The Women in IT Awards today reveals the finalists for its fifth annual ceremony in the UK.
The awards programme, organised by Information Age in partnership with Amazon Web Services, is the leading initiative among extensive efforts from the tech world to rectify a gender imbalance that means women occupy just 17% of IT roles in the UK.
The 2019 ceremony, hosted in Grosvenor House Hotel’s prestigious Great Room venue on Park Lane, will be the largest tech-related diversity event in the world, bringing together over 1200 of the industry’s top stakeholders.
Our diversity campaign
The Women in IT Awards is the flagship event in an ongoing Information Age campaign to tackle technology’s diversity problems: The Women in IT Awards Series.
In 2018, we launched inaugural events in Ireland and San Francisco, to add to our events in London and New York. This year we will continue our global diversity drive by opening an event in Asia — to be first hosted in Singapore — with further events planned in Europe and South America.
The Women in IT Awards Ireland 2018 — winners revealed!
The Women in IT Awards Silicon Valley 2018 — winners revealed!
The lack of diversity in tech is not a problem isolated to the UK, which is why we have made it our mission to recognise women in tech across the world.
We run two further diversity events in the UK: Tomorrow’s Tech Leaders, a careers fair for female university students, and Future Stars of Tech, which identifies and promotes the industry’s top female career climbers.
Through a series of 21 awards, including three new categories, the Women in IT Awards showcases the achievements and innovation of women in technology and identifies new role models for girls, where only 0.4% of female pupils choose Computer Science to study at A-Level.
Joining headline partner, Amazon Web Services, as sponsors at the Women in IT Awards 2019 are: Alix Partners, BMC Software, Frank Recruitment Group, Oracle, Salesforce, Six Degrees, YOOX Net-a-Porter Group, arm, BP, DAZN, DocuSign, Fasthosts, HSBC, NFU Mutual, Rolls-Royce, SAP Concur, Schroders, Red Hat, SailPoint and The Economist Group.
This year’s awards attracted over 800 nominations, and the quality was better than ever. A particular highlight was to see the ever-increasing quality of nominations, and to see some men nominated for categories like Advocate of the Year — the fight to close the gender gap must be championed by both men and women.
The keynote will be revealed on the night, and the event will be co-hosted by Gadget show hosts Ortis Deley & Georgie Barrat.
“The Women in IT Awards has grown significantly since its inception five years ago. We have been blown away by people’s passion and enthusiasm for this cause, driving the event to an incredible size of over 1,200 attendees in just a few years,” said Nick Ismail, Content Editor, Information Age.
“This year we received over 800 nominations, showcasing an amazing array of talent across the UK’s technology industry. All of the finalists deserve a massive congratulations for the achievements that have resulted in them being shortlisted for an award. We can’t wait to welcome everyone for one of the biggest nights in technology on 30 January.”
Click here to book your place at the Women in IT Awards 2019 in London, and here to view the winners of last year’s Women in IT Awards.
The 2019 finalists
Advocate of the Year
Sponsored by NFU Mutual
Linda Aiello, Salesforce
Sian Allsopp, Morgan Stanley
Sheridan Ash, PwC
Sally Bogg, Leeds Beckett University
Jayne Duffy, Ciena
Amber Edwards, Oracle
Deborah Flint, Accenture
Lisa Marena, JUST EAT
Clare Stephens, IBM
Chris Taylor, The Telegraph
Marina Traversari, Oracle
Nicola Whiting, Titania
Business Leader of the Year
Sponsored by BP
Zahra Bahrololoumi, Accenture
Michelle Baker, BT
Guita Blake, Mindtree
Elsa Chen, Entanet
Zoe Cunningham, Softwire
Ariane Gorin, Expedia
Estelle Johannes, CompTIA
Margo Leach, Axelos
Joanne MacGregor, Barclays
Katie Mills, StateZero Labs
Annette Murphy, Zayo Group
Debbie Vavangas, IBM
Business Role Model of the Year
Sponsored by BMC
Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Fujitsu
Lisa D’Arcy, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Gemma Daley, Barclays
Bijna Dasani, Lloyds Banking Group
Daryn Edgar, SAP
Khayala Eylazova, PwC
Rachel Goddin, KPMG
Mivy James, BAE Systems
Gillian McLennan, J.P. Morgan
Jennifer Norman, XMA
Sarah Sanders, AWS
Rachel Wilkins, Dell
CIO of the Year
Sponsored by Amazon Web Services
Barbara Gottardi, HSBC
Tiffany Hall, Cancer.org.uk
Jo Hannaford, Goldman Sachs
Nadira Hussain, Society of IT Management
Carol Johnson, The Telegraph
Rachel Jones, HM Land Registry
Angela Morrison, Debenhams
Georgina Owens, DAZN
Natascha Polderman, Control Risks
Gabi Wagenhofer, Castrol
CTO of the Year
Sponsored by SAP Concur
Anna Dick, Hiring Hub
Katie Nykanen, Adstream
Doina Popa, Barclays
Data Leader of the Year
Tayyaba Arif, PwC
Carolyn Brown, Bank of England
Elinor Doubell, BP
Soledad Galli, LV=
Di Mayze, Acceleration
Rebecca Moore, Skyscanner
Justyna Owczarek, The Telegraph
Helen Terry, Virgin Money
Miriam Vizvary, Hive
Katia Walsh, Vodafone
Digital Leader of the Year
Sponsored by DAZN
Dania Al-Sudani, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc
Caroline Bedford, DXC
Monica Carlesso, Lloyds Banking Group
Amy Johnson, Anglian Water
Penny Mills, Smart Energy GB
Jillian Moore, Atos
Wendy Paine, Logicalis UK
Bella Slade, Post Office
Janine Smith, ITV
Diversity Initiative of the Year
Sponsored by HSBC
Simi Awokoya, Witty Careers
Heather Black, Salesforce Supermums
Debbie Forster MBE, Tech Talent Charter
Emily Hyett, BAE Systems
Izzy Obeng, Foundervine
Kerri-Lauren Sturch, Turner & Townsend
KPMG: IT’s Her Future
Ivanti’s Women in Tech (WiT) initiative
Dr Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation
Oracle women in Leadership
Tech Women Today
#YouEqualTech Community, Mortimer Spinks
e-Skills Initiative of the Year
Sarah-Jane Mintey, Developing Experts
Toni Scullion, dressCode
Beckie Taylor, Tech Returners
Ramat Tejani, Formerly at GSMA
Mahek Vara, Code Camp
Code for Life, Ocado Technology
Open Schools Coding Competition, Red Hat
Scotland Women in Technology
Sky’s Get into Tech programme, Sky
Editors Choice Award
Sponsored by Information Age
Kiran Bhagotra, ProtectBox
Sophie Deen, Bright Little Labs Limited
Natalia Di Miguel, Passionate Gig Worker
Denise Dumas, Red Hat
Anisha Macdermid, Exclamation Marketing
Pae Natwilai, Trik
Dr Alessandra Sherman, United Konsultants
Jill Stephens, Click4Assistance
Jane Walshe, Enforcd
Heather Williams, Sourcing Playground
Employer of the Year
Sponsored by Arm
Accenture
Beyond
G3 Comms
Hire Stem Women
Index Exchange
J.P. Morgan
News UK
Sky
Thoughtworks
YOOX Net-a-Porter Group
Entrepreneur of the Year
Sponsored by YOOX Net-a-Porter Group
Stephanie Alys, Mysteryvibe
Anna Assassa, Tisski
Kristina Boikova, Wine Picker
Avril Chester, Cancer Central
Tazz Gault, StateZero Labs
Tarryn Gorre, Kafoodle Limited
Emma Margetts, Alpha-Exchange
Helen Mitchell, Blukudu
Lara Mott, ImproveWell
Zara Nanu, Gapsquare
Elizabeth Vega, Informed Solutions
Future CIO of the Year
Sponsored by Frank Recruitment Group
Natasha Darbyshire, Logicalis
Kristen Goodrich, City University London
Natalie Jones, Home Office
Hemna Juneja, DAZN
Sofy Large, EE
Leanne Lynch, British American Tobacco
Holly Nolan, Good Energy
Stephanie Stylianou, Make Positive
Laura Yeaman, National Crime Agency
Global Leader of the Year
Sponsored by Schroders
Lucy Burrow, Rolls-Royce
Jill Cooper, GSMA
Monica Eaton-Cardone, The Chargeback Company
Stina Ehrensvard, Yubico
Federica Falcone, Accenture
Julie Fergerson, Ethoca
Catherine Hryszko, Schroders
Leanne Kemp, Everledger
Seema Khinda Johnson, Nuggets
Lynn Lucas, Cohesity
Kate Platonova, HSBC
Innovator of the Year
Sponsored by Oracle
Yasmeen Ahmad, Teradata
Emily Foges, Luminance
Julie Grieve, Criton
Priya Lakhani, CENTURY Tech
Katya Linossi, ClearPeople
Jenn Rivas, DAZN
Shamira Sanghrajka, EY
Collette Thompson, Anglian Water
Lauren Tombs, HM Land Registry
IT Team of the Year
Sponsored by Rolls-Royce
Pooja Bagga, Royal Mail
Judy Bennett, Bank of England
Lis Blaber, Debenhams
Mary Collerton, Elsevier
Anji Henry AND Rachel Higham, BT Technology IT team
Amy Johnson, Anglian Water
Jacqueline Nisbet, Lloyds Banking Group
Home Office
Claire Priestley, City University London
Ann Wardrop, Virgin Money
Rising Star of the Year
Emily Bovington, XMA
Jade Carlotta-Jones, BP
Laura Drysdale, News UK
Maya Kolaska, BAE Systems
Jen Merley, Morgan Stanley
Kitty O’Leary, Deloitte
Lucy Player, Fujitsu
Isabel Richards, Ocado
Victoria Robins, Capita
Emma Savory, Lucidica
Kate Self, BT
Dominique Tan, J.P. Morgan
Sophie Thompson, VirtualSpeech
Sofia Vaughan-Jones, ITV
Security Champion of the Year
Sponsored by DocuSign
Nicole Axten, Six Degrees
Charmaine Hanley, YOOX Net-a-Porter Group
Elaine McKechnie, Clydesdale Bank
Nada Moussa, Six Degrees
Melanie Oldham, Bob’s Business
Becky Pinkard, Digital Shadows
Mindy Player, Lloyds Banking Group
Jackie Ronson, Formerly EE
Carly West, Bank of England
Transformation Leader of the Year
Sponsored by Six Degrees
Michelle Christmas, Nationwide Building Society
Monika Fahlbusch, BMC Software
Anne Gray, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Kate Griffiths-Lambeth, Charles Stanley
Celia Hopkinson, Mercedes Benz Financial Services UK Ltd
Sarah Hurrell, Ferranti Computer Systems
Anne Jardine, Virgin Money
Rachel Kelsall, NFU Mutual
Nina Monckton, NHS Business Services Authority
Kate Richardson, JUST EAT
Komal Tekchandani, Heathrow Airport
Jacky West, Computacenter
Amy Williams, Barclays
Young Leader of the Year
Sponsored by Alix Partners
Tara Annison, Lendingblock
Maxine Austin, Lloyds Banking Group
Jasleen Budhiraja, TCS
Jessica Chapplow, Wavemaker
Oana Emanuela Voinea, Accenture
Leanne Fitzpatrick, Hello Soda
Danielle Hamilton, Thrive Learning
Deborah O’Neill, Oliver Wyman
Claire Roberts, Entale Media
Kristen Shannon, Excession
Eileen Valera, AND Digital Ltd
Rosie Woodhead, HMRC Digital
Clare Young, dxw
Woman of the Year
Sponsored by Salesforce
Aouda Bellout, Schroders
Kate Collins, Royal BAM Group
Melissa Di Donato, SAP
Anna Doherty, J.P. Morgan
Marian Edwards, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Rosemary Hitchcock, YOOX Net-a-Porter Group
Ceri Picton-Tully, HSBC
Susan Sharawi, Deloitte
Cheryl Willis, NetApp
