THE 2026 WOMEN IN
MANUFACTURING INNOVATION FELLOWS
Global Women Asia proudly recognizes the 2026 Manufacturing Innovation Fellows—an outstanding group of leaders advancing the future of manufacturing through innovation, technology, and inclusive leadership.
MEET THE FELLOWS
Selected from a competitive pool of nominees, this year's fellows are driving breakthroughs across semiconductors, sustainable materials, supply chain operations, smart manufacturing automation, wastewater infrastructure, AI systems, and investment. These leaders are reshaping how we design, build, and power the future. Their work is shaping smarter, more sustainable manufacturing while developing the workforce needed for the next generation of industry.
Akanksha Jagwani
AI Systems Builder & Semiconductor Innovator
Akanksha Jagwani, based in Singapore and San Francisco, USA, is the Co-Founder and CEO of SixSense AI, an AI platform that is transforming semiconductor manufacturing by improving quality control. Founded in 2018, SixSense’s products are deployed with leading chipmakers across Taiwan, Singapore, and the US, bringing modern AI to one of the world's most demanding and high-stakes manufacturing environments. A passionate advocate for women in deep tech, she is on a mission to show that some of the most consequential AI breakthroughs are happening on the factory floor.
Alua Korpebayeva
Transport, Logistics, E-commerce, & Supply Chain Strategic Leader
Alua Korpebayeva is a Kazakhstan-based leader in logistics, digital transformation, and e-commerce, with nearly 20 years of experience across finance, entrepreneurship, and strategic leadership. Today, she leads initiatives in transport and logistics under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, focusing on modernizing supply chains, improving business processes, and strengthening Kazakhstan’s transit potential. She also serves as a Board Member of TechnoWomen Kazakhstan, championing women’s leadership and digital inclusion across Central Asia.
Chantsaldulam Baatar
Circular Economy Pioneer & Sustainable Manufacturing Innovator
Chantsaldulam Baatar, based in Mongolia, is the Founder and CEO of Urgana Industry LLC, a sustainable manufacturing company pioneering circular economy innovation. As a tenth-generation successor of 400-year-old Mongolian traditional medicine, she combines indigenous wisdom with modern science to develop solutions for personal care, children's wellness, and sustainable textile processing. Collaborating with more than 300 herder households, she has built an inclusive supply chain that creates rural livelihoods while promoting responsible production. She leads environmental and health initiatives, including the award-winning "Every Drop Counts" water conservation campaign, demonstrating how local innovation can create global impact
Hao Zheng
Entrepreneurial Leader & Smart Manufacturing Innovator
Based in China, Hao Zheng is the Co-Founder and COO of Quantisan Tech, an advanced manufacturing company focused on high-precision manufacturing and the reshoring of advanced production to North America. With a background in Singapore’s fashion sector, she transitioned into precision manufacturing by immersing herself on the factory floor. Her company has penetrated industries including AI data center infrastructure, robotics, and nuclear fusion, and is developing the first semi-automatic production line in the US. She is passionate about redefining the future of manufacturing.
Jasmin Phan
Manufacturing Operations Leader
Based in Houston, USA, Jasmin Phan leads large-scale manufacturing and direct fulfillment operations while driving business intelligence initiatives that accelerate digital transformation at Foxconn. Her work spans coordination across engineering, operations, supply chain, and customer-facing teams to deliver operational excellence, generating over $100 million a month and managing over 6,000 product SKUs and 3,000 different sub-assembly parts. Jasmin has built deep expertise in operations management and program delivery, consistently driving process innovation and women’s leadership across a rapidly evolving global industry.
Lauren Simon
Global Investor & AI and Technology Strategist
Lauren Simon, based in New York, USA, is an investment strategist at Bridgewater, where her work spans AI and emerging technologies, policy, and international markets. Lauren partners with clients across Asia and around the world, leading the team of investors responsible for synthesizing Bridgewater's global outlook, while working on investment and AI strategy. During her tenure, she has also been a significant contributor to Bridgewater’s Daily Observations, the firm’s daily research publication, with specific insights on how AI is shaping productivity and innovation.
Sarangua Narankhuu
AI Adoption Strategist & Entrepreneurship Enabler
Sarangua Narankhuu is a Mongolia-based entrepreneur and Chairwoman of the Mongolian Export Cluster Network (MECN), representing 500+ SMEs across Mongolia’s key non-mining export sectors. She is also the founder of AiPro Strategy LLC, through which she has trained 2,000+ entrepreneurs and built a 7,000-member learning community on practical AI adoption. A rare combination of international business acumen and deep local knowledge, her work bridges cluster development, AI-driven manufacturing competitiveness, and women-led economic transformation across Central Asia.
Dr. Seema Sukhani
Sustainable Wastewater Researcher, Infrastructure Manufacturer, and Entrepreneur
Dr. Seema Sukhani, based in India, is the Co-Founder of Tellus Habitat, a climate and water technology company transforming wastewater infrastructure. Building on her doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru, she leads the development of R3H2O, a decentralized sewage treatment system with over 210 million liters of annual treatment capacity. A Stanford Seed Spark South Asia cohort member, she has contributed to environmental policy with the Department of Environment, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and her wastewater treatment model was selected by UNESCO for holistic water management.
Seyoung Lee
Venture Investor & Ecosystem Builder
Seyoung Lee is a South Korea-based venture investor at SBVA (formerly SoftBank Ventures Asia), where she invests in AI startups across Asia with a focus on technologies reshaping industries. Before joining SBVA, Seyoung worked on VC/PE fund investments and direct investments in China’s technology and telecommunications sectors. Her portfolio spans companies developing AI-powered production systems, autonomous delivery vehicles, and intelligent manufacturing. Through her investment and ecosystem-building work, she supports founders developing technologies that can help modernize industries across Asia and beyond.
Yuki Shimura
AI Manufacturing Innovator & Growth Architect
Yuki Shimura, based in Japan, co-founded and led as CEO of shiftbase, a workforce management platform, before transitioning to product management at Opera Tech. Today, Yuki works at Sierra, where she builds the team and operating systems behind one of the world's leading conversational AI companies. Yuki combines scientific rigor with hands-on founder experience to build the human infrastructure that powers AI-first organizations. Her work sits at the intersection of cognitive science, entrepreneurship, and the future of work.
Yuxi Lei
Sustainable Material Design Founder
Yuxi Lei, based in China, founded NANOxARCH® (Materials × Design) in 2018, pioneering Sustainable Materials Design and creating a full-lifecycle framework connecting waste recycling, material R&D, manufacturing, and creative design to help enterprises lower carbon emissions, cut costs, and expand into global markets. Drawing on her materials research background, Yuxi built a decade-long network, the China Sustainable Materials System (CSMS). Her research and design methodology shortens sustainable waste-to-material development cycles from months to 2–6 weeks, delivering tailored circular solutions for Airbus, BMW, and Covestro, etc. Yuxi is a guest lecturer at major universities, developing China’s first systematic courses for sustainable material design.
Zoe Zhang
Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Strategist
Based in Seattle, USA, Zoe Zhang is a business leader in supply chain strategy and advanced manufacturing at Microsoft. She began her career in advancing incremental sheet metal forming, later joining McKinsey & Company, advising leading semiconductor, automotive, and aerospace companies on strategy and supply chain improvement. At Microsoft, Zoe has led critical initiatives, including AI roadmap development for Cloud Supply Chain, rare earth element recycling, and supply chain resiliency. Zoe remains an advocate for women in STEM fields.