Award winners and shortlist
Advocate of the Year
A woman working in tech who is a role model and has gone out of her way to support the cause of getting more women in IT in the last 18 months. As well as examining the women in IT initiatives the candidates have pioneered to inspire women to succeed in technology, judges will also assess their leadership and the initiative’s impact on, and integration with, the business.
Winner
Elena Sinel – Teens in AI
Shortlist
Alice Hawash, Amazon
Charmaine Mabika, Capgemini UK
Elena Sinel, Teens in AI
Kate Carlin, HSBC Commercial Banking (Digital IT)
Lauren Abramsky, Vault Platform
Natalie Billingham, Akamai Technologies
Neha Mehta, IHS Markit
Nikki Kelly, Atos IT Services
Rav Bumbra, Structur3dpeople
Vibhusha Raval, BT Group
Sponsored by HSBC
Board Director of the Year
This award is to highlight for the impactful role of a female board member or senior executive board member of a company or not-for-profit organisation such as an endowment or charitable organisation. Judges will assess their influence on strategy, their leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the organisation/s.
Winner
Beth Lawton – Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Shortlist
Alison McKinna, Cancer Central
Andrea Naylor, Namos Solutions
Beth Lawton, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Debora Edwards, Illuminet
Frances Weston, Econocom
Helen Kilvington, Credera
Lisa Venter, Synetec
Sponsored by Vanguard
CIO of the Year
A female CIO who has demonstrated particular innovation and IT excellence. Judges will look at projects and achievements spanning the current organisation or others if applicable, within the last 18 months. Examples of best practice, leadership, ROI generated and alignment to business goals must be included.
Winner
Wendy Clark – NHS Blood and Transplant
Shortlist
Wendy Clark, NHS Blood and Transplant
Floriana Molone, Richmond and Wandsworth Boroughs
Joanne Ormandy, JLL
Sandra Taylor, Worcestershire County Council
Sponsored by AWS
CTO of the Year
A chief technology officer or technology director who has demonstrated positive impact on the company’s top line and driven new customer value through the innovative use of technology. Candidates will include examples of strong leadership and how they have employed a technology strategy to enhance product development and improve the service the company provides to customers. Judges will also assess how well ingrained the chief technology officer is in the business and how he/she has helped put technology at the heart of the business, driving strong commercial results in the process.
Winner
Sophie Davies-Patrick – MPB
Shortlist
Bilge Mert, iptiQ by Swiss Re
Lucia Pino-Garcia, Ninety One
Meri Williams, Healx
Sonal Rattan, eXate
Sophie Davies-Patrick, MPB
Data Leader of the Year
A female IT, technology or business leader who has demonstrated successful results in the area of data technology in the last 18 months. This could include demonstrations of successfully deploying data technologies; improving how a company uses or deals with data; delivering effective data strategies; enhancing decision-making with data; or furthering knowledge, awareness and education around data and related technologies.
Winner
Kathryn Salt, NHS Digital
Shortlist
Alessia Clusini, Trybes Agency
Bingqian Gao, Aktana
Carrie Snee, Instinctive BI
Kathryn Salt, NHS Digital
Kelly Stottlemyer, Varonis
Larissa Suzuki, Google Cloud
Rachael Selman, Catalyst BI
Sarah Belsham, RSM UK
Shruti Kohli, DWP Digital
Simone Steel, Nationwide Building Society
DEI Initiative of the Year
This award category is open to organisations that have undertaken a specific initiative that has been established to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within their organisation or the wider community. These could involve gender pay gap, paternal leave, greater support for BAME and LGBT+ professionals, greater opportunities for people with disabilities, etc. Judges will assess commitment to the cause, awareness raised, impact on the organisation and/or industry, and ultimate results of the initiative. Submissions must include the name of the initiative.
Winner
‘IT’s Her Future (IHF), Anna Somaiya – KPMG
Shortlist
It’s Her Future (IHF), KPMG UK
Women In Data, TrueCue
Tech Inclusion & Diversity, KPMG UK
Accessibility, KPMG UK
RISE, Maersk
Digital Voices Advocacy, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Ethnic Minorities Broadening Racial Awareness & Culture Exchange (EMBRACE), NHS Digital
Cajigo, Structur3dpeople
Women in Tech Chapter, IHS Markit
The Shuri Network, NHS
Sponsored by JP Morgan
Digital Transformation Leader of the Year
A female chief digital officer, digital director or leader of a digital transformation who has led an IT/digital transformation or business change programme driven by technology in the last 18 months. Judges will look at examples of the technology and innovation involved; leadership; best practice; results and return on investment; alignment to business goals; and how culture shifts were managed.
Winner
Sarah Wilkinson, Chief Executive, NHS Digital
Shortlist
Babita Evans Kumar, Infosys
Elaine Safier, MindGym plc
Megan Poole, Rolls-Royce
Sam Hollingdale, IBM
Sarah Wilkinson, NHS Digital
Shilpa Kaluti, Scrumconnect
Shiny Furtado, BP
Silvia Diogo, KPMG UK
Simone Trindade Steel, Nationwide Building Society
Tina Howell, AND Digital
Sponsored by Google Cloud
Education and Training Initiative of the Year
This award category is open to organisations that have developed training programmes, upskilling initiatives, and/or undertaken an initiative that has helped women and girls to improve their digital skills over the last 18 months. This could involve virtual onboarding training, training for furloughed staff, upskilling/supporting working staff, etc. Judges will assess commitment to the cause, awareness raised, impact on the organisation and industry, and ultimate results of the initiative. Submissions must include the name of the initiative.
Winner
Its Her Future: Juniors Programme, Preeti Singh, KPMG UK
Shortlist
Your Return to Technology Programme, Tech Returners
Cora Academy, NatWest Group
UK Data Culture and Skills Series, HSBC
LWE, Learning with Experts
Ignite Hubs
CAPSLOCK
Code Learning Community, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
It’s Her Future Programme Juniors Programme (IHF), KPMG UK
It’s Her Future: Code, KPMG UK
Step into Tech, Zen Internet
Employer of the Year (up to 250 employees)
This can be either a technology company that has demonstrated a great effort to attract and retain more women, or a company from any other industry that has demonstrated great efforts to attract and retain more women in its IT and/or digital department. Judges will look at efforts the employer has made to create a more diverse and inclusive working environment.
Winner
Uptree
Shortlist
Doqit Technologies
Edge Analytics
Form3
Morning Data
Namos Solutions
Revolent
Uptree
Employer of the Year (over 250 employees)
This can be either a technology company that has demonstrated a great effort to attract and retain more women, or a company from any other industry that has demonstrated great efforts to attract and retain more women in its IT and/or digital department. Judges will look at efforts the employer has made to create a more diverse and inclusive working environment.
Winner
Pax8
Shortlist
IHS Markit
DWP Digital
Pax8
ThoughtWorks
Sponsored by Frank Recruitment
Entrepreneur of the Year
A female leader of a technology, digital or e-commerce start-up that has demonstrated excellent growth in the last 18 months, with a coherent and sustainable strategy in achieving it. Judges will look at demonstrations of growth (turnover, profit, employees etc.), standout achievements and customer testimonials.
Winner
Anna Sutton, CEO and Co-Founder, The Data Shed
Shortlist
Alena Golden, Rap Tech Studios
Anna Sutton, The Data Shed
Deirdre Mc Gettrick, ufurnish.com
Eliza-May Austin, th4ts3cur1ty.company & Pockert SIEM
Faiza Choudhury, SLYNC Ltd
Iram Gilani, Web Alliance
Linda Achan, NatureWrap Ltd
Seema Khinda Johnson, Nuggets
Shilpa Kaluti, Scrumconnect
Vivi Friedgut, Blackbullion
Innovator of the Year
A female tech professional who has demonstrated outstanding innovation, customer wins and deployments in the last 18 months. Judges will look at products/services, client testimonials, examples of ROI achieved, success in challenging implementations, post-sales support and service, and tailored customisations in specific enterprise environments.
Winner
Elizabeth Swanton, COO, Feedr Ltd
Shortlist
Becci Edmondson, MPB
Donna Schut, Google Cloud
Elizabeth Swanton, Feedr Ltd
Gayathri Sudhakaran, TCSJOHNHUXLEY
Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click
Lucy Mullins, StepLadder
Mary Leonard, Pearson
Rosemarie Diegnan, Wazoku
Sally Sabet, Salesforce
Sharmila Natarajan, Parcelforce
Sponsored by SUSE
IT Team of the Year (led by a woman)
An IT team, led by a woman, that has delivered real value – with tangible business results – to a company. Judges will look at projects and achievements, along with examples of best practice, leadership, ROI generated and alignment to business goals.
Winner
Ashlihan Millet – Danone UK & Ireland
Shortlist
Aslihan Millet, Danone UK & Ireland
Catherine Ongers, NHS Blood and Transplant
Jacqueline Nisbet, Lloyds Banking Group
Jacqui Leggetter, DWP Digital
Joanne Hilditch, Worcestershire County Council
Maria Farrugia, Vodafone UK Ltd.
Melissa Ruscoe, NHS Digital
Nicola Emsley, NatWest Group Plc.
Sali Jones, CGI IT UK Ltd
Sasha Jory, Hastings Direct
Sponsored by Rolls Royce
Male Ally of the Year
A senior male figure who has gone out of his way to improve the diversity levels of women in IT, within the organisation and/or in the wider community. Successful nominations must provide case studies or examples of how the candidate has gone of their way, or strategically prioritised, getting more women into IT and/or supporting them in their careers.
Winner
Nitin Gupta – Tata Consultancy Services
Shortlist
David Rowlands, KPMG UK
Gavin Laybourne, A. P. Moller-Maersk
John McCabe, IBM
Matthew Lawrence, makepositive
Mike Cawthorn, Catalyst IT
Nitin Gupta, Tata Consultancy Services
Paul Howley, Yorkshire Building Society
Ronal Karia, Adobe
Simon McKinnon, DWP Digital
Simon Langley, Covea Insurance
Next Generation Leader of the Year
A woman under the age of 35, or who turns 35 in 2021, who has progressed rapidly though their career and demonstrated business value and innovation through the use of technology. This could include demonstrations of successfully deploying technologies; improving how a company approaches technology; delivering effective IT or technology strategies; enhancing decision-making with technology; creating business value, efficiencies and cost savings, or improving services, through the use of technology; driving new innovation in the industry; or furthering knowledge, awareness and education around technology.
Winner
Kim Lawrie, Head of Creative Technology, ENGINE Creative
Shortlist
Alina Timofeeva, KPMG
Cristina Pascalau, Bank of America
Fiona Teddy-Jimoh, HMRC
Frederika de Courcy Arora, BP
Hayley Creighton, Capgemini
Kim Lawrie, ENGINE Creative
Natalie Coaten, IBM
Nishali Patel, NHS Digital
Rebecca Whitworth, Red Hat
Zerin Karim, Pearson plc
Sponsored by Alix Partners
Outstanding Contribution of the Year
Nominations can be submitted for this category and candidates will be selected from across the current nominees as well as the judging panel’s knowledge of key industry individuals. It is to recognise the achievements over a long period of time which has made an important contribution to the general standing of the technology industry.
Winner
Tracey Jessup – UK Parliament
Shortlist
Amanda Brock, Open UK
Claire Povey, Collaborative Procurement Partnerships LLP
Gemma Beacock, NHS Digital
Janet Weston, HSBC
Katherine Scott, BT
Leanne Lynch, Heathrow Airport
Saadia Hakim, Google Cloud
Sharmila Natarajan, Parcelforce
Sorna Chandra, Tata Consultancy Services
Tracey Jessup, UK Parliament
Sponsored by Red Hat
Returner of the Year
A woman with business experience that has returned to the industry after a significant time away (minimum of 2 years) and has shown great promise upon their return. Judges will examine the last 12 months in each candidate’s career, looking at standout achievements and demonstrable contributions to successful projects.
Winner
Chitra Srinivasan, RealTime Control Software Engineer, UK Atomic Energy Authority
Shortlist
Abhi Morjaria, Ingram Micro
Chitra Srinivasan, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Gomathi Shivakumar, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Lianne Dodds, Bottlepay Ltd
Liza Dempsey-Vicent, Ingram Micro
Mini Biswas, Node4 Ltd
Ofelia Pastor, Oxford Brooks
Security Leader of the Year
A female CSO, CISO or any other senior IT security function (including cyber security and data management), within a UK organisation who has delivered outstanding work. Judges will assess the candidates’ innovative approaches to security and the impact of their policies, procedures and projects on the business.
Winner
Jane Frankland, Managing Director, KnewStart
Shortlist
Alexandra Hall, Rolls-Royce
Anjali Vaish, NTT Ltd
Jane Frankland, KnewStart
Lianne Potter, Covea Insurance
Priyanka Bhattacharya, Verizon
Yolande Young, BP
Sponsored by Sailpoint
Tech for Good Award of the Year
This award honours an organisation using technology to improve the lives of others and the world around us. It recognises corporate social responsibility, charity work or green and sustainability initiatives that are driven or implemented using pioneering digital techniques. Entries will be judged on their effectiveness, innovation and overall commitment to doing good.
Winner
Sharon Pursey OBE – SafeToNet
Shortlist
Nabila Salem, Revolent
Harriet Gwilt, Esri UK
Jackie Mulligan, ShopAppy.com
Linda Achan, NatureWrap Ltd
Maria Paviour, Wellbeing with Cari
Marian Zelman, NHS Blood and Transplant
Nia Roberts, Capgemini Invent
Preeti Singh, KPMG UK
Sharon Pursey, SafeToNet
Tamsin Dewhurst, Uptree
Sponsored by BP
Woman of the Year
A woman who has demonstrated the highest degree of IT excellence, innovation and leadership in the last year, and shone a light on the great things women in IT can achieve. Candidates should have not only have demonstrated outstanding business- and/or technology-focused achievements, but also give examples on how they have actively sought to bring more diversity into the technology industry.
Winner
Melissa Di Donato – SUSE
Shortlist
Alysia Silberg, Street Global
Andrea Cullen, CAPSLOCK
Anne Gosal, KPMG LLP
Beckie Taylor, Tech Returners
Carlene Jackson, Cloud9 Insight
Leila Seith Hassan, Digitas UK
Melissa Di Donato, SUSE
Sarah Wilkinson, NHS Digital
Sharon Pursey, SafeToNet
Shivvy Jervis, FutureScape 248
Sponsored by Salesforce
Judges
Joel Blake
Joel is a multi-award-winning businessman and public speaker specialising in inclusive business growth. Joel is the Founder & CEO of www.gfaexchange.com, an award-winning FinTech portfolio risk management solution for the financial services sector. Previously, he was the Executive for Access to Finance and Growing Business (GBSLEP) and former National Diversity Advisor for Golf. He also advises professional service firms and public sector bodies on inclusive business support strategies. Joel is also the President of the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce, a Fellow of the National Centre for Entrepreneurs and a Non-Executive Director of two organisations. He was awarded an OBE in 2016 for Services to Business Support and Enterprise.
Beatriz Copelli
Beatriz has over 20 years of experience in the CPG industry. Throughout her career with BAT, she held extremely diverse leadership roles in Mexico, Latin America, Canada, Africa and the UK. Beatriz joined the company in 2001 as an IT Trainee, progressing to business partner, SAP Project IT Lead roles and regional roles for the Americas, supporting Operations and Marketing. In 2016 she became CIO for Canada and Mexico. She became CIO for Americas & Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019, responsible for over 50 markets and spearheading the company's Digital Transformation Program across the region. For the past eight years, Beatriz has played a lead role in BAT's highly acclaimed diversity and inclusion programme.
Jacqueline de Rojas CBE
Jacqueline de Rojas CBE is the President of techUK, President of Digital Leaders, co-chair at the Institute of Coding, and a non-executive Director on the Rightmove, Costain and FDM Group boards. As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in all its forms, she is an adviser to the board of Accelerate-Her, fast-moving tech businesses and a business advisor mentor at Merryck. Jacqueline held senior executive roles at major tech companies, including Sage Group, Citrix Systems, CA Technologies, Novell and McAfee International. She was previously a non-executive director at AO World and Home Retail Group. Jacqueline was awarded CBE for Services to International Trade in Technology in the Queen's New Year Honours list 2018.
Maryanne Fleming
Maryanne has been a woman in IT for 30 years, having worked her way up from a non-technical background to Head of IT at Monsoon. She has been consistently championed and led by people who thought differently, were prepared to disrupt current ways of working and were brave enough to be early adopters of new solutions. Now she does the same for aspiring leaders. She is a Reed mentor and a passionate believer in supporting talented women from all backgrounds to move into technology where they can shine and lead the next phase of innovation and is delighted to join the judging panel this year.
Jane Gilmour
Jane is an experienced global CTO and CIO, having held senior IT positions in multiple industries, including CTO for the international businesses of The Coca-Cola Company; Barclays Bank, where she was the Head of Technology Services Enterprise Architecture and Delivery. Before that, she was the CTO for GE Capital EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Jane also worked for Accenture and JPMorgan in IT specialist architecture, enablement and operational roles across technical tiers. She is currently a fractional CIO providing Board-level IT expertise, strategy, and oversight for high-growth companies in a broad range of sectors while balancing the last year's challenge with her young children, pets, and interests.
Jen Goodison
Jen Goodison is an experienced senior technology leader with over 20 years in the Financial Services Technology sector. After many years in CRM, data and digital architecture roles, Jen now leads a team responsible for the Cloud and DevOps platforms for the largest of HSBC's global businesses and API engineering. Jen is a champion of talent development within HSBC and was instrumental in designing and delivering HSBC's flagship IT talent programme.
Dr Rashada Harry
Dr Rashada Harry is one of the UK's top 100 Ethnic Minority Leaders (Empower and Yahoo, June 2020) and one of the Top 100 Women in Tech (WeAreTheCity, Dec 2020). Rashada is an Enterprise Technologist at Amazon Web Services in the UK where she is also co-chair of the Women@AWS network an Inclusion Ambassador and DEI advocate. She is a thought leader on diversity in the workplace, employee engagement and helping the next generation reach their potential. Rashada co-founded the award-winning Your Future, Your Ambition (YFYA) initiative in 2012 to help corporate organisations and students connect and bridge the diversity gap in STEAM. To date, YFYA has opened its doors to over 8,000 students in the UK.
Cecilia Harvey
Cecilia Harvey is the Chief Executive Officer of Hyve Dynamics, the pioneering sensor technology firm and the founder and chair of Tech Women Today. Having started on Wall Street, her 20-year career in banking and technology has spanned senior positions with Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital, and IBM Consulting, as well as former COO of Citigroup Markets and Securities Services Technology. Cecilia appears in Forbes's "Leading Ladies of Tech" and is featured in British Vogue's 2020 "Forces for Change" campaign.
Kathy Harvey
Kathy Harvey is Associate Dean for postgraduate degree programmes at Saïd Business School, where she leads the Entrepreneurship Project for Executive MBA students, advising start-up founders and teams. She also launched the Inspiring Women initiative at Oxford-Said the business school and leads the School's drive for gender parity on its degree programmes. Kathy began her career in broadcast journalism before moving into academia. She is passionate about the need for corporate diplomacy in an uncertain world and the intangible benefits of open-minded conversation. She is a trustee of the Orwell Foundation and a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford.
Musidora Jorgensen
Musidora is the Head of the Energy & Utilities markets for Salesforce within the UK. This sees her working with customers to digitally transform their businesses and gain greater insights into their customers. She has been selling and leading teams within the IT industry for over 20 years, both within the UK Enterprise Private and Public sectors. Musidora is passionate about supporting more women in the STEM industries and is an active mentor, coach and sponsor for women in sales. She won the Best Sales Mentor category at the EMEA Women in Sales Awards 2018 and was recognised as one of the Yahoo Finance HERoes top 100 future female leaders 2020.
Indira Kennedy
Indira Kennedy is a pioneer of conscious leadership. In Australia in 2004, when the word 'conscious' was barely spoken of as a transformational goal, she introduced corporate development and executive coaching services based on this innovative concept. Now based in London, Indira supports organisations to apply conscious leadership strategies, enabling them to flourish - especially in challenging times. Indira led a publications group in an IT company, initiated an after-school care program, and co-created a businesswoman's network. She is passionate about creating a new future of energy and excellence in people development, inclusivity, and positive global impact by bringing mind and heart together.
Gavin Laybourne
Gavin Laybourne joined APM Terminals as Chief Information Officer (CIO) in 2019 and is a member of the Senior Management Team, responsible for Strategic Brands. Before joining APM Terminals, Gavin held senior technology leadership positions within various industries, including Oil & Gas, Telecoms, Retail and Supply Chain & Manufacturing. He has lived and worked in various countries, including the USA, China, The Netherlands. Gavin has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Bournemouth University and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEE). He has also completed several advanced leadership programs at the Geneva-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
Claire Priestley
A former Women in IT Award Winner herself, Claire has featured in the CIO100 list in 2018, 2019 and 2020, is Founder of CIO+1, a Director of IT / CIO with particular experience in the education sector, and sits on the Board of Trustees for UCISA – a member-led body for digital practitioners. As her 'side-hustle', Claire is co-founder and director of The Secret Boxing Gym, London.
Susie Ramroop
Before shifting her focus to personal transformation, Susie Ramroop spent her career leading transformation in both telecoms and the NHS. Susie believes that brave leadership is just as necessary as equality in the workplace. Her mission is to stop you from believing you can't be what you can't see. Her book "Be The Leader You Want To See" is the blueprint for unlocking talent, so more women stop waiting for the perfect time and take the lead. Susie is an exciting Coach, author, and Speaker who clarifies how to confidently step into the career you were made for. She coaches privately, facilitates corporate masterminds and leads the utterly transformational reset retreat.
Karishma Vinayak
Karishma Vinayak is a Pre-sales Manager at Red Hat UK. She has been serving in the IT world for more than 20 years, with extensive business-value delivery experience, having worked in diverse functions of Enterprises helping customers across multiple continents. Karishma proudly identifies herself as a passionate promoter of women in technology and coaches young people to ignite curiosity for STEMfaculties and unlock their potential for the future world. She calls herself a realistic optimist and, with a confident, results-driven attitude, leads technical teams to provide the best solution to customer problems while building cultures of diversity and inclusivity.
Sponsors
Like what you see? Sign up for the next event below.
Register your interest