Interview with Isabel Richards, head of product, Ocado Technology

Isabel Richards discusses winning the Rising Star (Enterprise) award at the Women in Technology Excellence Awards 2018

Isabel Richards, Head of Product at Ocado Technology, won the Rising Star (Enterprise) award at the Women in Technology Excellence Awards 2018.

A full list of winners from the event is here, with a gallery of the best photos of the night available here.

However, she was unable to collect her award on the night, being in labour at the time (the picture with this article shows Richards' colleagues collecting the award on her behalf).

Computing caught up with Richards to discuss what the award means to her.

Computing: What did you think of the awards?

Isabel Richards: In IT, the current reality is that you get used to being a woman surrounded by many men. Getting involved with the awards and seeing so many names and roles on the shortlist was a fantastic reminder that women are present and having a significant impact on the industry. It made me want to hear their stories.

CTG: How did you feel when you won (and how long after the awards happened did you get the message)?

IR: My colleagues texted me from the event - I was in hospital in the early stages of labour. It was a fantastic boost in that moment and the rest of the process! I enjoyed receiving the award at such a 'female' juncture - it felt like a demonstration that individuals and the industry can celebrate success in work and support other aspects of life.

CTG: What do we need to do to encourage more women into the industry?

IR: Tell more stories. Of the women I know who work in IT and who I work alongside at Ocado Technology, we have such varied paths and roles. I sold porridge before finding my way into technology. I discovered the great team at Code First Girls when I had some free time because an e-commerce food venture I started with two female friends didn't take off - they taught me the coding basics. I took those different experiences and made that a selling point for myself in the industry. The more we share these stories and routes in, the more approachable IT will be for women.

IR: What are your priorities for 2019?

I have to admit, some significant time will be focused on looking after my newborn, but I have set myself the challenge of speaking publicly at least twice about the things I have learnt recently through the launch of our new product, the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP). In particular, how we managed to build a platform that covers every aspect of the online grocery process - from mobile shopping to supply chain management to robot picking and the last mile. We also managed to sufficiently mature the platform so it was able to easily support some of the world's largest retailers by trialling it continuously from its earliest days by delivering groceries to our head office staff.

The Women in Technology Excellence Awards will be back, bigger and better than ever, in 2019.