Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Connecticut for 2023. As the third smallest state by area and with a population just over 3.6 million, Connecticut thrives in the areas of education, industrial development, financial and insurance services, agriculture and more. The state has grown considerably in the last few decades and much of its success can be attributed to its women leaders in the workforce. This year’s awardees are key contributors to their organizations, driving change and innovation that will resonate for years to come.
Among this year’s awardees is Jacqueline Woods, Chief Marketing Officer of Teradata, who has served with Fortune 100 companies, including IBM, GE, Oracle and Verizon and been credited with the revitalization of the brands, images and perceptions. Awardee Rachel Ellingson, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Zimmer Biomet, was a key contributor in the enterprise-wide, highly-intricate spin-off transaction where the company separated its spine and dental businesses to create ZimVie, a new independent public company. Also awarded is Sheryl Battles, Vice President of Global Diversity, Inclusion & Engagement for Pitney Bowes, who spearheads the company’s strategies, operations and storytelling at the intersection of diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement to help create a high-performance culture.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Connecticut for 2023.
1. Shari Aser
VP of Digital Sales Americas, IBM
Shari Aser is a global executive with a history of working in the information technology and services industry, and an expert in sales leadership and digital strategy. She is skilled in cloud computing, AI, digital marketing, sales leadership, financial services, partner ecosystem, go-to-market strategy. Aser works for the software division of IBM, managing the Eastern region sales staff for cloud-computing software and software that manages clients’ real estate and other physical assets. Her constructive and collaborative approach to management has contributed to her success as director of digital sales for IBM’s North America Software Solutions, where she heads a team that focuses on web client solutions across a variety of software assets and business units.
As an engineering student at Bucknell University, sales was not on Aser’s radar until her senior year, when she volunteered to serve as the chair of the senior gift drive campaign for the university. She enjoyed knowing the impact her calls would make, and decided to change course to pursue a career in sales. Having started her education studying computer science, Aser was always interested in technology, so embarking on a career in data management sales was a no-brainer for her.
Someone who thrives on giving back, Aser has served as a star volunteer for many organizations, including serving on the board of the New York Junior League, president of the Fairfield County Delta Gamma Alumni Association, and the Women’s Bond Club. More recently she has worked with underserved teens in New York City. She earned an MBA from Cornell University, S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management. Aser gives back to both Bucknell and Cornell to help ensure they attract the best and brightest students and faculty.
2. Jill Vichi
VP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Pratt & Whitney
Jill Vichi is the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Pratt & Whitney. She is responsible for Pratt & Whitney's HR activities including talent, recruitment and development; employee and labor relations; compensation and benefits and diversity, equity & inclusion for the company's global workforce of more than 37,000 employees.
Jill has over 30 years of experience in human resources roles at Pratt & Whitney, Otis and Raytheon Technologies. She joined Pratt & Whitney in 1991 and has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility throughout the company, including vice president of HR for Total Rewards. In 2002, she joined Otis Elevator, and was named senior director of HR in 2005. Most recently, she served as VP Total Rewards Aerospace for Raytheon Technologies, the parent company for Pratt & Whitney. Jill holds an undergraduate degree in finance from Bentley University and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
5. Iwona Olszewska
VP & Head of Professional Services, Napier AI Americas
Iwona Olszewska is currently the Head of Professional Services of Napier AI Americas. She is a progressive financial services industry executive with an exceptional record of revenue generation and achievement. Her extensive investment management, operations and technology experience across a broad range of functional disciplines including front to back-office portfolio management, trading, operations and investment accounting.
Prior to joining Napier AI, Olszewska led the Global Financial Services practice of NEOS. She directed its market offerings and grew the team, driving transformation and innovation for its clients. As practice leader, Iwona set direction for NEOS support of a broad client base within the Financial Services vertical facilitating the alignment of business strategy, technology, and operations to set forth and deliver innovative solutions. With the unique background and experience, Olszewska offers fresh and unprecedented ideas that take full advantage of the latest technology and interdisciplinary thought leadership.
7. Rachel Ellingson
SVP & Chief Strategy Officer, Zimmer Biomet
Rachel Ellingson is a seasoned healthcare executive, investment banker, and M&A expert with experience serving as a corporate officer and advisor for two Fortune 500 medical technology companies. A well-recognized and respected name in the medical technology industry and related financial community, Rachel is known for her keen ability to bridge relationships between stakeholders to achieve common goals and her capacity to manage complex transactions. She has repeatedly conceived of and coordinated the steps needed to execute business growth strategies and has aided in creating crisis management response strategies and activities to manage until resolution. As Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer responsible for corporate strategy, business development, and integration, she led the enterprise-wide, highly-intricate spin-off transaction where Zimmer Biomet separated its spine and dental businesses to create ZimVie, a new independent public company.
Prior to Zimmer Biomet, Rachel’s career trajectory led her to St. Jude Medical, where she led the integration of St. Jude Medical’s acquisition into Abbott, the second largest M&A transaction in medical device history. During her seven-year tenure, Rachel ascended at St. Jude Medical to become VP of corporate strategy, via roles as VP of global communications, and, before that, VP of corporate relations.
Ahead of Rachel’s corporate career, she was an investment banker for 15 years, advising CEOs and boards on M&A transactions and raising growth capital, including initial public offerings. Focused primarily in medical technology, Rachel rose to managing director with the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Bank of America. She serves as a board director for publicly traded BioLife Solutions, where she sits on the audit committee and compensation committee.
9. Sheryl Battles
VP of Global Diversity, Inclusion & Engagement, Pitney Bowes
As Vice President of Global Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement for Pitney Bowes, Sheryl Battles leads the company’s strategies, operations and storytelling at the intersection of diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement to help create a high-performance culture. Her role combines extensive communications expertise, deep understanding of business strategy, strength in analytics and passion for creating inclusive experiences. She also co-leads a multi-functional team exploring the future of work.
Sheryl has received numerous honors including the 2022 Diversity Leaders Award from Profiles in Diversity and 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut. She is a sought after speaker and media contributor. Sheryl graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA with a degree in human biology. She serves on professional and community boards including Elon University, School of Communications, advisory board; Co-Chair of the Page Society’s DEI Advisory Board; Greenwich Hospital; The Stamford Center for the Arts; the National Board of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is a member of The Links, Incorporated; a life-time member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.; and the Stanford University Alumni Association and Stanford National Black Alumni Association.
11. Jacqueline Woods
Chief Marketing Officer, Teradata
As Chief Marketing Officer, Jacqueline Woods is responsible for overseeing Teradata’s strategic marketing planning and delivery, including brand and reputation management, digital and social properties, as well as leading customer generation, influencer marketing, public relations, communications and enriching customer experiences. She has 30+ years of experience leading corporate transformations, propelling marketing organizations to utilize data and insights, and leading the way in digital marketing. She is recognized for instilling today’s modern marketing approaches that successfully grow businesses. Her career spans Fortune 100 companies, including IBM, GE, Oracle and Verizon, covering both business-to-business and business-to-consumer go-to-market initiatives.
Woods joined Teradata from NielsenIQ where she served as global chief marketing & communications officer. There, Woods focused on the firm’s transformation to an independent company, leading the revitalization of the company’s brand, image and perception to reflect its new character: from legacy brand to modern data-driven enterprise. Previously, Woods was with IBM for nearly 10 years, including as CMO of its $13 billion Partner Ecosystem, where she focused on building cloud, Data, AI and SaaS strategies across an ecosystem of over 120,000 firms.
Woods serves on the Board of Directors for Winnebago Industries and the Board of Trustees for Community Reinvestment Fund USA, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving communities through innovative financial solutions. She is also on the board of the Greater Fairfield County Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit helping under-served communities in southern Connecticut. Woods previously served on the Dean’s Council for the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Western Region Board of the United Negro College Fund. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.
13. Luciana Bonifacio
VP & Chief Development Officer, Save the Children US
Luciana Bonifacio is Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Save the Children. In this role, she oversees the agency’s efforts to mobilize private support for Save the Children’s domestic and international programs. Under her leadership, the organization has successfully established and expanded partnerships with foundations, major donors and the corporate sector, with private revenue representing upwards of $150 million a year.
Luciana joined Save the Children in 2000, and personally established or expanded partnerships with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks and The Walt Disney Company. She also serves as Chair of Save the Children’s Global Corporate Partnerships Group.
An early leader in the organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work and a member of Save the Children’s Latinx Employee Affinity Group, Luciana is committed to increasing talent diversity across the organization. Born in Argentina, she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Buenos Aires, where she started her professional career in the fashion industry.
View the complete list of awardees.
17. Meghan McCartan
Chief Marketing Officer, Hightower Advisors
Meghan McCartan is the Chief Marketing Officer for Hightower Advisors. She oversees advisor-facing marketing, thought leadership and events, and corporate/M&A initiatives. A big believer in personal marketing efforts to drive growth, Meghan was the architect of their Outsourced Chief Marketing Officer initiative, through which marketing works hand-in-hand with advisory teams to develop and execute strategic marketing and communications plans unique to their firm. Hightower is a wealth management firm that provides investment, financial, and retirement planning services to individuals, foundations, and family offices, as well as 401K consulting and cash management services to corporations.
Meghan has over twenty years of industry marketing experience, on both the advisory/broker-dealer side as well as financial technology. Before joining Hightower in 2019, she was the CMO at an integrated marketing and communications agency in the financial services industry. Prior to that role, she served as the SVP and head of marketing and strategic relationships at FolioDynamix, a wealth management technology solution provider. She founded the Detours and OnRamps Forum conference in 2006, to address the issues of women – especially working mothers – in the workplace, with 5 successful conferences through 2012.
She also founded and served as the managing director for McCartan&Company, her own consulting company which offered strategic planning, marketing, and thought leadership expertise to financial services and professional services companies, from 2003-2017. Meghan holds an MBA in marketing management from Tulane University and an undergraduate degree from William and Mary.
19. Christine Muldoon
SVP of Marketing & Strategy, WebMD Health Services
Christine Muldoon is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at WebMD Health Services. WebMD Health Services, part of the WebMD family, is a leading well-being program and service provider helping employers and health plans to empower well-being in everyone. Christine has been with WebMD for over 15 years, working her way up by demonstrating and being recognized for her leadership talent.
Christine has over 25 years in the healthcare industry. She is a thought leader, speaker and recognized by Medical Marketing & Media as their Hall of Femme Women to Watch. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with an MBA, specializing in health care management and from Providence College with an undergraduate degree in business. She also received a certificate for Strategies that Build Winning Brands from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.
20. Lauren Benedict
Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales, MNTN
Lauren has over 20 years of sales and sales strategy experience in the media and technology industry. She is a pioneer in connected and streaming TV with a career anchored in helping advertisers navigate emerging media channels and platforms in an evolving video and TV ecosystem. In January of 2022, Lauren joined MNTN as SVP of Enterprise Sales, where she is responsible for building and leading a new team that is focused on working with large advertisers. In this role, Lauren and her team partner with brands, helping them evaluate and transition their CTV investment strategies into performance-led marketing campaigns. Coupled with the creative capabilities of recently acquired Quick Frame and Ryan Reynold’s Maximum Effort, MNTN gives advertisers the opportunity to engage audiences on CTV at scale with relevant messages and the ease of execution and efficacy as that of paid search and social.
Prior to joining MNTN, Lauren spent more than a decade with Hulu and Disney in various sales, strategy and leadership positions. Upon integrating Hulu into The Walt Disney Company in 2021, Lauren assumed the role of SVP, Addressable sales and was responsible for leading the addressable team and revenue for multiple lines of business across the Disney Portfolio. Under her leadership, the Disney addressable sales team achieved three consecutive billion-dollar quarters. Lauren also spent time at NBCUniversal where she set the strategy and sold the first full episode player and was also responsible for securing charter launch sponsors of newly created Hulu.
Lauren is consistently pushing for transformation within the advertising industry and feels fortunate to have the opportunity to help marketers take advantage of emerging platforms through creativity, technology, data and innovation. Her impact has been recognized by CableFax as a 2021 Most Powerful Women awardee and she is also a recipient of the She Runs It Changing the Game award, where she was recognized in the Brainwave Category. Lauren is a founding member of Chief, a women’s executive leadership organization. A passionate leader of people she is motivated by supporting and mentoring others as they develop in their career and how they balance this professional growth with their personal lives. She is grateful for the leaders and peers who inspired and invested in her and the teams she has been fortunate to be part of and she aspires to give back and make a similar impact, especially to those who are early in their career.
21. Stacie Hurley
VP of Compliance & Quality, Aware Recovery Care In Home Addiction Treatment
Stacie Hurley is the Vice President of Compliance and Quality Management of Aware Recovery Care. Aware Recovery Care is a pioneer in the mental health and substance use disorder treatment industry. Supported by a specially-trained team of addiction professionals, care is delivered to clients and their families within their homes and communities. Aware was founded in Connecticut in 2011 and now serves ten states.
Hurley first joined Aware in 2017, and advanced quickly into senior positions to manage compliance and quality for this rapidly growing healthcare enterprise. She took multiple responsibilities, including serving as director of compliance and legal, where she stood up the department for the organization, and director of strategic project management to support the organization’s impressive growth, opening 8 of their 10 states. Hurley earned a master’s degree in public policy and administration from American University, and an undergraduate degree in political science from Albertus Magnus College.
23. Teresa Mattarelli
Chief Commercial Officer, Perspectum
Teresa Mattarelli is a dynamic strategic leader with a strong track record of success delivering solid results, who transforms and grows organizations, identifies scalable growth opportunities, creates aspirational vision, develops and executes well-designed plans that drive sales and profitability with full P&L accountability.
An innovation champion and brand builder, Teresa has extensive commercial and operational experience, leading marketing, market development and sales in a cross section of industries and markets including med-tech, consumer packaged goods, transportation. She has pioneered business models, disrupted and shifted markets and has designed value-based healthcare models, masterfully transforming businesses and accelerating growth. Teresa has deep expertise in partnership models including joint ventures and healthcare delivering customer centric models and programs that are mutually beneficial and increase patient access to care. She is an inclusive leader and a strong champion for inclusion and diversity, talent development and mentorship.
26. Lule Tracey
Chief Financial Officer, StayWell Health Center
Lule Tracey serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the StayWell Health Care Inc., a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Waterbury, Connecticut where she oversees and directs the fiscal and business operations. She has proven to be a trusted and innovative executive team leader with over 23 years of extensive demonstrated experience in all facets of healthcare accounting, financial management, grant management, financial analysis, planning, budgeting, payroll, purchasing, patient accounts, forecasting and information systems. She is skilled in collaborating with all members of the organization to achieve business and financial strategic objectives. She has been deeply involved in leading a large-scale implementation and integration of Practice Management Systems-Electronic Health Records-Financial Accounting systems while maintaining interoperability in 2008.
Tracey earned an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in taxation from the University of New Haven.
29. Maya Gat
Co-Founder & CEO, Branching Minds
Maya Gat is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Branching Minds, a system-level K-12 education-technology platform that brings together innovative, easy to use technology with the latest insights from the learning sciences to help districts achieve an effective multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Branching Minds' mission is to empower all educators to effectively, efficiently and equitably support the holistic needs of all of their students; and to create a path to academic and personal success for every learner.
Maya sets vision and strategy for Branching Minds' dynamic team of seasoned educators, learning scientists, and technologists - driving towards solutions to some of education's most pressing problems of practice. She is deeply committed to equitably improving student academic outcomes and well-being, and is honored to have the opportunity to serve over 1.5 million kiddos and thousands of teachers in nearly every state across the country. Prior to founding Branching Minds, Maya spent 17 years working with children, youth, and adults as an educator in various capacities both inside and outside the school system. She received her master’s degree in education from Sarah Lawrence College and an undergraduate degree in urban studies and fine arts from the University of Pennsylvania.
View the complete list of awardees.
31. Faye Brennan
Chief Content Officer, Galvanized Media
Faye Brennan is a Connecticut-based content leader, editor, writer, creator, entrepreneur, podcast host, and media personality. She currently serves as Chief Content Officer for Galvanized Brands, a leader in health & wellness and one of the fastest-growing publishers in digital media. In this role, Brennan leads content strategy, development, and innovation for Eat This, Not That!, Best Life, and future brands for the company. Since her arrival in 2020, the company has witnessed her exceptional leadership of the Eat This, Not That! brand by delivering record traffic, building a best-in-class team and nurturing new concepts and category development to grow and extend the brand across all platforms.
Brennan was appointed to CCO after successfully leading Eat This, Not That! as Editor-in-Chief since February 2020 to explosive new traffic highs. In 2021, the website almost doubled its total traffic, averaging 22.6 million monthly users from 12.9 million in 2020. Under her leadership, the brand launched three new channels—Mind + Body, Drink This, Not That!, and Celeb News—and also resurrected its annual Eat This, Not That! Food Awards. In addition, Brennan and her team established a Medical Expert Board of 24 board-certified and world-renowned doctors, nutritionists, chefs, and personal trainers who regularly contribute to and factcheck the site's content.
Prior to joining Galvanized, Brennan served as the sex & relationships director at Cosmpolitan, head of sex & dating at Elite Daily, senior editor at Women's Health, and held editorial roles at Whalebone magazine, YourTango.com, and BettyConfidential.com. She was the host of Cosmopolitan's podcast, "Single, Swipe, Repeat," and has appeared as a guest on Fox & Friends, Pix11, Bold TV, Evine, BetterTV, and national radio.
34. Lindsey Lynes
SVP of Client Services, Brown Bag Marketing
Lindsey Lynes is an advocate of brands and of people. As a member of the executive leadership team, Lindsey combines her experience across marketing, HR, operations, and finance to bring the right mix of creative solutions to meet an organization’s needs. From established brands to new ventures, she develops custom solutions that scale with her clients as they grow. As a player/coach, Lindsey believes continuous learning is paramount to success—and has been known to reinvent herself a time or two.
Lindsey is currently the Senior Vice President of Client Services at Brown Bag Marketing where she leads brand and business strategy for a portfolio of clients, as well as a team of marketing professionals. Aligning her client’s goals with the roadmap to get them there, she is focused on developing the right people and the appropriate processes to ensure long-term success. Ever evolving and multi-dimensional, Lindsey leveraged her technical and business acumen to lead Vetlocity, a technology start-up, and her passion for growing talent as the VP of people and culture, before heading up her current team.
When she isn’t guiding her clients or the next generation of professionals, Lindsey stays busy leading her two young children in many of the same things—positivity, showing up, and leading with grit and grace. Lindsey was born and raised in Georgia, but now enjoys calling coastal Connecticut home. She holds an undergraduate degree in marketing and sales and a Certificate in Business Leadership from The University of Georgia and is SHRM certified.
35. Jennifer Fiorillo
President & CEO, Bridges Healthcare
Since joining Bridges in 2016, Jennifer Fiorillo has led a number of transformative initiatives to improve the quality and consistency of care clients receive, including integrating services with internal and external primary and specialty care providers, gaining Gold Seal status with the Joint Commission, and improving technology and financial positions for the agency. She has steered the agency through the COVID-19 pandemic and is in the process of implementing a major Federal grant program for Bridges to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, with expanded services in West Haven.
Fiorillo is proud to be leading Bridges, especially at this time of growth and innovation. She has an extensive background in behavioral health, business management, quality, compliance and program development. Prior to joining Bridges, she was the director of CommuniCare, Inc., a behavioral healthcare partner of Bridges headquartered in New Haven. She received her master’s degree in public health from Southern Connecticut State University and an MBA from Post University.
37. Maria Martha Chavez-Brummel
President & CEO, Catch the Next, Inc.
Dr. Maria Martha Chavez-Brummel is driven by a social mission and a desire to find innovative ways to solve social problems that have challenged the market or the public sector. Education has been at the core of her efforts ranging from kindergarten to higher education. She serves as Chief Executive Officer for Catch the Next, Inc.; a data-driven organization focused on closing the equity gap in higher education. By creating and sustaining a network of equity-minded stakeholders, she has informed the teaching practice of hundreds to improve the outcomes for thousands of students in community college and beyond. Affiliated to the University of Texas at Austin, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, Chavez Brumell offers three graduate seminars to students implementing the ASCENDER Framework for Student and Faculty Advancement.
Dr. Chavez is a former Assistant Dean of Yale College and a faculty member. At Yale, she founded the Asian Chicano Native American Cultural Center and the Chicano Boricua Studies. She is a member of the Elihu Society, a Fellow of Berkeley College, and serves in President Peter Salovey's world leaders network of alums and the Yale Alumni Fund.
In New Haven, CT, she directed and secured funding for creating the LULAC Head Start Program and the Latino Youth Center. For Save the Children Federation based in CT, she served as assistant to the VP of US Programs, where she led the Campaign for America's Forgotten Children. Her work led to the establishment of five community learning centers in the Central Valley of California. She is also the creator of the Minority Admissions Program at Kansas State University, where she served as assistant director of admissions after finishing her undergraduate and master’s degrees. She also earned a master’s degree in philosophy and a PhD in sociology from Yale University. Chavez Brumell is the recipient of the Edge Commendation for Education Innovation by the John Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.
38. Theresa Braun
VP of Growth, RocketAir
Theresa Braun leads marketing and communications as Vice President of Growth at RocketAir, a design and strategy company that specializes in brand, product, and motion. RocketAir is a trusted partner to forward-thinking startups and enterprises like BlockFi, Coursera, and Commvault—delivering scalable systems, data-fueled design, and adaptive agility to help them gain a competitive edge. With RocketAir, clients Win by Design™.
Previously, Theresa was a communications strategist at Apple. Earlier in her career, she served as senior manager of internal communications at SiriusXM/Pandora, director of marketing and communications at the digital agency Likeable Media, brand and communications manager for the IoT smart products platform EVRYTHNG, and global senior content editor at Havas Worldwide, a global advertising agency. Her writing has appeared in AdAge, Fast Company, Forbes, Inc, and others. She is the co-author of Likeable Business: Why Today's Consumers Demand More and How Leaders Can Deliver, published by McGraw-Hill.
42. Neesha Mathur
Executive Director, Novartis
Neesha Mathur is a renowned senior digital strategist, marketer, and product leader. She's a lifelong learner, empathetic, and excites the teams she leads and works with to get deeply curious about how their customers think, make decisions, and act. Neesha’s strength is building sound strategies and then building the roadmaps to get those initiatives into market—she’s a strategist with an execution orientation and a winner’s heart. She currently serves as an Executive Director of Novartis.
Neesha’s proven her innovative mindset by earning 2016 honors as one of LIMRA’s Top 25 Rising Stars in Innovation Under 40 years old. Her work rebuilding a leads generation and scoring model totally reframed the way her marketing team was approaching marketing campaigns, programs and marketing automation led to millions of dollars in cost savings, hundreds of hours saved - plus 2.5 FTE that could be deployed more effectively, much happier customers, and a 10x increase in lead conversion.
In 2019, InsuranceNexus named her their North American Customer Ambassador of the Year for the behavioral science she was bringing to her company. Her work is driving a sea-change that starts with customer journey and behavior maps, quickly leads to learning agendas and hypothesis building, developing MVPs, establishing clear and actionable KPIs, and in-market experiments that allow for quick results that are implemented immediately and result in double- and triple-digit ROI. Neesha moves beyond ideas and makes innovation, customer value, and improved outcomes reality. She is a sought-after speaker and speaks regularly at events and industry conferences.
43. Chanda Allen-Baffoe
Senior Director, Pratt & Whitney
Chanda Allen-Baffoe is a high-impact senior leader with a proven record of success in engineering and manufacturing operations in both domestic and international environments. She combines financial and business planning with tactical execution to optimize long-term gains in performance, revenues and profitability. Her extensive experience in six sigma, project management, global supply chain and nonprofits makes her a key organizational leader and asset. A resourceful and results-driven leader, Chanda demonstrates exemplary project management skills and proficiency in employing best practices that improve operational efficiency, while reducing costs and increasing productivity. She currently serves as a Senior Director at Pratt & Whitney.
Chanda’s key accomplishments include managing $800M commodity, one of the largest at Pratt & Whitney, and driving the delivery for the most pivotal components in the premier Geared Turbo Fan engines. She was previously selected as the GE Power & Water Service Manager of the Year for outstanding leadership and contribution to the Africa Region. There, she doubled the region’s revenue, expanded Field Engineering knowledge base by developing a local training program and developed and executed continental hiring strategy that led to 75% ex-patriot dependency reduction. Chanda earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in management and finance from Georgia State University. She was a participant in the UTC Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
View the complete list of awardees.
45. Kathleen A. Corbet
Founder, Cross Ridge Capital
Kathleen Corbet has over 35 years of global leadership experience in the financial services industry and two decades of experience in board governance for corporate, civic and philanthropic institutions. She is an entrepreneur and Founder of Cross Ridge Capital, LLC, a firm she launched in 2008 specializing in private investing and strategic consulting in the financial information services industry.
Corbet also serves on the board of directors for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Clearwater Analytics. Previously, she has served on the boards of AxiomSL, BlackRock TCP Capital Corp, and CEB, Inc. She was formerly president of Standard & Poor’s and previously an EVP at AllianceBernstein LP and CEO of the firm’s fixed income division.
Committed to her community, Corbet currently serves as an elected Selectman in New Canaan, Connecticut and previously served on the Town Council, Board of Finance and on the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. She also serves as a Justice of the Peace for the State of Connecticut.
In the nonprofit sector, Corbet serves as a past chairman and board member of Waveny LifeCare Network providing healthcare, hospice and senior living options for seniors. Previously, she has served on the board of trustees for The Jackson Laboratory and Boston College, where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in marketing and computer science. Corbet earned her MBA in finance with distinction from New York University's Stern School of Business.
46. Jacci Robinson
New England Sales Director, Presidio
Jacci Robinson has over 12 years of experience in the technology services segment, with a stint at a start-up. As a top producer, she built programs to increase customer retention and engagement, delivered sales training for new hires, built channel programs, and crafted pricing and engagement strategy for new markets and service offerings. She was a mentor to many and has retained strong brand recognition across the markets she’s served. Today, she's working with DE&I business partners to bring more protected classes into high-tech. Her superpowers include bringing people together, creating inclusive environments, and leading with empathy.
48. Christina Sanchez
Director of Development, Grants & Outreach, Community Health Services
Christina Sanchez is a public health thought leader in Connecticut's nonprofit development management. Setting goals and developing plans for business and revenue growth, she thrives on researching, planning, and implementing new target market initiatives. Expert in grant management, development, and community outreach, makes her a well-rounded professional with a successful track record in leading administrative departments with the highest ethical standards for designing, implementing, and evaluating public health and nonprofit programs. She has worked extensively with all twelve community sectors, including healthcare organizations, schools, government agencies, and higher education institutions.
Christina is enthusiastic about community-level change and empowering the State and Federal leaders to advocate for policy solutions. Her passion is rooted in hard work—a product of a broken family trapped in the cycle of poverty, addiction, and mental illness. With the belief in staying humble in one's roots, Christina pivoted in her career, taking all opportunities to learn program development, grant management, and community outreach. From those experiences, her entrepreneurial personality lets her look at a program like a business but with a profit margin gaining safe and caring communities. A first-generation college student, Christina earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from Saint Joseph’s University.
49. Laura Wallace
Head of Global Epidemiology and Real World Evidence, Boehringer Ingelheim
Laura Wallace is the Head of Global Epidemiology and Real World Evidence within the Global Medical Affairs division at Boehringer Ingelheim. She has been at Boehringer Ingelheim for four years, prior to which she worked as director of medical affairs strategic research at Purdue and as an epidemiologist in the safety & risk management group at Pfizer. Laura did her training at Brown, Southern Connecticut State, and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Laura has experience managing cross-functional, global teams and leading complex projects to completion. She has extensive regulatory experience, including multiple FDA advisory committees. She has worked as epidemiology lead for multi-disciplinary projects in the respiratory, women’s health, metabolism, pain, sleep, CNS, and pediatric areas, with work spanning Phase 1 through 4. In the course of this work she designed, executed, and reported on multiple large epidemiologic studies, communicating results to highly varied internal and external audiences, including regulators, healthcare providers, and the media. She has supported business development activities through targeted patient population characterization and other due diligence functions, as well as performing assessment of risk management needs for potential in-licensed products. Laura also has worked as a member of a cross-functional team to develop near-, mid-, and long-term strategy for the company and worked closely with members of senior management to execute strategy and support colleagues during times of extensive change.
View the complete list of awardees.