The Women’s Security Council (WSC) granted Bodil Sonesson, vice president of global sales, Axis Communications, its 2013 Woman of the Year Award in the manufacturer category. The annual WSC award honors top female professionals in the physical security industry in a variety of categories.
“I’m truly honored to receive this recognition from WSC,” says Sonesson. “Research shows that having gender diversity within management teams and executive boards significantly improves the bottom line, although I think that we still have a long way to go within the industry.”
The WSC Founding Committee along with select WSC members reviewed more than 100 submissions from across the global physical security industry and presented the winners at last night’s WSC Women of the Year Awards Celebration at ISC West. Sonesson was selected due to her leadership within the security industry and within Axis – and the ways in which she has contributed to the business community.
“Ms. Sonesson is a tremendous example for women in our industry as her systematic determination to promote women inside of Axis as well as outside our industry has helped propel the spotlight on successful female professionals within our market. Furthermore, she’s delivered many inspirational speeches on women’s issues at events around the world,” says Rhianna Daniels, Founding Committee Member, Women's Security Council.
Sonesson has been in sales management positions at Axis since 1996. Today she has worldwide responsibility for sales in an organization with more than 1,400 employees in 42 countries – plus 55,000 partners in 179 countries.
“At Axis, openness is an inherent part of our corporate culture, and gender diversity a natural part of that culture, which has helped me in my career,” says Sonesson. “I believe that to boost the number of women in security-industry leadership positions, this issue must constantly stay on the table. And WSC does just that by enabling opportunities for such discussions.”
The Women's Security Council is a network of successful security professionals focused on empowering women to realize professional success as industry leaders. This was the second annual Women of the Year awards ceremony held at ISC West.
As the global market leader in network video and a driving force behind the shift from analog to digital video surveillance, Axis is a pioneer and role model for gender equality in the industry. Today, the Axis regional executive team consists of 40 percent women, which is high compared to the industry average. By promoting women internally, Axis sets a leading example for other companies so that they, in turn, can promote women to leading global positions – including important operational positions such as global sales.
As the market leader, Axis is driving a global technology trend that paves the way for a smarter, safer, more secure world. Axis invented the first network camera in 1996, and Sonesson played a key role in the way in which Axis evolved within the security industry.
For more information about WSC and the awards, visit http://wscouncil.com/.
