The world's a little blurry
Caution ahead
Welcome to The Chief Brief. Every Sunday, I spotlight global, diverse, and innovative female leaders, and the news influencing them to change the world. The CB curates news from around the world, breaks down the story, and helps you connect with the women making news! It is my first step in a passion project to build a globally connected community of women leaders.
Happy Sunday!
Let’s talk about
The epic Indian power battle
After months of claiming its Covid cases were under control, and the number of deaths were the lowest in the world, the chickens have really come home to roost for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India is now grabbing global headlines with Covid-19 cases surging to the highest in world. Pictures of millions gathering for the religious Kumbh Mela on the banks of the river Ganges was enough to make you shudder at the sight of the super-spreader event. The Indian variant of the virus is giving epidemiologists sleepless nights. And despite the country being the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Mr. Modi and his party the BJP are facing public outcry at the lack of availability in the country. Accusations that the shortage of vaccines is predominantly in the states not under the control of the BJP are rampant.
The subsequent political mess created has given impetus to one female politician in India to get into an all out war with Mr. Modi. No newbie to the murky world of Indian politics, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of West Bengal used to be one of his biggest supporters when he first became PM in 2014. They even share their trademark finger wag! But over the years their rivalry has degenerated into personal animosity and name calling. Mamata Banerjee is a name to keep an eye on, as she goes toe to toe with Mr. Modi and his nominees, in one of the most viciously fought state elections in recent history.
She has been slammed by Mr. Modi and accused of inciting violence. In turn Mamata has accused Mr. Modi’s supporters of tapping her phones illegally, of physical attacks, and critically, for using the non-partisan and independent Election Commission and Covid regulations to bar her, and her regional party the Trinamool Congress from campaigning.
But Mamata stands alone in her fight. The national opposition - the Congress Party and it’s so called ‘Grand Coalition’ isn’t backing her. They think she is autocratic and uses undemocratic methods to defeat opponents. They need her and the Trinamool Congress to fall, and believe fighting the BJP directly will allow them to re-discover themselves in a state she has controlled for a very long time.
Why does any of this matter, you may ask? Well, West Bengal’s on-going elections and its results will be critical to evaluate Mr. Modi and the BJP’s hold on power in India, and whether it can be challenged successfully in the years to come.
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Policy matters
Pentagon’s New Army Boss
Christine Wormuth has been picked by U.S. President Joe Biden as the first female army secretary in the country’s history. She was the U.S. Defense Department’s top policy person during the Obama administration, and is currently with the RAND Corporation. If approved, she’s got an uphill battle ahead with the military dealing with rising threats from not just China and Russia, but critically from right wing extremism in its own midst. Read more here.
Caution ahead
Samia Suluhu Hassan’s appointment as Tanzania’s President has been hailed by many as a fresh start for the African nation. Hardly a month after President John Magufuli died in office, she has made a U-Turn on her predecessor’s Covid denying policies. But observers say be cautious in expectations. The problems created by Magufuli are Samia’s to bear, government appointees remain the same, as do the myriad of corruption issues surrounding the ruling party CCM that she now heads. Read more here.
Beating the bullies
South Africa’s Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended the appointment of 5 (3 women and 2 men) new judges to the Supreme Court of Appeal. A court which its president Mandisa Maya has said is “under construction”. The Supreme Court of Appeal has been rocked by allegations of a “top six”, who, some judges have claimed, are bullies. The five new judges are Zeenat Carelse, Wendy Hughes, Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana, Trevor Gorven and Selewe Mothle. Read more here.
Business not as usual
Clotting up an alliance
With six women (out of 7 million doses administered) developing dangerous blood clots to its vaccine, Johnson & Johnson privately reached out to its vaccine rivals to ask if they’d want to join an informal alliance to study the risks of blood clots, and be unified in addressing safety issues grabbing headlines worldwide. Pfizer and Moderna have declined. They don’t think their vaccines have a problem. Only AstraZeneca has agreed to a partnership. Read more here.
Boardroom shake-up
Boeing’s been overhauling its Board ever since the 737 Max crash two years ago. But whether it has been enough for shareholders will have to be seen. The Boeing board has struggled to find people willing to take up the job, even as it works to identify “diverse candidates with appropriate expertise who bring qualified perspectives.” All 10 members of the board, especially 2 of its most senior directors face the chopping bloc. These include two women and two persons of colour. Their fates will be decided at the company’s April 20th AGM. Read more here.
Tech stuff
Tracing an IPO
Deliveroo’s IPO may’ve bombed on the London Stock Exchange, but that’s not stopping Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson. Nor are the concerns surrounding the close involvement of investor Mike Lynch (accused of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in the U.S.) and his firm Invoke Capital. She’s planning an IPO that will value the cyber security firm at £3 billion. Formed in 2013, Darktrace claims to be the first to use AI to identify large scale cyber threats, and has 4,600 companies (including the likes of Rolls Royce) as clients. The company plans to float at least 20% of its shares, with an option to release a further 15% to the market. Read more here.
Midas touch
The 2021 Midas list is out, and I automatically zoomed in to check which women have the golden VC touch. Imagine my disappointment that Midas only lists 12 women out of a list of 100 VCs. But, it does make naming them easier, so here are the women to look up if you think you’re on to the next Unicorn. Mary Meeker, Anna Fang, Mar Hershenson, Jenny Lee, Jing Hong (Midas list newcomer), Nisa Leung, Kirsten Green, Sonali De Rycker, Ann Miura-Ko, Luciana Lixandru, Ruby Lu, and Kathy Xu. Read more here.
On the move
In the U.S.
Karen Knudsen has been appointed as the first female CEO of the 107 year old American Cancer Society (ACS). Karen was most recently the EVP of Oncology Services and Enterprise Director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) at Jefferson Health. She is also a board member at Genentech, and the National Cancer Institute.
Lisa Ross is the new CEO of Edelman’s U.S. operations. Lisa will oversee the firm’s largest region comprising 13 offices and over 2,000 employees.
Sejal Desai has been appointed Executive Director of New York based non-profit Akanksha Education Fund.
In Singapore
Eu Chin Fen has been appointed CEO of SGX listed REIT Frasers Hospitality Trust. The appointment marks her return to the role of CEO of the REIT which she led between 2014-19.
In Australia
Rikki Lea Bestall has been appointed as Screenwest CEO, succeeding Willie Rowe. She previously worked at the organisation till 2018 when she left to become VP for features at Kransnoff/Foster Entertainment. Screenwest is Western Australia’s screen funding and development organisation.
In the U.K.
Lindsey Rix has been appointed as UK CEO of Canada Life. Lindsey previously had been Aviva UK savings and retirement CEO since the start of 2020. The news of her departure coincided with Canada Life’s announcement.
Ingrid Holmes has become the Executive Director of the UK’s Green Finance Institute (GFI). The Climate finance veteran previously headed the ESG, climate change and net zero strategy of Federated Hermes.
In France
Brune Poirson has been made Chief Sustainability Officer of hospitality group Accor. She will also be responsible for the Accor Solidarity Foundation and become a member of the company’s Executive Committee. Brune was most recently a member of the French Parliament, and was Secretary of State for Environmental Transition for three years .
Caught my eye
Space, the final frontier
Noura al-Matroushi has been named as the UAE's first female astronaut. The 27 year old was chosen along with a male colleague from 4,000 applicants, and holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Potentially the first Arab woman in space, she will undergo training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Read more here.
Back to earth
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and her crewmates landed back on Earth (in Kazakhstan) on Saturday, after six months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Read More here.
Influencing the media
Looks like Boris Johnson’s Conservative government is flexing its muscle in a bid to keep its influence on senior roles in British media. Ministers this week vetoed the reappointment of two women to Channel 4’s board of directors. The decision not to renew Uzma Hasan and Fru Hazlitt at the state-owned but privately funded broadcaster’s board was made against the advice of both the Channel 4 board and the U.K. media regulator Ofcom. Read more here.
Influencing resignations
Former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate is contemplating taking legal action against the company over her controversial exit in November. She alleges she was unlawfully stood down by the chairman amid pressure from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his ministers. Christine also wants an apology from Australia’s PM. But Mr. Morrison insists she resigned as CEO of her own volition over the ‘Cartier watches saga’ (Christine’s 2018 decision to reward four senior executives with Cartier watches worth a total of $20,000). Read more here.
Be a sport
F1 wildcard
Formula 1 is introducing a female only qualification wildcard route into its Pro Exhibition. That’s where 10 F1 Esports teams will scout talent from a pool of some of the fastest racers in the world to add to their rosters for this year’s Pro Championship which kicks off in the autumn. Racers will compete between May 3rd and May 9th to determine who is the fastest. Read more here.
Aussie ‘women’ rules
Kate Roffey has been appointed President of the Melbourne Dees (Demons) football club. She’s been on the team’s board for a number of years, was ex-CEO of the committee for Melbourne, and the former CEO of VicSport. The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional men's competition of Australian rules football. Off the 18 teams, there are now three female presidents in the AFL, including Richmond’s Peggy O’Neal and Kylie Watson-Wheeler of the Western Bulldogs. Read more here.
The artsy stuff
Peaky blinders
Actress Helen McCrory OBE died this week after a battle with cancer. Best known for her role as matriarch Polly in TV show in Peaky Blinders, hers was an outstanding career that included the Harry Potter films, James Bond, The Queen and countless other TV shows, movies, and West End plays. Read more here.
Women take the floor
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is highlighting works of its female artists. The exhibition aptly called Women Take the Floor, runs until 28 November. More than 200 artworks are on view, including works by Cindy Sherman, Lee Krasner and Georgia O’Keefe, among others, mainly selected from the museum’s collection. Read more here.
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