FDM everywoman in Technology Awards 2019 finalists announced

Business Editor

The finalists for the 2019 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards have been announced prior to the awards ceremony in March 2019

Judges have decided on the finalists for the 2019 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards after considering hundreds of applications.

The theme for this year’s award ceremony is ‘achieve, elevate, inspire’ and aims to showcase people in the science, technology, engineer and maths (Stem) sector who have done what they can to be visible Stem role models.

Maxine Benson, co-founder of everywoman, said: “The judges were united in their admiration and respect for the achievement of this year’s finalists. Without question, each of them has the ability to inspire more women and girls into a career in technology. Research by PWC shows that there could be a £180billion boost to UK GDP just by increasing female employment rates. This shows just how valuable female talent is and why this awards programme is so important in ensuring that more women enter the industry.”

The 2019 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards finalists are as follows:

One to Watch Award – sponsored by Computacenter

Laurelin Chase, student, Clacton County High School
Aoibheann Mangan, student, Mt St Michael Secondary school
Avye Couloute, student, Bishop Gilpin
Leslie Sarango Romero, student, Harris Academy Bermondsey

Apprentice Award

Emily Tomlinson, trainee IS security coordinator, Northumbrian Water
Chloe O’Shea, technology consulting bright start, Deloitte
Tiffany Cooksley, software engineer, CGI

Rising Star Award – sponsored by T-Systems

Clare McKeever, software engineer, PwC
Tasha Morrison, solution architect graduate, Whitbread
Mahek Vara, founder and CEO, Code Camp

Digital Star Award – sponsored by CGI

Melissa Dunn, head of digital product development, Sainsbury’s Argos
Monique Ho, innovation exchange lead, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence
Esther Kieft,senior product manager (contractor), former product owner at Lloyds Banking Group
Kar Lok Chan, technology architecture associate manager, Accenture
Samantha Charles, director, Float Digital
Rebecca Ellul,head of strategy and business development, digital and tech policy, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

Software Engineer Award – sponsored by NatWest

Pae Natwilai, CEO, TRIK
Nelly Kiboi, software engineer, American Express
Nadine O’Hagan, senior software engineer, PwC
Hannah Bird, senior squad manager (platform engineering), Lloyds Banking Group

Academic Award – sponsored by Lloyds Banking

Apala Majumdar, reader in applied mathematics, University of Bath
Adelina Ilie, reader in nanoscience, University of Bath
Shakira Asghar, head of design and technology, Ashlawn School

Team Leader Award – sponsored by American Express

Janine Hughes-Griffiths, director of service, CGI
Edel Owen, CTO BUK ventures, Barclays Bank
Sally Bogg, head of service management, Leeds Beckett University
Ranjeet Ruprai, technical team lead, Experian
Jasleen Budhiraja, assistant consultant, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
Shilpa Shah, director technology consulting, Women in Technology Lead, Deloitte

Entrepreneur Award – sponsored by IBM iX

Kim Nilsson, CEO, PIVIGO
Colleen Wong, founder, Techsixtyfour
Joanne Smith, founder and group CEO, Recordsure
Helen Mitchell, co-founder, Blukudu Ltd

Innovator Award – sponsored by Equiniti

McCall Dorr, innovation strategy director, Experian
Maureen Biney, software engineer, American Express
Megha Prakash, co-founder, CEO, Earthmiles (GMS Partners Ltd)
Felicia Meyerowitz Singh, CEO, Akoni

Leader Award – sponsored by BP

Angela Maragopoulou, global head of IoT/UCC operations, Vodafone Group Services Limited
Deborah O’Neill, partner, Oliver Wyman
Ana Perez, senior director consulting, Oracle
Marianne Lillian Breen-Hart, program and project mgmt associate director, Accenture
Amy Chalfen, global service and delivery director, decision analytics, Experian Ltd
Sharon Moore MBE, CTO for government, IBM

International Inspiration

Jessie Haugh, head of research and development, The Ablegamers Charity
Mujde Esin, founder, KizCode
Adriana Bianca, biofuels CIO and ethics and compliance leader, BP

Male Agent of Change Award – sponsored by VMWare

Jonathan Pritchard, reader in astrostatistics, Imperial College
Jim Bichard, UK insurance leader, PwC
Philip Neal, founder, digital workplace director, BP
Philip Wallace, managing director – Oracle Business Group, Accenture

Having access to visible role models can help encourage people from diverse backgrounds into Stem, and many young women have claimed they would like more encouragement from Stem role models.

Diversity as a whole is equally as important for a firm as having a gender balanced workforce is, as the better a team reflects the audience they are producing for, the more successful they will be.

Sheila Flavell, chief operating officer of FDM Group comments: “The FDM everywoman in Technology Awards are an extension of our commitment to championing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Promoting and celebrating the incredible achievements of women in technology is important in order to inspire other women to join and thrive in the industry. At FDM, we have embedded diversity and inclusion into our culture and as a result, circa 50% of our senior management team is female and we have reported a 0% median gender pay gap for two consecutive years. Diversity is part of our DNA and contributes to FDM’s success as a modern business.”

The finalists for the ninth annual FDM everywoman in Technology Awards, in association with The Tech She Can Charter, will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 6 March 2019.