As the tech world gears up for Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC2025) in Barcelona, anticipation builds for an event that promises to reshape the future of mobile technology and digital innovation.
When MWC Barcelona comes to mind, it evokes images of cutting-edge technology, groundbreaking innovations, and industry-shaping announcements that define the future of mobile and tech. And you're absolutely right. But what truly sets this world-renowned event apart, beyond its impressive statistics, is the unparalleled opportunity for personal and professional growth it offers to those navigating its expansive halls.
Amidst the excitement of MWC2025 lies an exclusive highlight—the Chief in Tech Executive Dinner, organized by WomenTech Network. This prestigious gathering offers a unique opportunity to connect with some of the most influential leaders in technology in an intimate and inspiring setting. Far beyond a traditional networking event, the dinner fosters meaningful conversations, authentic connections, and thought-provoking insights that inspire collaboration and innovation. It’s a chance to engage with visionaries shaping the future of tech while sharing ideas and building relationships that extend far beyond the event itself.
In celebration of this landmark event, we're spotlighting 30 trailblazing Chief in Tech leaders who are shaping the future of technology.
Meet the 30 Chief in Tech Leaders at MWC Barcelona 2025
Alessandra Sala, Senior Director of AI and Data Science at Shutterstock
A research and scientific leader in Artificial Intelligence, Alessandra is the Sr. Director of AI and Data Science at Shutterstock. Alessandra has over 18 years’ experience in research and innovation gained whilst working in academic and commercial environments.
Alexa Von Bismarck, EMEA President at Adyen
Alexa von Bismarck has been serving as the President of EMEA at Adyen since January 2022. In this capacity, she oversees the management and coordination of Adyen's twelve European branches, including Dubai. She has worked for the financial technology platform since 2013, most recently as Country Manager Germany.
Archana Khetan, SVP Product Management at Ericsson
A 25+ year industry veteran, Archana brings broad industry experience in Product and Portfolio Management in networking, security, compute and mobility domains at leading technology companies, including Cisco Systems, Zebra Technologies, Juniper Networks and Dell.
Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, President & CEO at Telenor Group
Benedicte has over three decades of experience spanning the financial and FMCG industries. Her extensive board experience includes serving as the Chair of the Oslo Stock Exchange, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Norway, and a board member of several corporations including Vipps, Norway’s market-leading mobile payment app.
Cristina Rodriguez, VP GM Comm Solution Group at Intel Corporation
Cristina Rodriguez is Vice President in Intel’s Network & Edge Group and General Manager of the Communication Solutions Group, where she drives Intel’s strategy to deliver innovative solutions across wireline, wireless, media, and enterprise networks to empower customers to build future networks and accelerate innovations across 5G & 6G, AI, edge and cloud computing.
Eiman Mohyeldin, Global Head of Spectrum Standardization at Nokia
Eiman Mohyeldin is electronic engineer specialised in Communication Engineering. She has two decades of a professional experience in radio research and spectrum regulation and standardization at Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia Networks and now Nokia.
Faye Liu, Security Chief Researcher at Huawei
Faye Liu is the 6G Security Chief Researcher in Huawei. Her practice areas include telecoms security and privacy research, standardization, industry and strategy development. She used to work in research departments of China Mobile, involved in standard formulation of 3G to 5G telco networks.
Gretchen Tinnerman, VP and GM of US Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Industries at Kyndryl
Gretchen Tinnerman is an accomplished and innovative executive with over 20 years' experience in leading complex, transformative technology organizations. Gretchen has also authored several articles on the topic of enterprise transformation and is a passionate advocate for women in technology.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at European Commission
As Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Ms Henna Virkkunen is tasked with combatting the increasingly complex security threats facing the EU, whilst at the same time strengthening our external borders and our internal security. This goes hand in hand with her responsibility to ensure our freedoms, justice and democracy are strengthened too.
Honoré Labourdette, Vice President, Global Telco Partner Ecosystem at Red Hat
Honoré joined Red Hat as Vice President, Industry Verticals & Edge with a primary focus on Telco, Media, Entertainment and Edge. In this role, she has global responsibility for the success of the Telecom, Media, Entertainment and Edge ecosystem of partners including NEPs, ISVs, OEMs, Global System Integrators and Hyperscalers.
Irish Salandanan-Almeida, Chief Privacy Officer at Globe Telecom, Inc.
Irish began her professional career in Philippine law firms where she specialized in civil, commercial, and criminal litigation before shifting to public policy. She was part of the USAID Trade-Related Assistance for Development Project where she worked with industry pioneers toward the passage of the Philippine Competition Act. She then joined Uber and Grab where she advocated for ride-hailing legislation.
Jeanine L.K. Leflore, Vice President of Product Growth, Innovation at SAP
Jeanine LeFlore, Vice President of Product Growth, Innovation at SAP, drives the success of early-stage products and services, leveraging AI to meet evolving enterprise needs through transformative innovation. Previously, she was General Manager of Brilliant Hire by SAP and led Product Management and UX for SAP’s Concur Hipmunk. Before SAP, Jeanine founded and led a real-time data analytics startup and held leadership roles at Yahoo! and The Home Depot.
Kaniz Mahdi, Director Technology AWS Industries at Amazon Web Services
Kaniz is a visionary thinker and a pragmatic technologist, renowned for her ability to excel in uncharted territories with intuitive ease. In her unwavering pursuit of innovation, Kaniz has consistently evolved the state of the art toward the seemingly unthinkable, amassing 45+ patent grants & numerous papers/publications, while serving in technology leadership roles at world renowned organizations including Deutsche Telekom, VMware, Ericsson & Huawei.
Karen Florschütz, Executive Vice President Connected Intelligence at Airbus Defence and Space
Before joining Airbus, Karen's previous role was Unit CEO for Customer Services at Siemens Digital Industries. Since 1998 Karen held various management positions for Siemens and Dresser Rand in the Telecoms and Oil & Gas sector. In 2017 Karen joined the Digital Factory division as Executive Vice President & General Manager for Automation Products and Customizing Solutions and finally in 2019 she became CEO of Customer Services within the Digital Services division.
Karen Lellouche Ép. Tordjman, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group
Karen is a Managing Director & Senior Partner at BCG. She joined BCG in 2004 as an Associate in Paris office, worked in New York office in 2008 and 2009, and has worked in Mexico City office since 2019, covering clients in the US and in Mexico. She leads BCG Customer Experience topic globally, with a focus on: digital customer journeys, e-commerce, omnichannel, loyalty, customer satisfaction improvement & measurement, cultural change towards customer centricity.
Kerry Small, COO at BT
Kerry Small is Chief Operating Officer, Business at BT. BT empowers organisations large and small with secure and resilient connectivity. Kerry is a specialist in leading large-scale transformation programmes, inspiring teams to collaborate across cultures and functions. She also has a strong passion for using technology for good and closing the digital divide.
Laura Rudas, Executive Vice President, Strategy at Palantir Technologies
Laura Rudas is EVP at Palantir Technologies. She works closely with Palantir's Founder and CEO to help the Silicon Valley company devise its strategy and expand its international footprint. At 28 she became the youngest Secretary-General of a governing political party in Europe, while being an elected official in Parliament. After ten years in government and winning another national re-election campaign, Laura broke with tradition and resigned from all her political posts.
Madeleine Thun, Senior Director at AstraZeneca
As Senior Director of A.Catalyst, Health Innovation at AstraZeneca, she co-leads a network of 25+ health innovation hubs across the globe. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, she drove innovation and new business development across multiple industries and spent nearly a decade in the education sector. An engineer by training, her career began at a start-up in the emerging mobile services field in 2004, during the era of WAP, Java apps, and MMS—long before the iPhone transformed the industry.
Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Executive Vice President, CEO at Orange Europe
Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, with a scientific background, has been Executive Director, CEO of Orange Europe, the division that consolidates the Group's European activities outside France, since September 2020. Since joining the Orange Group in 1996, Mari-Noëlle has had a rich and varied experience. She began her career in the distribution of Products and Services, then was responsible for launching the Internet distribution activities. Afterwards, she joined Wanadoo France in 2001, as Director of Strategy.
Marieke Snoep, Chief Consumer Market & Member of the Board at KPN Royal Dutch Telecom
Marieke Snoep has been a member of the Board of Management of KPN since 2019 and was appointed Chief Consumer Market on June 1, 2023. In this role, she is responsible for KPN's activities and determines the company's strategy in the consumer domain. She has extensive strategic and commercial expecience in the Dutch telecommunications and technology market.
Melissa Wong, Group Chief Product Officer at Bolttech
Melissa leads the overall responsibility to drive the organisation’s growth through product innovation and digital transformation. She works closely with our colleagues in technology, customer experience, partnerships and distribution as part of a wider mandate to build and enhance our digital ecosystem.She has a proven track record as a digital leader in the financial sector, having worked in banking and financial services for over two decades. She joins us from the banking industry, where she spearheaded customer-led digital transformation projects and customer journey initiatives.
Mónica Aspe, CEO at AT&T Mexico
With nearly two decades of experience in telecommunications and related industries, she has been an entrepreneur, public official, and diplomat. Prior to her appointment as CEO, she was VP of External Affairs and Corporate Communications at AT&T Mexico. Before joining AT&T, she served as Mexico's Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and co-representative to the International Energy Agency. She was also Deputy Secretary of Communications and a consultant in the telecommunications, infrastructure, and aviation sectors.
Monika Gupta, 5G & Edge, Vice President at Capgemini Group Connectivity
She has nearly 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and IT industry and has led large green-field and transformation programs across geographies. She also works as an advisor with Government of India on 5G/6G and has contributed to Government of India’s 5G Inter-Ministerial Committee, 5G VEPP (Vertical Engagement and Partnership Program), 100 5G use cases labs setup across top engineering & technology institutes in India (100 5G labs initiative) and Expert Technical Evaluation Committee (ETEC) for 6G Proposals.
Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation at Republic of Rwanda
Paula Ingabire is a Rwandan technology enthusiast, who currently serves as the Minister of ICT and Innovation in the Government of Rwanda. Prior to her appointment as Minister, she served as Head of the ICT Business Development Department at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) where she led the implementation of National ICT programs notably eGovernment and Cyber Security; as well as the coordinator of the Kigali Innovation City Project, a flagship program of the Government designed to nurture and strengthen a Pan-African Innovation eco-system in Rwanda.
Peggy Johnson, CEO at Agility Robotics
Before Agility, Johnson most recently served as CEO of spatial computing company Magic Leap, where she led the pivot from consumer to enterprise. Previously, Johnson spent six years as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft. Prior to that, Johnson spent 24 years at Qualcomm, where she served as a amember of the company’s Executive Committee and held various leadership positions across engineering, sales, marketing, and business development.
Pilar Manchón, Senior Director of Engineering and AI Research Strategy at Google
Pilar has been a leading voice within the AI industry for more than 25 years: as a research scientist at the Universities of Seville, Edinburgh or Stanford; as an entrepreneur, expanding her AI startup internationally and driving it through a successful exit; and as an executive at companies such as Intel, Amazon, Roku and now Google.
Sarah Hwang, Managing Director - Networks & Infrastructure at Accenture
Her 21+ years at Accenture have been in the network and communications industry working with global hyperscalers, operators, and large enterprises. She also has a key role in Accenture’s Americas Network practice by building the talent and community of over 200+ specialised members.
Silvia Candiani, VP Telco, Media & Gaming Industry Lead at Microsoft
Silvia has 15 years of experience at Microsoft and previously served as CEO of Microsoft Italy, where she worked toward the mission of accelerating the digital transformation of Italian companies, institutions, and society. Before her role as CEO, she led the Consumer and Channel division for Central and Eastern Europe, including PC/tablets, hardware, Windows Phone, Xbox, and Office.
Susan Emerson, SVP AI Product at Salesforce
Susan currently leads Salesforce’s global AI customer engagement. Prior to that, she has held leadership positions in distribution, product, marketing, and industry solutions for CRM Analytics, Data and AI. She works with customers and partners on strategies to leverage and gain value from Salesforce AI technologies. Prior to Salesforce, Susan has 30+ years of experience growing early-stage companies through successful IPOs and acquisitions, including Commerce One, Infinity Financial Technology, Zuora, and Workbrain.
Vicki Brady, CEO & Managing Director at Telstra
Vicki joined Telstra in 2016 and was most recently Chief Financial Officer and Strategy & Finance Group Executive. In this role, Vicki guided the company’s financial performance and reporting, led the development of and progress against its corporate strategy, and oversaw its risk and internal audit capabilities, with the aim of delivering shareholder value over the long term.
Amidst the ever-evolving landscape of mobile technology, where innovation is the lifeblood of progress, the Chief in Tech Executive Dinner offers a unique opportunity to be part of a powerful synergy of diverse voices and groundbreaking ideas. The leaders participating in this event are not only amplifying the distinctive perspectives of tech executives at MWC2025 but also bringing their visionary insights to shape the future of the industry.
As you look beyond MWC2025, keep an eye out for upcoming WomenTech Network events. These offer golden opportunities to continue the dialogue, expand your professional network, and maintain the momentum of innovation and leadership in the tech world. Don't let this exclusive dinner during MWC2025 slip through your busy schedule. It's where influential voices come together to chart the course of technological advancement.
As you look beyond MWC2025, mark your calendars for another landmark event: the Women in Tech Global Conference 2025, taking place from May 20-22. This virtual-first conference aims to bring together over 150,000 women, minorities, and allies from across the globe, offering a golden opportunity to continue the dialogue, expand your networks, and keep the momentum alive.
