Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2025: All the winners
Congratulations to all our winners!
The Computing Women in Tech Excellence Awards were glittering, joyful and bursting with inspiration.
An audience of more than 600 people gathered last night to celebrate the work and achievements of some wonderfully inspirational women. The awards, presented by author, broadcaster and advocate Candice Brathwaite, were received with joy and gratitude, and were followed by an excellent after party!
Every finalist is a brilliant ambassador for the tech industry and an outstanding role model. At Computing, we feel privileged to showcase their efforts and put their names up in lights.
The awards attracted more than 1500 entries, and each winner had to work harder than ever to stand out from such a highly accomplished field.
Thirty awards were in play with established categories including Hero, Innovator and Role Model of the Year, along with new categories like Best Employer and Problem Solver of the Year.
Here are all the winners and highly commended submissions in full:
Digital Leader of the Year Tech & Consulting
Winner: Sian Maragna, PwC
Highly commended: Charlotte Parnham, Atos
Digital Leader of the Year
Winner: Ceyda Mogulkoc, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Highly commended: Amanda Dahl, Government Digital Service
Highly commended: Deb Millar, Hull College
Problem Solver of the Year
Winner: Surbhi Badhwar, Nationwide Building Society
Highly commended: Andrea Rosales, Colibri Digital
Cybersecurity Professional of the Year
Winner: Rebecca Taylor, Secureworks, a Sophos company
Highly commended: Emma Yuan Fang, EPAM Systems
Emerging Tech Champion of the Year
Winner: Lisa Matthews, KETS Quantum Security Ltd.
Engineer of the Year
Winner: Jessica Lewis, Admiral
Highly commended: Dr Carla Di Cairano-Gilfedder, BT Group
Graduate of the Year / Apprentice of the Year
Winner: Molly Richards, Lloyds Banking Group
Highly commended: Madhavi Swamy, Barclays
Graduate of the Year / Apprentice of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Felicity Bruce, Vodafone
Highly commended: Jasleen Kaur, Capgemini
Hero of the Year – Finance
Winner: Arvinder Thandi, Nationwide Building Society
Highly commended: Sally Jackson, Admiral Group
Hero of the Year - Tech & Consulting
Winner: Amber Idumwonyi Makinwa, IBM
Highly commended: Emma Beattie, Computacenter
Highly commended: Hema Kariyappa, VodafoneThree
Hero of the Year
Winner: Laura Gilbert, The Tony Blair Institute
Founder/Entrepreneur of the Year
Winner: Monika Kott, Nerolase Ltd
Highly commended: Rachel Grimaldi, CardMedic
Innovator of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Leah Claireaux, BT
Highly commended: Yasmin Tiyamiyu, IBM
Innovator of the Year
Winner: Neshma Emile, Zumo.
Highly commended: Claire Harrison, The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
IT Leader of the Year – Finance
Winner: Shruti Naik, Lloyds Banking Group
Highly commended: Lauren Dally, Everywhen
IT Leader of the Year
Winner: Lydia Nicola, Amnesty International.
Outstanding Returner Award
Winner: Lynsey Carr, Emerald Publishing
Highly commended: Erin McClean, Synyega Ltd.
Rising Star of the Year – Finance
Winner: Shalu Madan, Lloyds Banking Group
Highly commended: Kasia Dutch, Starling Bank
Rising Star of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Anushka Gupta, PwC
Rising Star of the Year
Winner: Benazir Ulde, JISC
Highly commended: Zoe Holland, Computacenter
Transformation Leader of the Year – Finance
Winner: Shruti Naik, Lloyds Banking Group.
Highly commended: Eszter Morvai, Aviva
Transformation Leader of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Claire Smith, Encovo UK
Highly commended: Marelize Venter, OpenCorporates
Transformation Leader of the Year
Winner: Liv Horner, Haymarket Media Group.
Highly commended: Alexandra Stephenson, Wavenet.
Role Model of the Year – Finance
Winner: Malini Jeyachandran, Lloyds Banking Group.
Highly commended: Hannah Muller, Nationwide Building Society.
Role Model of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Amber Idumwonyi Makinwa, IBM
Highly commended: Alina Timofeeva, Unique.Bold.You.
Role Model of the Year
Winner: Kirsty Nunn, Millfield School
Highly commended: Laura Collins, UWE Bristol
Team Leader of the Year – Finance
Winner: Maryna Rybalko, Paydock.
Highly commended: Kelly Boyd, Aviva Plc
Team Leader of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Chrysa Papadopoulou, NIQ.
Highly commended: Eva Fernandez Marin, OAKLAND.
Team Leader of the Year
Winner: Claire MacDonald, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Woman of the Year – Finance
Winner: Chiamaka Odikanwa, HSBC
Highly commended: Soniya Mahale, Nationwide Building Society.
Woman of the Year – Tech & Consulting
Winner: Victoria Sinel, IBM
Highly commended: Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click
Employer of the Year
Winner: Justice Digital, Ministry of Justice
Highly commended: ZAIZI
Woman of the Year
Winner: Claire Harrison, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
Highly commended: Ceyda Mogulkoc, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust