Congrats to 2018's WiC Leading Lights Finalists

Ten worthy women and two trailblazing startups made the shortlist this year for Women in Comms' Leading Lights awards. Winners will be unveiled soon at BCE.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

April 12, 2018

3 Min Read
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Our third year of seeking out inspiring, pioneering women in the communications field was the most challenging yet -- challenging only because it was hard to narrow down our lists, and even harder to select the winners.

It's an exciting time to be in the comms industry: Work is well underway on technologies that will fundamentally change how we work, live and communicate; there are ample opportunities for advancement; and progressive companies are answering the call to support, promote and empower the women in their workforce.

We were thrilled to have so many impressive women nominated for our three Women in Comms Leading Lights awards -- Most Inspiring Woman in Comms, Hedy Lamarr Award for Female Tech Pioneer of the Year and the Female-Led Startup to Watch. The judging was fierce in each category, but we ended up with 11 more-than-worthy finalists who have made either significant technical contributions to the industry or big strides in helping other women in comms (but usually both).

These three WiC awards are part of the broader Leading Lights Awards program. Find out which companies were shortlisted in the other myriad categories by reading: Leading Lights 2018: The Finalists.

The winners, and the identities of this year's Light Reading Hall of Fame inductees, will be announced at the Leading Lights awards dinner, which will be held during the evening of Monday, May 14, at at the Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas, the evening before the doors open to the Big Communications Event.

Be sure to book your seat or table before they sell out: All the details and contacts you need can be found right here.

Click on the links below to see our 11 worthy women to watch in 2018, and check back in the coming weeks for more on why each made it to the shortlists.

Most Inspiring Woman in Comms
A special award that seeks to recognize a woman who has worked tirelessly and effectively to advance the cause of women and girls in the next-generation comms industry.

Hedy Lamarr Award for Female Tech Pioneer of the Year
A special award that seeks to recognize a woman in the next-generation comms industry for her remarkable influence and technological contributions to the sector in the past year.

Female-Led Startup to Watch
Awarded to a startup that's seen as having considerable potential to disrupt the industry, advance technology and have a lasting impact.

To see the company our finalists keep, revisit 2017 and 2016's winners below:

— Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

Next page: Most Inspiring Woman in Comms

Most Inspiring Woman in Comms

  • Anne Chow, President – National Business, AT&T Business

  • Suzie Gleeson, Vice President of Cloud Sales Strategy, Digital Realty Trust

  • Zenita Henderson, Senior Director, Marketing Operations & Business Development, Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)

  • Catherine Michel, CTO, Sigma Systems

Next page: Hedy Lamarr Award for Female Tech Pioneer of the Year

Hedy Lamarr Award for Female Tech Pioneer of the Year

  • Dr. Jennifer Andreoli-Fang, Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs

  • Darcy Antonellis, CEO, Vubiquity

  • Alla Goldner, Director of Technology, Strategy and Standardization, Amdocs

  • Denice Hasty, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Digital, Comcast Business

  • Helen Xenos, Senior Director of Portfolio Marketing, Ciena

Next page: Female-Led Startup to Watch

Female-Led Startup to Watch

  • Libelium (Alicia Asin, Co-Founder & CEO)

  • Movandi (Maryam Rofugaran, Co-CEO, Founder & COO)

About the Author

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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