Lunch with BS: Meet Marjet Andriesse, the head that wears the hat

The number of women in leadership roles in tech companies has gone up since she started out 30 years ago but it is still small, Andriesse tells Samreen Ahmad

It’s a Thursday afternoon. I am expecting Marjet Andriesse, vice president and general manager, APAC, Red Hat, to appear for our virtual lunch meeting with a light meal by her side. Instead, she turns up with a delectable surprise: samosas and her favourite mutton biryani, brought to her Singapore home by online food delivery platform, Deliveroo. It’s a rather odd combination, but on second thoughts, why not?

“Since it’s late afternoon here, I will have the samosas and some biryani now, and save the rest for dinner,” she chuckles, dipping a crispy samosa in green chutney, an accompaniment she digs.

As she