Katy Wigdahl

Katy Wigdahl is the Chief Executive Officer of Speechmatics, a company specializing in speech recognition technology. She has been with Speechmatics since December 2019, initially serving as the Chief Financial Officer before being promoted to CEO in July 2020. Under her leadership, Speechmatics has focused on delivering advanced speech recognition solutions that are inclusive and capable of understanding diverse voices across various demographics.13

Professional Background

Wigdahl began her career as an accountant and spent 15 years at Unilever in various management roles. Following her tenure at Unilever, she worked as a management consultant and later served as Finance Director at Verint Transversal for nearly five years. Her experience spans multiple sectors, including private equity, multinational corporations, and startups, where she has been instrumental in driving growth and transformation initiatives.23

Leadership Style and Vision

Wigdahl is known for her human-centered leadership approach, emphasizing grace, humility, and authenticity. She advocates for addressing bias in technology, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, to ensure that speech recognition systems are trained on diverse datasets that represent a broader spectrum of voices.23

Achievements at Speechmatics

Since taking on the CEO role, Wigdahl has overseen significant advancements at Speechmatics, including the launch of new products and the expansion of the company's capabilities to support over 100 languages. She has also led the company through successful funding rounds, enabling further growth and innovation in speech recognition technology.146

Wigdahl's leadership has positioned Speechmatics as a key player in the speech-to-text industry, focusing on inclusivity and accuracy in its offerings, which are designed to meet the needs of a global customer base.5