“It seems there is no longer a ‘glass ceiling’ in Atlanta, at least for many women in Atlanta’s high tech community,” said Marci McCarthy, President of Women in Technology (WIT). McCarthy knows what she’s talking about. Selecting finalists for the Woman of the Year in Technology award, McCarthy said, was not an easy task because there were so many who fit the bill.

The winner, Joan Herbig of XcelleNet, Inc., was recognized as both a leader and a model in the industry at the event held at Swissotel. Accepting the award, Herbig said, “I want to support and nurture these women as they work to attain leadership roles in technology. It is my hope that 20 years from now when my girls are leaders in whatever career they choose, there will be no special awards for being a woman in a leadership role. Being a woman in such a position will be commonplace and the awards will be based solely on performance and contribution.”

Finalists for the award included: Donna Lee of BellSouth, Karen See of the Abovo Marketing Group, Joan Wilbanks of SecureWorks, and Gina Wright of The Leader Publishing Group. WIT presented the awards in conjunction with Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Grant Thornton, LLP.

Before becoming CEO of XcelleNet, Herbig held the positions of Division President, Vice President of Marketing, and International Marketing Manager. Under her reign, XcelleNet has expanded from fixed site remote and laptop to wireless and handheld management.

The panel of Olympian judges included: Karen Robinson, last year’s recipient, a Partner at Atlanta Technology Advisors; Annie Hunt Burriss, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development & Economic Services with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia; Connie Glaser, author of “Swim With the Dolphins” and “When Money Isn’t Enough”; John Imlay, Chairman of Imlay Investments, Inc.; and Christine Jacobs, President and CEO of Theragenics Corporation.