Interview: Ruchi Gupta, Intact UK, Women in Tech Excellence Awards finalist

‘The biggest challenge of 2025 has been to care for people and make them feel engaged and supported with changes’

The Women in Tech Excellence Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of women in all areas of technology, from software development and engineering to AI, cybersecurity, and beyond.

This year's winners will be announced at a live awards ceremony on 27th November in London.

Intact UK is a finalist in three categories: Outstanding Returner Award; Hero of the Year – Finance; and Transformation Leader of the Year – Financial.

We caught up with Ruchi Gupta, Technical Project Manager at Intact UK, to find out more about the company's biggest challenges and achievements over the past year.

Ruchi Gupta has a post graduate degree in computer science. After a career break of over a decade, she made a bold return to the tech industry with renewed purpose, bringing her whole, authentic self to every project she leads.

Now based in London, she blends technical expertise with emotional intelligence with her lived experience of relocation and reinvention. Through her work in women in tech, articles, networking and mentoring programmes, she shares insights on empowering and enabling career returners and girls in tech through her own experiences and story.

Why do you think awards like the Women in Tech Excellence Awards matter? What would winning mean to you and your company?

These awards showcase female success by shining a spotlight on women whose contributions often goes unnoticed. Recognition boosts confidence, increased visibility, networking and mentoring opportunities. Celebrating trailblazers influences and empower young women to join tech, as they can envision themselves in these roles. This is a platform to build a strong pipeline for future women leaders.

Winning an outstanding career returner award for my company would be a living example of our value – Respect, Integrity and Generosity. We welcome and value diverse thoughts and gender equality. In Intact, women in tech are not only being advocated but truly lived.

This will boost company ' s image as progressive, inclusive and people first employer. This award will gain media attention and influence customers, partners that resonate with our values, building trust among them. Celebrating employees at such a big platform will reinforce culture of appreciation and high employee engagement.

What would you say is your company's proudest achievement over the past year?

My company has gone through a lot of big and small changes in the last 4 years. There are among a few proudest moments:

First one being rebranding from RSA to Intact, early this month. Our leadership has been truly inspirational to introduce big and small changes; to align with Intact vision with care.

It has taken a lot to move from where we started gradually moving away from legacy systems to modern systems, ensuring seamless business transition, minimum impact to services and saving the costs by decommissioning.

We moved datacentre and whosoever moved houses would know what it takes to move your roots while the tree keeps on blooming.

What have been the biggest challenges of 2025 so far and how have you overcome them?

The biggest challenge of 2025 has been to care for people (both customers and employees) and make them feel engaged and supported with changes. Engagement Forum led various initiatives under different workstreams to provide a platform by brainstorming, innovating and implementing solutions/ideas to make people feel heard and valued.

How do you think the industry has changed over the past year and what changes do you think it still needs to make?

The industry has gone through a significant transformation, driven by evolving technologies, shifting partner expectations and new to the market dynamics. Co-creating through partnership and delivering integrated solutions. Adoption of AI and automation of solutions, personalised customer engagement, growth of cloud marketplace and demand for flexibility.

It’s a dynamic, tech enabled ecosystem.

What do you see as the main opportunities for the industry in the coming year? How do you plan to capitalise on those opportunities?

Having a diverse and inclusive environment provides an enhanced innovation and creativity, making better decisions. Invest in AI tools and technology, including more automation.

Women in Tech Excellence Awards will take place on 27th November in London. Click here to view the shortlist and here to book your table.