WeQual shortlists 24 C-suite ready female business executives

WeQual Awards has shortlisted the female business executive finalists in the Asia Pacific region who are ready for the C-suite.

The award organiser, which recognises outstanding women in senior roles ready for potential C-suite posts. has identified 24 female executives from some of the biggest companies in the APAC region who have the leadership qualities for top-level executive management positions.

Since its inception, more than 35% of the winners of previous WeQual Awards in the UK, EMEA and The Americas have already been promoted to the executive committees of major global companies. Its mission is to tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive positions.

VARYING HURDLES FOR WOMEN

“We run the WeQual Awards all over the world, and while the result we are aiming for is the same everywhere – 50/50 gender equality in the Executive Committees of the world’s biggest companies; we are finding that the hurdles women have to overcome vary from region to region,” stated Katie Litchfield, Founder of WeQual.

“In the Asia-Pacific region, women striving to get to the top of business have to overcome many of the same issues that women globally have to deal with, but also more localised implicit bias. But their fight to reach their full potential underlines the exceptional nature of the talent that we have found in the APAC region – and this year’s finalists are right up there with the best in the world,” Litchfield added.

The APAC finalists come from a wide range of sectors and companies. They include Maruti Suzuki, ANZ, CSL, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Fletcher Building, Xero, Mineral Resources Limited, HCL Technologies, Rio Tinto, The Heineken Company, AGL, News Corp Australia, Unilever, Wipro, Transurban, Indorama Ventures, Reliance Industries Ltd, AMP, Cipla, Cochlear, Auckland Airport, Contact Energy, The Star Entertainment Group and The a2 Milk Company Limited.

The 24 finalists in eight categories were assessed against specific criteria, such as leadership, cognitive ability, drive and 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, confirmed WeQual.

CATALYSTS CREATING FAIRNESS & EQUALITY

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

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.

“WeQual promotes the equality of women in the business world by recognising outstanding professional achievements and impact,” commented Cairns. “While many consider that this should be a normal thing, in reality we need sound initiatives like WeQual to act like catalysts in creating a more fair and equal society.”

WEQUAL APAC FINALISTS

This senior group of 24 executives will become members of the WeQual Club and join the existing 120 senior female executives who are one below – or already on – the Executive Committee. The 24 shortlisted finalists include:

• Manjaree Chowdhary, Executive Director and General Counsel, Maruti Suzuki
• Karen Neave, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, CSL 
• Michelle Pinheiro, Head of Enterprise Data Governance, ANZ
• Elsie Gung, Deputy CEO (Phnom Penh Branch), Bank of China 
• Helen Jenkins, General Manager Sustainability, Fletcher Building
• Kendra Vant, Executive General Manager – Data, Xero 
• Shelley Robertson, Executive General Manager – Energy, Mineral Resources 
• Srimathi Shivashankar, Corporate Vice President, HCL 
• Visna Wrightman, General Manager Global Procurement, Rio Tinto 
• Anna Campagna, Director Sales Excellence APAC, Heineken
• Jo Egan, General Manager Product and Portfolio, AGL
• Renee Sycamore, Executive General Manager – Newsamp, News Corp Australia 
• Anita Bhat-Zutshi, Vice President – Commercial Experience Unilever Operations, Unilever
• Aparna Iyer, Global Treasurer and Head Investor Relations, Wipro 
• Cristina Wolters, General Manager Taxation, Transurban 
• Wan Norashikin Mohd Nasir (Nonie), Vice President, Global Risk Management & Business Continuity Management, Indorama Ventures
• Seema Nair, Senior Executive Vice President; Member, Chairman’s Office and Head of People Development Group, Reliance Industries Ltd
• Nicola Rimmer – Hollyman, Chief Audit Executive, AMP 
• Farrah Losper, Senior Director: Head HIV, Tender & Government Affairs, Cipla 
• Sophie Sheedy, Vice President Process Engineering, Cochlear
• Lucy Thomas, Head of Retail, Auckland Airport 
• Kylee Bentley, Head of IT Service Operations, Contact 
• Nicola Burke, General Manager IT Program Delivery, The Star Entertainment Group 
• Nadene Serman, Group Head of IT Transformation, The a2 Milk Company Ltd

The path to C-suite roles for women takes longer and is stymied by societal expectations, unconscious bias and legacy gender roles, according to the latest findings from the HeForShe Business Leader Survey, the Financial Times and UN Women. Click here to read more.