The technology industry is a brazen boys club no more, thanks to the below ladies who have paid their dues and climbed ranks to the top of the tech game. The women featured have not only made strides in their respective technological ventures, but have also broken racial barriers, created opportunities for themselves and others, and raised the bar on what it means to be a “boss†in tech. BlackEnterprise.com celebrates these women below.
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Shellye Archambeau
This powerful woman has held several executive positions with numerous companies and is now CEO of MetricStream, a governance, risk management, and compliance company in Palo Alto, California. She began her corporate career at IBM; following graduation from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and within a 15 year span climbed the corporate ladder
to eventually become the first African American at the company to be sent on assignment internationally. In addition to her current position as CEO of MetricStream, Archambeau also sits on the board of directors for Verizon Communications and Nordstrom Inc.Nichol Bradford
Bradford is CEO of The Willow Group, a transformative technology company focused on employing rigorous scientific research to develop training hardware, software, and protocols that can produce a reliable and positive change in the human experience. What does this mean, exactly? Picture an online meditation and mind-training course that can aid in helping you find the meditation method that will work for you. Bradford has several years’ experience in the online gaming industry serving as a senior executive for several companies including Disney and Activision Blizzard. She has undoubtedly acquired ample experience to add to the growth potential and success of her current venture as Willow Group CEO. Bradford currently holds a M.B.A. in strategy from Wharton School of Business.
Denise Young Smith
Smith is currently Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Human Resources and is responsible for obtaining top talent at Apple. In this role, she oversees 115,000 employees around the world and works diligently to improve diversity across the board. Smith holds a master’s in Organizational Management from Grambling State University.
Stacey Brown-Philpot
Philpot is chief operating officer for TaskRabbit where her primary focus is scaling and expanding the marketplace. Prior to her current role, Brown-Philpot served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Google Ventures where she offered strategic expertise to the firm’s portfolio companies. She also founded the Black Googler Network, a component of diversification initiatives at Google. Brown-Philpot holds an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Condoleezza Rice
Many know Rice as the former United States Secretary of State. What many may not know is that recently, Rice was added to the board of directors of the online storage startup, Dropbox. In addition to her most recent tech endeavor, Rice is currently a professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a professor of Political Economy in the Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution.
Kimberly Bryant
Bryant is founder of Black Girls Code, a nonprofit organization that teaches coding to black girls from underrepresented communities. Prior to founding the nonprofit, Bryant worked in biotechnology for nearly 10 years and was a successful electrical engineer holding management roles at Merck,
Genentech, and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. She is also currently a Pahara-Aspen Institute Fellow. She received a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.Majora Carter
Carter is a prominent urban revitalization strategy consultant, real estate developer, and co-founder of the 400+ member Bronx Tech Meetup. She is responsible for the implementation of various green-infrastructure projects, policies, and job training and placement systems. Carter co-founded StartUp Box #SouthBronx, a social enterprise designed to increase opportunities for South Bronx community members by creating a technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem in South Bronx. She is also a Peabody Award-winner for her work as a broadcaster on public radio and has also received a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. She is a Board Member of the US Green Building Council and the Andrew Goodman Foundation. She is also an Advisory Board Member of the Bronx Academy of Software Engineering. Carter received a Master of Fine Arts from New York University.
Michelle Fisher
Fisher is the founder and CEO of Blaze Mobile, a tech company that develops innovative advertising solutions, healthcare, banking, and mobile commerce. As founder of Blaze Mobile, Fisher invented the NFC mobile payment sticker, allowing mobile devices to be used to make contact-less purchases. Fisher received a master’s in engineering from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She also has a certificate in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon University.
Hadiyah Mujhid
Mujhid is co-founder and Director of Education Programs and Outreach for Black Founders Startup Ventures, an ecosystem that stimulates black entrepreneurship. She is also founder and software engineer of Playpen Labs where she builds software products using design thinking and agile development. In addition to her business ventures, she is also senior instructor at Hackbright Academy where she is responsible for curriculum development. She holds a M.B.A. from Drexel University.
Angela Benton
Benton is the founder and CEO of NewME Accelerator, designed to accelerate underrepresented entrepreneurs in the tech industry around the world. Prior to founding NewMe Accelerator, Benton was the CEO of Black Web Media L.L.C., launching BlackWeb2.0, an online publication for African Americans interested in new media and technology. She was also CEO and founder of Cued Labs Inc. She graduated magna cum laude from American InterContinental University with a BFA in Visual Communications. She’s also completed graduate coursework toward a MFA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.