WeQual shortlists 24 top-performing women executives

WeQual Awards have shortlisted 24 top-performing female executives, leading at some of the largest companies across the Americas.

The WeQual Awards have identified these ‘world-class’ women as having the leadership traits for top-level executive management positions. This senior group of executives will also become members of the WeQual Club and join the existing 96 senior FTSE and Fortune 500 female executives.

These awards, which recognise outstanding women in senior roles, aim to tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive positions. Since its creation, 35% of previous WeQual Awards winners – from the UK, EMEA and the Americas – have been promoted to the executive committees of major global companies.

“This is our second year of running the awards in the region and we continue to be impressed by the sheer quality of the women leaders that we are finding in the Americas,” stated Katie Litchfield, Founder and CEO of WeQual. “We have to keep our foot on the throttle with gender – and incorporate diversity – to make sure that all companies are looking at leaders from all backgrounds. Equality is really what WeQual is all about.”

TOP-PERFORMING WOMEN LEADERS

The Americas finalists are from a wide range of sectors and companies, including ABB Ltd, Analog Devices, AstraZeneca, BlackRock, Capital One, CGI, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Comcast, Diageo, FIS, HSBC, IBM, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Marriott International, Morgan Stanley, Prologis, ServiceNow, SiriusXM, TELUS, Kellogg Company, US Bank and Wells Fargo.

The 24 finalists in the eight categories were assessed against specific criteria. They include: leadership, cognitive ability, drive & resilience, integrity, emotional intelligence, personal development, approach to equality, and knowledge of the business. All candidates were assessed blind with no name or company revealed in their application.

Eight executive judges will hold 30-minute interviews with the three finalists in their category before choosing a winner. The categories are: Business Security, Business Transformation, Business Turnaround, Commercial Innovation, Finance, Leadership Excellence, Operational Performance, and Technological Impact. The winners will be announced in March 2021.

Supporters of the awards include: Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard and Global Chair of the gender equality campaign group ‘30% Club’; Sir Ian Cheshire, Chairman of Barclays; Dame Inga Beale of Mediclinic; and Ron Kalifa OBE of Network International.

THE FINALISTS

The 24 finalists shortlisted for the WeQual Awards 2021 for the Americas (by category), include: 

Business Security category

• Kara Hill, Global Corporate Chief Information Officer and Transformation Lead, FIS
• Noopur Davis, EVP, Chief Product and Information Security Officer, Comcast
• Polly Klane, Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel, Corporate, Commercial & Governance, Capital One Financial Corporation

Business Transformation category 

• Amy Peterson, Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Transformation, Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management
• Cristina Duran, Chief Digital Health Officer R&D, AstraZeneca
• Juggy Sihota, Vice President, Consumer Health, TELUS

Business Turnaround category

• Lisa Vincent, Senior Vice President, Operational Excellence, Prologis
• Paula Costa, Marketing Vice President, Diageo PUB region – Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil
• Sherry Williamson, Vice President, Global Quality and Food Safety, Kellogg Company

Commercial Innovation category

• Maria Belvisi, SVP and Head of Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca
• Regina Fritsche Danielson, SVP and Head of Research and Early Development Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases, AstraZeneca
• Christina Montgomery, Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer, IBM

Finance category

• Fay Sien Goon, Chief Accounting Officer, ServiceNow
• Felitia Lee, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, Marriott International
• Monique French, Chief Credit Officer, CIBC FirstCaribbean

Leadership Excellence category 

• Heather Cykoski, Group Vice President, ABB Ltd
• Stephanie Mango, Senior Vice President and Business Unit Leader, CGI Federal
• Tracy Castle-Newman, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

Operational Performance category

• Maria McPadden, Digital Chief Operating Officer, US Bank
• Sarah Rombom, Global COO, Aladdin Product Group, BlackRock
• Terecina Kwong, Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Europe, HSBC

Technological Impact category

• Dorcia Jolliff, Vice President & Chief Information Officer – Lockheed Martin Space, Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Jennifer Lloyd, Vice President, Precision Technology and Platforms BU, Analog Devices
• Sruta Vootukuru, Senior Vice President, Streaming Distribution and Partnerships, SiriusXM

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Check out the eight women recently crowned ‘world-class’ executive across the EMEA, here.