On June 20th, SAP.iO & SAP presented the Gentry Women in Tech Conference 2019, themed: INVESTING IN FUTURE LEADERS in Palo Alto. It brought together some of Silicon Valley’s leading VCs, C-Suite Executives, Founders, and Entrepreneurs. The conference spotlighted innovative and creative ways women in technology are forging their careers and fostering up-and-coming women in the tech space. The packed agenda was kicked off by Judith Williams, Head of People Sustainability and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer @SAP and emceed by Diane Dwyer, Emmy-Award winning journalist. Anita Sands, Board Member @Symantec, Service Now, and Pure Storage gave an impressive speech on what “being a women in tech” means and how important it is to ensure more equality by shaping a diverse future in tech. She also encouraged the audience to focus on the 5 “A”s (ASK, ADVERTISE, AMPLIFY, ADVOCATE and ASSERT), in other words and bottom line: “If you don’t ask you don’t get and who gets the credit does matter”.
Next was a great fireside chat with Anna Brockway, President and Co-Founder @ Charish and an insightful panel with another group of inspiring leaders including Jennifer Pardini (Moderator), Sr. Editor @ Gentry, Keri Yen NG, former VP Quality/Regulatory/Clinical @Willow, Meredith Hoffer, Director of Marketing @Google Search, Robyn Sue Fisher, Founder & Chief Brrrista @ Smitten Ice Cream and Sarah Schaaf, Attorney and Founder @Headnote. Main takeaway was to “drop the rubber balls and keep on juggling the glass ones”.
The afternoon continued with a discussion on THE POWER OF NEGOTIATION with Rachel Forin, PhD, CEO @Terapore as well as Derek Blazensky, Partner @ The Pareto Group, followed by the BUILDING A PERSONAL BOARD panel moderated by Sherri Douville CEO @Medigram including Kara Egan, Principal @ Emergence Capital, Vanila Singh, MD, CMO @ The US Dept of HHS, and Elizabeth Vilardo, MD, CEO of Foundations @ Sutter Health Bay Area. THE MALE ALLIES panel including Steve Sordello, CFO @ LinkedIn, Don Heider, Executive Director @ Markkula Center for Applied Ethics @ Santa Clara University and Mylea Charvat, PhD Founder + CEO @ Savonix moderated by Kristi Markkula Bowers, CEO @ Flyx Systems highlighted the importance of male allies and how to work hand in hand with men as mentors, collaborators and sponsors.
The event concluded with a rooftop cocktail party after two fireside chats with Linda Yates, CEO Mach49 in conversation with Linda Grasso, Host @ SheSez Podcast, editor In Chief @ Ventura Boulevard and Michelle Zatlyn, COO + Co-Founder @ Cloudfare in conversation with Judith Williams, Head of People Sustainability and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer @SAP. The conference celebrated the second annual gentry women in tech issue brimming with carefully curated interviews with some of technology’s most fascinating rising stars.
