Female Science Talents Role Models

Prof. Dr. h.c. Jutta Allmendinger, Ph.D., is President of the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and Professor of Sociology in Education and Labor Market Research at Humboldt Universität Berlin since 2007. In addition, she has served as Honorary Professor of Sociology at Freie Universität Berlin since 2012. Jutta Allmendinger studied sociology and social psychology in Mannheim and Madison, Wisconsin, earned her Ph.D. at Harvard University and her habilitation degree at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich. From 1992 to 2007, she was a professor there.

Her multiple honors and awards include the German Federal Cross of Merit First Class and the Communicator Award – Science Award of the Donors’ Association (Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft). Jutta Allmendinger serves on numerous advisory boards in Germany and abroad. She is a member of the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the German Academy of Engineering Science acatech and the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Dr. Julia Duwe is a Partner in Roland Berger’s Operations Strategy practice. She specializes in the transformation of established industry companies and their portfolio shift towards the digital, data-driven world.

Before joining Roland Berger, Julia Duwe worked for high-tech companies and research organizations, including the German Aerospace Center (DLR), FESTO, and TRUMPF Machine Tools. She was an R+D Manager for digital product development in the field of Industry 4.0, automation, and smart factory solutions. She also worked as an Ecosystem Architect, opening product development towards collaboration and co-development with ecosystem partners. Since 2020, she has been a member of the University Council of the Technische Universität Dresden.

Julia Duwe studied communication, business administration, and American studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and the University of Bergen, Norway. From 2013 to 2016, she completed her doctorate on leadership in ambidextrous technology companies at the European Business School (EBS) in Oestrich-Winkel.

Julia Duwe is an author and expert on ecosystem management and organizational ambidexterity. In her research (“Ambidextrous Leadership”, Springer Gabler), she deals with the question of how companies drive their core business while simultaneously building new business in a data-driven economy.

Alison Kennedy has recently been appointed as Strategic Advisor for eInfrastructure (High Performance Computing (HPC) and AI) to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in the UK. Until the end of March 2022, she was Director of the Hartree Centre whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of technologies such as HPC, HPDA, AI and quantum computing by UK industry, leading to economic and productivity gains for the UK. Backed by £172m of government money to launch the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation, the centre has recently extended its collaboration with IBM Research in this 5 year programme. Prior to joining the Hartree Centre in 2016, Alison held dual roles as an Executive Director of EPCC, the national HPC Centre based at the University of Edinburgh and as Managing Director of the PRACE aisbl (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe).

She has undergraduate degrees in History and in Mathematics and Technology and a post-graduate degree in Business Administration. Alison began her working life as a real-time systems programmer in industry, progressing to roles in project management, software product management and in sales. She has now worked in HPC for almost 30 years, managing large organisations, projects and collaborations in HPC, Data and AI. Alison is a co-founder of the Women in HPC organisation, served as the organisation’s first Chair and currently sits on WHPC’s Advisory Board.

Monika Lessl is Executive Director of the Bayer Foundation and Head of Corporate R&D and Social Innovation at Bayer AG. She is a member of Bayer’s Global R&D Executive Committee and the Global Medical and Regulatory Governance committee. Her focus is on driving organizational and societal transformation by strengthening the role of science and promoting innovation and sustainability through strategic initiatives, governance processes and partnerships.

She is a Board member of the Futurium, Berlin’s museum of the future and acts as a jury member of the European Innovation Council and the German Ministry of Science and Education. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, a Diploma in General Management from Ashridge Business School, London and is a former fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation. Next to her research work she published a number of articles on collaborative innovation, entrepreneurship and business transformation in leading journals like Harvard Business Review. She and her team were awarded as finalists for the “Master of Reinvention Award” of the London Business School” in 2018 and “The best Innovation team award” by Fast Company in 2020.

In her former role as Head of Innovation Strategy she developed and led Bayer’s Innovation Agenda to strengthen Bayer’s Innovation capabilities and foster new business models. As Head of External Innovation Therapeutics at Bayer’s pharmaceutical division she was responsible for creating the external innovation strategy and leading global partnering activities. Prior to this, she was CEO of the Ernst Schering Foundation and led as a research team in the area of women’s health at Schering AG.

Simone Menne started her career for ITT, later joining Deutsche Lufthansa. In 2012, Ms. Menne was appointed CFO and stayed in this position till 2015. She worked as CFO at Boehringer Ingelheim from 2016 to 2017. In both companies she was responsible for the foundation of the digital lab. Ms. Menne serves as non-executive board member for Henkel, Deutsche Post DHL, JCI and Russell Reynolds. She also owns an art gallery in Kiel, Germany and is the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany e.V.

As the head of research and development for Organon, Dr. Sandra Milligan is leading the advancement of a differentiated portfolio of medicines and solutions to help women and all patients live a better and healthier every day. In her role, Sandy oversees the organization’s scientific, medical and regulatory capabilities in support of its diverse portfolio and long-term vision.

Ruth Morgan is Professor of Crime and Forensic Science in the UCL Department of Security and Crime Science, Vice Dean (Interdisciplinarity Entrepreneurship) in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, and the Founder and Director of the UCL Centre for the Forensic Sciences. The Centre facilitates a network of UCL academics from a wide range of different disciplines and departments to enable a strategic and multidisciplinary research programme in collaboration with external partners and forensic science stakeholders.

Professor Ruth Morgan was one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Scientists (Class of 2019) and was the Specialist Adviser to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee for their inquiry into Forensic Science (2018-19). She is a member of the Editorial Board for Frontiers Policy Labs and has been a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council, and part of the Scientific American and World Economic Forum Steering Group for the 2020 ‘Top 10 Emerging Technologies’. Ruth is a regular speaker (including a TED talk) and commentator on forensic science and the role of science in policy, and a strong advocate for enabling interdisciplinary approaches that bring diverse ways of thinking, seeing and doing to address global challenges.

As the Elsevier Foundation’s Director, Ylann Schemm drives inclusive health and research partnerships to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals building research capacity in developing countries and tackling health inequities. She has been an integral part of the Foundation’s growth since joining as a Program Officer in 2008. In addition, Ylann serves as Elsevier’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, building on two decades of corporate relations and responsibility roles which focus on which focus on gender, research and global health collaborations. She serves as the Cochair of Elsevier’s internal Gender Equity Taskforce working with key stakeholders to evolve the company’s approach to inclusive research. In 2020, Ylann was appointed Chair of Research4Life’s Executive Council, a UN-publisher partnership to bridge access gaps for researchers and doctors in developing countries. Prior to joining Elsevier in 2005, Ylann held various roles in publishing and the non-profit sector, representing the European Platform for Dutch Education at the European Commission. She started her career as a writer and researcher for Time Life Books and holds an MA in Film & Television Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a BA, magna cum laude in English from Amherst College in Massachusetts. Ylann is both American and Dutch and based in Amsterdam.

Miriam van Straelen joined Roland Berger in April 2022 in the Digital Unit N3XT in Berlin. Miriam has more than 20 years of experience in consulting, e-commerce and digital business areas. She has held leadership positions at large international companies such as ebay and PayPal, where she was responsible for developing, launching and scaling some of the most successful customer experiences and products in the market.

She is an expert in building sustainable business models and products focusing on growth through digital transformation and innovation. She knows how to enable change that is embraced by all relevant stakeholders and how to build high-performing teams.

Miriam van Straelen studied International Business at the European Business School (ESCP) in Paris, Oxford and Berlin.

Dr. Ingrid Wünning-Tschol is Senior Vice President Strategic Science Advice at Robert Bosch Stiftung. As a scientist herself, she is concerned about the underrepresentation of women in positions of scientific leadership. Hence, she founded AcademiaNet in 2010. The initiative consists of a database containing profiles of outstanding female researchers.