The Information and Communication Technology industry has its own Olympics, a battle of technical strength and business sense. In the 2021 Women in ICT Awards hosted by Channel Asia, Stratpoint’s very own CEO, Mary Rose dela Cruz (MR), was named a finalist in the Achievement Award, from over 200 other nominees for this year’s recognition.
The Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA) celebrates gender diversity and recognizes female excellence across the ASEAN tech channel. It aims to acknowledge women who are frontrunners, influential figures, and role models in the technology industry. The award is run by Channel Asia, a technology publication for Southeast Asia under the IDG Communications umbrella.
The WIICTA recognized MR’s career in the Achievement category, for having delivered an unrivaled contribution to the ICT industry, evident through outstanding professional and personal achievements. Nominees in the Achievement category are esteemed thought leaders with distinguished careers spanning at least 25 years, as business leaders and role models for aspiring executives.
MR has been in the executive leadership of Stratpoint since 2010, joining as the Chief Operating Officer and 5 years later becoming its Chief Executive Officer. She is central in helping the company recover from the 2007-2008 financial crisis, when Stratpoint shed 60% of its headcount and experienced business stagnation. She pivoted the company from offering on-premise technologies to cloud services, a daring strategy as cloud was still new at the time. In 2 years, the company turned cash positive. Fast-forward to 2021, Stratpoint experienced double-digit growth year-on-year and grew into a team of more than 300.
On top of leading a successful technology company, MR sits on the board of the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) to represent the interests of 160 Filipino software and IT service companies in the areas of emerging tech, in-demand skills, and upskilling. She fervently advocates women joining the IT industry to break stereotypes.
MR says about women in IT, “When there are women in IT, more women will emerge as leaders too, not because we are female but because we can create solutions to problems. We can harness the power of technology. We can lead. These are the things that make a CEO, regardless of gender, and in those capabilities, men and women are always equal.”
Spoken like the CEO we love and look up to. Cheers, MR!
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