GWL Week Wrap: Women Lead Across Business Sports & Beyond

This week witnessed women continue to carve out significant achievements in business, sports, science, agriculture, and other fields. In business news, Anneli Ellsater became the first female CEO of the Swedish coffee company Löfbergs, and McCarthy Building Companies welcomed Cathy Orquiola as their Regional CEO. At London Gatwick, Kathleen Maes assumed the position of Chief Human Resources Officer.

Sport for women was one of the major themes covered this week, with a partnership between Nike and RAJ Sports that will help enhance athlete performance and facilities. This week, Texas Woman’s University and Dallas Trinity FC forged a partnership to create sports management career paths.

French astronaut Sophie Adenot completed the first spacewalk by a French woman, and four women were awarded under the Demeter Awards for 2026. Cambodia too made Kem Monovithya a Special Envoy to Prime Minister Hun Manet. New initiatives on access to capital and professional networking increased the strength of women leaders.

Women Take Up Senior Leadership Roles

Anneli Ellsater Becomes Löfbergs’ First Woman CEO

Group CEO of Löfbergs, the Swedish coffee company, has been announced as Anneli Ellsater, who will become the first female CEO of the company. She will take up the office from October 1 and will succeed Anders Fredriksson, who has been appointed to another job at Humble Group.

Anneli Ellsater has more than two decades of experience in senior leadership roles in international consumer companies and brand-oriented firms. Her experience includes commercial leadership, business development, and organisational transformation. Most recently, she has worked as Global Vice President at Flora Food Group, while earlier she has worked with TOMRA, Telia, and P&G.

According to Löfbergs Board Chair Kathrine Lofberg, Ellsater’s international exposure and management skills made him an excellent addition to the company. According to Ellsater, the company’s culture, dedication to sustainability, long term vision, and family-owned nature were some of the aspects that drew him towards the position.

For women representation at the company, this is also a very important step, especially considering that Lofberg serves as the board chair while Ellsater serves as the CEO. As per Lofberg, having two women in such positions is a very good indicator of the importance of competence and experience.

Cathy Orquiola Joins McCarthy as Regional CEO

McCarthy Building Companies has announced that Cathy Orquiola, an expert in construction with over 30 years of experience, has been named Regional CEO.

As part of her role in McCarthy, she will be working alongside other national and regional leaders in improving cooperation among various departments, sharing best practices and implementing excellence in operations. She will also offer her expertise in data centers and mission-critical construction to the company.

Cathy Orquiola becomes a part of the company’s executive committee and reports to Chairman and CEO Ray Sedey. Previously, she worked as the Western Regional President at PCL Construction Services, Inc., managing the company's offices in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Washington.

The various construction trades and procurement systems have been covered by her professional experience. Also, she has added value to the industry through membership of groups like Young Presidents' Organization and the ACE Mentor Program of America. As a civil engineer graduated from Florida Institute of Technology, Orquiola’s inclusion further enhances women's participation in an industry largely dominated by males.

London Gatwick Appoints Kathleen Maes as CHRO

Kathleen Maes has been appointed as the new Chief Human Resources Officer for London Gatwick, starting from August 17, 2026. She will head the airport’s people strategy as the organisation focuses on building workforce competencies and opportunities associated with the Northern Runway.

Some of her roles would include workforce planning, talent management, organisational effectiveness, and employee engagement. Her expertise in organisational transformation and workforce management is hoped to help employees adapt to change by ensuring people strategy is aligned with the needs of the airport.

Prior to joining London Gatwick, Maes was HR Director for Portfolio Business, Transformation and M&A at BT Group, where she was in charge of people strategy for business transformation and mergers and acquisitions.

She has also served in HR capacities in the automotive, telecom, and service industries, having worked for Jaguar Land Rover Benelux, BT, Facilicom Services Group Belgium, and LBC-NVK.

Chief Executive of London Gatwick Pierre-Hugues Schmit extended a welcome to Maes, emphasizing the significance of people in the next phase of the organization’s development.

Women’s Sports Gain New Partnerships & Pathways

Nike and RAJ Sports Join Forces to Accelerate Women’s Sports

Nike and RAJ Sports have established a partnership to accelerate women’s sports through performance, innovation, and community development. This has been done as part of the second annual Epicenter: Women’s Global Sports Summit which was held at the Nike Philip H. Knight Campus in Beaverton, Oregon on August 20.

RAJ Sports is the team behind the Portland Thorns from the NWSL and the Portland Fire from the WNBA. The partnership will allow Nike to apply its skills in sports innovation, performance and product development to help develop better training environments for players from these two teams.

One of the elements involved will be the creation of a high-performance women-specific training center.

There will be collaboration even in the community in terms of youth clinics, camps, mentoring programs and product support that will help to increase participation in sporting activities by young ladies in Portland.

Epicenter Week took place from August 19 to 23 where athletes, investors, executives, and decision makers in the global women’s sports ecosystem came together. The investment of Portland in women’s sports also includes Kaiser Permanente Performance Center which is a private center that serves Thorns and Fire.

Dallas Trinity FC and TWU Expand Sports Career Pathways

Texas Woman’s University and Dallas Trinity FC have formed an alliance before the anticipated fall launch of the sports management course at TWU.

The relationship that will exist between Merrilee Alexander Kick College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the women’s professional soccer club will afford the students internship and mentorship opportunities as well as help develop careers for the DTFC athletes.

There will be nine internship opportunities for the TWU sports management students provided by Dallas Trinity FC. These internships will include practical learning in strategic alliances, marketing, operations, and events.

TWU will also inform the DTFC players about the academic programs and career options. The university will assist in forming a mentorship program between the players and the career experts.

"The partnership demonstrates that the value of combining classroom knowledge and practical business experience is something which needs to be considered," said Rama Yelkur, the executive dean of MAK College. “And TWU has the track record of preparing women to lead,” added DTFC President and Founder Charlie Neil.

Furthermore, the program will see the involvement of Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership at TWU, through which students and players will come face-to-face with each other.

Women Gain Recognition in Science & Agriculture

Sophie Adenot Becomes First French Woman to Spacewalk

Sophie Adenot became the first female French person to conduct a spacewalk when she exited the International Space Station on August 18, accompanied by NASA astronaut Anil Menon.

This spacewalk, referred to as US EVA-97, took six hours and 23 minutes. Their mission was to remove the dysfunctional Space-to-Ground Antenna 2, which no longer tracked NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System satellites since November 2025.

The malfunctioning antenna was successfully removed and stowed, but the new one was not installed due to frozen connectors and bolts.

Former test pilot and aerospace engineer Adenot was part of the European Astronaut Corps that year. In February 2026, she headed to the International Space Station on SpaceX Crew-12, making herself only the second woman from France to make such an achievement, after Claudie Haigneré.

Adenot has become the second woman from Europe who performed a spacewalk, the first one being done by Italian Samantha Cristoforetti back in 2022. Adenot’s success has earned her recognition in France; for example, President Emmanuel Macron praised her for having the potential to motivate girls to pursue science and space-related careers.

Four Women Receive 2026 Demeter Awards

Women in Agribusiness has made the announcement of the four winners of the 2026 Demeter Award of Excellence, which honors professional accomplishment and leadership in agriculture and food.

Krysta Harden, Dr. Magan Lewis, Emily Metz, and Terri Hawbaker are the four winners. Krysta Harden is the President and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, who previously occupied senior positions in agriculture and was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

Dr. Magan Lewis is the Senior Director of Innovation and Enterprise Operations of Bayer Crop Science, who has expertise in plant breeding and genetics and practices agricultural science and innovation enterprise operations.

Emily Metz, the President and CEO of the American Egg Board, has been running the show since 2020, emphasizing data-based decisions, consumer insights, and quantifiable impacts in the industry.

Terri Hawbaker, the owner of Grazeway Dairy Farms, Michigan, is the first winner of the newly established Female Farmer of the Year category award. This category award was initiated in relation to the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and it honors women farmers who are active in their profession.

This year, the awards got more than 60 nominations, and they will be awarded in the Women in Agribusiness Summit in New Orleans, September 22 – 24.

Women Advance in Politics & Diplomacy

Kem Monovithya Takes Role as Special Envoy to Hun Manet

Political figure from Cambodia, Kem Monovithya, has received the post of Special Envoy to the Prime Minister Hun Manet. The appointment was issued by royal decree on August 17 upon the request of Hun Manet, conferring her ministerial status.

Monovithya, who is 44 years old, is the daughter of the former opposition party leader Kem Sokha. Monovithya has been actively engaged in political work and democratic activities for many years. Previously, she has been a member of the Permanent Committee of the Cambodian National Rescue Party and the Deputy Director-General of Public Affairs.

The appointment comes after a number of meetings between Hun Manet, Kem Sokha and former Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Manet addressed Kem Monovithya as his “sister” and noted cooperation possibilities, especially on an international level.

This appointment has received some attention due to Monovithya’s past activism internationally in regards to democracy and human rights. As reported by Reuters, it is considered to be an unusual compromise made to the political opposition, but the royal decree was vague about the scope of duties for Monovithya.

Monovithya’s involvement in Cambodia’s foreign relations amid the problems that Cambodia is experiencing, such as cyber scams, as well as border disputes with Thailand, can be seen in this way. However, analysts advise not to see it as a sign of political liberalization in Cambodia.

Capital Access & Professional Networks

Women’s Capital Summit to Connect Founders and Investors

Women’s Business Collaborative announces the Women’s Capital Summit, which is a two-day event set to be held in New York City on October 6–7. The event will enable female founders to meet up with investors, partners and business leaders in order to ensure that they translate talks about access to capital into investment and ownership.

About 150 women entrepreneurs and 150 investors, as well as corporate leaders, athletes, philanthropists and ecosystem leaders, are expected to attend the summit.

The summit will cover investment readiness, founder and investor relations, venture debt, AI, consumer brands, health care, sports and ownership. Financing alternatives such as private credit, income-based financing, corporate partnership and philanthropy will be discussed, too.

One such important session is “From Influence to Ownership,” where athletes, creators, and executives would learn how they can leverage their influence, earnings, and connections to create long-term wealth and ownership. The other session “Founder-Investor Match” will help understand investor expectations and the journey from first conversation to due diligence and investments.

According to Gwen Young, CEO of Women Business Collaborative, this summit seeks to give women direct access to investors, partners, information, and opportunities, and not merely recognize the capital gap.”

Micronesia Women Entrepreneurs to Benefit From $5M ADB Initiative

The women enterprises in the Federated States of Micronesia will get increased funding following a $5 million funding scheme that will be sponsored by the Asian Development Bank and the Federated States of Micronesia Development Bank.

No less than 50 percent of the funding of the project will go to women enterprises. Under the scheme, business and financial assistance will also be provided to no less than 250 women-led SMEs, while a women-focused financial product will also be developed under FSMDB.

The funding will consist of $4 million from ADB and up to $1 million grant funds repayable via the private sector window of the Asian Development Fund under the Wayfinder (Pacific) Program.

The project seeks to help women entrepreneurs cope with difficulties in getting formal financing due to lack of collateral, credit information, financial literacy, and appropriate loan products.

The project will also help digitize the loan monitoring and collection processes at FSMDB. The bank operates in different sectors such as tourism, agriculture, fishing, construction, and services.

Women’s Leadership Gets a New Platform in VFX

VES Brings Women Leaders Together at Inaugural Summit

Visual Effects Society has confirmed the list of speakers who would deliver presentations at their first ever Women Who Lead Summit to be held at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

The half-day session will include two keynotes and two panels covering the topics of leadership, professional experience, technology and opportunities for women in the field of visual effects. There will also be chances to network through breakfast and lunch.

The summit is meant to gather industry leaders and executives associated with HBO, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros. and WetaFX.

Among the panels is the one titled "Opening Doors for the Next Generation of Leaders" moderated by Janet Muswell Hamilton, Senior Vice President of VFX at HBO. It will involve executives of Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Pictures.

There will also be a second panel titled “Storytelling Through Technology.” This will focus on how emerging technologies are affecting creativity and creative works through real time production and immersive technologies among other technologies used for creativity.

The concluding keynote will be delivered by Brit MacRae, co-founder of the entertainment technology firm KINO. The VES Women Who Lead Summit is one of the programs under VES Women Who Lead, which has also got videos such as Career in VFX.