#IWD2023: Celebrating the women who inspire us

To mark International Womens Day 2023, TVBEurope invited members of the media tech industry to tell us about the women who inspire them

By Jenny Priestley

Published: March 8, 2023 Updated: March 9, 2023

To mark International Women's Day 2023, TVBEurope invited members of the media tech industry to tell us about the women who inspire them

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To mark International Women's Day 2023, TVBEurope is celebrating the women who inspire others in our industry.

We invited members of the industry to tell us about the women who inspire them, whether they're working in media tech or outside of the industry.

Below are the inspiring women who we are proud to celebrate this IWD.

Anna Lee (Submitted by Theresa Lee, back end engineer, XL8.ai) My mother was a high school teacher, but like many women of her generation, she was forced to resign from her job upon getting married. Despite this setback, she continued to pursue her passions while caring for her four children. During my childhood, she worked as a Japanese chef, and during my adolescent years, she taught mathematics at a private institute. She also worked as a florist for several years. Her exceptional talent and intelligence are evident in all that she does. Presently, she works at her own cafe as a barista. My mother has been a tremendous source of inspiration and instilled in me that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. Without her unwavering support, I wouldn't have had the fortitude or confidence to become an engineer or work for an innovative Machine Translation start-up company focused on media and entertainment.

Anneliese Lange and Elisabeth Wilke (Submitted by Barbara Lange, CEO, Kibo121) As a daughter of German immigrants, I grew up hearing the stories of my family navigating the many difficulties of war. Both my parents were young and each had experiences that no child should endure. Both my grandmothers had to become the leaders within their families to help them survive. In times of little resources, they persevered. I got to know both of them growing up. I learned from them through observation and stories; they taught me to stand up for myself, be curious, and be empathetic to others. I have never forgotten those fundamental principles, which have been part of my core. Sometimes, we think of well-known people to look up to for inspiration. I happen to find that inspiration right in my own family.

Annette Hopland, area product owner, Appear (Submitted by shild Ludvigsen, R&D manager, Appear) My female role model is Appear's Annette Hopland. She's one of our longest-serving colleagues and helped engineer the software for a range of Appear's products, before becoming an area product owner for the Appear X Platform, leading multiple teams and helping drive our technology forward for the good of our customers.

I started working closer with Annette after a few years at Appear, and she instantly illuminated the industry for me, driving a strong female-led product team focused on building AVC/HEVC video encoding and decoding products. Her leadership skills lift everyone she works with and her passion for both our technology and the industry is admirable, keeping the work fresh and exciting. She is committed to making good technical solutions and does a phenomenal job acting as the glue between different product and sales teams.

It's always inspiring to see a strong female team leader in a male-dominated industry. But what's even better is that we never have to question or think about our genders working at Appear thanks to the strong culture we have. It gives me a lot of hope as we're seeing more and more women adopt STEM roles at university, and it's becoming more popular for women to take on tech roles. Let's not forget, the first coder was a woman (Ada Lovelace) and there are so many inspiring women following in her footsteps in the video processing and delivery industry today!

Belen Arronte, head of media solutions marketing at Sony (Submitted by Ellis Bezant, market analyst, Pebble) I have been inspired by my mentor Belen Arronte who is head of media solutions marketing at Sony. She helped me apply for my MBA and how I could form this as part of my personal development plan within my role as a market analyst for Pebble. Her key piece of advice: That growth can happen in any direction. Careers are very long and progress isn't always linear. Belen developed a breadth of knowledge by taking side steps first which helped her take leaps forward later, teaching others that a rejection may be a redirection in disguise.

Beth Berke (Submitted by Terri Davies, president, Trusted Partner Network) Beth Berke was chief administrative officer of Sony Pictures in 2000, when I moved to Los Angeles as a VP in her Operations division. She was head of global corporate functions and had enormous responsibility at a time when DVD was exploding, change was the new normal, the focus was on cost containment and centralisation, and Hollywood had very few women in such senior positions.

Beth was fiercely passionate, hardworking, whip smart, and a champion for DEI decades before the recent social movements brought these important issues into focus. She was personally responsible for the career growth of many women in the industry, including my own.

As well as being a corporate and professional rock star who taught other women to expect a seat at the table, Beth was also relatable, delightfully witty, approachable, and really honest about the challenges she faced trying to have it all.

Beth taught me that it was ok to unapologetically own and use the unique strengths and qualities a woman brings to the workplace. She was also my ultimate role model in learning that success can mean being brave, strong, kind, and relatable

LINK:	https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/people/iwd2023-celebrating-the-wome...
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