Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misspelled Mamatha Chamarthi's first name.
Mamatha Chamarthi credits a Chrysler women's resource group event in the 1990s for sparking a dream career milestone.
She intently listened as some of the automaker's female executives such as Sue Unger and Nancy Rae described how they broke through barriers and ascended the industry ladder; they were role models.
"I was in the auditorium," recalled Chamarthi, who was born in India. "I still remember sitting somewhere in the middle inspired by these women thinking one day I should become a CIO of an automotive company. I was a software programmer back then."