Gender diversity at the leadership level has been an important topic of debate. In the last two decades, the topic of leadership has, however, become even more complex with the emergence of new technologies, making it necessary for leaders to be tech savvy.
In this webinar, recent findings from the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind (AiTH) will be presented showing the effects that being knowledgeable in the technology area may have on being recognized as a leader and how this may influence the discussion about gender diversity and leadership.
To discuss the interesting interplay between gender diversity, leadership and technology, we invited four global female leaders (Andrea, Carolyn, Jane and Melanie) to find out their views on what it means to lead in today’s organizational landscape, which is filled with technological innovations. We will delve deeper into what drives them to excel in their leadership and in the technology industry, what challenges they faced and what they see as the way forward to promote gender equality when diversity in the workplace will take the shape of human-machine interactions.
Founder and Director, Centre on AI Technology for Humankind, Provost Chair and Professor in Management and Organisation, NUS Business School
Professor David De Cremer is a Provost Chair and professor in management and organizations at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. He is the founder and director of the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind (AiTH) at NUS Business School. Before moving to NUS, he was the KPMG endowed professor in management studies and current honorary fellow at Cambridge University. He received numerous career awards for his scientific work, was named the most influential economist in the Netherlands (2009-2010), a Global Thought Leader by the Trust Across America organization (2016), one of the world’s top 30 management gurus and speakers by the organization GlobalGurus (2020), a Thinkers50 Radar thought leader (referred to by the Financial Times as the “Oscars of Management Thinking”), and is included in the World Top 2% of scientists.
He is frequently featured in and contributes to media worldwide (e.g. The Economist, The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Straits Times, Channel News Asia, BBC), is an awarded and popular teacher for executives and has advised many companies worldwide. He is also a best-selling author. His book Huawei: Leadership, culture, and connectivity sold more than 1 million copies. His latest book “Leadership By Algorithm: Who Leads and Who Follows in the AI Era?”, has received critical acclaim by the Financial Times, was named one of the 15 leadership books to read in 2020, and reached the no. 1 position in the Kindle category on amazon.com. His personal website can be found at www.daviddecremer.com.
Former Deputy Chair and Board Member, KPMG
Melanie Richards joined KPMG in 2000 to develop the Debt Advisory practice and moved into the role of Deputy Chair of KPMG, London (UK), where she drove the Big Four firm’s strategic direction as well as policy positions around bank lending, debt restructuring and capital markets’ instruments.
Melanie is an inclusiveness champion; a founding member of the UK’s 30% Club Steering Committee, which is focused on increasing female representation on FTSE Boards and Leadership. In June 2016, Oxford Brookes University awarded Melanie an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration for her active promotion of gender equality. Until recently, Melanie sat on Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2019, she was also awarded a CBE for her services to Business and Inclusion.
Digital Innovation Leader, PwC Singapore
Carolyn Chin-Parry was awarded Woman of the Year from the Women in IT Asia Awards and recognised as the Top 100 Women in Tech (by IMDA, SCS, SGWIT and MediaCorp). She is the Digital Innovation Leader at PwC Singapore and recently led PwC’s Asia Pacific Digital Upskilling Initiative for 84,000 employees in the region.
Carolyn is an active contributor to PwC Singapore’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She is the co-chair of AustCham Singapore’s Digital Committee where she provides strategic advice to the Australian Government.
Carolyn also sits on the Advisory Boards for the Australian Institute of Company Directors, She Loves Data (non-profit) and Executive Global Networks.
Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors, Trip.com Group
Jane Sun is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Trip.com. The company offers a one-stop-shop for travel services to 400 million users worldwide. As the only female CEO in China’s high-tech industry, she proactively advocates for gender equality.
In 2019, Jane was awarded the Asia Society Asia Game Changer Award. Forbes named her one of Asia’s 25 Emerging Star Businesswomen in 2018, and one of the Most Influential and Outstanding Businesswomen in China in 2017.
In 2020, she was also named one of Fortune’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.
President, Microsoft Asia Pacific
As President Microsoft APAC, Andrea Della Mattea has more than 25 years of experience in the technology sector. She is responsible for leading Microsoft’s overall business, accelerating the digital transformation journeys of their customers and partners.
Before joining Microsoft, Andrea served in a series of senior leadership roles at Insight Enterprises & Software Spectrum in North America and APAC, including her most recent role as Asia Pacific Managing Director where she was responsible for strategic and operational leadership across the region.
Andrea also serves as a Non-Executive Director for Meals on Wheels and on the Business Advisory Committee for the Habitat for Humanity, Australia.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Centre on AI Technology for Humankind, NUS Business School
Mahak Nagpal is a postdoctoral research associate at the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind. She received her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Business Ethics from Rutgers Business School and Bachelor’s degree from The University of Virginia. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., she was a Behavioral Lab Manager at The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Mahak’s research considers the question of how employees build an understanding of what is right, when it first comes across as not clearly right or wrong, particularly with reference to the growing adoption of intelligent and autonomous systems in the workplace.
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4:00pm | Opening by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye |
4:05pm | Comments by Dr David De Cremer and Dr Mahak Nagpal |
4:15pm | Panel discussion featuring:
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5:00pm | Q&A |
5:15pm | End |
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