Phyllis Newhouse is the founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm Xtreme Solutions, and the CEO and cofounder of Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. When Athena, a SPAC, closed its $250 million IPO in March 2021, it was the only SPAC on the NYSE with a Black female CEO.

Newhouse started her journey as an entrepreneur after a 22-year career in the military, where she worked in intelligence and cybersecurity. Newhouse is also the cofounder of Shoulder Up, a nonprofit she started with Viola Davis in 2019 to help female entrepreneurs. Newhouse is the youngest of 11 siblings.

Newhouse is one of 50 women are shaping the future of finance, fueling high-growth businesses and forging a more innovative and inclusive financial future. It’s the final chapter of our 50 Over 50 initiative, launched in June and produced in partnership with Mika Brzezinski’s Know Your Value initiative.

The inaugural class of entrepreneurs, leaders and creators are part of an exhilarating movement redefining life’s second half and proving that success has no age limit. These dynamic women, growing older is about getting wiser—and bolder.

Selected from a pool of more than 10,000 nominees, the members of the 50 Over 50 are founding and running companies at scale ($20 million or more in revenue for for-profit companies), leading movements and changing the world. They’re working across all sectors of the American economy—venture capital, education, politics, major league sports and more—and, importantly, they’re paying forward their after-50 success.

In a moment when a global pandemic has pushed a disproportionate number of women out of the workforce—and, among this demographic, forced hundreds of thousands into too-early retirements—it is our hope that the stories of the women on this list resonate, inform and inspire.

Read more about the 50 Over 50 honorees on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/50over50/

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Phyllis Newhouse On Leveraging Value And Identifying Opportunity To Lead A SPAC On The NYSE | Forbes