Tech’s on top, and Sarah Wood is at the apex.
Wood, female entrepreneur and founder of Unruly, a multinational tech startup that speeds viral advertising, was awarded the prestigious Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year award this week. Cassandra Stavrou, founder of Propercorn (a healthy-popcorn venture) was awarded the New Generation prize. Propercorn, launched in October 2011, now has annual sales of $13m and sells 3m units/month.
Last year’s winners included Katherine Garret-Cox of Alliance Trust, and Emily Brooke, founder of Blaze, who won the New Generation prize.
Wood was especially commended for her role as a mentor to other female founders. Women comprise 48% of her 200 employees in 15 offices (including 46% managers and 44% board members), and she is credited with starting programs that help female founders build business savvy and self-confidence.
Of her win, she says: “It was a huge moment and I think the reason for that was the enormity of the awards hit me on the night where I met so many of the previous winners. [This award] has such a heritage—there have been so many women who I personally admire, such as Zaha Hadid, Anita Roddick—and then Madame Clicquot herself, who was an incredible pioneer.”
Wood sold Unruly to News Corp. last September for a reported $165m.
