50 Trailblazing Leaders in Menopause
List compiled by Marija Butkovic (founder and CEO) and Anja Streicher (CMO)
During our Menopause 2.0 conference, where we brought together 20 incredible speakers and industry leaders in the menopause space, our team realised many more industry professionals deserve to get highlighted for making their mark in this space. By compiling this list, we wish to acknowledge and celebrate 50 remarkable leaders in the Menopause arena. Throughout the last few years, these trailblazers have dedicated themselves to enhancing the health and wellbeing of women through their inventive solutions, services and products.
So far, breakthroughs in femtech have led to the development of innovative solutions for women's health concerns. From AI-powered diagnostics to wearable devices catering specifically to women, these advancements have contributed to a more personalized and effective approach to healthcare.
Why menopause? The stats below speak for themselves:
It is estimated that more than 450 million women worldwide have menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms.
13 million people are currently peri- or menopausal in the UK, which is equivalent to a third of the entire UK female population.
9 in 10 women were never educated about menopause.
⅓ of women going to their GP with symptoms of the menopause are being offered antidepressants
In the UK, only 59% of medical schools included mandatory menopause education in their curriculum.
There are at least 34 menopause symptoms women experience, including hot flashes, mood swings, anxiety, poor sleep, brain fog, etc.
Menopause symptoms cost billions in medical expenses and lost days of work. A Mayo Clinic study estimates $1.8 billion in lost work time per year and $26.6 billion annually when medical expenses are added in the U.S. alone.
Therefore, our team has curated a comprehensive list spotlighting the incredible innovators, investors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and advocates who have left their imprint on this field in recent years. This compilation aims to make the industry more accessible, inclusive, and visible.
Disclaimer: The list has been arranged alphabetically and not in rank. There are many more leaders who should be on this list and we’d like to encourage everyone to continue adding to it by posting in the comments. Also, if you think we have missed someone or wish to suggest a correction, please drop us at hello@womenofwearables.com.
If you are interested in learning more about our work in the women’s health space, below are some options for you to get involved:
Find out more about WoW on our website
Become a WoW member here
Join our LinkedIn femtech group, where we discuss all things women’s health, femtech innovation, and investment
Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with our activities
Reach out to our team at Women of Wearables at hello@womenofwearables.com to say hi or find out how you could collaborate with us
THE FULL LIST
Abida Dhukai, Nurse Practitioner at Science&Humans
Afsaneh Parvizi-Wayne, founder of Freda and My Modern Menopause
Alicia Clausel, Clinical Research Scientist at Oura
Alicia Jackson, CEO and founder at Evernow
Amira Ghouaibi, Head, Women’s Health, World Economic Forum
Ana G Herrera, founder of Hormone University
Ann Garnier, founder and CEO of Lisa Health
Andrea Berchowitz, co-founder of Vira Health
Anke Sinnigen, founder of wexxeljahre
Barbra Hanna, DO, MSCP, founder and CEO MyMenopauseRx
Cecilia Caetano, Vice President - Head Global Medical Affairs Women’s Health at Bayer
Christine Maginnis, co-founder and Chief Program Officer at Let's Talk Menopause
Colette Courtion, founder and CEO of Joylux
Cornelia Hainer, Head of Science at Clue
Cristina Arbelaez is Global Director New Categories at Essity
Daisy Robinton, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Oviva Therapeutics
Denise Pines, founder of WisePause Wellness
Dr Joyce Harper, Professor in Reproductive Science at UCL
Dr Mary Claire Haver, board-certified OB/GYN and menopause specialist
Dr Mridula Pore, co-founder of Peppy
Dr Nigina Muntean, Chief of Innovation at UNFPA
Dr Sara Gottfried, Director of Precision Medicine, Marcus Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals
Dr Stasa Stankovic, a geneticist and bioinformatician with a PhD in Reproductive Genomics from the University of Cambridge
Dr Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, OB/GYN, Integrative Health Practitioner, author and founder of Menopause Bootcamp
Eileen Maus, CEO of Axena Health
Elizabeth Gazda, CEO of Embr Labs
Eva Hoffmann, Professor of functional genomics and reproductive health at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Gloria Kolb, CEO of Elidah
Helena Milner-Smith and Dr Nadine Kramer, Covington & Burling LLP
Jennifer Garrison, Assistant Professor at Buck Institute for Research on Aging; co-founder and Director of Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity & Equality
Jo McEwan, co-founder of Menopause Movement and PositivePause
Julie Gordon White, founder and CEO of MenoWell Bars
Julija Jurić, Innovation Manager at GlycanAge
Kate Brashares, founder and CEO at Hello Therapeutics
Kathleen Jordan, MD, NCMP, Chief Medical Officer at Midi Health
Kim Palmer, founder of Clementine
Komel Caruso, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of HerMD
Leila Thabet, General Manager, UK & International, Maven Clinic
Lucy Pérez, Health Equity Co-leader of the McKinsey Health Institute and Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company
Marla Shapiro, professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto
Maryon Stewart, founder and CEO of Femmar
Michelle Jacobs and Sally Mueller, co-founders of Womaness
Nora Lansen, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Elektra Health
Priya Patel, founder and CEO of Wellen
Rachel Braun Scherl, Managing Partner and co-founder of SPARK Solutions for Growth
Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su, Chief Medical Officer at gennev
Sam Simister and Heather Jackson, co-founders of GenM
Sarah Dillingham, co-founder and CEO of Grace & Able
Sharon Keaney, Chief Operating Officer at Willbe and perimenopause expert
Stephanie Sassman, Portfolio Leader, Women's Health in the Global Product Strategy group of Roche
Trisha VanDusseldorp, PhD, CSCS-D, FISSN, Senior Director of Clinical Research at Bonafide Health
This list has been powered by Covington & Burling LLP. Covington & Burling LLP (Covington) is a pre-eminent international law firm with more than 1,300 attorneys and advisors and offices in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Dubai, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Washington, Shanghai, and Seoul. They are known for the high quality of their work, in-depth knowledge of key industries, sophistication in complex corporate, regulatory, advisory, and contentious matters, deep loyalty to clients, and commitment to the highest professional and ethical standards. They are known for creating novel solutions to their client’s toughest problems, successfully trying their toughest cases, and delivering commercially practical advice of the highest quality. Covington is also known for being a leader in the Life Sciences sector and has a dedicated Digital Health team that offers unsurpassed breadth and depth of expertise and experience concerning the legal, regulatory, and policy issues that affect digital health products and services.
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