Meet Our Judges

Kenneth I. Chenault is an esteemed business leader whom TIME has recognized as one of its 100 Most Influential People. In his 17 years as Chairman and CEO of American Express,  he developed a deep understanding of the resiliency leadership requires, guiding the company through the 2008 recession. He currently serves as Chairman and Managing Director of General Catalyst.

Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones operates at the forefront of innovation, pushing evolution at tech giants like Microsoft, Sonos, Salesforce, and Slack. Throughout her 20-year career, she’s led teams to create category-defining products across productivity, enterprise scalability, and machine learning.

One of the highest-ranked women ever to have worked on Wall Street, Sallie Krawcheck knows how to pivot and has resilience in spades. Previously CEO of Sanford Berstein, CEO of Smith Barney, and CFO of Citigroup, she’s now CEO and founder of Ellevest, an investing and wealth management company built by women for women.

Former CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is renowned for leading the company through a decade of tremendous growth and change. True to her motto of “do well by doing good,” she steered PepsiCo toward a healthier and more sustainable future — all while nearly doubling its revenue. Nooyi has been recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.

In her eight years as IBM’s Chairman, President, and CEO, Ginni Rometty revitalized the legacy brand, reinventing half of its portfolio and building a $25-billion hybrid cloud business. With an unwavering focus on innovation, she established IBM’s authority on quantum computing and AI. Rometty was named Fortune’s No. 1 Most Powerful Woman three years in a row.

As CEO of Kickstarter, Everette Taylor is paving the way to a more empathetic, inclusive future of work. There and in his previous role as CMO of Artsy, he’s made it his purpose to lift up underrepresented groups, giving Black artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs the tools and recognition they need to succeed. His achievements have earned him recognition as an emerging leader on the TIME100 Next list and one of Forbes’ World’s Most Influential CMOs.

Yolanda Friend is a vocal advocate for creating inclusive work environments where everyone can authentically thrive. She serves as the Inclusion and Diversity Lead for Accenture North America. Her notable contributions helped the company achieve No. 1 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity List and Refinitiv’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Index.

As its founder and CEO, Ariel Kaye has grown Parachute from a digitally native bedding company to a beloved home lifestyle brand. A strong believer in DEI and good corporate citizenship, she’s maintained a commitment to social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Today, Parachute operates with a climate-neutral certification.

Laura Maness is Global CEO of Grey — the first woman to hold the role in the ad agency’s 107-year history. In her role, she’s transformed creativity into impact, galvanizing culture-changing work that’s won record awards and industry honors from Cannes Lions, Effie Worldwide, Newsweek, and more.

As the former Chief Innovation Officer at Wells Fargo, Madhu Narasimhan has established herself as a champion of constant reinvention. Throughout her career, she has led digital transformation efforts at Fortune 50 organizations, consistently driving improvements in customer experiences and business performance.

A nonprofit veteran, Erin Ross leverages her influence and experience in her community to address systemic barriers facing young girls. As CEO of Girls Inc. of Los Angeles, an organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, she continues to test and pivot their services to meet the needs of girls struggling through adolescence.

Carolyn Childers is Co-Founder and CEO of Chief. Under her leadership, Chief has grown to be the largest community of senior women executives. She’s been recognized on Inc.’s Female Founders 100 list and, under her leadership, Chief was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies.

Lindsay Kaplan is Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Chief. Previously, she led marketing at high-growth startups, including Casper. She’s been named one of Ad Age’s Leading Women and Business Insider’s Most Innovative CMOs in the World.