Year in Review: Technology Magazine's Top 10 Women 2025

Looking back on 2025, women have made a significant impact on the technology industry – a trend set to continue into the new year.

Back in April, Technology Magazine celebrated its Top 100 Women, rounding up just some of the amazing female pioneers leading the way in the tech industry off the back of International Women’s Day in March and coinciding with Women in Tech Day on 4 April.

This comes as just 26% of the tech workforce is made up of women – a stark reminder of why recognition is so important.

Here, Technology Magazine shines a spotlight once more on the Top 10 entries.

10. Clare Barclay

Clare joined Microsoft in 1998 and stepped into the role of EMEA Enterprise President in 2024, following four successful years as CEO of Microsoft UK.

Now President of Enterprise and Industry for EMEA, her leadership centres on advancing AI-driven transformation across regional industries. 

With nearly three decades of experience in technology, she also serves on the boards of techUK and WiHTL, championing digital skills development and inclusion.

Clare has led major transformation initiatives within Microsoft and remains deeply committed to empowering young people to build thriving careers in technology.

9. Elizabeth Hackenson

Elizabeth’s leadership at Schneider Electric is defined by her focus on accelerating digital transformation through cloud computing, IoT and AI, underpinned by a deep commitment to sustainability and operational excellence. 

With more than 30 years of experience leading technology operations and major transformation programmes, Schneider’s CIO oversees global and regional digital solutions, infrastructure and network security for Schneider’s 128,000+ employees worldwide.

Before joining the company in 2017, Elizabeth held CIO positions at AES, Alcatel-Lucent and MCI.

8. Meerah Rajavel

As CIO of Palo Alto Networks, Meerah leads the company’s global information technology strategy, driving scalability and innovation across its cybersecurity operations. 

With more than 25 years of experience spanning technology and cybersecurity, she has previously served as CIO at Citrix and held senior leadership roles at McAfee, Forcepoint and Cisco. 

Her leadership is defined by resilience and a focus on harnessing technologies such as AI to advance product development, enhance employee experience and tackle complex cybersecurity challenges.

7. Elizabeth Stone

Elizabeth was appointed CTO of Netflix in October 2023, following her roles as VP of Product Data Science & Engineering and VP of Data & Insights from 2020. 

With a background in economics, her leadership focuses on enhancing content discovery, optimising streaming experiences through AI and ML and overseeing the integration of live content on the platform. 

She balances technological ambition with strategic discipline, fostering a culture defined by high talent density and continuous innovation.

6. Sam Kini

Sam holds the dual role of Global CIO and CISO at multinational consumer goods company Unilever. 

Appointed to this position in June 2024, she is responsible for Unilever’s enterprise architecture, business technology platforms, innovation and digital transformation, as well as leading cyber and information security for the business. 

With more than 20 years of experience in IT, Sam previously served as CIO at easyJet and Telenet, and held leadership roles at Virgin Media.

5. Praniti Lakhwara

Praniti is an accomplished IT leader who leverages technology to meet business needs and deliver innovative solutions. 

In post as CIO since 2019, she is responsible for leading Zscaler’s IT solutions and enabling seamless experiences for both customers and employees.

Praniti is focused on driving a comprehensive strategy to facilitate Zscaler’s rapid growth and build a world-class IT organisation. 

She previously held CIO positions at Conga and senior IT leadership roles at Nimble Storage and Guidewire Software.

4. Rani Johnson

Rani serves as CIO at Workday, overseeing the company’s global IT organisation and the internal adoption of its own products. 

Since joining in 2023, she has focused on strengthening Workday’s AI capabilities and advancing its security posture through the implementation of a Zero Trust model.

With more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry, including CIO roles at TIBCO and SolarWinds, her leadership is defined by a blend of innovation, collaboration and strategic foresight.

3. Cynthia Stoddard

Cindy is a seasoned technology leader with deep expertise in defining IT strategy and systems innovation. 

Since joining Adobe in 2016 as CIO, she has played a key role in shaping a global approach centred on delivering reliable systems, elevating employee experiences and harnessing data to drive informed decisions. 

She has been instrumental in Adobe’s evolution into a cloud-native enterprise and has championed the adoption of advanced collaboration tools. 

Her leadership is defined by a people-first mindset, cross-functional collaboration and a commitment to continuous innovation within Adobe’s IT organisation.

2. Lisa Su

Lisa is the President, CEO and Chair of AMD, where she has led the company’s transformation into a global leader in high‑performance and adaptive computing. 

Since taking on the CEO role in 2014, she has overseen the development of breakthrough innovations such as the Zen CPU architecture and major advancements in GPU technology. 

Under her leadership, AMD has achieved exceptional growth in market capitalisation and her impact was recognised with her selection as TIME’s 2024 CEO of the Year.

1. Safra Catz

Safra served as CEO of Oracle Corporation from 2014 until her departure in 2025, initially sharing the role with Mark Hurd until 2019 before continuing as sole CEO. 

Joining Oracle in 1999, she rose through senior leadership positions, bringing her expertise in finance and law to shape the company’s strategic direction. 

Throughout her tenure, Safra played a pivotal role in driving Oracle’s acquisition strategy and financial transformation, guiding the company’s evolution into a leading force in global cloud computing.