Home Latest News Diversity & Inclusion REVEALED: Top-Performing Women in Tech

REVEALED: Top-Performing Women in Tech

3rd September 2021

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The organiser of the UK’s Women in Tech Excellence Awards has announced the names of 2021’s finalists.

These awards recognise top-performing women from across the technology space and provide inspiration for younger women looking to build a career in the tech industry. Now in its fifth year, this awards event has already celebrated the achievements of over 1,200 women.

The challenge of increasing diversity in IT is now firmly on the agenda across the UK, but it is far from a solved problem. Women are still under-represented across the industry, especially at higher echelons, and they’re also likely to be paid less than their male counterparts for the same work. The issue extends right through the career, starting in schools where education institutions report little to no growth in the numbers of women taking STEM subjects. More needs to be done to encourage the women IT leaders of tomorrow.

The Women in Tech Excellence Awards, organised by Incisive Media, aims to move the tech industry towards a solution, by recognising and promoting the many talented women, and other success stories. The event shines a light on the many talented women, shows there are places in IT for women, and that the tech industry can lead to rewarding and fulfilling careers for everyone.

2021 FINALISTS

This year’s finalists, under each category, are as follows:

CIO of the Year

Asha Kumar, HSBC
Caroline Serfass, Canon Europe
Helen Brittain, Genting UK
Jo Shannon, Ordnance Survey
Veronica Barella, LB Hammersmith & Fulham

Digital Leader of the Year: Enterprise

Alina Timofeeva, Oliver Wyman
Anahita Mahmoudi, Capgemini
Andrea García Beltrán, RSA Insurance Ltd
Ash Finnegan, Conga
Carol Elston, University of Leeds
Helen Campbell, Arup
Jacqui Lipinski, Imperial College London
Jen Allum, Government Digital Service
Josie Smith, BT
Katie McKie, HP
Lucy Elmer, PwC
Rupy Malizia, HSBC
Samantha Hollingdale, IBM
Sharon Douglas, NatWest
Suzy Wardle, Virgin Atlantic

Digital Leader of the Year: SME

Amy Shakespeare, Cornwall Museums Partnership
Charlotte Bailey, Panintelligence
Charlotte Brown, Appogee HR
Erin Gray, Tecknuovo
Joanne Blount, Surrey County Council
Julia Burton Brown , Inskin Media
Lindsey Daniels, Places for People
Louise Ah-Wong, Agilisys Limited
Melissa Lim, GoFibre
Nicky Hoyland, Huler
Olga Megorskaya, Toloka
Sarah Curran Usher MBE, True Fit

Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Year

KPMG UK
Academy Achievers
Agilisys
Atos IT Services Ltd
Capgemini
CONCAT
Cyber Women Ireland
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency
IBM
IBM
IN4.0 Group, operators of HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology
Poly
Sparta Global
Unilever
University of Birmingham

Diversity Employer of the Year

Astound Commerce
Atos IT Services Ltd
Cognizant Softvision
DWP Digital
Flow Pilots
IN4.0 Group
Puppet
Revolent Group
Sparta Global
Unilever

Entrepreneur of the Year

Charlotte Williams, SevenSix Agency
Deirdre Mc Gettrick, ufurnish.com
Gabrielle Bourret-Sicotte, Greenr Technologies Ltd
Gail Shaw, Gant Innovations Limited
Jennifer Neff, Elemental Software
Judy Leung, Sweqlink Ltd
Kiran Bhagotra, ProtectBox Limited
Laxmi Ramanath, La Meer Inc.
Maisie Bradley, Cameo
Paulette Watson, Academy Achievers
Romanie Thomas, Juggle Jobs
Rose Ross, Tech Trailblazers Awards
Sherry Vaswani, Xalient Group
Suezann Holmes, ScaleXP Ltd

Graduate of the Year

Aditi Agrawal, HEC Paris, Microsoft
Ailsa Robertson, NatWest Group
Akosua Ofori, Vitaccess Ltd
Alice Adams, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Alice Stewart, CACI
Hayley Hill, Experian
Huriyah Hussain, Barclays
Isobel Kirk, Atos IT Services
Jude Murphy, IBM
Julia Smith, Capgemini
Kainat Tariq, Capgemini
Karamjot Jaswal, IBM
Kelly Liu, NuData Security, A Mastercard Company
Sophie Hendry, HP Inc
Vera Hansen da Costa e Silva, HP Inc

Hero of the Year: Enterprise

Akua Opong, London Stock Exchange Group
Claire Wilkinson, Vitality
Fatou Jeng, BT
Katie Toole, BNY Mellon
Kay Kielty, IBM
LaLisha Hurt, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Onyeka Onyekwelu, London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI)
Rachel Preece, Capgemini
Réka Boros, Morgan Stanley
Sonali Deshpande, Capgemini India Pvt. Ltd.
Sripriya Venkatesan, Capgemini
Stephanie Hart, Network Rail
Suman Bala, Sky UK
Victoria Driscoll, Atos
Viktorija Karciauskaite, Virgin Atlantic

Hero of the Year: SME

Alice Hendy, Ripple Suicide Prevention
Amanda Obidike, STEMi Makers Africa
Anna Sherrington, Government Digital Service
Caroline Falconer, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Trust
Daisy Easton, Met Office
Evie Skinner, Edays
Jyotsana Gupta, ZNet Technologies Private Limited
Naomi Timperley, FreelanceHER100 (Part of IN4 Group)
Plamena Cherneva, WonderCoders
Shona Leavey, Agilisys
Stephanie Hydon, iPipeline UK
Tania Asimionesei, Checkout.com
Wendy Steadman-Smith, National Monitoring Centre

Innovator of the Year: Enterprise

Anna Petts, Agilisys
Charlie Beeson, Man Group
Ciara Mann, Lloyds Banking Group
Helen Rogers, Civica
Ifeoma Uzoegwu, British Telecommunications
Joanne Blount, Surrey County Council
Johanna McDavitt, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Juliette Atkinson, University of Bradford
Laura Coppola, HP Inc
Lynsey Aston, Hermes Parcelnet Ltd
Meera Varsani, BP (Chaucer)
Roxane Desrousseaux, HSBC
Rupy Malizia, HSBC
Sally Sabet, Salesforce
Shruti Kohli, DWP

Innovator of the Year: SME

Alice Hendy, Ripple Suicide Prevention
Amy Shakespeare, Cornwall Museums Partnership
Constance Stack, Digital Guardian
Deirdre Mc Gettrick, ufurnish.com
Elizabeth Swanton, Feedr
Gabrielle Bourret-Sicotte, Greenr Technologies
Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click
Julie Chapman, Entain
Lyubomira Dimitrova, Onfido
Natasha Gedge, jHub
Nicky Hoyland, Huler
Olga Megorskaya, Toloka
Samantha Seaton, Moneyhub
Sharon Lee, OneSpan

IT Leader of the Year

Alka Samani, Soho House
Anna de Rosier, London Stock Exchange Group
Debora Ruvinski, HSBC
Dr Nicola Stokes , IDA Ireland
Gayatri Krishnan, BNY Mellon
Jacqui Leggetter, Department for Work & Pensions (DWP)
Josie Smith, BT
Juliette Atkinson, University of Bradford
Kay Kielty, IBM
Nicky Wilkins, East Sussex County Council
Nithya Vasudevan, Natwest Group
Rachaelle Litwin, Colchester Borough Council
Shona Leavey, Agilisys
Zandra Moore, Panintelligence

Lockdown Legend of the Year

Akua Opong, London Stock Exchange Group
Alison MacDougall, Morgan Stanley
Amy Sharif, Peak
Donna Lea-Dodd, NHS Blood and Transplant
Erin Gray, Tecknuovo
Jennifer Mendez, Fisher Phillips
Maria Lazar, Komorabi
Maxine Russell, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Naomi Timperley, FreelanceHER100 (Part of IN4 Group)
Natalie Cramp, Profusion
Pragati Jain, Trustpilot
Rachael Johnson, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Ranjani Iyer, The Bank of New York Mellon
Suze Shardlow, Self-employed
Trish Arksey, Natwest

Lockdown Legend of the Year: Tech

Alma Fisher, Agilisys
Ciara Havlin, Version 1
Deborah Wolf, Fujitsu
Dewi Van De Vyver, Flow Pilots
Helen Gordon, IBM
Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click
Lynette DSilva, Amdocs
Mairi Holt, Capgemini
Melissa Di Donato, SUSE
Netra Prabhu, Capgemini Singapore Pte Ltd
Nicola Larsen, Mimecast
Onyeka Onyekwelu, London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI)
Rebecca Young (Dennis), Agilisys
Sarah Croxford, Microsoft
Zoe Wilson, Agilisys Ltd

Outstanding Returner Award

Anne McAuliffe, Coutts
Claire Thomas, Hitachi Vantara
Frances Hoyle, Vitality
Kendall Brooks, First Direct
Kundavi Tirpachur, Capgemini
Layla Marshall, Ascent
Madiha Khan, Capgemini
Richa Ellis, KPMG
Samantha Brehaut, Agilisys
Sidhra Akhtar, HP Inc
Simmi Bajaj, Cynozure
Tamara Chehayeb Makarem, Scott Logic
Tanya Holden, Westminster City Council
Wendy Steadman-Smith, NMC

Outstanding Transformation

Catherine Tyson, Agilisys
Charlotte Pleasants, HP
Dina Janevski Farcic, Centili
Grace Pilcher, Cameo
Kate Walker, Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System
Lianne Potter, Covea Insurance
Lindsey Daniels, Places for People
Mary Leonard, Pearson
Neha Raul, Capgemini India
Nerissa Thakurdas, Harrods Limited
Nicola Larsen, Mimecast
Sarah Roberts, Liftshare
Sharon Douglas, NatWest
Tracy Stanning, Cancom UK&I

Role Model of the Year: Financial Services

Akua Opong, London Stock Exchange Group
Alina Timofeeva, Oliver Wyman
Andrea García Beltrán, RSA Insurance Ltd
Gemma Mainland, KPMG LLP
Helen Wild, HSBC
Kendall Brooks, first direct
Milly Dent, NatWest Group
Polly Wan, Morgan Stanley
Purnima Mookerjee, Natwest
Rachel Skelton, Covea Insurance
Rachelle Reid, Allstate
Sian Allsopp, Morgan Stanley
Sonja Basson, Deloitte
Sophie Hussey, Lowell
Tania Asimionesei, Checkout.com

Role Model of the Year: Public Sector & Universities

Alexandra Poulovassilis, Birkbeck, University of London
Alice Hendy, Ripple Suicide Prevention
Ashlee Barnard , Westminster City Council
Jacqui Lipinski, Imperial College London
Jo Shannon, Ordnance Survey
Juliette Pearson, Ministry of Defence
Laura Hanna-White, Apolitical
Lisa Ventura, UK Cyber Security Association
Mary Ahern, Alps
Maxine Russell, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Oluwatobi Ogunsina, Government Digital Service
Paulette Watson, Academy Achievers
Rachaelle Litwin, Colchester Borough Council
Samara Banno, Birkbeck-University of london
Tamara Bruck, Digital Group, Department for Work and Pensions

Role Model of the Year: Tech & Services ENT

Bernadette Kisaalu, BT Group Plc
Ceri Pridding, Capgemini UK
Claire Thomas, Hitachi Vantara
Emma Eldred, Fujitsu
Jessica Dowdall , Amazon Web Services
Kathleen Pai, N-able
Katie Sutton, IBM
Katrina Novakovic, Red Hat
May Winfield, Buro Happold
Nicoleta Raportaru, IBM
Nomi Malca, Amdocs
Parvinder Kaur, Wipro Ltd
Rajashree Das, Capgemini
Suman Bala, Sky
Wijke Hamer, Capgemini

Role Model of the Year: Tech & Services SME

Alexandra Coulson, Disguise
Claire Blythe, GfK
Daisy Bennett, Agilisys Ltd
Dina Janevski Farcic, Centili
Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click
Keri Gilder, Colt Technology Services
Laura Coppola, HP Inc
Lindsay Lucas, Software Solved
Lisa Beattie, KisanHub
Marlen Von Roth, Suse
Phillipa Rodney, Zego
Sara Faatz, Progress
Shalini Thirunilathil, IRIS Software Group
Ursula Lennon, Astound Commerce
Zandra Moore, Panintelligence

Security Leader of the Year

Anna-Lisa Miller, Spectris plc
Anne-Marie Balfour, Atos
Annette Sercombe, Met Office
Debra Danielson, Digital Guardian
Dorren Schmitt, The Weather Channel
Jaya Baloo, Avast
Jennifer Kilmartin, Partnerize
Katie McMillan, Agilisys Ltd
LaLisha Hurt, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Lianne Potter, Covea Insurance
Maria-Kristina Hayden, Bank of New York Mellon
Nicky Bronson, Red Hat Inc.
Stina Ehrensvärd, Yubico

Software Engineer of the Year

Adriana Costache, Capgemini
Amy Franz, DirectlyApply
Bianca Popescu, Vitaccess Ltd
Elspeth Minty, Morgan Stanley
Hang Tian, Just After Midnight
Kerry Smout-Day, Met Office
Lyndsey Scott, Beamery
Maria del Rocio Alvarez, Blakbear LTD
Mini Krishnan, Wipro Technologies
Nikita Magarde, Wipro Technology
Nikolett Nagy, Morgan Stanley
Nour Rteil, Techbuyer
Ravinder Johal, Agilisys
Rebecca Freir, Imperial College London
Ronit Polak, Exabeam

Team Leader of the Year: ENT

Anahita Mahmoudi, Capgemini
Annaam Butt, CGI
Carol Dalrymple, Virgin Atlantic Airways
Charlotte Maude, first direct
Fausta Ballesteros, Cognizant Softvision
Geetanjali Jha, Capgemini
Gemma Mainland, KPMG LLP
Juliette Pearson, Ministry of Defence
Katrina Novakovic, Red Hat
Martha Perry, IBM UK Ltd
May Ross, HSBC
Pooja Chopra, Avasant
Samantha Hollingdale, IBM
Samantha Pennington, Virgin Atlantic Airways
Sonal Bisht, Poly

Team Leader of the Year: SME

Abi Adeusi, Duco
Alla Maher, Man Group
Amy Sharif, Peak
Claire Blythe, GfK
Colleen Tartow, Starburst Data
Danielle Auerbach, Wunderkind
Diane Holden, Marxtar
Emma Carney, Brother International
Fiona Phillips, Agilisys Limited
Jaeger Glucina, Luminance
Laura Kishimoto, Inviqa
Leanne Cummings, Government Digital Service
Leslie Vallet, YOOBIC
Purnima Sen, www.spartaglobal.com
Shalini Thirunilathil, IRIS Software Group

Transformation Leader

Alka Samani, Soho House
Chloe Kennedy, Ashurst LLP
Ciara Mann, Lloyds Banking Group
Claire Armstrong, LSEG/Refinitiv
Clare Quigley, Morgan Stanley
Helen Wild, HSBC
Helena Reed-Beviere, Ordnance Survey
Jacqui Lipinski, Imperial College London
Jitske van Londen, Hymans Robertson
Josie McAvoy, HSBC
Judith Hogan, Poly
Juliette Atkinson, University of Bradford
Juliette Pearson, Ministry of Defence
Morag Dowds, Surrey County Council
Neha Arora, Citigroup

Transformation Leader: Tech

Charlotte Pleasants, HP
Chirpa Santhanam, GBG
Jo Barnett, Onfido
Krista Griggs, Fujitsu
Laura Coppola, HP Inc
Marella Rush, Agilisys
Marion Ranvier, Contentsquare
Nancy Wang, Alert Logic
Pushpinder Sandhu, Pearson Shared Service Ltd
Sara Hamilton, Mango Solutions (an Ascent company)
SONIA DORAIS, Chaser Technologies
Sonja Basson, Deloitte
Sophie Hall, Iress Technology Ltd
Suzanne Sharman, IBM
Victoria Ortigosa, BT

Woman of the Year: Consultancies & Integrators

Anne-Marie Balfour, Atos
Anuli Obienu, Capgemini UK
Ceri Pridding, Capgemini UK
Ivana Bartoletti, Deloitte, Women Leading in AI Network
Lucy Elmer, PwC
Manali Sodhani, Capgemini
Nicki Jarvis, Accenture UK Ltd
Nikol Nacheva, Capgemini
Precious Oduebo, Capgemini
Rajashre Das, Capgemini
Swati Jain, Capgemini
Tina Kimfumu, KPMG
Vani Pushadapu, Capgemini

Woman of the Year: Enterprise

Andrea García Beltrán, RSA Insurance Ltd
Cindy Lam, Lloyds Banking Group
Elinor Woods, Met Office
Jo Shannon, Ordnance Survey
Kendall Brooks, First Direct
Lianne Potter, Covea Insurance
Lynsey Aston, Hermes Parcelnet ltd
Milly Dent, NatWest Group
Nicky Wilkins, East Sussex County Council
Rachel Lamberg, Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust
Roxane Desrousseaux, HSBC
Rupy Malizia, HSBC
Samanah Haidary, Imperial College London
Samantha Pennington, Virgin Atlantic Airways
Sharon Douglas, NatWest

Woman of the Year: Tech

Claire Blythe, GfK
Elinor Honigstein, UK Israel Tech Hub
Evie Skinner, Edays
Ifeoma Uzoegwu, British Telecommunications
Keri Gilder, Colt Technology Services
Kiran Bhagotra, ProtectBox Limited
Louise Ah-Wong, Agilisys Limited
Nabila Salem, Revolent Group
Nicoleta Raportaru, IBM
Rebekka Bishop, CACI IIG
Renee Hawkins, Thoughtworks
Samantha Hollingdale, IBM
Sarah Croxford, Microsoft
Sophie Wilson, Astound Commerce

AWARDS CEREMONY

The winners will be announced at a live awards ceremony on Wednesday 24 November 2021 at The Brewery in London. Click here for more information.

Earlier this year, the US Women Tech Council unveiled the companies helping women to shatter the tech glass ceiling. Click here to read more.

WTC unveils firms helping women to shatter tech glass ceiling