Can femtech fill the gender data gap?

Hélène Guillaume is the founder and CEO of WILD.AI. She studied mathematics and financial risks, was a quant in a hedge fund and management consultant to Fortune500 companies in AI. She was a rugby player; she's an ultra-marathon runner, triathlete, and ice-swimmer.

Dr Michelle Griffin's career started in the NHS as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, where she worked for over 10 years in both clinical and academic settings. Her research focused on gynaecological cancers, both lab-based and population-based, reviewing global health interventions and screening. Dr Griffin also worked as a strategist advising the NHS, looking at large-scale clinical and operational strategy to optimise services across Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics – focussing on improving accessibility, scalability and cost-effectiveness.

She then moved into Public Health England, working in the National Cancer Registration and Analysis department, determining the reasons behind variations in cancer outcomes across developed countries. With her background in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and a real need to understand and improve lives, she led the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service to collect and analyse crucial data sets to inform the diagnosis and management of those affected with these conditions.

Most recently, Dr Griffin has worked in medtech, assessing the clinical impact and value of medical devices. This varied from the design and development of the CoVent ventilator for COVID-19 Nightingale Hospitals to a digital therapeutic for emotional regulation for patients with personality disorders.

Now, as CMO at Vira Health, she brings her clinical, operational, strategic and technical expertise to make a difference in the area of women’s health, which is still significantly underserved and underfunded, resulting in poor health outcomes and quality of life for women and consequent major effects on society.

Vira Health explores the menopause, where there are fundamental gaps in knowledge, leading to misdiagnosis, disrupting side-effects and generally poor care. Women spend 7-10 years in menopause, with symptoms changing and fluctuating all the time. Yet, in the UK, less than 7% of women are satisfied with the care they receive. Better treatment for menopause is not just about immediate relief. It is also about shifting the long-term trajectories for the core issues women face in later life, thereby having a significant impact on this condition.

Eleonora Benhar completed her PhD in particle physics at the University of Geneva, while working at CERN on the search and subsequent discovery of the Higgs boson.

After working as a postdoctoral researcher for Yale University, she transitioned from physics to fertility and joined the company Natural Cycles, that provides the first digital app to be FDA cleared and CE marked for contraceptive use.

As Head of Medical Product, she is leading the team of data scientists responsible for developing the algorithm behind the app, continuously assessing its contraceptive effectiveness, and advancing women's health by doing research on our unique data.

Jack Pearson completed his PhD at The University of Sheffield writing his thesis on the use of MRI to study sperm metabolism. He then completed the NHS Scientist Training Program in Embryology, working in one of the largest IVF clinics in the UK and qualifying as a HCPC state-registered clinical scientist in 2018. Shortly after he joined Natural Cycles as a Medical Affairs Manager, organising research and communicating with healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders in the field of women's health. 

Marija Butkovic is a digital marketing and business consultant who has worked across a range of projects in different industry sectors, including legal, journalism, tech, IoT, wearable tech, and fashion tech. 

She is a founder and CEO of Women of Wearables - the first global organisation aiming to support, connect, and mentor women and diverse groups in wearable tech, fashion tech, and IoT.  

She is a Forbes contributor and regularly writes and blogs on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, diversity, startups, and entrepreneurship.  

Marija collaborates with startup accelerators and incubators in London and worldwide on delivering help as a startup mentor and advisor and is also a STEM ambassador. She has been featured in major tech and business publications such as Forbes, TechCrunch, The Next Web, Huffington Post, and many more, and regularly appears as a public speaker and panelist on conferences, meetups, and corporate events.  

In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Marija was selected as one of the Most Influential Women in UK tech by Computer Weekly. She has also been included in the Top 100 Influencers on Gender Equality and Diversity and Top STEM Entrepreneurs by Onalytica.