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Where companies used to easily remain separate in their missions and tools to accomplish goals, it’s no longer the case in a world so readily connected by the internet. At the Women Tech Council’s recent 10th annual awards, Oracle CEO Safra Catz spoke about the transition of moving her tech giant into the cloud and the struggles that presented.
As Catz put it, “With all of our (developing) technology, everything is a tech company. Taxies are tech companies now with Uber and Lyft. Hotels are tech companies with Airbnb.” She added, “As some jobs become unnecessary, we have to bring society along and retrain people to do the newer, better jobs of the future.”
That is just what many are trying to accomplish across the country and specifically in Utah. As the tech industry continues to grow, it’s important to not exclude half the potential employees, as well as the potential they have to make positive changes. According to Catz, 24 percent of Utah’s tech employees are women, which falls below the already low national average of 28 percent. Women in tech leadership positions are even more uncommon (less than 5 percent in Utah), and it’s clear some changes need to be made.
Here are four of the seven women who have won 2017 Women Tech Awards from the Women Tech Council. These four women not only contributed greatly to Utah’s tech industry, but will also likely do many more great things within their spheres in the years to come.
1. Ashley Dreier – HealthEquity
As chief information technology officer, Ashley Dreier leads several teams at HealthEquity to execute the company’s platform strategy. Since February 2013, Dreier has worked with various teams at HealthEquity to grow and transform their strategies to become more effective. Her past jobs include vice president of technology and product management at Krames StayWell and director of product development at GE Corporate Finance, along with director of software and IT at Wolters Kluwer and senior financial analyst at Boeing Company. Dreier’s professional experience looks even better coupled with her community involvement and interaction on several important boards throughout the state, including AIM Utah and UniteOR.
2. Mariah Hay – Pluralsight
Mariah Hay acts as Pluralsight’s vice president of product. It’s in this role that Hay directs product design for this enterprise technology learning platform. She leads six product teams to design excellent products from the drawing board to daily life. Hay has spent her career pursuing human-centered design at Universal Mind and AMC Health and as a professor at Savannah College of Art and Design. She holds a bachelor's degree in art from the College of Charleston and a master's of fine art in industrial design from Savannah College of Art and Design.
3. Rachel Hofstetter – Chatbooks
For the past two years, Rachel Hofstetter has worked as the chief marketing officer at Chatbooks, a photo book app for busy parents. In her time at Chatbooks, Hofstetter has helped the company achieve amazing growth by tripling revenue for two years running. Hofstetter believes in matching marketing with product to create positive results, something she learned through her economics degree and as a co-founder of her own software startup. With her marketing team using a “data-first” philosophy, Hofstetter has found the recipe for success. It’s exciting to see what she’ll come up with next!
4. Tammy Platero – Weber State University
As a computer science major at Weber State University, Tammy Platero also acts as the program coordinator for WSU’s Center for Technology Outreach. This includes helping girls get excited about STEM areas of study. Having led and contributed to countless important organizations, Platero is one of the great steppingstones linking the next generation to the future of women in tech.
There's much to be learned from these successful women who will continue to build the Utah tech industry. If you'd like to learn more about successful women in business, check out the Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards Luncheon.
