Rashida Hodge is the Director, Worldwide Client Delivery at IBM Watson. Watson is an artificially intelligent computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language.
Have you seen Watson on Jeopardy? Well those were the old days of Watson. These days, IBM has added a wide variety of other types of uses to Watson’s repertoire. Today Watson can “see” images–including photos, medical images and videos. From hospitals to kitchens, Watson has clocked in to work and taking impressive strides across industries.
Responsible for implementation of global Watson Solutions, Rashida has the gift of strong leadership. Her skill-sets span from manufacturing engineering processes to strategic and financial planning, with diverse global experiences leading supply chains in Asia and Europe.
The team behind the feature documentary film, Pioneers in Skirts, is excited to feature this monthly honor program to highlight women who have taken enormous steps to take charge of their future.
Called Future Friday Honorees, these women are true role models for our next generation of working women. Be sure to follow along to meet these women at the beginning of each month, and then again in social media every Friday to learn more!!
We first met Rashida when she was on our expert speaker panel at an IMAX screening of our then newly-released documentary, Business and Professional Women – A History A Movement. During the panel discussion Rashida shared her views about careers and the challenges we all need to overcome in order to achieve our dreams.
Rashida is certainly brilliant and ambitious; earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering. But what jumps out most about her is her strong sense of purpose. In an article featuring Rashida she said, “Growing up, my mom always told me that to be successful, you have to have skills and capabilities, but you also need to know that you’re standing on the shoulders of giants. I want to help someone be successful. I want to be a giant for them.”
Rashida views her career as two fold – first as a general manager, and secondly, providing an avenue of mentoring to others. She would like to build a non-profit organization to help give someone else a dream, a story, a start on becoming a successful thread to the fabric of world. It is Rashida’s belief that all good leaders have a responsibility to coach and let others in on their best practices.
Rashida’s future looks incredible! You can read about Rashida’s “life dream” here, and be sure to connect with her on Twitter @rashidahodge!
YOU can Nominate a #FutureFriday Candidate
Are you impressed with what a colleague or friend is doing in her career? Is she an inspirational example of success? Do you know a woman who has shown “what’s possible” to the women around them? Have they overcome gender barriers or figured out how to change the game of career advancement? Well then — nominate her by contacting our producers!
