2025 Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards finalists

The UK tech market has been valued at $1trillion, making it the third most valuable in the world, and is confirmation that growth is not slowing.[1] As an innovative industry, new sectors and specialisms and therefore career opportunities continue to increase, and yet women still only occupy 26% of roles and even fewer at senior levels.[2]

Sponsored by Howden, SSE, Accenture, HSBC, American Express amongst others, the awards have celebrated over 500 role models to inspire and attract women and young girls into STEM careers and close the gender gap within technology. These awards highlight the diverse, fulfilling, and exemplary careers that women can, and are having in technology.

Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman comments: “A study of the everywoman in Tech community, in collaboration with Bupa, found that for 39% of women working in technology, the female role model deficit was a top challenge in achieving their career ambitions.[3] Interestingly, the scarcity of role models is prevalent across the board, with entry-level women recognising this in equal measure to women who have made it to the C-suite.

“This has a cascading effect and limits access to mentorship and guidance for aspiring women technologists. Role models serve not just as beacons of achievement, but also as tangible proof that success is attainable, providing the roadmap and the necessary encouragement to navigate a field in which they are underrepresented. The breadth and diversity of talent the everywoman awards programme uncovers every year continues to address a vital industry-wide need, we need every one of these impressive finalists to be seen and celebrated if we want to attract more female talent.”

The 2025 finalists

AI Champion Award – sponsored by ARM

• Bella Boulderstone, Senior Data Scientist at Capgemini Engineering, from Newbury
• Carla Brackstone, Senior Partnerships Manager at Kheiron Medical Technologies, from London
• Erin Nicholson, Global Data Protection Officer and Head of AI Compliance and Privacy at Thoughtworks, from Manchester
• Hannah Feely, Defence Equipment and Support Automation and AI Team Lead at Ministry of Defence, from Bristol
• Humairah Patel, Innovation Delivery Lead at Aventum Group, from London
• Kavya Vibhu, Senior Product Manager at M&G Investments, from Croydon
• Dr Maryleen Amaizu, Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Redgate, from Chesterfield
• Meghan Avery, Senior Engineer at American Express, from Burgess Hill

Apprentice Award – sponsored by SSE

• Alexia Williams, Lifecycle Engineer at Rolls-Royce Plc, from Bristol
• Elizabeth Gardiner, Pega Apprentice at Jetty Technologies, from Middlesborough
• Grace Thomas, Management Consulting Associate at Accenture, from London
• Lizzie Veale, Experience Consultant at IBM, from London
• Tanzy Kelley, Undergraduate Engineer at Dyson, from Sevenoaks
• Zoe Hurst, Cloud Platform Engineer at WTW, from Ipswich

CTO/CIO Award – sponsored by Accenture

• Amanda Barker, Chief Technology Officer & VP – IS Strategy & Architecture at Centrica, from Windsor
• Ashley Warren, CIO at SSE Plc, from Reading
• Jenny Rae, Chief Information Officer at Imperial College London, from London
• Joanna Pamphilis, CIO, Global Head of Investments and Securities Digital Products at UniCredt, from Milan, Italy
• Sally Marriott, Chief Technology Officer at Tesco Mobile, from St Albans
• Tiffany Wilcox, Chief Technology Officer at Datapharm Ltd, from Leatherhead

Cyber Security Award – sponsored by BAE

• Floriana Zefi, Senior Machine Learning Scientist at Booking.com, from Diemen, Netherlands
• Michelle Tolmay, Chief Information Security Officer at Kaluza, from London
• Rebecca Taylor, Threat Intelligence Knowledge Manager at Secureworks, from Chessington
• Sarah Rench, Global Generative AI Security Director at Avanade, from London
• Shalu Madan, Detective Engineer at Lloyds Bank, from Edinburgh

Digital Star Award – sponsored by AWS

• Alessandra Tomassi, Senior Pipeline Technical Director at Industrial Light & Magic - London, from London
• Ella Hulbert, EMEA Head of PR & AR at Lenovo UK Limited, from Farnborough
• Sabby Jivanji, Senior Product Manager at Sage Publishing, from London
• Shadi Safaee, Software Engineer at Centrica, from Windsor
• Shahzadi Awan, Front End Software Engineer II at Booking.com, from Manchester
• Rosie Robertson, Net Zero Engagement Specialist and Data Lead, Whole Systems at SSEN Distribution, from Reading

Digital Transformation Leader Award – sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group

• Chara Gravani, Architecture & Engineering Manager for AWS GenAI Innovation Centre at Amazon Web Services, from London
• Emma Green, Head of Colleague Virtual Assistant at Centrica, from Cardiff
• Manasi Bhalerao, Product Director - Technology at Tesco Group, from Hertfordshire
• Nikki Williams, Head of Programme Operations at Serco Ltd, from Solihull
• Oluwaseun Okunola, Vice President/Chief Information Officer at World Humanitarian Support Foundation, from Carson, USA
• Rosanne Kincaid-Smith, Group Chief Operating Officer at Northern Data Group, from Frankfurt, Germany
• Subhashree Srinivasan, Digital Transformation Expert at BASF Services Europe GmbH, from Berlin, Germany

Entrepreneur Award – sponsored by Howden

• Georgina Fairhall, Founder & CEO at WAC, from Leeds
• Kath Clarke, Founder & CEO at BlckBx Ltd, from London
• Lucy Shrimpton, Managing Director at The Sleep Nanny, from Fareham
• Samantha Payne, Chief Marketing Officer at Open Bionics, from Bristol

Innovator Award – sponsored by American Express

• Ghadir Siyam, Lead Product Manager at bp, from London
• Laurence Levy, Founder & CEO at MeditSimple, from London
• Roberta Marchini, EMEA Infrastructure Solutions Group Segments Director of Product Management and Technical Sales Support at Lenovo, from Segrate, Italy
• Susan Falola, Founder & CEO at JUUBIX, from London
• Yao Yao, Software Engineer at JP Morgan Chase, from London

Leader Award – sponsored by HSBC

• Anna Di Silverio, President – Europe and Middle East at Avanade, from London
• Karen Gunn, Managing Director at Accenture, from London
• Kerri Adair, Senior Vice President at Citi, from Belfast
• Lise-Ann Brennan, Director of Technology Subscriptions at Daily Telegraph, from London
• Nazia Shaheen, Head of IT Governance and Security at Volkswagen Group UK Limited, from Fareham
• Nicola Gleeson, Managing Director of Architecture at JP Morgan Chase, from London
• Sandra Stanley, Chief Data Science Officer at dunnhumby, from London
• Vidya Laxman, Director of Tesco Technology at Tesco Bengaluru Private Limited, from Hertfordshire

Male Agent of Change Award – sponsored by Centrica

• Arjan VanDerMeer, Vice President at American Express, from Burgess Hill
• Ashar Khan, Chief Data Officer at SSE, from Oxfordshire
• Barry Pettitt, Executive – Finance Operations EME at Avanade, from London
• Shashii Asnani, Managing Director, UK Health & Social Care Lead at Accenture, from London
• Warren Thomas, Client Services Director at Serco Ltd, from Solihull

One to Watch Award – sponsored by Computacenter

• Arthi Saravanan, Student at ACS Hillingdon International School, from London
• Evie-Rae Donald, Student at St John Fisher Catholic High School, from Harrogate
• Joey Lin, Student at The Maynard School, from Exeter

Rising Star Award – sponsored by Booking.com

• Anna Rothberg, Pricing and Hedging Analyst at British Gas, from Windsor
• Frances Hagen, Senior Product Owner Net-Zero Serve at Centrica, from Leeds
• Jemima Abu, Frontend Developer at WeMakeWebsites, from London
• Joyce Kadibu, Junior Software Engineer at Imperial College London, from London
• Li Fu, Data Scientist at Lloyds Banking Group, from London

Software Engineer Award – sponsored by NatWest

• Anna Wilde, Senior Engineer at American Express, from Burgess Hill
• Annem Shah, Cloud Platform Engineer at Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, from Bucks
• Gangadevi Bankaur, Head of Software Development at Tesco, from Hertfordshire
• Grace Day, Graduate Software Engineer at Capital One UK, from London
• Harshitha Shivakumar, Senior Technical Consultant at IBM, from London
• Joanna Kelly, Principal Software Engineer at Leonardo Electronics, from Edinburgh
• Malini Jeyachandran, Lead Software Engineer at Lloyds Banking Group, from London

Team Leader Award – sponsored by Haleon

• Caitlin McCall, Senior Research Engineer at The Manufacturing Technology Centre, from Coventry
• Jessica Birch, Senior Business Analyst at Royal Mail, from London
• Karyn Crouse, Operational Technology Manager at SSE Plc, from Perth, Australia
• Leila Shepherd, Managing Director at Helix Centre, from London
• Maddie Clingan, Principal Agile Coach & Agile People Manager at ControlPlane, from London
• Megan Rook, Tech Lead at NatWest Group, from London
• Monika Galla, Salesforce Manager at Telegraph Media Group, from Oxted
• Tatiana Elek, Senior Procurement Manager Digital at Jaguar Land Rover, from Warwick

Tech for Good Award – sponsored by RS Group

• Akua Opong, Senior EUC Engineer at LSEG, from London
• Emma Pickering, Head of Technology – Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment at Refuge, from London
• Linnea Soler, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at University of Glasgow, from Glasgow
• Manjul Rathee, CEO & Founder at BFB Labs, from London
• Rhiana Spring, CEO & Founder at Spring ACT – Action. Compassion. Technology, from Bern, Switzerland
• Stephanie Wand, Head of Technology Strategy at Bupa, from London
• Dr Sue Black OBE, Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist at Durham University, from Durham

Zazie Carter, Group Functions CIO at Bupa, added: “At Bupa, technology powers our ambition to become the world’s most customercentric healthcare company. We believe that a career in technology is exciting, rewarding, and should be accessible to everyone. This is why we are passionate about supporting the everywoman in Technology Awards. These awards celebrate the achievements of our finalists and inspire others to reach their full potential, challenge boundaries, and receive recognition for their successes. Well done to every applicant and good luck to the finalists!”

The 2025 Bupa everywoman in Technology Awards ceremony and dinner will take place at The Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London on 13^th March 2025, after the annual everywoman in Technology Forum.

¹Figures compiled by market analyst, Dealroom and analysed by the Digital Economy Council

²Tech UK report, 25 March 2024

³The Wellbeing/ Advancement Equation: Solving for a Gender-Balanced Workplace, conducted by everywoman in collaboration with Bupa, March 2024