Persistent and Stevie Awards Honor Female Leaders in AI

Finalists in five inaugural categories sponsored by Persistent to recognize the achievements of female technology leaders, were announced today in the 22nd Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, an international competition that shines a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and organizations run by women.

The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners will be revealed during an award ceremony on November 10, 2025.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in all other categories in the competition were announced on September 18.

More than 1,500 nominations from 48 nations were submitted this year by organizations and individuals for consideration in categories including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Startup of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Women-run Workplace of the Year, among many others.

Finalists were determined by the average scores of more than 190 professionals around the world, working on six juries. 

The Finalists in the categories sponsored by Persistent, a leading global technology company, are as follows:

AI Transformation Game Changer of the Year

• Tami Evanson, SVP - Future Plan & Corp Services, Ascensus
• Madhu Kochar, Vice President, IBM
• Aravinda Gollapudi, Head of Platform Business Unit, Sage
• Lisa Stump, Executive Vice President, Chief Digital Information Officer and Dean of Information Technology, Mount Sinai Health System and Icahn School of Medicine

Cloud and Data Visionary of the Year

• Sofia Theodoridou, Chief of Staff to CIO, Ascensus
• Denise Parker, CEO, Sycurio
• Vishlesha Patil, Chief Product Officer, Early Warning Services
• Ana Urraca del Junco, Head of Customer Service Process, Medline
• Jacqueline Ajayi, CSA CTO Engineering Leader, Microsoft
• Gurpreet Kaur, CIO, Global Supply Chain, GE Healthcare

AI Vanguard and Leadership Award

• Maya Hart, VP / Head of Engineering, Whisker
• Jessica D'Apice, Technical Product Manager, Reporting, Analytics, and Data (RAD), UHG
• Tanuja Korlepra, Chief Technology Officer, Bonterra

 Software Engineering Trailblazer Award

• Beverly Chamberlain, Vice President, Global Head of IT Enterprise Services, Regeneron
• Kiran Kaur, CIO, Platforms, Wealth & Investment Management, Wells Fargo
• Ella Haman, CTO, Kapitus

 Trusted AI Advisor for Business Transformation

• Eleanor Matthews, Senior Manager, ISG
• Kimberly Tobias, Partner, ISG
• Jenn Stein, Managing Partner, LSH & Manufacturing, ISG
• Cecilia Edwards, Partner and Principal Solutionist, North America Data & AI Center of Excellence Lead, Wavestone

 “At Persistent, we believe innovation thrives when diverse voices lead with courage and conviction. Honoring these women is our way of celebrating the brilliance, resilience, and leadership that continue to shape the future of business and technology.”

• Shimona Chadha, Chief Marketing Officer, Persistent

“Congratulations to the outstanding 2025 Persistent’s SheShapesAI Awards finalists. These visionary women are shaping the future of AI and setting an inspiring example for innovators everywhere,” said Maggie Miller, President of the Stevie Awards.