Two Arizona executives “Most Powerful Women in Technology”

Two Arizona influencers have been named among the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology for 2019 by the non-profit National Diversity Council.

Each year, the Council awards the nation’s highest performers who are bringing groundbreaking innovations and business success to the world of technology and leading the way for other women. To receive the honor, winners must be top leaders, directly contribute to business growth, and act as effective role models.

Arizona is home to two honorees this year: Deanna Wise, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Banner Health, and Nicole Enright, Senior Vice President of Business Transformation for Avnet.

Both said their rise to fame in the male-dominated tech world is simple: the ability to quickly analyze and strategize. And teamwork.

“For me it’s about engagement of team members and creating this environment where they have an opportunity to make a difference,” Wise said. “As a leader, you can change a lot of things, but without the rally of the team, you don’t have as much influence.”

Nothing is accomplished alone, Enright said.

“Recognizing and leveraging the strengths of talented leaders across teams has always been a key part of my professional growth and accomplishments. What drives me to succeed is a strong desire to see my team’s fingerprints on the organization and know we made a positive and lasting impact together,” she said.

The National Diversity Council holds the annual awards to promote diversity in the workplace that includes recognizing the achievements of women in tech each year.

Winners must work with “high integrity and ethical behavior, emphasizing how successful employers excel both in their jobs and personal growth.”

In other words, teamwork.

Winners also are recognized for improving diversity in IT, which Wise and Enright have excelled at. For Wise, recognizing top talent and creating an environment “where you can do anything” is what drives diversity.

“I think what’s interesting is in IT, it’s significantly men. I remember when I first became a CIO and I looked around the room, there were three women to 40 men, at least. Being able to not let that be in the way and realize that, if they can do it, I can do it that, they are no smarter or different than I am,” she said.

Enright has taken HR policies that benefit women and families to the next level for electronics giant Avnet including rolling out more modern workplace practices like flexible time off and leave policies that enable employees to take care of a loved one or spend time with a newborn child.

“When I had the opportunity to lead our enterprise-wide global transformation program at Avnet, we did much more than just achieve our financial objectives. We empowered our employees to drive change, and as a result, we built an important muscle within our organization that will continue to help us evolve and grow,” Enright said.

Here’s a snapshot of the two winners:

Deanna Wise is Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Banner, the largest employer in Arizona and one of the largest non-profit healthcare systems in the country. Since 1994, Wise has been CIO of several health systems including Dignity Health, Vanguard Health Systems, and Maricopa Integrated Health System. During that time, she has helped transformed health care from physician-based to consumer-based.

Wise has vast expertise in the development and maintenance of leading industry clinical IT technology, such as Robotic Processing Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics systems that includes industry-leading clinical IT.

At Dignity Health, she oversaw the implementation of electronic health record software standards to provide electronic records to each Dignity Health facility and facilitated the creation of a state- of-the-art clinically integrated predictive analytics program to enhance the consumer experience. Her team won ComputerWorld’s’ Top 100 Places to Work in IT two years in a row. Last year, Wise was inducted into the 2018 CIO Hall of Fame.

Nicole Enright is Senior Vice President of Business Transformation at Avnet, Inc., one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components and embedded solutions. Enright, who started at Avnet in 2004 as the Director of Operational Excellence, has led the company’s “most innovative programs,” Avnet said in announcing the award.

During the last few years as VP, Enright has been instrumental in transforming Avnet into a technology solutions company with an ecosystem of experts to support customers at every stage of the product life cycle. She has contributed to company growth through merger and acquisitions activities, divestitures, and human resources initiatives. Enright was responsible for implementing Avnet’s global change management methodology and embedding the practice across the organization.

Enright is a leader in Avnet’s RISE program that provides career and leadership development and promotes diversity of women.She is a four-time winner of CRN’s 100 Most Powerful Women of the Channel.

This year, the National Diversity Council recognized the 50 winners at the 15th Annual Diversity and Leadership Conference that featured “A Conversation with President Barack Obama.”

Among the other winners:

Carletta Ooton VP, Health, Safety, Sustainability, Security & Compliance, Amazon

CeCe Morken Executive VP and General Manager, Strategic Partner Group, Intuit Inc.

Holly Borgmann Head of Government Affairs, ADT Security Services

Laura Meyer VP, Business Intelligence, Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx

Linda P. Jojo Executive VP, Technology and Chief Digital Officer, United Airlines

Mayumi Hiramatsu Senior VP, Cloud Technology & Operations

Michelle DeBella VP, Finance Strategy, Lyft

Patti Newcomer VP, Marketing, Intuit Inc.

Rebecca Nicholas VP, Tech Services – Innovation & Support, Capital One

Suma Nallapati Senior VP and Chief Digital Officer, DISH Network

To see the full list of winners, go to the 2019 Top 50 Women in Technology.