Top 50 Famous Female CTOs [2026]
Female Chief Technology Officers are reshaping what “technical leadership” looks like at the highest level—owning not only core engineering, but also AI strategy, cybersecurity posture, cloud modernization, product architecture, and digital revenue growth. Their rise has been hard-won: even today, women remain underrepresented in top technology leadership roles. For example, recent research shows women hold about 18% of top tech leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies, and only 20.2% of CTO roles in mid-market tech firms—a reminder that progress is real, but the pipeline to the very top still needs structural support.
In this refreshed DigitalDefynd compilation, we spotlight globally recognized female CTOs leading technology at world-class multinationals and large, high-impact companies with international footprints—spanning software, retail, finance, healthcare, energy, manufacturing, mobility, and climate tech. Each profile focuses on verifiable leadership credentials: their current CTO mandate, formal education and executive programs, and the measurable impact they’re driving—so readers can see how modern CTO leadership is evolving and where these trailblazing executives are setting the pace.
Top 50 Famous Female CTOs [2026]
| S.No. | Name | CTO at (Organization) | Highest Qualification | Major Impact |
| 1 | Raji Arasu | Autodesk | B.S. in Computer Engineering (1990) | Spearheaded Autodesk’s cloud platform expansion and tech innovation. |
| 2 | Emily Castles | Boundless | M.Eng. in Computer Science | Co-founded Boundless, enabling global remote employment compliance. |
| 3 | Patricia Hubbard | Cabot Corporation | Ph.D. in Polymer Science (1997) | Driving R&D and specialty materials innovation at Cabot. |
| 4 | Medha Parlikar | Casper Labs | B.S. in Biology & Programming | Leading blockchain adoption for businesses as co-founder of Casper Labs. |
| 5 | Elaine Zhou | Change.org | B.S. in Industrial Engineering | Overseeing the world’s largest petition platform’s technology for social change. |
| 6 | Kelly Hering (Kinetic) | Charm Industrial | B.S. in Mechanical Engineering | Co-founded Charm Industrial to develop carbon-removal bio-oil technology. |
| 7 | Simone May | Clutch | B.S. in Computer Science (2018) | Co-founded Clutch, a platform empowering creators with digital work opportunities. |
| 8 | Annabel Liu | Curated | M.S. in Computer Science | Former LinkedIn VP now leading Curated’s expert-driven e-commerce platform. |
| 9 | Barbara McCarthy | Ding | M.S. in Information Technology | Steering technical growth at Ding, a top global mobile top-up platform. |
| 10 | Julia Song | ESS Inc. | Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry (2005) | Co-founded ESS, innovating long-duration energy storage for decarbonization. |
| 11 | Rachana Kumar | Former Etsy CTO | M.P.A. (2014) | Led Etsy’s cloud migration and platform scaling as CTO. |
| 12 | Rathi Murthy | Varo Bank (ex-Expedia) | M.S. in Computer Engineering | First female CTO of Expedia; now leading tech at Varo Bank, with prior 5G and IoT innovations at Verizon. |
| 13 | Erin DeCesare | ezCater | MBA | Accelerating data-driven product development in online catering marketplace. |
| 14 | Meital Segev-Bar | Feelit Technologies | Ph.D. in Nanotechnology (2017) | Co-founded Feelit, creating IoT sensors for real-time industrial insights. |
| 15 | Danielle Merfeld | GE Renewable Energy | Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1999) | Advancing renewable energy tech and innovation at GE Renewable Energy. |
| 16 | Hege Skryseth | Equinor | M.B.A. | EVP & CTO of Equinor, leading digital innovation in the global energy sector. |
| 17 | Hannah Wolfe | Ghost Foundation | B.S. in Computer Science | Co-founded Ghost and built the popular open-source blogging platform (Forbes 30 under 30 alum). |
| 18 | Catherine Michel | Halma plc | B.S. in Finance | First CTO of Halma, driving digitalization across its life-saving technology companies. |
| 19 | Charity Majors | Honeycomb.io | Attended University of Idaho | Co-founded Honeycomb, pioneering the field of observability in software engineering. |
| 20 | Marianna Tessel | Intuit | B.S. in Computer Science (1990) | Leading Intuit’s technology strategy powering products like TurboTax and QuickBooks. |
| 21 | Rowena Yeo | Johnson & Johnson | B.Eng. (Hons) | Driving tech innovation at J&J, the world’s largest healthcare company. |
| 22 | Alex Cesar | Kantar | MBA | Shaping Kantar’s data analytics technology agenda as its first global CTO. |
| 23 | Ketaki Shriram | Krikey | Ph.D. in Virtual Reality (2020) | Co-founded Krikey, developing AI and AR tools including avatar and gaming platforms. |
| 24 | Lili Gangas | Kapor Center | MBA | Championing tech for social impact as CTO of the Kapor Center, driving diversity in tech. |
| 25 | Carlonda Reilly | Kennametal | Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (1995) | Leading materials science innovation at Kennametal in advanced manufacturing. |
| 26 | Helga Alvarez | Leaf | B.S. in Software Engineering | CTO at Leaf, delivering AI-driven marketing tech solutions for global e-commerce brands. |
| 27 | Chantal Emmanuel | LimeLoop | B.A. | Co-founded LimeLoop, developing smart reusable shipping packages to reduce waste. |
| 28 | Padmasree Warrior | Former Cisco & Motorola CTO | M.S. in Chemical Engineering (1984) | Visionary ex-CTO of Cisco and Motorola; drove major advances in networking (IoT) and mobile innovation. |
| 29 | Gerri Martin-Flickinger | Former Starbucks CTO | B.S. in Computer Science (1985) | Transformed Starbucks’ global tech strategy and digital customer experience. |
| 30 | Jenny Gonsalves | Lyra Health | B.S. in Computer Science | Leading development of AI-powered mental health care solutions at Lyra Health. |
| 31 | Laila Abudahi | Manara | M.S. in Electrical Engineering (2016) | Co-founded Manara to elevate Middle East & North Africa engineering talent globally. |
| 32 | Nancy Avila | Former McKesson CTO | M.S. in Mathematics | Modernized IT at McKesson; now CIO at Analog Devices, exemplifying leadership in health tech. |
| 33 | Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk | Microsoft (Security) | M.S. in Computer Science | CTO of Microsoft Security, advancing global cybersecurity solutions and research. |
| 34 | Robin Ducot | Momentive (SurveyMonkey) | B.S. in Computer Science | Steering engineering and AI innovations for SurveyMonkey/Momentive’s insights platform. |
| 35 | Niki Trigoni | Navenio Ltd | Ph.D. in Computer Science (2004) | Oxford professor-turned-CTO, bringing cutting-edge indoor location tech to healthcare logistics. |
| 36 | Farnaz Ronaghi | NovoEd | M.S. in Management Science | Co-founded NovoEd, revolutionizing online collaborative learning at scale. |
| 37 | Christine Spang | Nylas | B.S. in Computer Science (2011) | Co-founded Nylas, providing APIs that power email and communication features in apps (open-source advocate). |
| 38 | Mira Murati | OpenAI | B.E. in Mechanical Engineering (2012) | Oversees OpenAI’s research, including the development of ChatGPT, steering AI to benefit humanity. |
| 39 | Raji Subramanian | Opendoor | B.E. in Electrical Engineering | Leading technology for Opendoor’s real estate platform; previously co-founded a home services startup. |
| 40 | Meri Williams | Pleo | B.Sc. in Computer Science (2004) | Former Monzo Bank CTO, now driving fintech innovation at Pleo with smart expense management solutions. |
| 41 | Fiona Tan | Wayfair | M.S. in Computer Science | Leading Wayfair’s tech vision – enhanced e-commerce platform with AI and data analytics (ex-Walmart, Oracle engineering leader). |
| 42 | Tendü Yoğurtçu | Precisely | Ph.D. in Computer Science (1994) | CTO of Precisely, championing data integrity solutions for 12,000+ global customers. |
| 43 | Bridget Frey | Redfin | B.A. in Computer Science (1999) | Elevated Redfin’s real estate platform with data-driven features; advocate for diversity in tech. |
| 44 | Michelle Grover | Slalom | B.S. in Information Systems | Steering digital transformation initiatives for clients at Slalom; former Twilio CIO. |
| 45 | Ivneet Kaur | Sterling | M.S. in Engineering Management | Leading tech at global background screening firm Sterling; ex-CTO at Silicon Valley Bank and Equifax. |
| 46 | Urvashi Tyagi | Former ResMed CTO | M.S. in Computer Science | Integrated AI and cloud tech into ResMed’s digital health platforms, improving patient care. |
| 47 | Kasia Gora | SCiFi Foods | Ph.D. in Biology (2014) | Co-founded SCiFi Foods, using bioengineering to create sustainable cultivated meat alternatives. |
| 48 | Wouleta Ayele | Sweetgreen | M.S. in Management | Driving tech innovation in food retail at Sweetgreen, enhancing supply chain and customer experience. |
| 49 | Susie Wee | Former Cisco DevNet CTO | Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1996) | Founded Cisco DevNet; built a 500k+ developer community and drove software-centric networking. |
| 50 | Rebecca Parsons | Former ThoughtWorks CTO | Ph.D. in Computer Science (1992) | Longtime ThoughtWorks CTO; renowned software architect and advocate for responsible tech. |
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1. Raji Arasu – CTO at Autodesk
Raji Arasu is the Executive Vice President and CTO of Autodesk, where she leads the company’s technology strategy to drive connectivity and innovation across Autodesk’s design and engineering software portfolio. Before joining Autodesk in 2021, Arasu held key leadership roles, including Senior VP of Platform Engineering at Intuit and CTO of StubHub, after spending over a decade at eBay in engineering leadership. A strong advocate for diversity in tech, she has been recognized among the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology (2016, 2020) for her impact. Arasu holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Pune University in India.
2. Emily Castles – CTO at Boundless
Emily Castles is the co-founder and CTO of Boundless, an Ireland-based global employment platform facilitating compliant remote hiring across borders. With a background in software engineering, Castles previously led engineering at a SaaS company (Bizimply) before launching Boundless in 2019. Under her technical leadership, Boundless has built a platform that simplifies HR and payroll compliance for distributed teams, enabling companies to employ talent internationally. Castles earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University College Dublin, and she leverages this strong technical foundation to solve complex challenges in global workforce management.
3. Patricia Hubbard – CTO at Cabot Corporation
Dr. Patricia Hubbard serves as CTO of Cabot Corporation, a leading global specialty chemicals company. In her role, she drives research, development, and technological innovation in areas like reinforcing materials, battery materials, and performance additives. Hubbard joined Cabot in 2018, bringing over 20 years of experience in chemical R&D and technology leadership. Previously, she held executive positions such as Vice President of Technology at Avery Dennison and PolyOne, and spent over a decade as a technology manager at GE. Hubbard earned her Ph.D. in Polymer Science from the University of Akron and a bachelor’s in Chemistry from Case Western Reserve, providing her a deep scientific background to spearhead Cabot’s product innovation.
4. Medha Parlikar – CTO at Casper Labs
Medha Parlikar is the co-founder and CTO of Casper Labs, where she oversees the development of its enterprise-focused blockchain platform. With Casper Labs, Parlikar has been instrumental in building a proof-of-stake blockchain designed for business adoption, emphasizing scalability, security, and energy efficiency. She has extensive experience in software product development, previously holding engineering leadership roles at companies like Avalara and Omniture/Adobe. Parlikar began her career as a software engineer and quality assurance manager, giving her a hands-on perspective in product delivery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Western University and later added a credential in computer programming from Coleman College. Under her technical guidance, Casper Labs launched the Casper blockchain in 2021, now used for applications ranging from DeFi to supply chain.
5. Elaine Zhou – CTO at Change.org
Elaine Zhou is the CTO of Change.org, the world’s largest nonprofit-owned petition platform, where she leads the engineering and data teams powering social-change campaigns worldwide. Since joining Change.org in 2018, Zhou has focused on scaling the platform’s infrastructure to support over 400 million users and implementing data analytics to increase petition success rates. She brought a wealth of experience from previous CTO roles at two other companies (including Vidado/Captricity) and senior engineering roles at Ask.com and Clean Power Finance. With a degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley, Zhou is adept at optimizing complex systems – a skill she applies to enhance the user experience and impact of Change.org. She is also an advocate for women in tech and often speaks on leveraging tech for social good.
Related: Role of CTO in the Finance Industry
6. Kelly Hering (Kinetic) – CTO at Charm Industrial
Kelly Hering, also known as Kelly Kinetic, is the co-founder and CTO of Charm Industrial, a climate-tech startup aiming to combat climate change by converting biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and injecting it underground for carbon removal. As CTO, Hering leads the engineering team in developing Charm’s pyrolysis and gasification systems that turn agricultural waste into a stable carbon product, effectively sequestering CO₂. Before starting Charm Industrial in 2017, she worked as a Mechanical Design Engineer in the aerospace industry, including roles at Astra and Planet Labs. Hering holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University. Her innovative work at Charm has positioned the company as a pioneer in carbon removal technologies, helping companies and governments meet ambitious climate goals.
7. Simone May – CTO at Clutch
Simone May is the co-founder and CTO of Clutch, a digital marketplace that connects businesses with emerging content creators for marketing and freelance projects. In her role, May drives the product and engineering strategy that enables Clutch’s platform to match college students and recent grads (“next-generation creators”) with companies seeking social media and digital content services. She launched Clutch in 2018 after working as a technology consultant at Accenture for three years, an experience that honed her project management and client-facing skills. May earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Purdue University. As a young African-American female CTO, she frequently advocates for diversity in tech entrepreneurship and has been recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30. Under her technical leadership, Clutch has expanded to numerous campus communities, helping students earn income and businesses get quality content.
8. Annabel Liu – CTO at Curated
Annabel Liu is the CTO of Curated, a platform that delivers a personalized shopping experience by connecting customers with expert advisors. Since joining as co-founder and CTO, Liu has overseen the development of Curated’s technology that matches customers with experts in sports, camping, electronics, and other domains, enabling highly tailored product recommendations. Liu’s career spans heavyweights in tech – she spent 7 years as a Vice President of Engineering at LinkedIn, and nearly a decade in engineering roles at enterprise software firms like Ariba. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Columbia University and a master’s in Computer Science from Stanford. Liu’s leadership at Curated has helped the company expand into multiple verticals while maintaining a seamless experience for users and experts. Her impact earned her recognition among the top women CTOs to watch.
9. Barbara McCarthy – CTO at Ding
Barbara McCarthy is the CTO of Ding, the world’s leading mobile top-up platform that enables customers to send prepaid mobile credit to users globally. At Ding, based in Dublin, McCarthy is responsible for the company’s technology strategy, platform reliability, and product engineering. She has led initiatives to scale Ding’s platform as it serves millions of transactions across 140+ countries. Before joining Ding in 2020, McCarthy accumulated deep experience in software development leadership: she was Director of Engineering at HubSpot, VP of Software Development at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and held tech management roles in the gaming and telecom industries. She earned her bachelor’s in Economics and Applied Math and a master’s in Information Technology from the University of Galway. McCarthy is also known for championing women in STEM and was honored with the Grace Hopper Award in 2022 for her contributions to tech in Ireland.
10. Julia Song – CTO at ESS Inc.
Dr. Julia Song is the co-founder and CTO of ESS, Inc., an energy storage company that produces long-duration iron flow batteries for sustainable energy solutions. With a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Song leads ESS’s technology innovation in developing batteries that can store renewable energy for 6-12+ hours, making wind and solar power more reliable. She co-founded ESS in 2011 and helped grow it from a startup to a publicly traded company (NYSE: GWH) that deploys battery systems globally. Prior to ESS, Song spent several years in R&D roles – including as VP of Research at ClearEdge Power – working on fuel cells and energy systems. Under her technical direction, ESS has secured over 100 patents and delivered projects to utilities and industrial clients, positioning the company at the forefront of the clean energy transition.
Related: How to Become a Chief Technology Officer (CTO)?
11. Rachana Kumar – Former CTO at Etsy
Rachana Kumar served as CTO of Etsy – the global online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods – from January 2023 until early 2025. As Etsy’s technology chief, Kumar spearheaded the company’s migration to cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud) and scaled the platform to support a pandemic-era boom in e-commerce. She had been with Etsy for over 8 years, rising through the ranks from Engineering Manager to VP of Engineering before being promoted to CTO. Kumar’s leadership focused on improving search algorithms, payments, and site performance for Etsy’s millions of users. She also championed diversity initiatives within the engineering team. Kumar holds a bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering from RV College of Engineering (India) and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. In late 2024, she announced her departure from Etsy to pursue new opportunities, but she remains a prominent figure for women in tech, having been named among Girl Geek X’s “60 Female CTOs to Watch.”
12. Rathi Murthy – CTO at Varo Bank (Former CTO, Expedia Group)
Rathi Murthy is the Chief Technology Officer of Varo Bank, a US digital bank, where she oversees engineering and IT for the mobile-centric fintech platform. She joined Varo in 2025 after notable stints as CTO at Expedia Group and Verizon Media. At Expedia (the first female CTO in the company’s history), Murthy helped integrate AI and machine learning into the travel platform’s services, though she departed in 2022 for a new role. Previously, she led Verizon Media’s global technology strategy, driving innovations in 5G and content delivery. Murthy’s career includes senior engineering leadership at Gap Inc., American Express, Yahoo, and eBay. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Bangalore University and a master’s in Computer Engineering from Santa Clara University. Known for her transformative leadership, Murthy was recognized as Fast Company’s Innovative Leader of the Year in 2023. She now applies her extensive experience to scale Varo’s banking infrastructure and expand its services in a competitive fintech market.
13. Erin DeCesare – CTO at ezCater
Erin DeCesare is the CTO of ezCater, the world’s largest online marketplace for business catering. Since taking on the role in 2020, DeCesare has been responsible for the technology that connects corporate customers with a network of over 100,000 restaurants and caterers. She has led efforts to enhance the platform’s reliability and data analytics, ensuring that ezCater can seamlessly handle complex, large-scale food orders. Erin brought a rich background in data and engineering leadership: she was previously VP of Data & Analytics at Bottomline Technologies and at Vistaprint for nearly 8 years, experiences that honed her ability to leverage data for product improvement. She began her career in IT project management at financial institutions. DeCesare holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Boston University and an MBA from Northeastern University – a combination that underscores her analytical approach to technical and business challenges. Under her leadership, ezCater has continued to innovate features like real-time order tracking and dietary filtering, solidifying its lead in the corporate catering space.
14. Meital Segev-Bar – CTO at Feelit
Dr. Meital Segev-Bar is the co-founder and CTO of Feelit Technologies, an Israeli startup providing cutting-edge nanotech sensor solutions for industrial IoT. She leads the development of Feelit’s “skin-like” printable sensors that can be attached to equipment to monitor strain, pressure, and temperature in real time, helping predict failures in manufacturing and process industries. Segev-Bar’s work is rooted in her academic expertise: she earned a Ph.D. in Nanotechnology at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where she also obtained her bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and Materials Engineering. Under her technical direction, Feelit has commercialized its proprietary RetroSense™ sensors and analytics platform to clients in sectors like energy, chemicals, and automotive. Segev-Bar was recognized by Globes as one of Israel’s top 20 women in tech in 2020. Her innovation is significantly improving predictive maintenance and operational efficiency for manufacturers, exemplifying how advanced sensors and data can modernize traditional industries.
15. Danielle Merfeld – CTO at GE Renewable Energy
Dr. Danielle Merfeld is the CTO of GE Renewable Energy, where she steers technology innovation across GE’s wind, solar, and grid solutions portfolio. With a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University (1999), Merfeld began her career at GE’s Global Research Center and has spent over 20 years with GE. She rose to lead the GE Global Research lab in the US and served as a solar technology platform leader, experiences that gave her deep insight into energy technologies. As CTO of GE Renewable Energy, Merfeld has championed advancements in wind turbine efficiency (including offshore wind), grid storage integration, and digital twin simulations to optimize energy systems. She also oversees collaborations with startups and academia to drive sustainable energy innovation. In 2023, Merfeld was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering for her contributions to the electric power field. Beyond GE, she actively promotes STEM education and was recognized with a “Women in Energy” award for mentoring women engineers.
Related: Importance of Continuous Learning and Development for CTOs
16. Hege Skryseth – CTO at Equinor
Hege Skryseth is the Executive Vice President and CTO of Equinor, a Norwegian energy multinational, and is one of the few female CTOs in the upper ranks of the oil & gas industry. Appointed in 2022 to lead Equinor’s Technology, Digital & Innovation division, Skryseth drives the company’s digital transformation – implementing data analytics, robotics, and AI to improve efficiency and accelerate Equinor’s transition to renewable energy. Prior to Equinor, she was the CEO of Kongsberg Digital, where she developed digital solutions for the maritime and energy sectors, and she also held executive roles at Microsoft Norway and Geodata. Skryseth holds an MBA and has a background in computer science. Her influence at Equinor has been significant in scaling up initiatives like using digital twins for offshore platforms and deploying carbon capture technology. Notably, in 2024, Fortune highlighted that among Europe’s 25 largest firms, Skryseth was the only female CTO – underscoring her trailblazer status in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
17. Hannah Wolfe – CTO at Ghost Foundation
Hannah Wolfe is the co-founder and CTO of the Ghost Foundation, the organization behind Ghost, a popular open-source publishing platform. Wolfe helped launch Ghost in 2013 as a lightweight alternative to WordPress, focused on blogging and journalism. As CTO, she has led Ghost’s development from a Kickstarter-backed idea to a widely used platform powering thousands of websites. Wolfe is a full-stack developer and designer by background; before Ghost, she worked as a senior developer at a digital agency (Moo.com). Under her technical guidance, Ghost introduced innovative features like built-in membership and newsletter tools, all while remaining open source. Wolfe’s contributions earned her recognition in Forbes 30 Under 30 (Media) in 2015. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Nottingham, where she also completed an MBA. Hannah Wolfe frequently speaks at tech conferences about open-source software and has become an inspiring figure for women in coding, showing that a small distributed team can create enterprise-grade software.
18. Catherine Michel – CTO at Halma plc
Catherine Michel is the first-ever CTO of Halma plc, a FTSE 100 group of life-saving technology companies (spanning safety, medical, and environmental sectors). Since joining Halma in 2018, Michel has been responsible for crafting and executing a digital strategy across Halma’s ~45 subsidiary businesses, encouraging them to leverage IoT, data analytics, and cloud platforms to enhance their products and services. Michel’s career as a technology leader is extensive: she was previously CTO at Sigma Systems (a telecom software provider) and founder/CTO of Tribold, a software company, after an early career at Accenture. This blend of corporate and startup experience has enabled her to foster innovation within Halma’s decentralized structure. Michel holds a bachelor’s in Finance from the University of Michigan and serves on the board of a tech firm (Blancco Technology Group). She is a vocal proponent of agile innovation and frequently highlights how even industrial firms must adopt software mindsets. Her work ensures Halma’s companies – from smoke detector makers to ophthalmology device manufacturers – stay at the cutting edge of technology.
19. Charity Majors – CTO at Honeycomb.io
Charity Majors is the co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb.io, a leading observability platform used by developers and site reliability engineers to debug and understand complex systems in real time. Majors is a pioneer in the observability movement – under her technical direction, Honeycomb has built a cloud service capable of ingesting and querying massive amounts of event data, helping companies like Slack and Vanguard solve production issues faster. A self-described “accidental CTO,” Majors’ path was unconventional: she studied classical music and computer science, but dropped out of college to work in tech. She became a systems engineer and gained notoriety as a database expert at Parse/Facebook. In 2016, she co-founded Honeycomb to create the tools she wished she’d had. Majors has no formal degree (she attended the University of Idaho on a piano scholarship before pivoting to tech), but her expertise earned her a spot in the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame. She’s also authored books on engineering management and is a prominent voice on Twitter and tech blogs (under the handle “@mipsytipsy”), advocating for better on-call practices and inclusive engineering cultures.
20. Marianna Tessel – CTO at Intuit
Marianna Tessel is the CTO of Intuit, the fintech powerhouse behind TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp. Since becoming Intuit’s CTO in 2019, Tessel has led a cloud modernization of Intuit’s platforms and the infusion of artificial intelligence into its products, improving how millions of consumers and small businesses manage finances. Under her leadership, Intuit has launched AI-driven features like automated expense categorization and personalized financial advice, while also seamlessly handling peak loads (e.g., tax filing season) on the cloud. Tessel’s career journey is notable: born in Israel, she served as a Captain in the Israeli Army and then entered tech, eventually moving to Silicon Valley. She held engineering VP roles at Docker, VMware, Ariba, and General Magic, often as one of the few women in senior technical positions. With a bachelor’s in Computer Science from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Tessel has a strong technical pedigree. She has been recognized in the Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech. As a mentor and leader, she often speaks about the importance of risk-taking and continuous learning, exemplified by Intuit’s rapid pivots to mobile and AI during her tenure.
Related: Role of CTOs in Driving Digital Customer Experience
21. Rowena Yeo – CTO at Johnson & Johnson
Rowena Yeo is the CTO of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), overseeing technology and data strategy at the world’s largest healthcare company. Based in Singapore, she assumed the global CTO role in 2021 after initially joining J&J as CIO for Asia Pacific. Yeo spearheads digital transformation across J&J’s pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer health divisions – from implementing AI in drug discovery to enhancing supply chain systems for medical products. One key initiative under her leadership is the use of data science to personalize healthcare solutions and improve patient outcomes. Before J&J, Rowena Yeo served as Global CIO for Cargill and spent over 20 years at Abbott Laboratories and Johnson Controls in IT leadership. She earned a Bachelor of Engineering (Honors) from the National University of Singapore. Yeo has been acknowledged as a trailblazer in APAC’s tech scene, often emphasizing continuous learning; in interviews, she notes how her teams stay ahead by constantly updating their skills in emerging areas like blockchain and cybersecurity.
22. Alex Cesar – CTO at Kantar
Alex Cesar is the CTO of Kantar, one of the world’s leading data analytics and marketing insight companies. Appointed in 2021 as Kantar’s first-ever CTO, Cesar is charged with driving the company’s technology agenda, which includes building a unified data platform and infusing AI into Kantar’s market research offerings. Under her leadership, Kantar has accelerated its cloud migration and launched new analytics tools that help enterprises derive faster insights from consumer data. Alex Cesar has a rich background in financial technology: prior to Kantar, she served as CIO for the London Stock Exchange Group’s data division and held senior tech roles at Thomson Reuters and Deutsche Bank. Originally from Brazil, Cesar earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in São Paulo and an MBA from City University (Cass) in London. She is known for her strategic vision and was recognized among the Top 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in Tech. As a champion of women in IT, Cesar often speaks about the importance of representation and has implemented mentorship programs within Kantar to foster diverse talent in technical teams.
23. Ketaki Shriram – CTO at Krikey
Dr. Ketaki Shriram is the co-founder and CTO of Krikey, an augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence tools company. Shriram has a formidable academic background with a Ph.D. from Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, where she researched AR/VR and human behavior. At Krikey, she leads the development of AR gaming platforms and AI-driven animation tools – for example, Krikey’s mobile games that let users interact with 3D avatars and its text-to-animation tool that can generate 3D character animations using AI. Under her technical leadership, Krikey was selected by Google as a launch partner for its AR services and created engaging AR experiences like “Gorillas!” in partnership with the Ellen Fund. Shriram also interned at Oculus and GoogleX during her doctoral studies, giving her broad exposure to industry-leading AR technology. She earned her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at Stanford University. Ketaki Shriram has been vocal about using AR/VR for social impact and education; she once demonstrated an AR app that raises awareness about wildlife conservation. She stands out as a young leader merging deep research with entrepreneurial execution in the AR space.
24. Lili Gangas – Chief Tech Community Officer at Kapor Center
Lili Gangas is the Chief Technology Community Officer at the Kapor Center, a nonprofit organization based in Oakland that focuses on leveling the playing field in tech for underrepresented communities. In her role, Gangas works at the intersection of technology and social impact: she leads initiatives to increase diversity in tech entrepreneurship, to make Oakland a tech hub that benefits the local community, and to advocate for ethical tech policy. She co-created programs like Oakland Startup Weekend Latinx and AI for the People to empower marginalized voices in technology. Before joining the Kapor Center, Gangas worked as a tech consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and earned an MBA from NYU Stern after a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from USC. With her engineering background, she provides a unique mix of technical and business mentorship to startups in the Kapor Center’s portfolio, which often build solutions addressing education, health, and civic engagement. Lili Gangas frequently speaks about issues of algorithmic bias, digital equity, and the importance of lived experience in innovation. She’s been recognized as one of Forbes’ 50 Top Women in Tech (2018) for her community-driven approach to technology leadership.
25. Carlonda Reilly – CTO at Kennametal
Dr. Carlonda Reilly is the VP and CTO of Kennametal, a global industrial manufacturer specializing in tooling and materials science solutions (e.g., metal cutting tools and wear-resistant materials). Since joining Kennametal in 2018, Dr. Reilly has overseen R&D and innovation, including the development of advanced alloys, coatings, and additive manufacturing techniques that keep Kennametal’s products at the forefront of performance. She has helped introduce digital simulation into the materials design process and fostered collaborations with top universities on materials research. Carlonda Reilly holds a B.S. from MIT and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware. Prior to Kennametal, she spent over twenty years at DuPont, rising to Global Technology Director in DuPont’s performance materials unit. This deep expertise in polymers and chemicals has been pivotal in diversifying Kennametal’s technology portfolio. Reilly was named among the “Top 100 Female Executives in Manufacturing” in 2021. She also actively works to mentor women in STEM and has spoken about her passion for “making the unseen, seen” – a nod to how materials innovation often happens at microscopic levels but yields big real-world impacts.
Related: Why Aren’t There More Female CTOs?
26. Helga Alvarez – CTO at Leaf
Helga Alvarez is the CTO of Leaf, a UK-based adtech and e-commerce optimization company. Alvarez leads the technical strategy for Leaf’s platform, which provides AI-driven tools to help brands optimize digital advertising and growth campaigns. Under her guidance, Leaf has built proprietary software that analyzes marketing data and automates campaign adjustments (e.g., budget allocations and creative tweaks) to improve ROI for clients. Helga Alvarez has a diverse tech background: originally from Costa Rica, she earned a bachelor’s in Software Engineering from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and worked across software development and data science roles. She moved to the UK to pursue her career, co-founding a creative technology studio before joining Leaf in 2014. Over a decade at Leaf, Alvarez helped pivot the company from a music app startup into a full-funnel marketing tech provider. She is known for her hands-on leadership, often working closely with Leaf’s data engineers and product teams. Alvarez also advocates for more Latin American representation in Europe’s tech scene, mentoring Latina engineers. In 2022, she was highlighted in TechRound as one of the influential women in UK tech for her behind-the-scenes impact on digital advertising.
27. Chantal Emmanuel – CTO at LimeLoop
Chantal Emmanuel is the co-founder and CTO of LimeLoop, a logistics tech startup that creates smart, reusable shipping packages aimed at reducing waste in e-commerce. Emmanuel, an experienced software engineer, built the digital platform that accompanies LimeLoop’s physical products: each LimeLoop package is embedded with sensors and an RFID tag, and Chantal’s software enables retailers to track shipments, gather environmental data, and manage returns efficiently. Before starting LimeLoop in 2017, Chantal worked as a lead engineer at Red Clay (a design marketplace) and as a software developer at SYPartners. These roles honed her ability to translate between design, user experience, and technical implementation. She graduated from Binghamton University and later studied social entrepreneurship at Cornell. As CTO, Chantal Emmanuel has been pivotal in partnerships LimeLoop formed with major retailers, integrating LimeLoop’s API with their shipping systems. She’s been featured in Fast Company and Forbes for her innovative approach to sustainable tech. A passionate advocate for circular economy solutions, Emmanuel often says her goal is to leverage technology to prove that “green” business can also be profitable and convenient.
28. Padmasree Warrior – Former CTO of Cisco & Motorola
Padmasree Warrior is a legendary technology executive, best known for her tenures as CTO at Cisco Systems (2007–2015) and Motorola (2003–2007). As Cisco’s CTO, Warrior drove the networking giant’s strategy into new areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and cybersecurity, helping Cisco maintain its dominance in the networking industry during a time of rapid change. At Motorola, she led the development of breakthrough mobile technologies and 4G broadband efforts. Warrior holds a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi (1982) and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University – she began as an engineer but quickly moved into leadership due to her strategic vision. After Cisco, she became CEO of electric vehicle startup NIO USA, and currently, she is the founder and CEO of Fable, a reading platform, while serving on the boards of Microsoft and Spotify. Padmasree Warrior has accumulated many accolades, including Forbes’ “100 Most Powerful Women” and the WITI Hall of Fame. She’s lauded not only for technological acumen but also for championing women in STEM. Her career serves as an inspiration for breaking glass ceilings – she famously said, “I’ve learned that the glass ceiling is thick, but it’s made of glass, and glass can be shattered.”
29. Gerri Martin-Flickinger – Former CTO of Starbucks
Gerri Martin-Flickinger is widely acclaimed for her role as the CTO of Starbucks from 2015 to 2022. At Starbucks, she was the first woman to hold the CTO position, and she led a massive technology transformation for the global coffee chain. Martin-Flickinger drove initiatives to enhance the Starbucks digital app, introduced mobile ordering and payment, and leveraged big data to personalize the customer experience – efforts that significantly boosted customer engagement and sales. Prior to Starbucks, she served as CIO at Adobe Systems, where she helped shift Adobe’s software business to a cloud-based subscription model. She has also held CIO roles at VeriSign, McAfee, and Network Associates, among others. With a B.S. in Computer Science from Washington State University (1985), Martin-Flickinger started her career at Chevron and has decades of experience leading large IT organizations. In 2022, she stepped down from Starbucks and has since taken on board leadership roles – in 2026, she was appointed Board Chair of edtech firm Renaissance Learning. Renowned as a “transformational leader”, Gerri often speaks about aligning technology initiatives with business goals. Her legacy at Starbucks is visible in the company’s reputation as a tech-savvy retailer with one of the most-used mobile payment apps in the world.
30. Jenny Gonsalves – CTO at Lyra Health
Jenny Gonsalves is the CTO (and Chief Product Officer) at Lyra Health, a leading provider of mental health care benefits for employers. She oversees all of Lyra’s technology initiatives, including its data platforms, engineering teams, and AI research, with the goal of improving access to high-quality mental health services. Under Gonsalves’ leadership, Lyra has developed an intelligent matching system that connects users to the right therapists or digital tools, and launched new products like coaching and mental wellness apps for employees. Jenny Gonsalves joined Lyra in 2017 and helped scale the tech team as the startup grew to serve millions of users globally. Previously, she spent a decade at SugarCRM as Vice President of Engineering, where she gained experience in building enterprise-grade software platforms. Gonsalves holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Toronto. Known for her pragmatic and results-driven approach, she champions the use of measurement and outcomes data to improve therapy effectiveness. Under her technical guidance, Lyra has been recognized for using AI ethically in healthcare, and she was invited to speak at the 2023 Economist Innovation Summit about the future of mental health tech.
Related: Extra-Curricular Activity Ideas for CTOs
31. Laila Abudahi – CTO at Manara
Laila Abudahi is the co-founder and CTO of Manara, a startup on a mission to bridge Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) talent with global tech opportunities. Born and raised in a refugee camp in Gaza, Laila’s personal journey is remarkable – she excelled in computer engineering locally, then via a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship earned her Master’s in Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington in 2016. At Manara, she leads the development of an online community and training platform that has so far helped hundreds of software engineers from Palestine and across MENA find jobs at companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon. Abudahi’s platform leverages matching algorithms, mentorship networks, and remote interview preparation to uplift untapped talent. Prior to Manara, Laila worked as a software engineer at NVIDIA and Palo Alto Networks, experiences that gave her first-hand insight into the skills global tech companies seek. She returned to the Middle East to start Manara in 2018. Abudahi’s inspiring leadership has been featured by the BBC and Forbes Middle East. She emphasizes that brilliance is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not – a gap she is determined to close through technology and education.
32. Nancy Avila – Former CTO of McKesson
Nancy Avila is a seasoned IT executive who was the CIO and CTO of McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 10 healthcare company, from 2018 until her retirement in early 2024. At McKesson, Avila led a large global team to modernize the company’s technology infrastructure, improving the systems that distribute pharmaceuticals and manage healthcare data for thousands of hospitals and pharmacies. She championed cloud solutions and advanced analytics to enhance McKesson’s supply chain resilience and operational efficiency. Nancy Avila’s career spans over 30 years; prior to McKesson, she was CIO at Johnson Controls and spent 22 years at Abbott Laboratories, rising to IT leadership. She holds a bachelor’s in Math & Computer Science from Regis University and a master’s in Mathematics from the Colorado School of Mines. Avila is widely respected for blending technical know-how with business strategy. In 2022, she was named CIO/CTO of the Year by the Dallas CIO Leadership Association. Though she “retired” from McKesson, her passion for innovation pulled her back: in mid-2024, she became CIO of Analog Devices, where she now drives digital transformation in the semiconductor industry. Nancy Avila also dedicates time to mentoring women in tech and is involved in STEM nonprofits, reflecting her legacy of service and leadership.
33. Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk – CTO of Microsoft Security
Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk is the CTO of Microsoft Security and General Manager of Microsoft’s Israel R&D Center, making her one of the highest-ranking women in Microsoft’s technical leadership. As CTO for the Security division, she guides the development of advanced cybersecurity solutions that protect cloud and enterprise environments for millions of customers. Under her oversight, Microsoft has integrated AI into threat detection (through products like Microsoft Defender ATP) and advanced its Zero Trust security architecture. Braverman-Blumenstyk has over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity; before joining Microsoft in 2013, she served as Chief Operating Officer at Cyota (an anti-fraud company acquired by RSA) and later as General Manager at RSA, where she led development of authentication products. She earned a Master’s in Computer Science from Columbia University and has published research on security. In Israel, Michal spearheaded Microsoft’s establishment of a cybersecurity center of excellence and has been instrumental in acquiring Israeli security startups for Microsoft. She’s also a role model for women in tech, co-founding the Women in Engineering program at Microsoft Israel. In interviews, she stresses the importance of innovation in staying ahead of cyber threats and often quips that her job is “to think like a hacker, so we can stop them.”
34. Robin Ducot – CTO at Momentive (SurveyMonkey)
Robin Ducot is the CTO of Momentive (formerly SurveyMonkey), where she has led the engineering and product development since 2017. Momentive’s portfolio – including SurveyMonkey’s online survey platform and other experience management tools – serves over 20 million users, and Ducot has overseen the company’s evolution into an agile enterprise solutions provider. She has championed the incorporation of AI and machine learning to offer smarter insights (for example, sentiment analysis of survey comments) and improved platform scalability to handle the huge volume of responses SurveyMonkey processes. Before Momentive, Robin Ducot was SVP of Product Engineering at DocuSign, where she helped scale the e-signature platform. She also held engineering leadership roles at Eventbrite and Adobe Systems (where she spent 7 years as a Vice President of web and UI engineering). Ducot started her career as a software engineer with a B.S. in Computer Science and Art History from UMass Boston. She brings a unique blend of technical and user-centric thinking. Robin is known for fostering inclusive cultures; at Momentive, she established mentorship programs and was instrumental in SurveyMonkey’s inclusion on lists of top workplaces for women in tech. Under her leadership, the company successfully IPO’ed in 2018 and has consistently delivered new products, such as SurveyMonkey Genius (an AI feedback tool), that keep it ahead in the market research industry.
35. Niki Trigoni – CTO at Navenio
Dr. Niki Trigoni is the co-founder and CTO of Navenio, a UK-based company providing indoor location technology for healthcare and enterprise environments. Navenio’s software uses smartphone sensors and machine learning to pinpoint people’s location inside buildings (like hospitals) without needing physical beacons or GPS – effectively a “GPS for indoors”. As CTO, Trigoni has led the company in deploying its technology in hospitals to optimize workflows (for example, dispatching the nearest porter to a patient). Navenio’s solutions have improved efficiency and response times in facilities and won awards in the healthtech sector. Prior to founding Navenio in 2015, Niki Trigoni was a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, where she headed the Cyber-Physical Systems group and conducted research on sensor networks and context-aware computing. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. Trigoni’s academic work – authoring 150+ papers – underpins Navenio’s cutting-edge algorithms. She has received numerous accolades, including an Oxford Innovation Award and the Navin Gupta Prize, for her contributions to location services. In 2022, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Dr. Trigoni often highlights that indoor positioning can transform industries from healthcare to retail, and her vision is to make indoor location as ubiquitous and reliable as GPS is outdoors.
Related: Surprising Facts About CTOs
36. Farnaz Ronaghi – CTO at NovoEd
Farnaz Ronaghi is the co-founder and CTO of NovoEd, an online learning platform specializing in collaborative, cohort-based courses. Ronaghi has been the technical visionary behind NovoEd since its founding at Stanford University in 2012. She developed the platform’s core social learning features, which enable students to form teams, discuss, and work on projects together virtually – replicating an in-class experience online. This approach has powered executive education and training programs for institutions like Wharton and companies like Google. Ronaghi’s inspiration came from her time as a Ph.D. student researching how technology can facilitate large-scale learning; she holds a Master’s in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford and a bachelor’s from Sharif University of Technology. At NovoEd, she leads a distributed engineering team and oversees product strategy, constantly integrating feedback from learners and instructors to refine the user experience. In 2018, Farnaz was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Education. She often speaks at edtech conferences on the importance of “learning by doing” and how modern platforms can foster deep engagement even when learners are continents apart. Under her technical leadership, NovoEd has expanded globally and was acquired by Fidelity Investments in 2021, although she continues to guide its technology roadmap to transform professional education.
37. Christine Spang – CTO at Nylas
Christine Spang is the co-founder and CTO of Nylas, a developer platform that provides APIs for email, calendar, and contacts integration. Spang started Nylas in 2013 with a vision to make it easier for developers to build communications features into their apps. She architected the Nylas Cloud APIs, which abstract away the complexities of different email providers (Gmail, Outlook, IMAP, etc.), allowing software to connect to users’ inboxes and calendars with a few lines of code. Today, under Spang’s technical leadership, Nylas serves hundreds of customers who collectively sync billions of emails and events through its platform. Christine Spang studied Computer Science at MIT, and while there, she was an active open-source contributor (notably to Debian Linux). She briefly worked at Ksplice/Oracle as a kernel engineer before diving into entrepreneurship. As CTO, she has built a culture at Nylas that values open-source and developer experience – Nylas even open-sourced components of its stack. Spang has been recognized as a YC (Y Combinator) alumna and was featured in Business Insider’s list of top female founders. She is candid about her journey, including the challenges of being a young queer woman CTO in the infrastructure tech space. Spang frequently mentors other startups on scaling backend systems and has spoken about the importance of enabling “communication as a feature” in all software.
38. Mira Murati – CTO at OpenAI
Mira Murati is the CTO of OpenAI, the influential artificial intelligence research lab behind AI models like GPT-4 (which powers ChatGPT). As CTO, Murati oversees OpenAI’s cutting-edge research and the deployment of AI technologies in a safe and beneficial manner. She manages teams working on large-scale neural networks, robotics, and alignment (ensuring AI behaves as intended). Mira Murati played a pivotal role in the development and release of ChatGPT, which has transformed how millions interact with AI. Prior to OpenAI, she led the product and engineering teams for Tesla’s Model X program and worked on innovative projects at Leap Motion (hand-tracking technology). Murati holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Dartmouth College. Born in Albania and raised in Canada, she has become one of the most prominent women in AI. Murati is an advocate for thoughtful AI regulation and ethics; in interviews, she has emphasized the need to involve diverse voices in shaping AI’s future. In 2023, Time magazine listed her among the 100 most influential people for her role in democratizing AI technology. Under her leadership, OpenAI has also formed partnerships (like with Microsoft) to scale AI capabilities, while engaging with policymakers to address AI’s societal impacts. Mira Murati’s work ensures that AI’s rapid progress is coupled with responsibility – a balance critical to OpenAI’s mission.
39. Raji Subramanian – CTO at Opendoor
Rajalakshmi “Raji” Subramanian is the CTO of Opendoor, a real estate technology company that uses data algorithms to buy and sell homes online. Joining Opendoor in 2021, Subramanian has been responsible for enhancing the company’s digital platform that enables homeowners to get instant offers and close transactions with streamlined processes. She oversees engineering teams working on pricing models, marketplace dynamics, and the overall user experience of buying/selling homes through Opendoor’s app. Raji Subramanian’s tech career spans over two decades and several domains. Before Opendoor, she co-founded a construction tech startup (Pro.com) and served as its CTO for 8 years. Earlier, she was a principal engineer and tech leader at Amazon (where she helped scale Kindle content systems) and held engineering roles at Yahoo and eBay. She started her career in India as a research engineer after obtaining a degree in engineering. Known for her analytical rigor, Subramanian has leveraged her background to bring more automation and accuracy to Opendoor’s home valuation and renovation estimation processes. She is one of the few women CTOs in the real estate tech sector and has been an advocate for flexible work policies to attract diverse talent. In 2022, she was named among HousingWire’s Women of Influence for her contributions to proptech innovation.
40. Meri Williams – CTO at Pleo
Meri Williams is the CTO of Pleo, a fast-growing European fintech company offering smart corporate card and expense management solutions for businesses. At Pleo, Williams drives the technology strategy behind an app that streamlines how employees make work purchases and how finance teams track spending. She joined Pleo in 2022 to lead its engineering as the company scaled across Europe. Meri Williams is well-known in the UK tech scene: she previously served as CTO at challenger bank Monzo (where she helped the bank scale to millions of users) and at print & design company Moo.com. Williams (who uses they/them pronouns) has also held tech leadership roles at Marks & Spencer and Procter & Gamble. They earned a Computer Science degree from the University of Bath. As a leader, Meri is passionate about engineering management and inclusive culture – they authored “The Manager’s Path” and frequently speak at conferences about servant leadership in tech. At Pleo, Meri Williams has overseen the build-out of new features like invoice management and credit offerings, and helped ensure the platform’s reliability as usage surged. They were recognized among the Top 50 Most Influential Women in UK IT for multiple years. Outside work, Meri founded “ChromeRose,” an initiative to support underrepresented folks in tech, demonstrating a career-long commitment to diversity and mentorship.
Related: Reasons Why CTOs Get Fired
41. Fiona Tan – CTO at Wayfair
Fiona Tan is the CTO of Wayfair, one of the world’s largest online home furnishing retailers. Since joining Wayfair in 2020, Tan has been charting the technical vision and leading a global engineering organization to enhance Wayfair’s e-commerce platform. She has been instrumental in deploying data analytics and machine learning to improve search relevancy, personalize the shopping experience, and optimize logistics for Wayfair’s massive catalog of products. Under her guidance, Wayfair has also invested in 3D visualization and AR features that allow customers to virtually preview furniture in their homes. Fiona Tan boasts an impressive career with leadership positions at top companies: prior to Wayfair, she was Senior Vice President of US Technology at Walmart, responsible for omnichannel platforms, and she held engineering roles at Ariba and TIBCO earlier. She holds a bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT and a master’s in Computer Science from Stanford. Her strong technical acumen is matched by strategic insight – at Wayfair, she navigated the post-pandemic boom in online furniture sales, ensuring the site scaled smoothly. Tan is also a champion of women in STEM and has spoken about balancing customer-centric innovation with operational excellence. In 2023, she was named CIO of the Year (Massachusetts) by BostonCIO for her transformative impact at Wayfair. Her work helps Wayfair maintain its edge in a competitive retail market through superior tech and customer experience.
42. Tendü Yoğurtçu – CTO at Precisely
Dr. Tendü Yoğurtçu is the CTO of Precisely, a leading data integrity and data quality software company (formerly known as Syncsort). Since becoming CTO in 2017, Yoğurtçu has led Precisely’s evolution into a powerhouse that helps 12,000+ customers (including 99 of the Fortune 100) ensure their data is accurate, consistent, and contextually rich. She oversees a broad portfolio of products for data integration, data quality, location intelligence, and data enrichment. One of her key achievements was guiding the technology integration during Syncsort’s acquisition of Pitney Bowes’ software division, which formed Precisely in 2020 – merging technologies and teams to offer end-to-end data solutions. Tendü Yoğurtçu holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology and bachelor’s/master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Computer Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Turkey. Before becoming CTO, she led engineering for Syncsort’s big data products, bringing modern Hadoop-based processing to legacy data systems. Dr. Yoğurtçu is a strong advocate for women in data science; she often mentors young professionals and speaks at data conferences about the importance of trust in AI and analytics outcomes. She was named one of the Top 100 CIO/CTO Leaders in 2021 by STEMconnector. Under her technical leadership, Precisely has introduced AI-driven data quality tools and expanded its global partner network, reinforcing its stance that “good data” is the backbone of digital transformation.
43. Bridget Frey – CTO at Redfin
Bridget Frey is the CTO of Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage. Frey has held the CTO position since 2015 and has been central to Redfin’s rise as a consumer-friendly real estate platform that combines searchable home listings, virtual tours, and online brokerage services. She oversees hundreds of engineers working on Redfin’s website and mobile app, which serve tens of millions of users. During her tenure, Redfin introduced innovative features like 3D home walkthroughs, algorithmic home-value estimates, and on-demand home tours – all engineered under her leadership. Bridget Frey graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Computer Science and started her career as a software developer at IntrinsiQ and Lithium Technologies. She joined Redfin in 2011 and quickly rose through the ranks by leading major projects, such as integrating the brokerage workflow with the customer-facing app, which significantly improved agent productivity and customer satisfaction. In 2017, Bridget Frey became the first woman to make Redfin’s executive team, and she has been an outspoken advocate for inclusive hiring. Under her guidance, Redfin achieved near gender parity in its engineering internship classes and was recognized for its efforts to close the gender gap in tech. Frey was featured in Forbes “Top 50 Women In Tech” and regularly shares insights on creating cultures where diverse teams can build better products.
44. Michelle Grover – CTO at Slalom
Michelle Grover is the CTO of Slalom, a global consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. Joining Slalom in 2021, Grover leads the company’s internal technology teams and drives the innovation of digital solutions that Slalom delivers to its clients. She plays a dual role: ensuring Slalom’s 13,000+ consultants have the best internal tools (from knowledge management to collaboration platforms) and advising on cutting-edge tech strategies for clients in domains like cloud, AI, and customer experience. Prior to Slalom, Michelle Grover was the CIO at Twilio, where she oversaw IT during a high-growth period, and before that, she spent nearly a decade at SAP Concur (via TripIt), leading product development. She has a rich background in mobile development and product management. Grover is also known for her commitment to diversity; she co-founded an ERG for Black leaders at Twilio and frequently mentors women of color in tech. In interviews, she has shared her non-linear career path – from starting as a software developer to taking breaks for family and later returning to rise in leadership – as encouragement for others. At Slalom, Michelle Grover has been focusing on emerging technologies like machine learning and low-code platforms to accelerate project delivery. She holds a degree in Information Systems and has been recognized in the SDTimes “Women in Technology” Hall of Fame. Under her guidance, Slalom has launched new initiatives, such as Slalom Launch (a program to develop junior tech talent) and partnerships with cloud providers, positioning the firm at the forefront of tech consulting.
45. Ivneet Kaur – CTO at Sterling
Ivneet Kaur is the CTO of Sterling (NASDAQ: STER), one of the world’s largest providers of background screening and identity verification services. Kaur joined Sterling as CTO in 2021 and leads a global technology team in modernizing the company’s platforms that process over 100 million background checks a year. She has driven the adoption of cloud infrastructure, APIs, and automation at Sterling, reducing turnaround times for checks and improving security and compliance for customers that range from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Ivneet Kaur’s career is marked by high-profile CTO roles: before Sterling, she was CTO and CIO at Equifax (2018–2021), where she helped the credit bureau recover from its cybersecurity breach by overhauling its security and data platforms. She also briefly served as CTO at Silicon Valley Bank and spent 17 years at First Data (now Fiserv), so she brings deep fintech and data experience. Kaur holds a Master’s in Engineering Management from the University of Maryland. In 2022, she was named “Georgia CIO of the Year” for her work at Equifax. At Sterling, Ivneet champions the use of AI to flag potential issues in background checks while maintaining fairness and compliance (to avoid bias). She also initiated a program to integrate continuous monitoring services, so companies are alerted to relevant updates on employees in real time.
Related: Mistakes CTOs Must Avoid
46. Urvashi Tyagi – Former CTO of ResMed
Urvashi Tyagi is a distinguished technology executive who most recently served as the CTO of ResMed, a global leader in digital health and cloud-connected medical devices (notably for sleep apnea and respiratory care). As ResMed’s CTO (2020–2022), Tyagi led the digital health technology team and spearheaded the integration of emerging tech like AI and machine learning into ResMed’s platforms. She played a key role in expanding ResMed’s cloud-based patient monitoring system, enabling healthcare providers to remotely track patients’ sleep data and adherence to therapy – a capability that proved vital during the pandemic. Under her leadership, ResMed also enhanced data analytics on its platform to derive population health insights, benefiting both patients and researchers. Prior to ResMed, Urvashi Tyagi held leadership roles, including Global Head of Commercial Data Engineering at American Express and Director of Engineering at Amazon, and she was CTO of ADP (the payroll and HR software giant). This varied background gave her expertise in scaling platforms securely. She holds an MBA as well as an engineering degree. Tyagi has earned industry recognition, such as being named one of the Top 100 Data Innovators in 2021. After leaving ResMed in 2023, she took a CTO role in the fintech sector (at Versapay). She continues to advocate for women in tech and often quotes her personal mantra: “Stay curious and embrace ambiguity,” reflecting her approach to driving innovation in complex, regulated industries.
47. Kasia Gora – CTO at SCiFi Foods
Dr. Kasia Gora is the co-founder and CTO of SCiFi Foods, a Bay Area food-tech startup working to create cultivated (lab-grown) meat products that combine plant-based and cell-based ingredients. With a Ph.D. in Biology from MIT, Gora leads SCiFi Foods’ scientific and technological development – from optimizing cell culture processes to using genetic engineering for taste and nutrition improvements. One of her key achievements is developing a proprietary process to grow beef cells in large quantities affordably, which, combined with plant proteins, aims to produce a burger indistinguishable from a conventional one but with drastically lower environmental impact. Prior to SCiFi Foods (formerly Artemys Foods), Kasia worked at Zymergen as Head of Portfolio Management, where she oversaw R&D projects in bio-manufacturing. She also spent early career years as a research scientist focusing on genomics. At SCiFi Foods, Gora has overseen successful taste tests and raised significant venture funding, including from Andreessen Horowitz. In mid-2022, SCiFi Foods made headlines by unveiling one of the first cultivated beef burgers in the US, positioning itself in a race alongside companies like Impossible Foods and Upside Foods. Gora is passionate about transparency in food science – she often gives talks explaining the science of cultivated meat to demystify the technology for the public. Under her guidance, SCiFi is targeting regulatory approval for its products, and she’s actively involved in industry coalitions to help shape policy for novel foods.
48. Wouleta Ayele – CTO at Sweetgreen
Wouleta Ayele is the CTO of Sweetgreen, a fast-casual restaurant chain known for its tech-forward approach to healthy food. Hired in 2020 as the company’s first CTO, Ayele has been responsible for bolstering Sweetgreen’s digital capabilities – from enhancing its mobile ordering app and loyalty program to optimizing the supply chain with technology. Under her leadership, Sweetgreen introduced features like outsourced delivery integration, personalized menu recommendations, and improved order-ahead options, which have significantly boosted digital sales (Sweetgreen now sees a majority of orders through its app or website). She has also overseen the development of Sweetgreen’s proprietary “SG Logistics” platform that connects kitchens, drivers, and customers in real-time, improving efficiency. Wouleta Ayele brought extensive experience from prior roles: she spent over a decade at Starbucks in technology and operations roles, and before that, she worked in the tech divisions of companies like Amazon and Microsoft. She holds a Master’s degree in Management and has a background in electrical engineering. Ayele is known for blending technical knowledge with operational excellence – at Starbucks, she was crucial in the rollout of its mobile ordering system. At Sweetgreen, beyond customer-facing tech, she is driving the automation of internal processes and investing in data analytics to forecast demand and reduce food waste. She’s also passionate about sustainability, aligning with Sweetgreen’s ethos; her team uses tech to trace ingredients from local farmers to stores to ensure freshness and track sustainability metrics. Under Wouleta Ayele’s tech stewardship, Sweetgreen was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the dining sector in 2022.
49. Susie Wee – Former CTO of Cisco DevNet
Dr. Susie Wee is a prominent technology executive best known for founding and leading Cisco’s developer program, DevNet, where she served as Senior VP and CTO of DevNet Ecosystem Success at Cisco. During her tenure at Cisco (2014–2021), Wee built DevNet from the ground up into a community of over 500,000 developers, network engineers, and partners – a thriving ecosystem that enabled external innovators to build on Cisco’s platforms. Under her visionary leadership, DevNet introduced resources, sandboxes, and certifications that have been critical in driving the industry’s shift toward software-defined networking and automation. Susie Wee’s impact includes launching DevNet Create (Cisco’s developer conference) and championing APIs across Cisco’s product lines, accelerating digital transformation for Cisco’s customers. An MIT-trained engineer (B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in EECS), Dr. Wee first gained recognition at HP Labs and as an IEEE fellow for her early innovations in media streaming. After leaving Cisco in 2022, she co-founded a startup (DevAI) focusing on AI-driven IT operations. Throughout her career, Susie Wee has received numerous accolades: MIT Technology Review named her a Top 100 Young Innovator, and she was inducted into the WITI Hall of Fame. She also serves on the board of Analog Devices. A passionate advocate for STEM education, she mentors students and champions programs for women and underrepresented minorities in tech. Susie often says her proudest achievement is seeing how DevNet empowered individuals to transform their careers – a legacy of democratizing networking knowledge that will persist in the industry.
50. Rebecca Parsons – Former CTO of ThoughtWorks
Dr. Rebecca Parsons is renowned in the software development world for her long tenure as CTO of ThoughtWorks, a global software consulting firm, where she served from 2007 until transitioning to CTO Emerita in 2023. As CTO, Parsons guided the technical strategy for thousands of ThoughtWorks consultants across 17 countries, influencing how the company delivered cutting-edge solutions in areas like continuous delivery, microservices, and Agile methodologies. Rebecca Parsons is a hands-on technologist with deep expertise in system architecture, evolutionary architecture, and distributed systems. She was a committer on the open-source project JBehave (a behavior-driven development framework) and co-authored the book Building Evolutionary Architectures. Before becoming CTO, Parsons had a distinguished career that included research in computational physics and software at Los Alamos National Lab and academia (she holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rice University, where her dissertation was on programming languages). At ThoughtWorks, she was instrumental in establishing the company’s Technology Radar, a widely respected report that assesses emerging tech trends. Parsons has been an outspoken advocate for inclusivity in tech and ethical tech practices; for example, she helped shape ThoughtWorks’ policies on privacy and social justice, and she sits on the board of CodeChix to support women engineers. In 2020, she received the IEEE Computer Society’s TCSE Distinguished Service award for her contributions to software engineering. Now as CTO Emerita, she continues to advise ThoughtWorks and speak at conferences (like GOTO, QCon) about the importance of responsible tech – ensuring that software development advances sustainability and human rights.
Conclusion
The rise of female CTOs is one of the clearest signals that technology leadership is evolving—toward broader business ownership, sharper customer focus, and deeper accountability for outcomes at scale. Whether they’re modernizing cloud platforms, scaling AI responsibly, hardening cybersecurity, or building products that reshape entire industries, these leaders prove that world-class technical strategy is inseparable from inclusive, high-performing teams and continuous reinvention. As more women step into CTO roles across global giants and fast-scaling innovators, they also create a stronger talent pipeline—by mentoring, sponsoring, and setting new standards for what excellence looks like in engineering and product organizations.
If you’re aspiring to a CTO path—or already operating at a senior engineering/executive level—your next leap often comes from structured learning, peer networks, and exposure to real-world frameworks for strategy, architecture, leadership, and governance. Explore DigitalDefynd’s compilation of top CTO bootcamps and executive programs to find industry-relevant options that can sharpen your technical depth, improve your leadership toolkit, and accelerate your readiness for the CTO seat.
