CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2025 OUTSTANDING EXECUTIVES AND RISING STARS!
2025 Outstanding Executives Winners!
Karen Hildebrand, PhD
Agriculture District Solutions Architecture Leader, AWS
“Karen Hildebrand exemplifies transformative leadership in technology and agriculture, combining her unique background as a 4th generation farmer with advanced technical expertise (Masters in Information Systems, Doctorate in Information Security/Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) to bridge the gap between agricultural customers’ needs and AWS solutions.”
-from Julie Lowery, AWS
Nicole McMackin
CEO, Irvine Technology Corporation
“Nicole strives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and empower women to reach their full potential as leaders. Nicole also finds time to give back to the community across many fronts. She created and launched the CIO Women in Leadership program that focuses on preparing women for CIO and top leadership roles. Nicole recruited top CIOs and leaders to create the curriculum and launch the program. Since then, numerous graduates have gone on to successful careers. She also has a podcast “Elevate Your Career” often highlighting women in leadership role.”
-from Carmella Casetta, Hoag
Sugandha “Sue” Gupta
Senior Director, IT Edwards Lifesciences
“Sue Gupta is the kind of leader who makes things happen. She’s been at the forefront of projects that have made a real difference in how the company operates.She has led efforts to bring in tools like UiPath and Abbyy for intelligent automation, as well as virtual assistants and chatbots to enhance how teams and customers interact. Most recently, she is part of the CoE to bring AI solutions into a robust operating framework at Edwards.Sue’s work has made a tangible difference, and her leadership continues to shape how Edwards grows and succeeds.”
-from Stephen Booze, Solugenix
Veena Gowda
VP, Software Engineering, Teradata
“Veena consistently demonstrates visionary leadership, a deep commitment to innovation, and an unwavering dedication to uplifting others. She is at the forefront of AI in Engineering, driving innovation and transformation in how Teradata builds and delivers software. With her ability to align teams around impactful outcomes, she has influenced engineering productivity gain of ~20% in the last year. Additionally, she mentors, amplifies voices, and creates space for women to thrive in technology. Her presence and advocacy have made her a role model for women engineers across the company.”
-from Carly Ward, Teradata
2025 Outstanding Executives Nominees
Chris Antonelli
EVP, Customer Experience & Support, Solugenix
Christine Destefano
Director, Strategic Initiatives, Versant Media
Debbie Cole
Director IT/OT & IOT, Irvine Company
Hollie Choi
Managing Director & President and CEO, EIDR & OTT.X
Karen Hildebrand, PhD
Agriculture District Solutions Architecture Leader, AWS
Kayran Abasali
Founder, CWGIS-Caribbean Women and Girls In STEM
Kimberly Hallinan
VP Finance, IT and Digital Strategy, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Lisa Lee
Co-Founder & CMO PCAN.Cloud
Lynda Murray-Thomas
Head of Rate Card Program, LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games
Maria Ansalmar
Lead Manager Marketing Communications, AT&T
Moyura Tan
VP Enterprise Applications, SCAN Health Plan
Nancy Skelton
Director, Enterprise Program Management Experian Consumer Services
Nicole McMackin
CEO, Irvine Technology Corporation
Pamela Feld
Founder & CEO, Triumph Technology Group
Raji Padmanabhan
Executive Director & SVP, Corp Functions, Wealth & Branch Tech, First Citizens Bank
Sara Wissmueller
Chief Information Officer, RA Phillips Industries
Shree Kenghe
Sr. Leader Solutions Architecture, AWS
Sona Sinha
Vice President – IT, NCR Voyix Corporation
Stephanie Johns
Director, Digital Commerce Product and Programs, TaylorMade Golf Company
Sugandha “Sue” Gupta
Senior Director, IT, Edwards Lifesciences
Tammy Cooper
CEO/CFO, Technologent
Veena Gowda
VP, Software Engineering, Teradata
2025 Rising Stars Winners!
McKenzie Neely-Wright
External and Legislative Affairs Area Manager, AT&T
“McKenzie Neely-Wright is being nominated in recognition of her exceptional leadership in legislative affairs and community engagement across the Greater Los Angeles region. As an Area Manager for External and Legislative Affairs at AT&T, McKenzie has recently spearheaded impactful collaborations between AT&T and local policymakers to accelerate technology deployment and infrastructure investment in underserved communities. Her work has strengthened public-private partnerships and deepened AT&T’s civic footprint across Mid and South LA, the South Bay, and beyond.”
-from Adrienne Atkins, AT&T | 2023 Rising Star Winner
Sirisha Surapaneni
Director, Enterprise Applications, SCAN Health Plan
“She recently completed a transformative effort to modernize operational workflows at SCAN. She helped her company by implementing an AI-ready architecture to automate processes such as eligibility checks and claims pre-validation using robotic process automation. As a result, SCAN was able to reduce a ton of manual effort, improve multiple compliance processes, and set the bar as a model for digital transformation within the company.”
-from Howard Miller, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Mehrnaz Sadolhay
Senior Director of Engineering, PayPal
“Mehrnaz has grown in her career due to her work ethic, leadership skills and ability to provide tech solutions to tough problems/situations in male dominated environments. She is able to take on new challenges and due to her ability and hard work, she always collaborates with her team and leadership to find a solution. She is extremely well regarded by her peers and her management team.”
-from Carole Schlocker, of iSpace
Dana McElroy
IT Business Delivery Leader, First Citizens Bank
“Dana has played a large leadership goal in building the ‘Business of IT’ capabilities to effectively plan, report, and manage Community Association Banking Technology. This includes but not limited to resource capacity models, contract management (planning, tracking, reporting), Executive Quarterly Business reviews, Team Townhalls, Request Management process, associate development and recognition, and the list goes on. She is a true Rockstar with incredible potential.”
-from Don Keeley of First Citizens Bank
2025 Rising Stars Nominees
Acecy Buensuceso
Sr. Product Manager CalOptima
Alba Joan Rico
Quality Assurance IT Manager Experian
Anitha Yannam
Engineering Manager, Experian
Brenda Buchanan
Principal Researcher, First American
Crystal Fimbres
Senior Service Desk Technician, First American
Dana McElroy
IT Business Delivery Leader, First Citizens Bank
Emily Lodick
Senior Consultant, Macedon Technologies
Erin Lee
Data Scientist, Pacific Life
Gillian Morris
Strategic Relationship Director, San Diego Tech Kforce
Janani Rama
VP Data Analytics & BI, First Citizens Bank
Kaia Vilberg
Sr. Insights Data Analyst, Endpoint
Karla Delacruz
Sr. Client Account Executive, e360
Lauren Larscheid
Principal Sales Leader, AWS
Lisa Donaldson
Software Support Analyst First American Title
Maria Eivaz
Sr. Channel Program Mgr, Exabeam
McKenzie Neely-Wright
External and Legislative Affairs Area Manager; AT&T
Mehrnaz Sadolhay
Sr. Director of Engineering, PayPal
Mindy Grimes
Manager, IT Applications, Hoag
Natasha Gupta
InfoSec Manager – GRC, SCAN Group
Preeti Ramdour
Chief Architect, ING Bank
Rose Choi
Software Architect Laserfiche
Shilpa Mahadik
Expert Data Engineer, Experian
Sirisha Surapaneni
Dir Enterprise Applications, SCAN Health Plan
Srishti Rawal
Software Engineering SMTS, Salesforce
Taylor Warrior
Software Support Specialist, First American Title
Val Ferrante
Program Manager, NBCUniversal