SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CloudNOW, an executive consortium of the leading women in cloud computing, today announced its 2nd annual Top 10 Women in Cloud Awards during Cloud Connect Silicon Valley, taking place this week at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Cloud Connect is produced by UBM Tech and is the premier technology event for cloud computing, featuring the latest technologies, strategies and innovations in the field. For more information visit CloudNOW.
"CloudNOW is paying tribute to ten outstanding women in cloud computing for their contributions, accomplishments and thought leadership in our dynamic industry," said Jocelyn DeGance Graham, founder of CloudNOW. "We're honored to be part of Cloud Connect and at the cutting edge of the cloud conversation – a place where women are playing a key role."
According to Lauren States, Vice President and CTO for the IBM Corporate Strategy team, and CloudNOW Advisor, "Supporting initiatives such as CloudNOW that inspire women to pursue STEM education and careers in technology have been an important goal for me. Cloud computing is transforming business across virtually every industry, and it's imperative for women to be key players in this strategic shift. Congratulations to all of the honorees and thank you for your inspirational leadership!"
This year's Top Ten Women in Cloud Award recipients are:
- Becky Swain, Director Cloud Assurance, PwC; and Founding Member, Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)
- Cara Beston, Partner, PwC
- Lori MacVittie, Senior Technology Analyst, F5 Networks
- Lydia Leong, Vice President of Research and Cloud Expert, Gartner
- Manjula Talreja, Vice President Global Cloud Business Development, Cisco
- Margaret Dawson, Vice President of Product Marketing, and Cloud Evangelist, HP
- Michelle Munson, Co-Founder and President, Aspera
- Rhonda MacLean, Founder, MacLean Risk Partners, and former Global Chief Information Security Officer at Barclays and Bank of America
- Susan Wu, Founder Persona Equity
- Vanessa Alvarez, Director Product Marketing, Gridstore
About CloudNOW
CloudNOW (cloud-now.org) is a non-profit consortium of the leading women in cloud computing, focused on using technology for the overall professional development of women from around the world by providing a forum for networking, knowledge sharing, mentoring, and economic growth. CloudNOW offers members the opportunity to creatively approach the technological challenges of cloud today, working in partnership with the tech industry, and cloud thought leaders. CloudNOW is sponsored by IBM, PwC, and member support. To join CloudNOW go to: http://cloud-now.org/cloudnow/register.php.
About Cloud Connect
Cloud Connect, produced by UBM Tech, is the defining event of the cloud computing industry. As both a conference and an exhibition, Cloud Connect's goal is to chart the course of cloud computing's development by bringing together enterprise IT professionals, developers, infrastructure and service providers and cloud computing innovators. UBM Tech has produced cloud events that define and frame cloud computing discussions since June 2008, including Cloud Summit Executive and Enterprise Cloud Summit at Interop. Cloud Connect is a one-of-a-kind event that encompasses the entire cloud computing ecosystem featuring a full conference program, IT & Developer workshops and an expo. For more information visit: www.cloudconnectevent.com.