The Most Powerful Women In Tech

According to the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, "the top 2 barriers Women in Tech experience are a lack of mentors and a lack of female role models in their field." This is why it is essential to recognize female leadership and their journey to success in a male-dominated sector. This is the four most powerful women in tech right now.

Cathy Bessant

Cathy Bessant is Chief Operating and Technology Officer at Bank of America. She runs 90.000of employees in 35 different countries. Bessant is not only one of the most powerful women in tech but in banking as well. In an interview with CB Insights, the influential figure said, "I have always thought that technology is an underpinning to the journey to the customer, not the destination." Her team is commercially driven and customer-focused. She even has a digital assistant named Erica. Bessant is in charge of half of the workforce at Bank of America, half devoted to technology and operations. She received WatersTechnology's 2019 Women in Technology and Data Trailblazer Award.

Karenann Terrell

Karenann Terrell has been a pioneer in the technology space. Terrell started as an engineer and then worked her way up and led some of the most significant, largest leadership positions at the world's largest companies, from being the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Walmart to being the Chief Digital and Technology Officer at GSK. She has been an inspiration in the technology field. Terrell is a member of Pluralsight's board of directors, an online tech provider that gives its user access to the most elite developer IT and creative experts around. In 2005, she received the Women's Corporate Technology Award.

Also read: Click, With a Woman's Touch

Lori Beer

Lori Beer is the Global Chief Information Officer (CIO) of JPMorgan Chase & Co. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. She always shares the story of growing up on a farm to running technology across one of the world's largest organizations. In her speech, while receiving the Distinguished Service Award at the 34th annual Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards, Beer said, "I think it's essential at whatever level you are you can make a difference in other women's lives."

Barbara Lavernos

Barbara Lavernos is the Chief Technology and Operations Officer of L'Oréal. In her LinkedIn profile, she assures, "though innovation, technology, and transformation are the watchwords of my mission, my passion is about collective intelligence, empowerment and the co-creation of solutions with my teams, our suppliers and our customers." She has mixed cultural origins as her parents are French and German. Her background is deeply rooted in science and technology. Lavernos' work goes from the acceleration of new services' digitalization and the creation of new business models to scale products.

Recognizing the importance of mentoring and elevating women in tech, Cathy Bessant impulses an initiative called The Women in Technology & Operations Advocacy Group at Bank of America. This group supports and empowers over 9.000 women to advance their skills and career aspirations through mentorship, skills building, and networking.