquainted with.[Describing Charles Babbage’s machine.]”
Quoted from Ada Lovelace’s notes, the above statement helped shape the modern era computers. Also known as the mother of computers, one of the early pioneers in the field of computer science, Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm intended to be executed by a computer. Like her, there are many women whose work and contribution changed the world forever. Rukhmabai (India’s first practicing doctor), Ashima Chatterjee (India’s first woman doctorate in science), Kamala Sohonie (biochemist), Rajeshwari chatterji (first woman engineer from Karnataka and IISc’s first woman faculty) Shakuntala Devi (mathematical wizard) and many others, are legendary Indian women who made major contribution in various STEM streams. Today, when India is on a quest to a new high tech world, women are breaking all the barriers, and are reaching the pinnacle of success in technology and elsewhere.
Below are 10 Indian women who’ve crossed all boundaries in the world of technology globally –
Director General at ERNET India
Department of Electronics & IT (DeitY), MC&IT, Govt. of India
“In today’s’ Digitally enabled world, an IT leader gets opportunity to become business partner by creating innovative products which not only enable business but also improve the customer confidence on the business. In my IT journey, I have been fortunate to see some of my products increasing compliance, some increasing business footprint, some saving even lives and some bringing smiles & confidence on faces of people in remote areas”
In over last 33 years, Dr Neena has worked in different business verticals in various capacities. Starting from software development, to consulting & ERP implementation. Her areas of expertise include IT roadmap planning, application development, product development, ERP & Supply Chain implementation, Analytical tools, financial planning, IT Strategy, Business Process Re-engineering, Change Management, and security & compliance. In her current role, she’s also involved in National wide policies, new research areas and newer technologies to support connected India initiative. She has worked in industries including Education, Healthcare, BPO, Steel, Auto Manufacturing, Insurance and Construction. She have also institutionalized products for operational productivity & process improvement in some of these verticals. Dr. Neena’s PhD work was on Scheduling algorithms for multimedia on network and parallel processing. She supports National policy on “Internet of Things”, Policy for connectivity using TV White Spaces & Wireless Opto Communication, Software Defined Networks (SDN), which should reduce last mile connectivity costs.
Group CTO
Manappuram Finance
Dr. Puneet comes with a track record of 23 years plus of experience experience, having extensive knowledge in developing and implementing strategic plans and addressing company needs and promotion of growth. Creation of strategic IT annual and long term roadmap with a focus towards generating new revenue streams through innovation. She has worked in several well know organisations like Motorola, Reliance, Duncans, Carrier Aircon, UK Land Investments, Bharti Airtel Limited, Soma Networks and Motricity in countries namely, Dubai, US, UK, Canada & across APAC. Currently, she is working as the group CTO at the Manappuram Finance. Dr. Puneet is responsible to lead high priority projects which aim to digitization, including e-KYC, transitioning the ERP on cloud, adoption of analytics for customer centricity, mobility initiatives and creating a single view of the customer. Her expertise lies in IT Strategy – IS Procedure and Budgeting, Systems Architecture, Project and Program management, Network and System Security, Disaster Recovery Planning, Risk Assessment, Regulatory Adherence and Governance, Contingency Planning, Executive Leadership and supervision, C-level presentations and negotiations and Cost takeout strategies.
Awards –
TOP 100 CISO award – 2011/2012/2013/2014/2015 (five consecutive years)
Recently Won the TOP Innovation award from IDC in BFSI vertical
Dynamic CIO 100 Awards – 2011/2013/2014 /Innovator CIO of the year for 2015
Business World award for IT Acceleration for Innovation in Storage in March, 2014
Infosec Maestros Award – 2014/2015 / DQ Live 2014/2015
Women in Leadership” award by CIO-Club, Delhi in March, 2011
CIO of the Year 2006 in the Manufacturing Sector by Network Computing and Dataquest
Global Chief Information Officer and Head of Digital
Bharti Airtel Limited
Recognized among the top 10 women in the telecom and technology industry across the globe, under her leadership, Airtel has won several prestigious awards from ET, TM Forum, DSCI, and IDC. She leads the digital, IT and engineering across India, South Asia, and 14 countries in Africa. She has lived in 11 countries and have worked in more than 30 countries across the globe. With over 20 years of experience in technology, she has handled leadership roles such as CIO for global Markets, risk, and operations at BBVA; Global Head of Corporate, Investment, and Private Banking IT at HSBC Global Technology Centre; Managing Director at Merrill Lynch India Technology Services across India, Singapore, Ireland, and Canada; and Asia CIO for Global Markets and Research technology at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She has also worked as a consultant to British Airways and Qantas Airlines, prior working in the above roles.
Awards –
Winner of the 2018 MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award
Chief Information Officer
FCB Ulka Advertising
A cooking enthusiast in her leisure, Ritu Madbhavi started her career as a software programmer at TCS and gradually transitioned into the role of chief information officer (CIO). Responsible for aligning business with technology she has been in FCB Ulka Advertising for past 25 years. A passionate mathematician, she’s also known for teaching and engagement analytics at NIIT and Datamatics. Post completion of her graduation in statistics as a topper from Delhi University, she completed her Masters in Applied Mathematics from Canada.
Awards –
CIO100 Award 2018: The Digital Architects
CIO100 Special Award 2017: Business Transformer
CIO
Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd
Annie comes with an experience of over 25 years from diverse domains. She has a brief history of working in mainly technology domains in renowned companies like NOCIL – a Shell-Mafatlal company (India), Bharat Shell(India), Datacom Systems(NZ), Fonterra(NZ) and Xenacom(NZ). She is a B. Tech (chemical engg.) and holds a PGDST from CDAC, Mumbai. In mother dairy she holds significant achievements in SAP implementation,creation of central IT organization, consolidation of incident, service management, secondary sales systems with SFA, and Point of Sales at retail outlets. She is responsible to create business value through technology deployments in forward and backward supply chain integration. She is passionate about utilizing technology to create market differentiation and enhance consumer engagement.
President & CIO
Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd.
A pioneer in the field of financial services, Kalpana brings two decades of experience in dealing with the security market and information systems. Prior to Edelweiss, she has experience in working as a consultant, assisting leading investment banks and stock broking companies related to strategy, technology and business expansion. A chartered Account, and a graduate from Mumbai university (Commerce), she has a diploma in Securities Law from Govt. Law College and Systems Analysis & amp Design from NIIT. She is a fitness fanatic, who have participated in Mumbai Marathon several times. She is actively engaged with social sector and does volunteer work in the area of rural education.
Awards –
CIO100 Special Award 2017: Sourcing Shogun
CIO100 Award 2016: The Transformative 100
CIO100 Award 2013: The Astute 100
Executive vice president & head IT
IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd
A B.Tech from Delhi College of Engineering and a master degree holder in software engineering from BITS Pilani, Seema has 3 decades of experience in the field of Information Technology (IT). Heading the IT department at IFFCO Tokio, Gurgaon, she is responsible for managing the IT transformation processes, stimulate growth and achieve business objectives optimising emerging technology like AI, Block chain, Robotics. At IFFCO Tokio, she is known for launching applications for customers and distribution to streamline processes.
Awards –
CIO100 Award 2018: The Digital Architects
CIO100 Award 2017: The Digital Innovators
CIO100 Award 2016: The Transformative 100
CIO100 Special Award 2016: Information Mastermind
Head Digital
WOW Airlines , India . Airline Techno Domain Specialist
Known for her ability to craft organizational and technical solutions to meet business needs, Glory’s expertise lies in technical and leadership roles. With over + 22 years of IT expertise in Travel Technology and IT companies, she has held experience in IT strategy and advisory, Enterprise architecture, IT planning and Agile adoption processes. She is a skilled leader in building partnerships, championing IT growth and innovation to achieve internal synergy, high levels of performance and adoption of new systems and technologies.
Head IT
Vedanta Limited – Sterlite Copper
Neha joined Sterlite Copper as a manager and gradually transitioned into the role of head of Information Technology. She has been with the company for the last 18 years. Her significant milestones as a chief information officer included Group-wide implementation of SAP EHS module & Insurance management tool, Re-structuring of SAP for Sterlite Copper, SAP MII implementation, SAP MII implementation (one of the earliest full-blown implementations in India), Implementation of GRC Process control and Risk Management, VDI implementation for 700 + user base, ISO 27001:2013 certification for IT and OT systems etc.
Awards Won-
CIO100 Award 2018: The Digital Architect
CIO100 Special Award 2018: Hall of Fame
CIO100 Award 2017: The Digital Innovators
CIO100 Award 2016: The Transformative 100
CIO100 Award 2015: The Versatile 100
CIO100 Special Award 2015: Information Mastermind
CIO100 Special Award 2014: Business Assurance Champion
EX -Vice President
I T of Mumbai International Airport Limited
Meenakshi comes over with 25 years of experience in the information technology. Out of which has spent 19 years with Emirate Group Dubai. She headed the the Airport Vertical which dealt with IT solutions for Emirates Airlines and DNATA the ground handler. With her vast experience in, she relocated to India to join the Mumbai Airport as vice president IT. Her initiatives like passenger tracking and an innovative ‘First’ for India application for mobiles providing real-time flight notifications, and social media, helped Mumbai Airport go forward on many fronts.
Conclusion:
According to a study, in India, unemployment is five times more than that of men among women engineers. In addition, the rate of unemployment among women engineers is increasing. 40% of Indian women are an undergraduate in science, followed by engineering. However, the tides are turning. The initiatives of GOI, efforts from the private sector, and most importantly, the young vox populi of the 21st century towards women empowerment, have well encouraged women in all spheres of life. From flying rockets in Mars, to circumnavigating the globe on an Indian built INSV Tarini, there are many wonder women behind the country’s progress and achievements. Women will need to continue to be encouraged to enter technology and networking, and then to serve as mentors to the next generation of leaders in the industry.
A very Happy Women’s Day from team Lavelle Networks.
