Tech Queen: Adaeze Iloeje-Udeogalanya - Founder and CEO, African Women in STEM

Jasmine Moradi Harbou-Hals — from refugee to system shifter. Born in Iran, raised in Sweden, and now rebuilding the world from Cannes. Once a refugee girl navigating visible and invisible borders, she now dismantles them — turning every barrier into a blueprint for change.Redesigning the future through UX Research & Behavioral Science across MusicTech | TravelTech | Inclusive Innovation, Jasmine is the Founder of the Queens of Tech podcast and an author. Today, she is a Senior UX Researcher at Amadeus Nexwave, leading behavioral research to build TravelTech systems that are smarter, safer, and human-first.With studies in Media & Communication and Journalism, and degrees from Berghs School of Communication and the Stockholm School of Economics, her impact spans four groundbreaking MusicTech research studies with Spotify Business/Soundtrack Your Brand — read by over 70,000 people and shaping global industry standards. She is also the host of The Power of Audio + Science + AI, exploring how sound, branding, AI, and human behavior intersect with guests from neuroscience, MusicTech, and behavioral design, and the creator of the Queens of Tech podcast, sharing 100 untold stories from women, non-binary, and trans tech leaders across 27 countries and 70,000 listeners.Jasmine is the author of Jaz – A Unicorn Cat’s Song of Colors and Courage, a lyrical children’s book inspired by her refugee journey, which teaches the importance of belonging, empathy, and bravery.Through boardrooms and classrooms, podcasts and research reports, Jasmine’s mission remains constant: build tech that remembers who it’s for — and who it neglected. www.jasminemoradi.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jingjin is a trailblazing entrepreneur dedicated to advancing women's inclusion and social justice across Asia. As the Founder of ELEVATE with Uma Thana, she spearheads a dynamic group of companies committed to redefining societal, organizational, and individual norms to rebalance power and drive meaningful change for women at every stage of their professional journey.Jingjin's career is marked by her leadership in global product management, successful portfolio turnarounds in multinational corporations, and the establishment of thriving organizations in Germany, China, and Singapore. Prior to founding ELEVATE, she was the founder and CEO of ZaZaZu, a pioneering corporate education platform aimed at empowering one million professional women to master challenges both at work and at home.She also co-founded ASBO Drives Technology GmbH, which revolutionized agricultural practices in rural China by increasing crop yields and reducing vehicle downtime through advanced gearbox technology. This venture was successfully acquired by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in 2019.In the male-dominated automotive industry, Jingjin made history as the only Asian, the only woman, and the only senior director under 35 to serve as Global Marketing Director at WABCO. There, she oversaw portfolios worth up to $800 million, achieved remarkable revenue growth of over $200 million, and generated $5 million in sales for ASBO Drives.Driven by her profound passion for transforming the professional landscape for women, Jingjin continuously pushes boundaries and challenges societal norms to create an inclusive environment where women can thrive and embody their best selves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solona is a problem solver and strategic thinker who is passionate about working with educators to create learning environments that allow all students to see themselves as life-long learners of science.Before joining Leading Educators, Solona worked with state, district, and school leaders to develop strategies and implement systems for increasing leader capacity and teacher effectiveness. Most recently, she supported the implementation of a state-wide coaching model.Before pursuing a career in education, Solona worked as a chemist and co-invented a commercially sold adhesive.Solona Hollis holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Dillard University and completed her education certification at Mercer University. An Atlanta native, she spends free time with her two sons and her dog, Layla. Solona works to promote autism awareness and advocacy in her local community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adaeze Iloeje-Udeogalanya is a TEDx speaker and founder of African Women in STEM, an organization empowering African women in STEM fields globally. With two decades of experience in engineering and energy, she has managed projects worth over half a billion dollars.As a catalyst for change, Adaeze speaks powerfully about cultural inclusion and community building. Her TEDx Talk challenges professionals to embrace their cultural identity as a key to innovation. Through her Leadership Development Program, she helps women in STEM design careers aligned with their values to maximize their potential. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arpita Vats is a Senior AI Engineer at LinkedIn, specializing in feed recommendation and large-scale machine learning models. She worked as a Research Scientist Intern at Meta and Amazon, focusing on Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI. With extensive experience in recommender systems, computer vision, and natural language processing, Arpita has authored multiple research papers and contributed to industry-leading AI advancements. Her work includes privacy-aware LLMs, a Mixture of Experts (MoE) scaling, and multimodal AI for video understanding. She has served as a reviewer for top-tier conferences such as CVPR, ICLR, KDD, ACM CSUR, and IEEE AI Multimedia. Arpita is also an active speaker at AI conferences, including Data Science Salon SF. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexandra David is an Enterprise Solutions Consultant at Figma with over a decade of experience in the SaaS industry. She specializes in Pre-sales Strategy and Solutions Consulting. Her extensive knowledge of go-to-market strategies and SaaS-driven innovation has significantly contributed to her expertise in technology solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cosima Meyer is a senior data scientist at SAP. In her previous role at IBM, she took machine learning products from concept to production. She was also a co-leader of IBM's Data Science Methods Community where she managed data science asset development. Cosima is passionate about building sustainable machine-learning products and creating relevant frameworks for working with and using AI. She won the “Innovate With Purpose Award” by IBM for a project using a modern NLP approach and was named a Futuremaker 2024 by Business Insider for her work on making the tech industry more diverse.Cosima has a PhD in conflict studies, and with a background in statistics and social sciences, she enjoys thinking about bias and how to mitigate it to build fair ML products. During her PhD, she co-founded Methods Bites, a data science blog that provides step-by-step tutorials on topics ranging from package development over statistical methods to teaching data science. At CorrelAid, a European non-profit data for-good organization, she worked on a data course that offers civil society actors a hands-on, project-based learning course in data handling, statistics, data visualization, and web application development.As a Women Techmakers Ambassador, Cosima is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. As an active member of PyLadies, R-Ladies Global team, and founder of R-Ladies Cologne, she is also involved in several community initiatives that support underrepresented groups in the coding world. To further increase the visibility of underrepresented groups in tech, Cosima developed Mastodon and Bluesky bots that regularly post content created by PyLadies and R-Ladies. Since the beginning of 2024, she has also launched the “Amazing Women in Tech” project, which highlights each week one woman in tech, highlighting her background, and her accomplishments to provide more role models for aspiring data enthusiasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nandeeta Seth has 20 years of experience spanning tech product and monetization roles at TikTok, Google, and management consulting. She holds an MBA in Finance & Strategy from Columbia University's Business School. Nandeeta has lived and worked on four continents, embracing a global perspective. She is a strong and relentless advocate for diverse teams and women in tech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Moore is a dynamic Chief Product Officer, business owner, and thought leader, renowned for her ability to drive innovation, growth, and cultural transformation in both global enterprises and local startups. As the founder of Strategies that Spark, Jennifer offers a suite of consulting services, including interim and fractional executive Product leadership, organizational design and talent strategy, executive coaching, and operational excellence solutions. She is passionate about helping organizations thrive while empowering individuals to craft fulfilling careers.Jennifer’s career highlights include senior leadership roles at Wells Fargo, Workfront, and Pluralsight, where she spearheaded transformative initiatives that scaled teams, optimized product portfolios, and accelerated company growth. At Workfront, her strategic leadership was instrumental in its $1.5B acquisition by Adobe. Similarly, at Pluralsight, Jennifer helped guide the company through significant acquisitions and its $3.75B transition into the Vista Equity Partners portfolio.Jennifer is a community builder at heart, angel investing in local Utah tech startups and serving as President of the Board of Directors for Product Hive, a 10,000-member nonprofit supporting product management, design, and research professionals. She actively mentors women returning to the workforce, product strategy students, and entrepreneurs in startup programs. Her dedication to empowering others and fostering community is central to her mission.A sought-after keynote speaker, Jennifer’s authenticity and infectious energy resonate with audiences. She holds a Bachelor's in English, Professional & Technical Writing from Brigham Young University, a Master's in Business Administration, and the Chief Product Officer certification from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Jennifer lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rania Hoteit is a globally recognized entrepreneur, impact leader, and innovation strategist, celebrated for her outstanding contributions to business, technology, and sustainability. She has received prestigious honors from institutions such as The White House, the United Nations, and the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament, as well as accolades like the Global CEO Excellence Award. As a serial entrepreneur, Rania has successfully managed multiple ventures, guiding them from ideation to acquisition, and is a sought-after leadership consultant, executive coach, and board advisor for organizations worldwide.As the Founder and former CEO of ID4A Technologies, Rania led groundbreaking advancements in manufacturing that created a measurable environmental, economic, and social impact on a global scale. Under her leadership, ID4A earned accolades including recognition from the White House Office of Science and Technology, inclusion in the Inc. 5000 list of "America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies," and Real Leaders’ "100 Top Impact Companies" Award. Her efforts also garnered the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Citizens Award for "Best Economic Opportunity and Empowerment Program."Rania has been a vocal advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equality, spearheading initiatives that have closed leadership and education gaps while driving sustainable development. Her efforts have inspired over 2,000 businesses to adopt sustainable practices and improved the working conditions of more than 2 million industrial workers by addressing labor exploitation in global supply chains.Her insights and achievements have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, Huffington Post, Inc., and Thrive Global. Named alongside Oprah Winfrey in Disrupt Magazine’s "7 Disruptive Women Paving the Way for Success in 2022," Rania was also inducted into Marquis Who's Who in 2024 as an "Honoree Listee" among America’s most accomplished leaders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.