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FDM everywoman in Technology Awards 2019 finalists announced

Clare McDonald
Clare McDonald
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.