GWL Week Wrap: Leadership Shifts, Business Gains & New Records

Women steer the future of firms, industries, and even communities, through thought and strategic leadership, entrepreneurship, and professionalism on a global level. Appointments in corporate landscape in various industries display how women are increasingly occupying power positions. Leveraging specific entrepreneurial programs, they create channels for market access, business growth, financial literacy, and international cooperation.

Women now have better opportunities and platforms to influence the world of sport, health care, and international affairs through their impactful initiatives. Whether through setting new sporting records or pushing for inclusion of women in peace negotiations, their efforts contribute to a broader process of inclusiveness and representation.

Read on to discover GWL Week Wrap exploring women’s impact and leadership in domains of business, entrepreneurship, sports and global advocacy.

Shaping Corporate Agendas with Leadership Roles & Career Milestones

Women professionals continue climbing the corporate ladder with positions of influence in diverse fields, leveraging their expertise, vision and knowledge for advancing business growth.

Provalus, a US based company engaged in outsourcing services has named Jen Zebley as Vice President of Talent Acquisition. The organization aims to leverage upon her vast expertise in recruitment of executives, workforce planning and recruitment operations. Jen has previously worked in leadership roles in IBM, Kyndryl and Genpact, where she was responsible for large scale recruitment processes.

Victoria Pointon has been appointed the Head of Deal Strategy for the Asia Pacific and Japan regions (APJ) in OpenAI. This is after Victoria has gained approximately 15 years of work experience in areas of commercial operations, strategic negotiations, deal structuring, and project finance. Victoria will assist in addressing OpenAI’s business objectives in APJ by providing deal strategy and commercial negotiation skills in APJ. Victoria is joining OpenAI after working with Okta for more than three years, where she handled APJ deal strategy as well as commercial negotiation activities.

Dr Sarb Clare, MD has been appointed as the Medical Director of Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust due to her vast experience over 18 years in clinical leadership, innovation and improvements in healthcare service. Dr Sarb is a practicing consultant who has written articles and has been a strong proponent of women’s presence in the field of medicine and increasing diversity in top level healthcare jobs. Her career highlights include contributions to the emergence of Acute Internal Medicine as a specialty field and also her involvement in the COVID-19 response by the health service.

Capital Haus Group has selected Kasia Groves as Chief People Officer in the company. She has been appointed based on her experience in the area of HR leadership, people management, employee relations and organisational development. Her expertise in the following areas: workforce planning, leadership development, performance management, change management and employee engagement can be considered wide.

AFFIN PHEIM Asset Management Group has announced Doreen Choo Choy Wan as the Group Chief Executive Officer. Doreen Choo is a professional with nearly 30 years of experience in the asset management field in Malaysia, covering investment management, portfolio strategy and business development. She will head the company’s drive to increase its assets under management (AUM), gain more market share and grow its institutional and retail businesses.

Women Building Business Frontiers through Entrepreneurship & Economic Inclusion

Female entrepreneurs in Asia, Africa, and America tapped in on new opportunities owing to the new business development programs, leadership programs, and industry recognition initiatives.

The Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association has rebranded its nationwide women CEO management retreat as WE-CON, placing emphasis on business connections, knowledge-sharing and the growth of women-led enterprises. The management retreat was sponsored by Ministry of SMEs and Startups while being organized by the Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association. The programme comprised lectures on leadership and AI-based seminars. The event brings together women business leaders to strengthen their management skills and expand professional networks.

To empower more women in e-mobility and transport industries in Rwanda, Spiro has partnered with Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP) for the Women in E-Mobility project. Started in October 2026 with 50 women, the program aims to train 500 women within its first phase and also 5,000 women by 2030. The partners intend to replicate the program in other African countries where Spiro conducts business from 2027 to 2030. It will provide a combination of training on electric motorcycle riding and road safety, alongside finance, digital literacy and business management.

A regional initiative offered free business development training to women entrepreneurs. EASTECO and AUDA-NEPAD collaborated for a three-day business development program. The initiative provided growth opportunity for youth, women entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers from eight member states of East African Community. The training will offer free entry to 160 selected participants, with an allocation of 20 slots per country. Through face-to-face engagement, the program will concentrate on business aspects like business model creation, finance, marketing, and expansion of businesses.

Around 600 people attended the Women Rising Gala for the year 2026 held at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, organized by the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC). The award ceremony recognized eight people for their professional accomplishments and community development contributions. Five female entrepreneurs also received awards at the Women Rising Gala for their entrepreneurial successes. The Impact Award went to Susan Muigai, Chief People Officer at Mastercard, and Dr. Katherine Saunders, co-founder of FlyteHealth and obesity medicine physician at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Women Set New Records in Sports, Achievements & Representation

Women athletes set new benchmarks in different sports earning recognition for their performances, determination, and contributions towards greater gender representation.

Chinese table tennis player Chen Yi bagged the gold medal in the women's singles event during the ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Her performance indeed became an excellent comeback since she was defeated in both women's team and mixed doubles events in the earlier stages of the tournament. Chen was able to display a consistent performance in the final game by making use of strong returns to put pressure on Harimoto.

Tomoka Nishiyama will be the first woman to join the ranks of the regular professional shogi players of Japan. The 31-year-old woman currently has four women's shogi championships to her name. Tomoka stated that she has already made up her mind to join the ranks of kishi, a professional shogi player. There are two types of professional shogi players in Japan: regular kishi and jōryū kishi. The latter is meant only for women.

Molly Carlson, a professional cliff diver became the first woman to perform a dive from an independent iceberg, performing a 50-foot jump in the waters off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada with Red Bull. The 28-year-old athlete practiced for months in preparation for the difficult task and has achieved another record in the field of cliff diving. Under the guidance of Will Gadd, an experienced ice climber, Molly mastered ice climbing before making the historic dive.

Women Bring Inclusivity in Health, Global Advocacy, & Development

Programmes geared towards addressing issues relating to women’s health and wellness, leadership, and development gained vital importance through the week.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on nations and international bodies to reiterate their dedication to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. He emphasized upon the significance of greater representation of women in peace-building and security measures. While addressing an open debate at the United Nations Security Council, he mentioned that the role of women should be significant as their contribution to negotiation and decision-making can lead to peace settlements that last longer.

Three new scientific studies from the American Heart Association (AHA) emphasize the importance of taking preventive measures to address heart problems in women, starting from their teenage years rather than in their adult years. These findings detail the impact of reproduction, hormones, and mental health in relation to cardiovascular health in women at different life stages. The reports encourage women and healthcare professionals to take preventive action well before major hormonal changes occur.

The Three Cultures Foundation conducted the INTREPIDA Forum: Bridges of Entrepreneurship. The forum was attended by women entrepreneurs of Spain and Portugal and enabled them to share their experiences and discuss opportunities for business expansion. The forum aims to promote collaboration between women businesses and emphasized that communication is an essential instrument for doing business. The discussion included topics such as customer loyalty, market entry, and application of artificial intelligence in business processes.

A new fitness program by sports scientist Roma van der Walt has been launched recently. The program will assist women in increasing their strength, body composition, and healthy aging using the technique of weighted vests. Van der Walt is a former professional athlete and a founding and CEO of Vitelle, who will also serve as the fitness advisor and architect of this program. Named ‘The Carry Method’, the initiative will initially begin with Hi, Muscles, an approach to body composition lasting for 12 weeks. This will be followed by another initiative, Strong Bones, a method that will involve evidence-based bone loading activities.

Conclusion:

Events of the week provide a glimpse into numerous ways in which women contribute shaping the future of business, leadership and society. To leverage upon and continue the momentum, it is imperative for individuals, organizations, and the governments that new intuitive and opportunities are provided for greater participation, recognition and long-term impact.