Inma Martínez, Spanish, 35 CEO and co-founder of London-based Escape Velocity (www.sessami.com) Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Valencia Martínez has worked as a broker at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and as a manager at Cable & Wireless responsible for helping clients develop new technologies and business development strategy. She learned to be competitive doing gymnastics as a child. "Any athlete knows that sacrifice will get you where you want to go. You are always working toward a goal." The company she helped found, Escape Velocity, designs, hosts and manages consumer-oriented wireless services for mobile operators. It has developed a data-mining engine and software architecture called the Escape Velocity Engine (EVE), which will help mobile operators design personalized services for consumers. The company operates Sessami, one of the first wireless services to offer personalized, real time information and e-commerce services. Best line: "Men feel like they don't have a choice, but women do. If you are good-looking, they are surprised you have a brain and can run a firm."

Women in Technology TIME Digital Europe - September 2000