200 Trailblazing Leaders in Women’s Health and FemTech - 2023 list

List compiled by Marija Butkovic (founder and CEO) and Anja Streicher (CMO)

As we approach the end of the year and conclude our FemTech Expo program, we wish to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable leaders in the Women’s Health and FemTech arena. Throughout 2023, these trailblazers have dedicated themselves to enhancing the health and well-being of many through their inventive solutions and products.

Despite the growing recognition of the need for innovation in women's health, certain areas remain taboo, marked by significant data gaps. For instance, it is surprising that even today, women are diagnosed, on average, four years later than men across more than 770 diseases. Moreover, women are still more susceptible to fatal heart attacks, adverse reactions to prescription drugs, and routine dismissal of their pain by doctors due to the medical mystery surrounding their bodies. A study indicates that 90% of women with chronic pain believe the healthcare system exhibits gender bias.

In 2023, breakthroughs in technology 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.

2023 also witnessed a surge in awareness and advocacy efforts surrounding women's health issues. Prominent voices within the industry, along with influential organizations, played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the unique challenges women face and the importance of prioritizing their health.

In response, our team at Women of Wearables has curated a comprehensive list spotlighting the incredible innovators, investors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and advocates who have left their imprint on this field in 2023. This compilation aims to make the industry more accessible, inclusive, and ultimately visible. The list for 2022 can be accessed here. 

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, in case you think we have missed someone or wish to suggest a correction, please drop us a line 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: 

  1. Abigail Weldon, Senior Director, Women's Health at Siemens Healthineers

  2. Adonica Shaw, CBE, INHC, CIHC, founder and CEO of Wingwomen

  3. Adrianne Nickerson, co-founder and CEO at Oula

  4. Afsaneh Parvizi-Wayne, founder of freda and My Modern Menopause

  5. Amanda Calabrese and Greta Meyer, co-founders of Sequel

  6. Amina Sugimoto, DrPh, co-founder and CEO of fermata, Inc.

  7. Amy Beckley PhD, founder and CEO of Proov

  8. Ana Cristina Gonzalez Velez, Senior advisor on the right to health and gender equality at Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres, Colombia

  9. Andrew Storey, Senior Director, MNH and Global Relationships at Clinton Health Access Initiative

  10. Anna Butterworth, FRSA, MSc, Managing Director of Ultra Violet Agency

  11. Anna Laura Ross, Head of Emerging Technologies, research prioritisation and support, WHO

  12. Anna Luisa Schaffgotsch, founder and CEO of Impli 

  13. Anna Lee, co-founder and Head of Engineering at Lioness

  14. Antonella Chadha Santuccione, CEO and co-founder Women's Brain Project

  15. Ariadna Masó, founder and CEO of Sanno

  16. Arion Long, founder and CEO of Femly

  17. Aya Suzuki, co-founder of Aavia

  18. Beatrice Chemla, co-founder and CEO of Imma Health

  19. Beatrice Dixon, co-founder and CEO at The Honey Pot Company

  20. Beth Battaglino, President and CEO at HealthyWomen

  21. Bridget Gorham, Health Economics Policy Advisor at the NHS Confederation

  22. Carrie Walter and Audrey Tsang, co-CEOs of Clue

  23. Carina Kohli, founder and CEO of Humm Care 

  24. Carine Carmy, co-founder and CEO at Origin

  25. Carla Cressy, founder and CEO of The Endometriosis Foundation

  26. Carli Sapir, Founding Partner at Amboy Street Ventures

  27. Caroline Mitterdorfer, co-founder and CEO at  LEVY Health

  28. Caroline Noublanche, CEO at Apricity

  29. Carolyn Witte and Felicity Yost, co-founders of Tia

  30. Carolyn M Mazure, PhD, founder and director of Yale School of Medicine’s Women’s Health Research and leader of the new White House Initiative on Women's Health Research

  31. Cartier Esham, Chief Scientific Officer at Biotechnology Innovation Organization

  32. Catherine Hendy and Brittany Hawkins, co-founders of Elanza Wellness

  33. Cecilia Caetano, Vice President - Head Global Medical Affairs Women’s Health at Bayer

  34. Cecilia Tse, co-founder of Hey Freya

  35. Chantelle Bell and Anya Roy, co-founders of Syrona Health

  36. Cherie Hoeger, co-founder and CEO of Saalt

  37. Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO at MakeLoveNotPorn

  38. Claire Dixon, co-founder and CEO of Neuraura

  39. Claudia Chisari, PhD, CPsychol, founder and CEO of Bloume Health

  40. Clémence Lejeune, co-founder and CEO Sorella Care

  41. Colette Courtion, founder and CEO of Joylux

  42. Cristina Ljungberg, Gerda Mazi Larsson and Wendy Anderson, co-founders of The Case For Her

  43. Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, co-founder and co-CEO of Jennis

  44. Daniella Gilboa, co-founder and CEO of AIVF

  45. Daniella Levy, CEO of Happy V

  46. Daphne Chen, co-CEO and co-founder of TBD Health

  47. Denise Pines, co-founder and CEO of Tea Botanics, Osteopathic Medical Board of California

  48. Dominnique Karetsos, founder and CEO of Healthy Pleasure Group

  49. Dr Aparna (Amy) Divaraniya, founder and CEO of Oova

  50. Dr Brittany Barreto, founder of FemHealth Insights and Host of the FemTech Focus Podcast 

  51. Dr Claudia Pastides, Director of Medical Accuracy at Flo

  52. Dr Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, co-founder and CEO of Natural Cycles

  53. Dr Elizabeth Garner, Chief Science Officer, US at Ferring Pharmaceuticals

  54. Dr Hazel Wallace, founder of The Food Medic

  55. Dr Helen O'Neill, Dr Natalie Getreu and Deirdre O'Neill, co-founders of Hertility Health

  56. Dr Lara Zibners Lohr and Thang Vo-Ta, co-founders of Calla Lily Clinical Care

  57. Dr Lyndsey Harper, founder and CEO of Rosy

  58. Dr Michelle Griffin, health expert, strategist, advisor and BBC women's health columnist

  59. Dr Mridula Pore, co-founder and co-CEO of Peppy

  60. Dr Olivia Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Fluus

  61. Dr Lindsay Balfour, PhD, Assistant Professor at Coventry University

  62. Dr Stephanie Kuku, MD, advisor, investor and operator 

  63. Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital and Director at Fertifa

  64. Eileen Maus, CEO of Axena Health

  65. Elena Rueda and Paulina Cecula, co-founders of Dama Health

  66. Ellen Rudolph, co-founder and CEO of WellTheory

  67. Elina Vale, CEO and co-founder at Essence App

  68. Emilė Radytė, co-founder and CEO of Samphire Neuroscience

  69. Emily Napier, Solutions and New Business Leader Europe at Philips

  70. Evelyn Gitau, Director of Research Capacity Strengthening at African Population and Health Research Center

  71. Evelyne Opondo, Africa Director at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), human rights lawyer

  72. Fahti Khosrowshahi, founder and CEO of Ceek Women’s Health

  73. Gervase Fernandes, co-founder and Commercial Director at Health & Her

  74. Gila (Vadnai) Tolub, femtech growth advisor, board member and guest lecturer at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  75. Gina Bartasi, founder and Chair at Kindbody

  76. Gina Nebesar, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Ovia Health

  77. Giordana Mahn, Patent Attorney at Fish and Richardson

  78. Giovanna Forte, CEO of Forte Medical 

  79. Gloria Kolb, co-founder and CEO of Elidah

  80. Halle Tecco, MPH, MBA, co-founder and Chair at Cofertility

  81. Hannah Samano, founder and CEO of Unfabled

  82. Heather Bowerman, CEO and founder at DotLab

  83. Hira Siddiqui, co-founder and COO at Science&Humans

  84. Holly Falk-Krzesinski, Vice President, Research Intelligence at Elsevier

  85. Hope Yates, JD, MPH, Chief Strategy Officer, Women's Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center

  86. Ida Tin, Chairwoman and co-founder of Clue

  87. Ineke Klinge, President of the Dutch Society for Gender and Health

  88. Irene Aninye, Chief Science Officer at the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR)

  89. Jackie Rotman, founder and CEO of the Center for Intimacy Justice

  90. Jamie White, Health Science Strategy and Relations Lead at The National Institutes of Health

  91. Jennifer Kidwell Drake, Director and Women's Health Lead at Gates Ventures (Exemplars in Global Health)

  92. Jessica Karr, General Partner at Coyote Ventures

  93. Jessica Platt, founder of Cambridge Collective for Women's Health

  94. Joanna Griffiths, founder and President at Knix

  95. Joanna Strober, co-founder and CEO of Midi Health

  96. Joyce Harper, Professor in Reproductive Science at UCL

  97. Julie Kucinski, Gwendolyn Floyd and Corey Scholibo, co-founders of Wile

  98. Juliette Mauro and Delphine Moulu, co-founders of Femtech France

  99. Kara Egan, CEO of Teal Health

  100. Karina Vazirova and Katia Lang, co-founders of FemTech Lab

  101. Karolina Lofqvist, founder and CEO of Hormona

  102. Karli Büchling, co-founder and CEO of Yoni Health

  103. Kate Afanasyeva, Technical Program Manager at Fitbit, Health at Google 

  104. Kate Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven 

  105. Kathrin Folkendt, founder of FemTech Insider

  106. Kathryn Fantauzzi, co-founder and CEO of Apollo Neuroscience, Inc.

  107. Kathryn Godburn Schubert, President and CEO, Society for Women's Health Research

  108. Katy Cottam, founder and CEO of Luna Daily

  109. Kiki Freedman, co-founder and CEO of Hey Jane

  110. Kim Palmer, founder of Clementine

  111. Laura Chambers, Chief Executive Officer at Willow Innovations, Inc.

  112. Laura Yecies, CEO of Bone Health Technologies 

  113. Leah Millheiser, MD, NCMP, Chief Medical Officer at Evernow

  114. Linda Goler Blount, MPH, President at Black Women's Health Imperative

  115. Linda Greub, CFA, MBA, Managing Partner at Avestria Ventures

  116. Lindsay Davis, founder of FemTech Association Asia

  117. Lisa Falco, Author of "Go Figure! The astonishing science of the female body", Forbes contributor and Consultant in Data, AI for Health and FemTech

  118. Loewen Cavill, CEO of Amira Health

  119. Lydia Zeller, CEO of Flyte

  120. Maike Scharp, Deputy Director, Strategy at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

  121. Maneesh Jain, CEO and co-founder at Mirvie

  122. Maria Carmen Punzi, PhD Researcher - Menstrual Health and Social Change

  123. Maria D. Toler, Founding Partner at SteelSky Ventures

  124. Marina Rigau, co-founder and CEO of MiMARK

  125. Marissa Fayer, CEO and founder of ​​HERhealthEQ

  126. Margaret Zablocka, founder and CEO of Onoco

  127. Marina Gerner, Journalist and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern

  128. Martha Silcott, founder of FabLittleBag

  129. Maryon Stewart BEM, CEO of Femmar

  130. Maya Goldstein, Director of Research at Policy Cures Research

  131. Maya Hardigan, founder and CEO of Mae

  132. Megan Huchko, Ob/Gyn, Associate Professor and Director of Duke Center for Global Reproductive Health

  133. Melissa Hanna, co-founder of Mahmee

  134. Michelle Kennedy, founder and CEO of Peanut

  135. Michelle Oyen, Director, Center for Women’s Health Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis

  136. Mindy Simon, National Programme Director at NHS Innovation Accelerator 

  137. Mitchella Gilbert, CEO of Oya Femtech Apparel

  138. Mitzi Krockover, MD, Women's Health Physician, Investor, Entrepreneur and Podcast Host 

  139. Mylene Yao, co-founder and CEO of Univfy

  140. Nader Alaghband, co-founder at Ampersand Health

  141. Nader AlSalim, founder and CEO of Gaia

  142. Navneet Kaur, founder and CEO of FemTech India

  143. Neta Gotlieb, PhD, Product Manager and Women’s Health Lead at Oura

  144. Nimmi Ramanujam, Professor at Duke University and Director of the Center for Global Women's Health Technologies

  145. Nina Joshi, Innovation at Kaiser Permanente, Host of HITLAB Women's Health Tech Wednesday

  146. Noelle Acosta and Suzie Grange, co-founders of Noula

  147. Noga Sapir, founder and CEO of Reflect Innovation

  148. Noni Gachuhi, Principal, Primary Health Care Programs at Global Health Labs

  149. Olivia Orchowski, founder and CEO of Femtek

  150. Oriana Kraft, founder and producer of FemTechnology Summit

  151. Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, co-founder and CEO of AOA Dx Inc.

  152. Peony Li, founder and CEO of Jude

  153. Priya Oberoi, Founding General Partner at Goddess Gaia Ventures

  154. Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women’s Health Ambassador for England

  155. Pooja Majmudar PhD, Director, Startup Banking - Early Stage Life Science at Silicon Valley Bank

  156. Quita Beeler Highsmith, MBA, vice president and chief diversity officer at Genentech

  157. Rachel Braun Scherl, co-founder of SPARK Solutions for growth and co-host of Business of the V

  158. Rebecca Baldwin, Portfolio Director at Women's Health Innovation Series (Kisaco Research)

  159. Rebekah Lloyd, founder of This Independent Life

  160. Reenita Das, Partner at Frost & Sullivan, Board Member of Arab Health

  161. Rory Stanton, founder of Aila Health

  162. Ruby Raut, founder and CEO of WUKA 

  163. Ruth Shaber, MD, Founder and President at Tara Health Foundation

  164. Sabrina Badir, founder and CEO of Pregnolia

  165. Sabrina (Martucci) Johnson, President and CEO at DARÉ Bioscience

  166. Sam Simister and Heather Jackon, co-founders of GenM

  167. Sandy Milligan, MD JD, Head of Research and Development at Organon

  168. Sarah Cowlishaw, Life Sciences Regulatory Partner and co-chair of Covington's Digital Health Initiative

  169. Sarah McCollum Dorsett, CEO of Nanit

  170. Saundra Pelletier, CEO of Evofem Biosciences

  171. Shana Bartlett, Executive Director, Women’s Health Strategy at CVS Health

  172. Shashwata Narain, co-founder and CEO of Veera Health

  173. Shavini Fernando, founder, and CEO of OxiWear

  174. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, M.D., M.S., physician-scientist, Assistant Professor of Environmental, Reproductive, and Women's Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

  175. Simmone Taitt, founder and CEO of Poppy Seed Health

  176. Simone Theiss, Program Manager EPFL Innovation Park and Tech4Eva Accelerator

  177. Sivan Sadan, Executive Vice President at HeraMED

  178. Somer Baburek, MBA, CEO at Hera Biotech

  179. Sophia Yen, MD, MPH, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Pandia Health

  180. Sophie Smith, founder and CEO of Nabta Health

  181. Stacy London, CEO of the State of Menopause

  182. Stacy Salvi, Vice President, Product and Strategy at Movano Inc.

  183. Stasia Obremskey and Elizabeth Bailey, Managing Directors at RH Capital

  184. Stasa Stankovic, University of Cambridge human reproductive geneticist, Strategy Consultant, Genomics & AI for Drug Discovery at AstraZeneca

  185. Stephanie Schull, PhD, founder and CEO of Kegelbell

  186. Susan Stover, Marketing Lead at Hyivy Health, Advisory Board Member FemTech Canada and FemTech India

  187. Susanna Twarog and Robina Verbeek, co-founders and co-CEOs of SOS

  188. Sydney Coleman, Senior Product Inclusion and Equity Program Manager at Google

  189. Sylvia Kang, co-founder and CEO of Mira

  190. Tammy Sun, founder and CEO at Carrot Fertility

  191. Tara Croft, CEO of Baymatob

  192. Teo Tijerina, CEO of Hera Diagnostics

  193. Theresa Neil, founder of Guidea and Femovate

  194. Tiffany Starr McKever, MS-HSM, MBA, Chairperson of the Board at YON E Global, and founder and CEO at Consensus Healthcare Consultants Inc.

  195. Trish Costello, founder and CEO of Portfolia

  196. Ula Sankowska, co-owner and co-CEO at MIM Fertility

  197. Valentina Milanova, founder and CPO of Daye

  198. Victoria Iezzi, Senior Manager and co-leader of the Women’s Health and Wellness Technology Group at Withum

  199. Wolfgang Hackl, founder and CEO of OncoGenomX

  200. Yotam Hod, CEO and co-founder, Gynica

THIS YEAR’S PARTNERS

Guidea is a women-owned, women-led UX design consultancy focused on digital health and femtech. Their UX sponsorship program, Femovate, is currently supporting 30+ early-stage femtech founders who are leading the next wave of women’s health innovation. Since 2005, Guidea has delivered award-winning experiences that have touched the lives of over one billion people worldwide. Guidea’s personalized design approach and proven strategies have empowered leaders in top health companies, medical schools, and pharmaceutical giants to deliver high-performing digital health solutions. Femovate sprung from the realization that life-changing femtech companies were not being given the investment and resources they needed to succeed. Guidea's commitment to providing the same level of expertise large companies can afford has proved a boon to early-stage femtech founders and their products.

Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm with a deep level of expertise relating to all of the issues that arise within the Women’s Health and Wellness industry. The growth in this industry promises new solutions for women, from health to education and more, and we proudly work with some of the brightest companies pioneering these advancements to ensure they have the support they need for their vision to succeed. To learn more about how Withum’s Women’s Health and Wellness team can help your business, click here.

On the photo: WoW team - Anja Streicher (CMO) and Marija Butkovic (founder and CEO)

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. 

Marija ButkovicComment