Exceptional Women Recognized with Red Ladder Awards

In partnership with IAOP, the spirit and achievements of female leaders were recognized with the prestigious HCL Red Ladder - Women in Outsourcing Awards.

Shimona Chadha, HCL, vice president of marketing, said these women have stood up to every challenge to lead their teams, redefine work and deliver excellence. 

“They are the visionaries who inspired countless others to outperform themselves in their respective fields and outside it,” she said.

This year’s HCL Red Ladder winners are:

• Women Empowering Women – recognizes the indomitable spirit of an individual who went above and beyond to make their organization more inclusive:  Hui Wu-Curtis, COO, SupportU

“In the past few years we have seen COVID disproportionally impact women in the workforce so more than ever we need to step forward to continue our commitment and support to gender diversity and equality,” she said.

• Leadership in Innovation during the Pandemic: Sona Patel, Outsourcing Advisor, Deloitte

“We are all aware of how the pandemic disrupted the functioning of our society,” Chadha said. However, the extraordinary stood out during these extraordinary circumstances. They came up with otherwise unthinkable ideas to unlock opportunities beyond the horizon.”

Patel said the pandemic has pushed the boundaries of how traditional sourcing transactions take place to a paramount focus on delivering value through innovation.

“These past two years have taught me with a great team, good clients and trusted vendors, you can make an impact, regardless of where you do it from,” Patel said.

Unstoppable Women 2022

Based on the judging committee’s scoring, the following 20 women were recognized on the Unstoppable Women List for making a remarkable impact with their leadership, dedication and passion.

• Aeysha Coetzee, Head of Recruitment, Sigma Connected
• Anita Karlsson-Dion, Managing Partner, IBM
• Candice Roberts, CEO, CallForce Outsourcing Specialists
• Chitra Rajeshwari, Executive Director and Principal, Avasant Foundation
• Constance Simmons, Team Leader, Sigma Connected
• Elena Kozhemyakina, Managing Partner, BLS
• Janice Salchert, Senior Partner, IBM
• Lina Jaramillo, General Manager, Perficient Latin America
• Marie Stangl, Associate Vice President - Technology Business Operations, Ascension
• Maura Hudson, Head of Brand Insights & Innovation Group, Colliers
• Melanie Prestridge, Partner, Advisory & Transformation, West Monroe
• Olexsandra Dudka, Software Architect, Sigma Software
• Olga Skydan, Senior Vice President, Corporate Services, Miratech
• Sandra Fahmy, HR Director, RAYA CX
• Saskia Hill, CEO, MCS Debt Recovery/Connect BPS
• Shirin Alipanah, Senior Director, Avasant LLC
• Smita Bhatnagar, Director, Affirm Inc
• Swapna Kaswa, Technical Architect Manager, Verizon
• Uma Ganesh, Chairperson, Global Talent Track
• Ves Kjenstad, Vice President, IT Operations, Bristol - Myers Squibb

About the Winners:

Hui Wu-Curtis specializes in contact centers operations. She has over 20-years of experience in leadership roles across multiple industries including hospitality, utility, financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare. She has served for both small to large global organizations covering sales and support in 65 countries and is an active speaker at numerous customer service/experience conferences. Wu-Curtis received the 2021 Silver Globee Award for Executive Excellence/Influencer of the year; is listed in CIOLook’s Top 10 Businesswomen to admire in 2021; in Nearshore America’s Top 20 Social Media influencers; and was CCW’s 2017 Customer Experience Leader of the Year.

Sona Patel is an experienced consultant at Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy and Operations (S&O) practice. Her focus is primarily in IT Outsourcing and Shared Services. She has experience in outsourcing contract assessment, vendor selection, IT due diligence and benchmarking across various industries. Patel has 3-plus years of industry experience in Insurance and Application Management Services. She has a solid technology background and is skilled in process improvement, business process mapping and has worked through every phase of the Software Development Lifecycle model.