The business publication Crain’s recently released its list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York for 2017, and it just so happens to feature two Westchester businesspeople. Virginia Rometty took home the #2 spot, while Laura Forese claimed #12.
Virginia “Ginni” Rometty is the chairman, president and CEO of IBM, and a mainstay of the county’s tech scene. Rometty’s #2 rank exceeds her #5 spot from 2015. Rometty frequently makes appearances on CEO rankings as she leads the fifth largest tech company in the world. In 2012, Rometty was named one of Westchester Magazine’s Women In Business.
Since she took charge of company, Rometty has guided IBM as it tackles fields including artificial intelligence and cognitive computing. Additionally, Rometty has had a hand in delivering and changing the way the organization employs data to connect with customers.
Dr. Laura Forese, who also makes an appearance on Crain’s list, is the executive Vice President and COO of New York-Presbyterian, as well as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Forese’s #12 spot on the list advances her from 2015’s rank of 24. Forese was one of Westchester Magazine’s 2015 Women In Business.
Forese has led New York-Presbyterian beyond its two Manhattan locations and into other, more diverse, neighborhoods throughout the region. She has also overseen the hospital’s growth into a much larger system in terms of both finance and footprint. In 2015, Forese was asked by the National Institutes of Health to chair its Clinical Center Research Hospital Board, due to praise she received from her peers.
According to the New York business publication, in order to compile this list of women, they “focused on the mix of hard and soft power that drives an economy, fuels jobs, and keeps the most vibrant yet complex city in the nation humming.”
Contenders and candidates were evaluated and ranked based on “the financial size of their organization, their rank within their company and the specific impact they’ve had on New York City through their professional and personal endeavors.”