HSBC Holdings Plc has appointed Pam Kaur as its first female Chief Financial Officer (CFO), marking a historic shift for the global bank, which was founded over 150 years ago. Kaur, who has been with HSBC since 2013, will step into the role amid sweeping restructures under the bank’s newly appointed CEO and a challenging global financial climate. A Long Career in Risk and Compliance Pam Kaur, formerly HSBC’s chief risk and compliance officer, brings nearly 40 years of global finance expertise, specializing in risk management, compliance, and auditing. She
Everyone in my team is a person of color (POC). Before joining this company, I had unconsciously dimmed my ideas, opinions, and a huge part of myself. Working in an industry that’s 94% white, I’d absorbed the belief that stories about race and identity didn’t always need to be told— or perhaps I was making too big a deal of them. My all-POC team changed that for me. It set a new standard for what I expect from the workplace. Feeling Like I’m “Too Much” As a journalism student at
Los Angeles-based tech startup See Computing is introducing Speakimage.ai, an AI-powered tool designed to make communication more inclusive and accessible. Unlike most GPTs which prioritize text, Speakimage.ai generates text, images, and video from a single input, revolutionizing communication for visual thinkers, the hearing-impaired community, and neurodivergent people. A Groundbreaking Tool for Inclusive Communication What sets Speakimage.ai apart is its holistic approach to communication. Set to launch on October 1, 2024, Speakimage.ai caters to the specific needs of different cognitive and sensory styles. Whether it’s creating vivid images for visual thinkers, captioned
ABC Signature has secured the rights to develop a TV adaptation of the viral TikTok series Who TF Did I Marry?, with Emmy-nominated actress Natasha Rothwell set to star and produce, according to Variety. Who TF Did I Marry? The series was originally created by Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson, whose 50-part TikTok series documenting her relationship with an ex-husband quickly gained over 450 million views. Johnson’s candid storytelling earned her more than three million followers within weeks. In the show, Rothwell will portray Johnson as she chronicles her turbulent marriage
Shakea Miller made history by becoming the first Black woman to establish a degree-granting technical college in Alabama. The opening of 1 on 1 Technical & Theological College in Phenix City marks a milestone in the pursuit of diversity and inclusion in the educational landscape. A Pioneering Achievement in Education With 1 on 1 Technical & Theological College, Miller joins a prestigious group as the sixth Black woman in the United States to establish a degree-granting institution. “1 on 1 T&T aims to provide biblical and comprehensive educational opportunities with
Protexxa, a cybersecurity startup, has successfully secured $10 million Canadian dollars ($7.2 million USD) in Series A funding, the largest round ever raised by a sole Black woman founder in Canada. Claudette McGowan, a renowned information technology and cybersecurity executive, founded Protexxa with a vision to enhance global cyber defenses through improved personal cyber hygiene. Innovating Cybersecurity with AI-Powered Solutions Protexxa’s flagship platform, Protexxa Defender, uses AI to quickly identify, evaluate, and resolve cyber issues. The platform addresses a need in the cybersecurity landscape, where 90% of cyber attacks are
Terysa Ridgeway, a Tech Program Manager at Google and author of the “Terysa Solves It” book series has launched a new YouTube series aimed at introducing young children to the world of coding. Ridgeway actively engages in educational programs focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She recently authored a children’s book, “Think Like A Computer,” and created a toy robot, Alilo the Explorer, designed to teach coding to children as young as three. Ridgeway’s new YouTube series continues her commitment to making coding accessible and fun for the
Dr. Leeja Carter has developed a smart refrigerator device that provides free healthy food items to schools and hospitals. Dr. Carter is the CEO and founder of Coalition for Food and Health Equity (CFHE), which she launched after the pandemic when she recognized an increase in the number of people without food. Dr. Carter now has several programs, including The Ujamaa Cafe and Ujamaa Well, which offer food and wellness innovation with access programs addressing food and health access. The Ujamaa Cafe Fridge Program The Ujamaa Cafe has now expanded
Break Through Tech AI, the largest program of its kind in the U.S., aims to support college students from underrepresented backgrounds into top tech careers. Specifically, the program helps underrepresented groups, including lower-income, Latina and Black women and nonbinary students, gain the skills they need to get jobs in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Expanding Access to Elite Tech Opportunities Hosted and supported by institutions such as MIT, UCLA, and Cornell Tech, Break Through Tech AI is free and focuses on students from public institutions and historically Black colleges.
Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua has become the world’s first Black woman to hold a PhD in Cybernetics, according to The Citizen. A PhD In Cybernetics Ekeng-Itua earned a degree in Cybernetics from the University of Reading in the UK under the supervision of her first PhD supervisor, Prof. Kevin Warwick, also known as Captain Cyborg. Cybernetics is the science of how information is communicated in machines and pieces of electronic equipment, compared with how information is communicated in the brain and nervous system. “Every challenge became fuel for my determination,” she said in an