KUALA LUMPUR: Sharala Axryd, the founder and chief executive officer of the Centre for Applied Data Science (CADS), has been listed as one of the 200 most influential people in the field of information technology (IT) in the world.
The 49-year-old native of Bukit Mertajam became the first Malaysian and the only Southeast Asian to win the prestigious "Strong Women in IT" 2021 global edition, launched recently.
CADS in a statement today said the award was given by an independent research institution based in Warsaw, to recognise the efforts and contributions of women in the IT world as well as to encourage women's involvement in senior corporate management.
The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) graduate has more than 15 years of experience in the field of telecommunications and is now focusing on efforts to face the transformation of data -driven organisations in Southeast Asia.
According to CADS, she is seen as one of the most respected individuals in the IT field in the region and is often invited to give speeches as well as consulting services on the field.
"It includes the importance of operating data-driven organisations as well as the importance of women getting involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning.
"She took the initiative to establish CADS in 2015 to provide artificial intelligence-based solutions to organisations operating in the Southeast Asian region.
"CADS is the only one-stop data science integrated platform provider in the region and she has partnered with the world's leading data scientists to bring the Data Science Centre programme in the United States, The Data Incubator, to Malaysia and launch the first data science accelerator programme in Asean in 2016.
"It is through the collaboration of Harvard Business School Boston with the objective of making Malaysia a Big Data Analytics (BDA) hub in the region," it said.
The statement said Sharala also won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 (Ernst & Young) award in collaboration with the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs (NAWEM) to bring the "Data for Her" initiative to encourage women's involvement in IT in Malaysia, thus further improving the country's economic status.
She emphasised the development of women, especially in new economic sectors and sustainable employment opportunities involving dynamic employment situations which were important to achieve the long desired high income status.
"She also added that women should be given greater opportunities to contribute to the country's mission of achieving a developed nation status.
"Sharala expects more women to venture into fields that have long been dominated by men such as in IT.
"It is to inspire a new generation of women to make this field a career of choice in the future, thus bridging the gap in women's involvement in high -income careers," the statement read.