Business View Caribbean | February 2021

3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN FEBRUARY 2021 O p e n i n g L i n e s F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 T wenty-four female executives of some of the biggest companies in the Americas have been identified as having the leadership traits for top- level executive management positions. The WeQual Awards recognise outstanding women in senior roles. WeQual’s mission is to tackle the slow progress in appointing women to executive positions. Since its creation, 35% of the winners of previous WeQual Awards in the UK, EMEA and the Americas have been promoted to the executive committees of major global companies. “This is our second year of running the awards in the region and we continue to be impressed by the sheer quality of the women leaders that we are finding in the Americas,” says Katie Litchfield, founder and CEO of WeQual. “We have to keep our foot on the throttle with gender — and incorporate diversity— to make sure that all companies are looking at leaders from all backgrounds. Equality is really what WeQual is all about.” The Americas finalists are from a wide range of sectors and companies, including ABB Ltd, Analog Devices, AstraZeneca, BlackRock, Capital One, CGI, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Comcast, Diageo, FIS, HSBC, IBM, WORLD-CLASS WOMEN LEADERS SHORTLISTED IN AWARDS FOR T EXECUTIVE POSITIONS IN LEADING COMPANIES AROUND THE AME Lockheed Martin Corporation, Marriott International, Morgan Stanley, Prologis, ServiceNow, SiriusXM, TELUS, Kellogg Company, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo. The 24 finalists in eight categories were assessed against specific criteria: Leadership, Cognitive Ability, Drive & Resilience, Integrity, Emotional Intelligence, Personal Development, Approach to Equality, and Knowledge of the Business. All candidates were assessed blind with no name or company revealed in their application. The eight assessment questions are based on the latest psychology, neuroscience and leadership research, with a WeQual twist – to identify the necessary factors and characteristics of top leaders. Eight executive judges will hold 30-minute interviews with the three finalists in their category before choosing a winner. The categories are: Business Security, Business Transformation, Business Turnaround, Commercial Innovation, Finance, Leadership Excellence, Operational Performance, Technological Impact. The winners will be announced in March 2021. This senior group of 24 executives will become members of the WeQual Club and join the existing 96 senior FTSE and Fortune 500 female executives.