UK IT Industry Awards 2009: The IT professionals to watch

As part of the build-up to the UK IT Industry Awards 2009, we are profiling the contenders for some of the big prizes. This week, we look at the finalists in the Young IT Professional of the Year award, sponsored by NetworkersMSB.

The awards programme merges the longstanding Computing Awards for Excellence and the BCS IT Industry Awards to create a platform for the entire UK IT profession to showcase and celebrate best practice, innovation and excellence. The winners will be announced at the lavish prize-giving ceremony, to be held at the Battersea Park Events Arena in London on Thursday 12 November 2009.

To view the full list of finalists for each award, and to book your table at what will be the biggest night of the UK IT calendar, visit our web site at: www.computing.co.uk/awards.

Oliver Clarke, graduate technologist, Capgemini
After joining Capgemini straight from university, Clarke has worked on three of the biggest and most complex IT projects in UK government, and met or exceeded all his objectives. He won a top internal award, devised and developed an innovative piece of technology now being deployed across Capgemini, ran classes for fellow graduate entrants and clients, and received significant promotion.

Stuart Clarke, assistant project manager, The Coal Authority
Clarke has consistently delivered IT projects to time and budget. Over the past 18 months, he has delivered a wide range of ground-breaking projects including setting up the technical environments for a major document management migration, a programme management software implementation and the introduction of electronic forms to the authority.

Luke Claughton, IT and telecoms manager, Micheldever Tyre Services
Since joining Micheldever in 2003, Claughton (left) has continuously introduced new ideas and working methods and has turned the company’s biggest weakness, IT, into something that is being used to gain strategic advantage over the competition. He has been able to introduce technology at an accelerating rate and played a key role in increasing turnover to £260m last year.

Riyaz Patel, IT professional, Yorkshire Water
Patel has led a number of innovations and delivered a variety of projects for Yorkshire Water. He writes a technology blog and his dedication to helping local community projects shows that his passion for IT and helping others extends outside the workplace, too.

Alex Stewart, IT project manager, Allianz Insurance
Stewart joined Allianz on a two-year graduate scheme in October 2006, during which he was involved in a diverse range of projects. On leaving the scheme in September 2008 he became a full-time project manager on a programme of work for Allianz’s retail division.

Denise Kirrane, project manager, Allianz Insurance
Kirrane was responsible for delivering a system for Allianz Legal Protection’s after-the-event insurance product, one of the department’s top-five priority projects, which will roll out to 3,000 external solicitors. Another of her tasks was to communicate the UK IT department’s strategy for the year ahead to the parent company in Munich, holding workshops with senior IT managers and the IT director.

Aimee Lawrence, product and pricing service delivery manager, Whitbread
Lawrence manages the Whitbread product and pricing team responsible for maintaining the database of menu and recipe information for six brands, including Premier Inn and Beefeater, ensuring 2,000 tills operate simply and effectively with accurate data 365 days a year. In the past year, she helped redesign
and simplify till interfaces, provided an anti-fraud solution, helped boost sales and implemented VAT changes affecting 19,000 items in under a week.

Jacques Erasmus,director of malware research, PrevX
PrevX provides next-generation cloud-based anti-malware solutions for consumers and large organisations. Erasmus’s (right) main focus is to enable the firm’s researchers to be more efficient at finding and neutralising malicious code as well as to spread public awareness of the issues caused by malware.

Christopher Findlay, senior analyst programmer, National Australia Group
Findlay has delivered comprehensive, high-quality technical solutions for the European division of the National Australia Group, which operates under the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank brands in the UK. He has proven his technical ability, professionalism and strength of character, consistently delivering quality solutions on time and budget.

Emily Taylor, senior IT officer DBA, Leeds City Council
Taylor has successfully participated in many high-profile technology projects, major incidents and corporate fundraising events and challenges, being recognised and rewarded by the business and management. She performed a presentation on Oracle Recovery Manager to around 70 highly experienced and diverse members of the Oracle User Group.