Share
Queens of Tech
Tech Queen: Marita Cheng - Founder and CEO of Aubot | Founder of Robogals Global | Author of Smart Girl Books
Ep. 53
•
Marita Cheng, recognized as the youngest Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 and named one of Forbes' Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018, is a prominent technology entrepreneur and advocate for women in technology. As the founder and CEO of Aubot (formerly 2Mar Robotics), she leads the development of Teleport, a telepresence robot designed to facilitate education for children with cancer, enable individuals with disabilities to attend work and provide monitoring and companionship for the elderly.
Under Marita's leadership, Aubot has gained global recognition, receiving accolades such as Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2016 and being hailed as "the coolest girl at CES 2014" by VentureBeat magazine. Marita has presented innovative Teleport technology at various international conferences, including the M.A.P. International CEO Conference in the Philippines, MIT Technology Review EmTech Singapore, and the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, France.
In addition to her contributions to Aubot, Marita attended Singularity University's Graduate Studies Program in 2015, where she co-founded Aipoly. Aipoly developed an application using convolutional neural networks to recognize objects in real time on smartphones, assisting individuals with visual impairments. The app, launched in 2016, has been downloaded over 500,000 times and is available in 23 languages.
Marita's commitment to promoting diversity in engineering led her to found Robogals Global, for which she received the title of Young Australian of the Year in 2012. Robogals conducts workshops and community activities worldwide to encourage young women to pursue engineering. Marita's achievements extend to board positions in organizations like Robogals Global, the Foundation for Young Australians, and RMIT's New Enterprise Investment Fund. She is also involved in the Clinton Health Access Initiative's Tech Advisory Board.
Born in Cairns, Queensland, Marita overcame financial challenges to excel academically, graduating in the top 0.2% of the nation. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics) / Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Melbourne and is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Japanese. Beyond her professional endeavors, Marita enjoys reading, traveling, and daydreaming.
More episodes
View all episodes
90. Tech Queen: Natia Kvaratskhelia – Chief Operating Officer at I know
29:47||Ep. 90Natia Kvaratskhelia is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at I Know, where she has served since 2020, leveraging over 15 years of experience in finance and technology. Natia's career began in finance, progressing through roles from accountant to financial advisor, which equipped her with strong analytical and strategic skills. In 2014, she transitioned to IT, excelling in various positions such as software consultant, analyst, and team lead before assuming her current role.Natia holds a Bachelor's and Master's in Business Administration from Tbilisi State University and continually enhances her expertise through professional development, including courses in digital transformation, business analytics, and agile methodologies. Certified in ISO 9001:2015 as an internal auditor, she also has a background in organizational behavior, including enneagram frameworks.Her leadership philosophy emphasizes fostering new leaders and team growth. Known for her strategic thinking, results orientation, and commitment to ethical standards, Natia excels at seeing the big picture while focusing on crucial operational details. She is dedicated to driving operational excellence, supporting sustainable growth, and fostering an environment where both individuals and organizations thrive. Looking ahead, Natia aims to push boundaries in operational leadership and drive innovation in the tech sector.
89. Tech Queen: Riley Coleman – Founder of AI Flywheel
56:20||Ep. 89Riley Coleman (they/them) is a seasoned expert in human-centered design with a rebellious spirit, dedicated to accelerating AI literacy with a focus on responsible, ethical innovation. With over 15 years shaping digital experiences, Riley brings a deeply empathetic approach, driven by the belief that technology should elevate human potential rather than replace it.Riley’s career is rich with impact, from establishing a UN-recognized harm reduction program at the Australian Red Cross to leading major digital transformations at Telstra. Most recently, as Director of Central Design at Epidemic Sound, they introduced groundbreaking research methodologies and facilitated customer co-design workshops on AI-driven music creation. At Taxfix in Berlin, Riley scaled the design team by 400% within a year, building the infrastructure needed for rapid, multi-country growth.Now, as the founder of AI Flywheel, Riley is democratizing AI knowledge through accessible, human-centered training programs for responsible AI implementation. Leveraging their extensive background in harm minimization, human-centered design, and service transformation, Riley is fostering a community of practice around ethical AI adoption, empowering professionals to engage with AI confidently while upholding human agency.Their broad experience reinforces a central belief: true innovation emerges when we blend technical skill with human insight, creating powerful AI-human partnerships that enhance, rather than diminish, our shared humanity.
88. Tech Queen: Maeva Cecchi – Lead UX and Diversity & Inclusion Ambassador at Amadeus
36:44||Ep. 88Maeva Cecchi is currently a Lead UX at Amadeus, a company that powers the global travel and tourism industry. She leads the UX Competency Center for Amadeus Discover, where she is responsible for implementing UX strategy through cross-functional collaboration. Maeva also develops a "UX as a Service" approach for major clients, focusing on improving both conversion rates and user experience through data-driven insights.Maeva is also the co-lead of the Amadeus UX Community, dedicated to enhancing UX maturity and fostering a strong user experience culture among UX professionals and non-UX stakeholders alike.As a Diversity & Inclusion ambassador, she actively promotes digital accessibility, mentoring development teams to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.In addition, Maeva is involved with the association WHAT06, supporting initiatives that encourage women’s integration into the technology sector. Her contributions include co-organizing events like Girls Tech Day 2023 and developing a mentoring app for young women.Holding a Master’s degree in Psychology, specializing in Cognitive Ergonomics from Université Côte d’Azur, Maeva combines her UX expertise with a deep understanding of user needs. She has co-authored articles on designing for cognitive (dis)abilities and envisions a tech industry that fosters inclusive work environments, prioritizing diversity and accessibility.
87. Tech Queen: Kelly Evans – Co-founder of Screws + Stilettos & the “Market Like A CMO” course ex-Tripadvisor
39:38||Ep. 87Kelly Evans is a seasoned entrepreneur and small business owner who grew her first company to $5MM in annual revenue within just three years, drawing on her deep expertise in marketing, sales, and digital development. With extensive hands-on experience across all facets of digital marketing, she appreciates the critical role of inbound marketing and online platforms in the growth and resilience of small to mid-sized businesses. A talented marketing strategist and project manager, Kelly has a proven track record of developing and executing creative, client-centric strategies that elevate growth, brand recognition, ROI, and revenue—including during her impactful tenure at Tripadvisor.Known for her high energy and fast-paced style, Kelly is a strategic Renaissance woman who has worn nearly every hat: from CEO, CMO, and CFO, to SEO, SEM, and SMM Specialist; Director of Operations, Website Developer, VP of Marketing, and even Delivery Driver, Packer, and Seamstress—always staying positive, motivated, and smiling every step of the way.
86. Tech Queen: Jen Morse (Iudice) – Director, User Research at Sonos
35:26||Ep. 86Jen Morse (Iudice) leads the team responsible for foundational, conceptual, and tactical research insights that drive product development and refinement at Sonos. Her work informs and establishes essential parameters for human-centered design across various disciplines. Jen has been with Sonos since 2019. Before joining Sonos, she spent a decade at Teague, a global design consultancy at the intersection of technology and transportation. There, she led exploratory research for clients like Boeing, providing key insights to guide future innovation in user experiences.With over 25 years of experience, Jen has analyzed user experiences across industries including retail, software, home media, pharmaceuticals, and fast food. Prior to her time at Teague, she spent more than a decade at Doblin Group (now Deloitte), a design strategy firm in Chicago. During this period, she also studied at the Institute of Design, focusing on user research and design strategy, as well as at the University of Chicago, where she pursued anthropology.
85. Tech Queen: Courtney Hurley – Co-founder of Screws + Stilettos & Market Like A CMO Course
43:48||Ep. 85Courtney Hurley is the co-founder of Screws + Stilettos and the Market Like a CMO course. With 19 years of digital marketing experience, she has worked with everything from Fortune 500 companies to local daycares.An entrepreneur with a foundation in SEO, SEM, analytics, and web design, Courtney also holds a marketing degree from Bentley University. Her expertise has since expanded to include email marketing, social media management, e-commerce, CMS, and business development.Having worked with major players like Google, Amazon, and Wayfair, Courtney is skilled at helping businesses grow their online presence, increase brand awareness, boost ROI, and drive revenue through innovative strategic initiatives.
84. Tech Queen: Sheryl Cababa – Chief Strategy Officer at Optimistic Design | Author of “Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers”
46:27||Ep. 84Sheryl Cababa is the author of Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers. As a design researcher and strategist, she serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at Optimistic Design, a research and insights studio in Seattle dedicated to education. Her work emphasizes systems thinking and equity-centered design, and she has collaborated with a diverse array of clients, including the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, IKEA, and Khan Academy. Sheryl is passionate about leveraging design to help clients reimagine education.In addition to her practice, she teaches at the University of Washington's Human-Centered Design and Engineering program, where she introduces systems thinking to the next generation of designers.
83. Tech Queen: Kwanesia (Nikki) Bass – Sr. Technical Cloud Learning & Development Program Manager & Career Strategist
37:32||Ep. 83Nikki Bass is a Senior Program Manager at Yahoo, specializing in Technical Learning and Development. With a strong focus on digital transformation and cloud strategy, Nikki leads cutting-edge training programs in emerging technologies such as Generative AI and cloud platforms. In addition to her corporate work, she is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion, actively mentoring and developing the next generation of tech talent through her career coaching business and talent development initiatives.As a leader in the tech space, Nikki offers a unique perspective on how women and non-binary individuals can thrive in the fast-evolving technology sector, particularly in roles beyond traditional engineering and coding. Her innovative approach empowers underrepresented groups to find success in dynamic, non-traditional pathways within the industry.
82. Tech Queen: Heather MacDonald – Founder of Contemplating Life's Choices and Principal Consultant at Pluralsight
49:06||Ep. 82Heather MacDonald is the Founder of Contemplating Life’s Choices, a coaching and leadership development practice dedicated to empowering high-performing diverse women and mothers who struggle with overthinking, people-pleasing, and perfectionism, all while striving to balance their careers and personal lives.In her role as a Principal Consultant at Pluralsight, Heather serves as a strategic thought partner across a global portfolio of industry-leading companies and academic institutions. She leverages organizational psychology, systems change, science-based leadership, and equity-focused practices to help clients implement sustainable, scalable, and adaptable programs.Heather is also a global speaker, panelist, and workshop host on leadership development, organizational change, workplace culture, talent mobility, community building, and lifelong learning.She currently serves as a founding member of the Technology and Data Committee for the World Innovation and Change Management Institute, co-leads the mock interview program for second-year students at the Center for Equity and Student Belonging at the University of Utah, and is an Inaugural Board Member for the Women’s Wellness Summit.