Most influential women in UK tech: The 2018 longlist

When Computer Weekly asks the technology sector to nominate women for its annual list of the most influential women in UK tech, the list of nominees grows longer every year.

Last year, in 2017, the nominations list had over 160 women who had worked to increase the amount of diversity in the technology industry and had contributed to the sector, prompting Computer Weekly to publish this longlist for the first time.

Now, in 2018, more than 200 women have been put forward to be considered for the top 50 list of the most influential women in UK tech, as well as the award of most influential woman 2018.

Since the launch of its list of influential UK women in tech in 2012, the list has expanded from the top 25 women in UK tech to the top 50 to showcase as many of the industry’s women as possible.

The decision to publish the longlist of everyone nominated came out of the desire to recognise the increasing breadth and depth of important roles carried out by women across the technology industry.

Next week, we will publish our expert judges’ decision on 50 of these names, which will go forward to a reader vote to help decide the most influential woman in UK technology – but for now, here are the nominees. Congratulations to all.

The 2018 most influential women in UK tech longlist (in alphabetical order):

• Abigail Rappaport, CEO, Emoquo
• Alex Depledge, founder and CEO, Resi
• Alexa Greaves, CEO, AAG IT Services
• Alexa Marenghi, global diversity and business programme manager, Microsoft; founder of Codess
• Alexandra Deschamps Sonsino, director of Designswarm; founder of The Good Night Lamp
• Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First
• Alison Vincent, group chief information security officer, HSBC
• Amali de Alwis, CEO, Code First: Girls
• Amelia Heathman, technology reporter, Evening Standard
• Angela Hood, founder and CEO, ThisWay Global
• Angela Morrison, IT and supply chain director at Debenhams
• Angela Yu, A&E doctor; founder and managing director of London App Brewery
• Ania Kubow, co-founder of Nimbla
• Anna Barsby, chief technology director, Morrisons
• Anne Boden, CEO, Starling Bank
• Anne Marie Neatham, COO, Ocado Technology
• Anne Stokes, CEO, Streamwire Group
• Anne-Marie Imafidon, CEO, Stemettes
• Annika Small, co-founder and director, CAST (Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology)
• Bea Karol Burks, design director at Good Things Foundation; studio director at FutureGov
• Beatrice Butsana-Sita, managing director, IT and networks at Capita
• Belinda Parmar, CEO, The Empathy Business
• Bethany Koby, CEO and co-founder, Technology Will Save Us
• Bindi Karia, advisor
• Cait O'Riordan, chief product and information officer, Financial Times
• Camille Baker, creative director; reader, interface and interaction, School of Communication Design, University for the Creative Arts
• Carina Namih, investment partner, Episode 1
• Carmina Lees, managing director, Technology Consulting at Accenture
• Caroline Carruthers, group director of data management at Lowell Group
• Caroline Graham, director change management at Barclays; head of WeAreTheCity India
• Caroline Hargrove, acting CTO, McLaren Applied Technologies
• Caroline Hyde, Bloomberg technology presenter
• Caroline Plumb, founder and CEO, Fluidly
• Carrie Anne Philbin, director of education, Raspberry Pi Foundation
• Catherine Knivett, head of programmes at Corsham Institute
• Cathy McCabe, CEO, Proximity Insight
• Charlotte Finn, vice-president global strategic relations at Salesforce.org
• Charlotte Murray, chief operating officer and director of social inclusion, Good Things Foundation
• Charlotte Robertson, co-founder, Digital Awareness UK
• Chi Onwurah, shadow industrial strategy minister, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central
• Christina Scott, chief technology officer at News UK; deputy CTO, News Corp
• Christine Ashton, global CDO, digital office cloud ERP, SAP
• Christine Hodgson, chairman of Capgemini UK
• Claire Agutter, director, Scopism; director and lead tutor of IT Training Zone Ltd
• Claire Burn, software engineer at Rapid7; director at Women Who Code Belfast
• Claire Cockerton, former CEO, Plexal
• Claire Edmunds, founder and CEO, Clarify
• Claire Morris, head of design, Founders Factory
• Claire Vyvyan, senior vice president, UK & Ireland commercial business, Dell EMC
• Clare Sutcliffe, co-founder, Code Club
• Daryn Edgar, vice president, digital advisory, EMEA, SAP
• Debbie Forster, CEO of Tech Talent Charter
• Debbie Wosskow, co-founder of AllBright; former CEO Love Home Swap
• Deborah Vickers, channel director at MoneyGuru.com
• Devika Wood, founder, Vida Care
• Diana Kennedy, vice-president strategy, architecture and planning, BP
• Doniya Soni, principal policy officer – digital skills, Greater London Authority
• Edel Creely, group managing director, Trilogy Technologies
• Edel McGrath, chief operating officer at Chelsea Apps Factory
• Eileen Burbidge, chair of Tech Nation; partner, Passion Capital; government special envoy for fintech
• Elizabeth Denham, information commissioner
• Elizabeth Eastaugh, senior director, product – eCP, enterprise data platform services at Expedia
• Elizabeth Varley, co-founder and CEO of TechHub
• Elizabeth Vega, global CEO, Informed Solutions
• Elspeth Finch, CEO and founder, IAND
• Emily Brooke, founder and CEO, beryl.cc (Blaze)
• Emily Forbes, founder, Seenit
• Emma Cerrone, co-founder and partner, Freeformers
• Emma Fryer, associate director data centres, TechUK
• Emma Lacy, public sector project manager, Oracle
• Emma McGuigan, group technology officer, communications, media & technology, Accenture
• Emma Mulqueeny, consultant and advisor
• Emma Robertson, co-founder, Digital Awareness UK
• Estelle Johannes, director, member communities UK, CompTIA
• Farah Kanji, head of talent, Founders Factory
• Fiona Hudson Kelly, CEO, Smart Assessor; chief executive officer at Smart Apprentices
• Francesca Carlesi, co-founder and CEO, Molo Finance
• Gabi Wagenhofer, CIO, Castrol BP
• Gail Jones, managing director, UKFast
• Gayna Hart, founder and managing director, Quicksilva
• Gemma Milne, co-founder of Science: Disrupt; tech and science journalist
• Hannah Dee, senior lecturer, Aberystwyth University and founder, BCS Women Lovelace Colloquium
• Harriet Green, head of Asia Pacific, IBM
• Hayley Sudbury, co-founder and CEO Werkin
• Hazel Moore, chairman and co-founder, FirstCapital
• Heather Savory, director general for data capability at Office for National Statistics
• Helen Kelisky, vice-president, cloud, UK and Ireland, IBM
• Helen Lamb, vice-president, strategic pursuits unit, global delivery group, Fujitsu
• Helen Meek, agile coach and consultant at RippleRock
• Helen Milner, chief executive, Good Things Foundation
• Helen Mitchell, director and co-founder, Blukudu Ltd
• Helen Toogood, owner of Hot Chilli Consulting
• Helene Panzarino, managing director, Rainmaking Colab
• Holly Brockwell, CEO, Gadgette
• Inês Teles Correia, co-founder, DWYL; director, Founders & Coders
• Ingrid Lunden, news editor and writer, TechCrunch
• Iris Lapinski, founder and CEO, Apps for Good
• Jacky Wright, chief digital and information officer, HMRC
• Jacquelyn Guderley, founder, Salome Literature
• Jacqui Taylor, CEO, Flying Binary
• Janet Coyle, director trade and growth, London & Partners
• Jeni Tennison, CEO of the Open Data Institute
• Jennifer Arcuri, founder of InnoTech Network and Hacker House
• Jennifer Rigby, CIO, Lloyd's of London
• Jenny Griffiths, founder and CEO, Snap Tech
• Joanna Bryson, associate professor, Department of Computing, University of Bath
• Joanna Davinson, chief digital, data and technology officer, Home Office
• Joanne Smith, founder and CEO, Recordsure
• Joanne Hannaford, head of EMEA technology and global head of quality assurance engineering, Goldman Sachs
• Joyeeta Das, CEO and founder, Gyana
• Jude Ower, founder and CEO, Playmob
• Julie Bretland, CEO, owner and founder of Our Mobile Health
• Julie Watling, MD, Communications Solutions
• Julie Woods-Moss, board advisor; former CMO at Tata Communications
• Juliet Bauer, chief digital officer, NHS England
• June Angelides, founder, Mums in Technology
• Karen McCormick, chief investment officer, Beringea
• Karen Price, CEO, The Tech Partnership
• Karen Young, managing director of MDS Technologies
• Kate Russell, tech Journalist, gamer, author and BBC Click presenter
• Kathryn Parsons, founder and co-CEO, Decoded
• Kerensa Jennings, director IDEA, Duke of York’s Office, Buckingham Palace
• Kim Nilsson, co-founder and CEO, Pivigo
• Kiran Bhagotra, CEO and founder, ProtectBox
• Kirstin Duffield, CEO, Morning Data
• Kit Collingwood, deputy director, data: Universal Credit, DWP Digital
• Kriti Sharma, vice president for AI, Sage
• Lara Sampson, product owner for Universal Credit and head of product at DWP
• Leanne Bonner-Cooke, CEO, Evolve
• Leeann Monk-Ozgul, co-founder and co-CEO of Elemental – The Social Prescribing Company
• Lisa Donaldson, general manager, Ormeau Baths
• Lisa Hammond, CEO and co-founder, Centrix Software
• Lisa Jacobs, chief strategy officer, Funding Circle
• Liz Whitefield, director, Hippo Digital
• Louise McCarthy, COO for CIO global group digital transformation, HSBC
• Lucinda Carney, founder and CEO, Actus Software
• Lyn Grobler, group CIO, Hyperion Insurance Group
• Lynn Collier, global program director - customer success, Hitachi Vantara
• Magdalena Kron, ‎head of Rise London and vice-president open innovation, Barclays; co-founder, Geek Girl Meetup UK
• Maggie Van’T Hoff, vice-president of IT transformation and value, Shell
• Mandy Chessell, distinguished engineer, IBM
• Margaret Ross, professor of software quality and a principal lecturer, Southampton Solent University
• Margot James, digital minister
• Maria McKavenagh, COO, Verv (Green Running)
• Marija Butkovic, founder and CEO, Women of Wearables
• Marta Krupinska, founder, Astarte Ventures
• Max Benson and Karen Gill, co-founders, Modern Muse (charity)
• Maxine Mackintosh, PhD student and co-founder at UCL/Alan Turing Institute and One HealthTech
• Melinda Nicci, founder and CEO, Baby2Body
• Melinda Roylett, senior director, head of small and medium business, EMEA, PayPal
• Melissa Di Donato, chief revenue officer, SAP ERP Cloud
• Michelle Senecal de Fonseca, area vice-president, Northern Europe, Citrix
• Nadira Hussain, head of ICT, London Borough of Enfield
• Naomi Timperley, chair, Capital Pilot; co-founder pf Tech North Advocates
• Natalie Gammon, chief information and cloud officer, Finastra
• Natasha Sayce-Zelem, head of technology – digital service, Sky
• Neeta Patel, CEO, New Entrepreneurs Foundation
• Nicola Graham, Head of ICT, Aberdeenshire Council
• Nicola Mendelsohn, managing director, Facebook Europe
• Nina Tumanishvili, founder, HelloHub
• Pamela Maynard, president, product and innovation, Avanade
• Payal Jain, chair of Women in Data UK
• Pearl Noble-Mallock, head of product and cyber security, BAE Systems
• Polly (Gowers) Barnfield, founder and CEO, Maybe
• Pravina Ladva, chief technology and operations officer, Swiss Re
• Priya Guha, ecosystem general manager UK, RocketSpace
• Priya Lakhani, founder and CEO, Century Tech
• Rachel Murphy, managing director at Difrent Group
• Rachel Neaman, non-executive board member, advisor, mentor
• Rav Bumbra, founder, Structur3dpeople
• Rebecca George, lead public sector partner, Deloitte
• Regina Moran, enterprise director at Vodafone
• Reshma Sohoni, partner and co-founder of Seedcamp
• Rioch Edwards-Brown, founder, So You Wanna Be In Tech?
• Rosie Sherry, founder, Ministry of Testing
• Sam Keyes, vice-president digital and CRM, ConvaTec
• Sam Smith, head of IT strategy and architecture, LGSS
• Sana Khareghani, deputy director head of office for AI, DCMS/BEIS
• Sandra Taylor, head of ICT services, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
• Sarah Armstrong-Smith, head of continuity and resilience, distinguished engineer and diversity champion, Fujitsu
• Sarah Atkinson, vice-president of EMEA communications, CA Technologies
• Sarah Burnett, vice-president of research (service optimisation technologies), Everest Group and chair, BCS Women
• Sarah Flannigan, CIO at EDF Energy
• Sarah Luxford, director at Global Resourcing; co-founder TLA Women in Tech
• Sarah Shields, vice president and GM - Dell EMC UK/I Channel
• Sarah Turner, founder, Angel Academe
• Sarah Wilkinson, CEO, NHS Digital
• Sarah Winmill, CIO, British Transport Police
• Sarah Wood, co-founder and chair, Unruly Media
• Shalini Khemka, founder and CEO, E2Exchange
• Sharon Moore, industry technical leader for travel and transportation, IBM UK
• Sharon White, CEO, Ofcom
• Sheeza Shah, founder and CEO, UpEffect
• Sheila Flavell, COO, FDM Group
• Sheree Atcheson, global ambassador at Women Who Code; consultant, Deloitte UK
• Sheridan Ash, technology and investments director, women in technology leader UK, PwC
• Sherry Vaswani, group CEO of Xalient
• Shirley Creed, global corporate secretary, Dell
• Sophie Deen, CEO at Bright Little Labs
• Sophie Newton, COO, Brainlabs
• Sue Daley, head of AI, cloud and data analytics, TechUK
• Suki Fuller, founder, Miribure
• Susan Bowen, general manager and vice-president EMEA, Cogeco Peer 1; chair of TechUK skills and diversity council
• Susanne Chishti, CEO at Fintech Circle
• Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder, CognitionX; chair of government's AI Council
• Tamara Lohan, founder and CTO, Mr & Mrs Smith
• Tamara Rajah, founder, Live Better With
• Tina Götschi, head of computer science, Ada. National College for Digital Skills.
• Tracy Westall, non-executive director, Department for Transport; board of advisors, Innovation Birmingham
• Trudy Norris-Grey, MD of CityNext, connected infrastructure and global business development, Microsoft; chair of WISE
• Tugce Bulut, CEO and co-founder, Streetbees
• Ursula Morgenstern, CEO, Atos Germany
• Vicky Brock, founder and CEO, Get Market Fit
• Victoria McCallum, regional leader – diversity in STEAM Chapter and Women in Tech Belfast Circle
• Wendy Tan White, partner, BGF Ventures; board trustee at Alan Turing Institute; member, Digital Economy Council
• Yessi Bello Perez, editor, UKTN
• Zoe Cunningham, managing director, Softwire

A panel of expert judges has used the following criteria to decide which of these women will be selected for the top 50:

• Influence: What authority or ability does the person have – either through their personal position or the role they hold – to personally influence the development of UK IT, or to influence others in positions of authority?
• Achievements: What has the person achieved in the past 12 months to help the development of UK IT?
• Profile: Is the person recognised as a role model for aspiring leaders? How widely is she acknowledged by her peers as an authority and influence on UK IT?
• Leadership: Does the person demonstrate the skills and experience necessary to be seen as a leader in the development of IT in the UK? Does she have a leadership role and does that help her to develop the role of IT in the UK?
• Potential: How likely is it that the person will have a significant impact on UK IT in the next 12 months? Will her authority and responsibility grow?
• Community: Has the person contributed to the women in technology community? To what extent has she used her influence to help other women progress in IT?

Next week, Computer Weekly will announce the 50 women in this year’s list and allow readers to vote on who they think should receive the accolade of most influential woman in UK tech 2018.

Previous winners, along with leaders considered to have made a lifetime contribution to helping women in technology, have been added to our Hall of Fame, and as such do not appear on the annual nominations list.

The winner will be announced at Computer Weekly’s annual diversity in tech event, run in partnership with Mortimer Spinks and sponsored by EY, on 26 September.