New Product & Service Awards Judging Committee
Chair:
Lana El-Tawil, Project Manager & Senior Specialist/Studies
Royal Scientific Society, Amman, Jordan
Eng. Lana El-Tawil, the Founder of Oswah Hasaneh Association and a Senior Specialist at the Royal Scientific Society, has a remarkable track record. She has served as the Head of the Project Management Division at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply and is based in Amman City, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. An expert in digital transformation and project management, Lana is a true local talent. She has extensive expertise in project management and sustainable development. With fervent dedication, she spearheads numerous projects addressing climate change and offers invaluable support to women and youth through both national and international initiatives. Her contributions extend to conducting workshops that have garnered international recognition and accolades. She is a skilled engineer with more than 11 years of experience in strategy, operations, as well as managing the commercial part of different business sectors. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master's degree in E-Government, she embodies the fusion of knowledge and dedication that drives positive change.
Lana has held responsibility for overseeing the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of over 30 national and international projects and programs. She demonstrated the ability to engage across diverse areas of support, orchestrating a myriad of activities geared towards enhancing the capabilities of SMEs and start-ups. Her efforts primarily aimed at empowering them to explore new markets and achieve broader reach, aligning with the core objectives of the projects, including policy-level initiatives. She has received recognition on both the national and international stage and has secured more than seven awards across various sectors, with a strong focus on innovation and pioneering new systems within the realm of renewable energy. She was distinguished as one of the "365 Inspiring Arabic Empowering Women" by @wibarabia. As a representative of Jordan youth for tech and innovation initiative at Future Hub UAE, she has significantly contributed to this dynamic field and received the distinguished honor of being the best employee at MITS. Furthermore, she serves as the national focal point for a multitude of pivotal national projects, including the Investor Journey Project, the Simplifying Registration and Licensing Procedures for Economic Activities Project, the Job Creation for Youth and Women Project, the JOSME Project (Enhancement of Jordanian SMEs Inclusiveness, Competitiveness, and Sustainable Innovation), T4E (Trade for Employment), Employment-Oriented MSME Promotion Project, Economic Reform Activity (ERA), Home Based Businesses Project (HBBs), Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility Alliance (CERA), SWITCH MED Project, and the Building Resilience through Circularity: Green Innovations in Host Communities (BR َCkA) project.
Lana has been a dedicated member of the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in Government for over five years, leading the Digital Transformation Committee. As the Founder of the Oswah Hasanah Charity Society and Just Green Co., she has shown her commitment to meaningful societal contributions. These experiences and accomplishments have propelled her to an elevated level of understanding in the realm of business development.
Committee:
Harshada Bansal, Founder & CEO
The Tea Heaven, Seattle, Washington, United States
Harshada is a 4th generation tea enthusiast who founded The Tea Heaven, an authentic whole-leaf tea brand with a vision to deliver the freshest teas globally and a mission to empower underprivileged women tea workers. She comes with extensive experience of 8+ years in growing businesses in the tea industry.
Denise Blasevick, CEO
The S3 Agency, Boonton, New Jersey, United States
Denise Blasevick is co-founder and CEO of The S3 Agency, having helped brands become more well-known and well-loved for over 20 years. Frequently cited by the media for her marketing expertise, Denise has a Masters in Entrepreneurial Studies and serves on the Board of Trustees for Centenary University.
April Corn, Senior Business Systems Analyst
Novant Health Inc., Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
April Corn has been a technology professional for over 25 years and has been with Novant Health Inc. for the past 12 years. As a Senior Business Systems Analyst, she has been instrumental in reviewing business operations, identifying opportunities for improvement, and collaborating with leaders to meet business goals.
Sandy Davies, Founder and Formulator
HappyPause™, Daintree/Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Kansas born siren of the seas Sandy Davies found herself struggling through perimenopause with little help from her GP and local pharmacist. She decided there must be a better way. Sandy came out of her Australian semiretirement bliss to revolutionize the treatment option for vulvovaginal dryness by formulating HappyPause™ Balm.
Annette Densham, Journalist, Writer, Publicist
The Audacious Agency, Forest Lake, Queensland, Australia
Arun Dhanaraj, Vice President
Mizuho Chicago, Illinois, United States
Arun (AD) is a tech enthusiast with 14+ years of IT experience. Graduating in electronic and communication engineering, he's progressed from a desktop engineer to VP of Cloud Practices. His expertise spans Cloud, DevOps, Cybersecurity, and he's skilled in Azure, AWS, and On-Premise setups. Arun is a problem solver, content creator, and learner.
Khaled Elnems, Q.C. & R&D Innovation Product Designer
PARSONS Co. & Egyptian Society, MBZ City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Khaled, a UAE-based R&D Innovations Q.C., is a jury member on the Committee for International Engineering Innovation and Innovation Exhibitions and a Co-founder and Head of Delegation for young inventors in Egypt and the UAE. He supports cooperation with women and marginalized inventors and has worked with International Consultants Engineering.
Kiyla Fenell, Blue Diamond
DoTERRA International, Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, United States
Kiyla Fenell is a dōTERRA Blue Diamond. She mentors thousands of women around the world to be healers in their homes. Kiyla also educates her team on strategies to become financially independent by implementing multiple income streams.
Prajeet Gadekar, Director Program Architect
Salesforce Inc., New York City, New York, United States
Lorretta Gasper, Owner/Principal
Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Lorretta is the founder/principal of Wind Rose Communications, a corporate communications, PR, and marketing communications consultancy. Lorretta has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist, PR professional, and marketing professional. She works with organizations—early stage, regional, private/public corporations, non-profit, higher education in B2B technology, cloud, and emerging technology.
Omesh Ashok Gulati, Director, Customer Success Management & Solution Delivery
Securonix Inc., Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Omesh, a seasoned Global Customer Success Management and Solution Delivery leader, boasts over a decade of experience in Cybersecurity. He’s a passionate cybersecurity enthusiast, specializing in business value creation and solution engineering. His extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity have played a pivotal role in building a global cybersecurity unicorn, Securonix.
Supriya Khanna, Head of Product, Education
Meta Platforms, Seattle, Washington, United States
Meet Supriya, the visionary product leader at Meta, who is revolutionizing education technology. With a relentless commitment to empowering small business advertisers and millions of job seekers, their innovation is reshaping the future of learning and employment opportunities.
Aabhas Lal, Director - Customer Success
Securonix, Santa Monica, California, United States
Bridgett McGowen, Speaker, Author, Publisher
BMH Companies, Chandler, Arizona, United States
Bridgett McGowen is an award-winning author, publisher, and international professional speaker at BMH Companies, the parent company of Press 49. A native Texan and a proud graduate of Prairie View A&M University, Bridgett is wildly comical and will encourage you to be the most unforgettable person in the room!
Franne McNeal, President
Significant Business Results, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States
Franne McNeal has been President of Significant Business Results LLC since 2013. She has more than 30 years’ experience as an Executive Coach for mid-size companies. A graduate of Princeton University (BA) and Eastern University (MBA), she also writes academic business case studies featuring minority and women-owned businesses.
Kaavya Muralidhar, Product Manager
PROS, Palo Alto, California, United States
Kaavya, a Product Manager at PROS, is responsible for the strategy and implementation of AI-based price optimization software used by major enterprises. She recently launched PROS's 4th Generation AI powered by Neural Networks, accelerating profitable growth. With a background in Human Computer Interaction from Stanford University, focuses on creating intuitive software experiences for customers.
Meenakshi Panda, Director, Software Engineering
Capital One, Richmond, Virginia, United States
Meenakshi has twenty years of software development and maintenance experience in the IT industry. In her current role as Director, Software Engineering, she maintains ownership and responsibility of mission-critical systems, guides agile teams to success, gets involved in software development, manages multiple associates, and is responsible for their performance at the company.
Pooja Pandey, Director, Product Management
Walmart, Conroe, Texas, United States
Pooja is the Director of Product Management, Innovation & Automation for Walmart. She has more than 15 years of experience in Product Management and Technology Management. She is pursuing an MBA in Finance, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Economics, and Accounting from the Chicago Booth School of Business, and a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science.
Abaya Phadnis, Head of Module & Mechanical Operations TPM
Google Inc., Fremont, California, United States
Abaya Phadnis is a product leader with a successful record of launching 30 new products across medical devices and consumer electronics, like the flagship Pixel Watch, Nest Tablet etc, all within a decade of experience. She also has hands-on experience in manufacturing and developing novel technologies across diverse engineering fields.
Kadambari Sahu, Senior Vice President, Design
ValueLabs, San Mateo, California, United States?
Kadambari is an International multi-award-winning Designer and a Design Leader, working as SVP of Design at ValueLabs. She founded the User Experience Group at ValueLabs and is currently leading a Design practice with 75+ designers to create world-class and award-winning products and services to have a positive impact on businesses and society.
Cathy Sharpe, Owner/Integrative Health Practitioner
Hygiea Health & Wellness, LLC, Greenfield, New Hampshire, United States
Cathy Sharpe, Hygiea Health and Wellness's founder, is a Grief Specialist and Integrative Health Practitioner. She fervently advocates for proactive healthcare, merging traditional medicine with holistic methods to offer patient care. Her commitment lies in delivering thoughtful, all-encompassing care that addresses individuals' physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Tarun Thapar, Head of Product
Amazon, Seattle, Washington, United States
Tarun has been Head of Product at Amazon since 2021. He has more than 14 years of experience working for tech, retail, and consumer goods companies. Tarun started his career as an engineer and later graduated with a biz-tech Master’s degree from Duke University. Outside of work, he likes teaching and playing cricket.
Cameron Townsley, Creative & Events Manager
The Digital Voice, Bristol, City of Bristol, United Kingdom
As Creative & Events Director for The Digital Voice ™ and Co-Founder of Break Out In Events, Cameron is making waves as a new female leader. Cameron has held various roles within event management and graduated with a distinction in MSc Events Management from UWE and a BA in Philosophy.
Eunice Wong, Chief Brand Consultant
Wowwowtank, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, China
Eunice is a C-suite marketer for international brands and global creative agencies. Her achievements earned her recognition as Women of the Year (Marketing) by the Stevie Awards, Women to Watch by Campaign Asia, and 200+ marketing awards. She is based in Shanghai/ HK to assist international brands in marketing in China.