This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the indomitable spirit of women and women entrepreneurs who are striving for progressive changes in our society. Their relentless zeal, unending quench for success and the enthusiasm to walk an extra mile have shattered all the preconceived notion about their inborn limitations that were deemed to be major roadblocks on their path to success.
Today we pick the most inspiring female influencers, entrepreneurs, founders, leaders from across Europe. So let’s take a look at the best and brightest women in technology in 2019 over here, today!
Gillian Tans – The Netherlands
CEO, Booking.com
Gillian Tans is a Dutch businesswoman who is the current Booking.com’s Chief Executive Officer, appointed in April 2016. She is responsible for the global strategy and operations of Booking.com, including the management of all business units within the organisation.
Corinne Vigreux – The Netherland
Co-founder at TomTom
TomTom is one of the few European consumer electronics companies from the Netherlands that has grown into a global brand, and Corinne Vigreux is one of the co-founders of this tech giant. When founded in 1991, Corinne played an important role in the development of TomTom as a brand and in defining global sales and product strategies of the company.
Jessica Butcher — UK
Co-founder at Blippar
Jessica Butcher is the co-founder of Blippar, one of Britain’s most-funded technology scaleups, and the company is currently enjoying rapid ascent as the world’s leading mobile visual-browser. She is the recipient of numerous female entrepreneur and tech awards including BBC’s Top 100 Women and Fortune’s Most Powerful female entrepreneurs. Founded in 2011, Blippar has raised a total of €124 million funding so far.
Amber Atherton — UK
Founder & CEO at Brand Fan Girl
She started her first company at 9 and her multi-million-pound jewellery company Flash Trash at 16. Recently, she founded Brand Fan Girl. In fact, her knowledge of code and knack for spotting gaps in the market have earned her a spot on the Forbes 30 under 30.
Dr. Sue Black – UK
Founder & Chief Evangelist at TechMums
Dr Sue Black is an award-winning computer scientist and radical thinker. She was listed as one of the ‘Ten women in tech you need to meet’ by an international publisher, The Guardian. She rocks her day-job and still finds time to campaign for more recognition and support for women in computing.
Robin (Robyn) Carlsson – Sweden
Founder & Artist at Tekla Tech Festival
Robin is a musician who regularly connects technology and art, started the Tekla Tech Festival, where girls between 11 and 18 get to sample different areas of future technology. In fact, she received Stockholm’s Great Prize because of her “artistic contributions and embrace of technology.” Founded in 2005, Teklatech has raised a total funding amount of € 8.5 million.
Jeanette Dyhre Kvisvik – Norway
Co-Founder &, CEO at Villoid
The idea for Villoid came while she lived in SOHO in New York, but had no time or means to shop. Fast forward 3 years and her startup is now active in 180 countries and is based out of Oslo and NY. Founded in 2015, Villoid has raised €1.5 million so far.
Louise Fritjofsson – Sweden
Co-Founder &, CEO at Vint
Louise is an entrepreneur and adventurer. She started her first company at 19, climbed some of the highest mountains, runs marathons, and more. She also founded Vint, a platform that is on the way to becoming one of the biggest software solutions for gym owners and trainers. The company has raised €1.6 million in funding and was founded in 2013.
Nathalie Gaveau – France
Founder & CEO at Shopcade
Nathalie got one of France’s biggest exits to her name when the French eBay competitor PriceMinister was sold to Rakuten. Now, she’s the founding CEO of the mobile and web social commerce platform Shopcade, with millions of customers in the UK, US, India and France. Founded in 2011, Shopcade has so far raised around €3.6 million in funding.
Karoli Hindriks – Estonia
Founder of Jobbatical
Started her first business at the age of sixteen. Later launched seven international television channels in Northern Europe and managed to disrupt the television business in the region. The company has raised €8.1 million since its inception from 2014.
Natalie Massenet – UK
Founder & Executive Chairman at Net-a-Porter
Natalie founded her fashion empire Net-a-Porter from her kitchen in 2000. It took her several years to realise she had created the magazine format of the 21st century. She’s now Chairman of the British Fashion Council where she promotes UK fashion and London Fashion Week.
Ida Tin – Germany
Co-Founder &, CEO at Clue
Ida is the CEO and co-founder of the leading female health tracking app, Clue. she previously led motorcycle tours around the world and published a book about her experience, “Direktøs” which became a Danish bestseller. She is recognized for coining the term “Femtech” to describe the sector of technology focused on improving women’s health. The app platform has so far raised €27.4 million since its launch in 2013.
Sarah Wood – UK
Co-Founder of Unruly
Sarah Wood is co-founder and COO of marketing technology company Unruly. Sarah was voted one of 15 Women to Watch in Tech by Inc., one of 10 London-based Entrepreneurs to Watch by Forbes and #4 in Digital Spy’s Top 10 Women in Tech. Unruly has raised a total of €27.5 million in funding over 3 rounds.
Source: InspiringFifty Europe
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