Images from the WATC Rising Stars Awards at News UK 12 July 2018

WeAreTheCity celebrated the winners of the 2018 Rising Star Awards last night, at a prestigious ceremony hosted by NewsUK, London.

Over 200 winners, sponsors, judges and guests attended and enjoyed a champagne reception and welcome by Vanessa Vallely OBE, Managing Director, WeAreTheCity; and Chris Duncan, Managing Director, Times Newspaper Ltd.

June Sarpong MBE, TV Presenter and author, hosted the awards’ ceremony, sponsored by The Times & The Sunday Times.

Images from the WATC Rising Stars Awards at News UK 12 July 2018

On stage, Sarpong offered her advice for success to all the winners in the audience. She said, “Elements of success are equal opportunity and self belief.”

“When you have those two elements, anything is possible.”

During the interval of the awards’ presentation, the audience were treated to surprise entertainment from the choir, Relevation Avenue. The choir were part of the 2015 Britain’s Got Talent and were winners of the Golden Buzzer.

Images from the WATC Rising Stars Awards at News UK 12 July 2018

During her presentation of the Company of the Year award, Pamela Hutchinson, Head of Diversity & Inclusion in EMEA, Bloomberg, gave an incredibly moving speech about diversity and inclusion, earning her a standing ovation.

Closing the awards, Vallely implored the audience to make the most of this opportunity, make new connections and to enjoy the moment.

She said, “Be that leader!”

“You own it and you deserve it.”

“Never forget to reach your hand-out to the next generation.”

The Rising Star awards were introduced to showcase the UK pipeline of female talent below management level and to create 100 female role models across 20 different industries and professions as well as celebrating the hard work and support of our Rising Star Champions and Company of the Year.

The winners were narrowed down from over 1,250 nominations and were judged by a panel of 54 independent judges. Over 30,000 public votes were received for the 200 shortlisted nominees from around the world.

The winners of each category can be found in alphabetical order below. Full details of each winner can be found here.

Rising Stars in Banking & Capital Markets - Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group

• Abisola Barber, Barclays
• Lee Anne Duffy, HSBC
• Omolade Adebisi, Mizuho Bank
• Elizabeth Bailey, Barclays
• Sarah Tolley, Northern Trust

Rising Stars in Charity - Sponsored by Cancer Research UK

• Sophie Ball, Apps For Good
• Verena Hefti, Leaders Plus
• Sophie Ainsworth, RAiISE
• Ayodele Jegede, Anglo American
• Rabia Nasimi, ACAA

Rising Stars in Consultancy

• Kirstie Watson, Kirstie Watson
• Louise O’Sullivan, IBM
• Darryl Brissett-Dowe, Capita
• Rhiannon Evans, Deloitte
• Harjinder Kaur, PwC

Rising Stars in Defence - Sponsored by The Royal Navy

• Nadia Johnson, Thales UK
• Samantha Neath, BAE Systems
• Caroline Gadsby-Bruce, Accenture
• Rebecca Fyans, Royal Navy
• Beth Kerr, Thales UK

Rising Stars in Digital - Sponsored by Barclays

• Karolina Szudrzynska, Mastercard
• Rania Svoronou, IBM
• Katrina Young, Katrina Young Consulting
• Bobbie Mansfield, XL Caitlin
• Maya Dibley, DIT

Rising Stars in Diversity - Sponsored by Aon

• Hardeep Kundan, EY
• Sonal Shah, Barclays
• Paige Horton, Citi
• Lauren Seaman, Deutsche Bank
• Joanna Abeyie, Hyden

Rising Stars in EA & PA - Sponsored by EPAA

• Bianca Angelico, Sodexo
• Kim Glover, Michel Mores
• Jessica Coggins, University of the West of England
• Jennifer Smith, Teens and Toddlers
• Yvonne Darling, Colt Technology

Rising Stars in Education & Academia - Sponsored by EDIT Development

• Amanda Ford, West College Scotland
• Susie Wolstenholme, London South Bank University
• Sumanjit Gill, UCL
• Imani Shola Jeffers, Imani Shola
• Tina McDonald, Avalanche Coaching

Rising Stars - Entrepreneurs & Start-ups - Sponsored by SAGE

• Krystal Archer, SuperFoxx
• Joana Baptista, Oxford High School GDST
• Anna Frankowska, Nightset
• Sukhi Jutla, MarketOrders
• Helen Davies, Status Products

Rising Stars in Facilities, Property & Construction - Sponsored by Kier

• Yodaly Sierra-Rubio, CBRE
• Georgina Demetri, London Underground
• Sophia Nesro, ISG
• Rosanna Lawn, Yoo
• Hazel Richards, CBRE

Rising Stars in Healthcare - Sponsored by Sodexo

• Leanne Armitage, St George’s
• Vijay Kunadian, Newcastle University
• Adama Ibrahim, Biogen
• Thorrun Govind, Sykes Chemist
• Michelle Sharples, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Rising Stars in HR & Recruitment - Sponsored by Jobbio

• Toni Osoba, Accenture
• Parisa Namazi, Cicero Group
• Hessie Coleman, Starling Bank
• Cheryl Hart, DXC Technology
• Alana Drew, The Marketing Store

Rising Stars in Insurance - Sponsored by Lloyd's Insurance

• Ella Walters, PwC
• Jane Harley, Lloyd’s
• Jennifer Kested, AIG Europe Ltd
• Samantha Eustace, Zurich
• Danielle Treharne, BIMA

Rising Stars in Investment Management - Sponsored by Northern Trust

• Eloise Veljovic, Royal Bank of Canada
• Senasa Rajendramoorthy, Investec Asset Management
• Victoria Pelishatska, Bloomberg
• Erika Oteri, Bloomberg
• Lucy Walker, Sarasin & Partners

Rising Stars in Law (The Lynne Freeman Award) - Sponsored by Reed Smith

• Coleen Mensa, EY
• Victoria Anderson, Carter-Ruck
• Rosie Watterson, Herbert Smith Freehills
• Kayleigh Leonie, TandonHildebrand
• Shivanjli Rajput, Eric Robinson Solicitors

Rising Stars in Media & Journalism

• Sherah Beckley, Thomson Reuters
• Lizzi Doyle, Radio City
• Remel Okeke Wickham, Remel London
• Charlie Leech, Bloomberg
• Katie Litchfield, Financial Times

Rising Stars in PR, Marketing & Communications - Sponsored by JHPR

• Elizabeth Uviebinene, HSBC
• Ina Yulo, BrightTALK
• Claire Tolley, Mastercard
• Harriet Allner, Common Industry
• Ramat Tejani, GSMA

Rising Stars in Science & Engineering - Sponsored by 3M

• Tara Shirvani, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (ENRD)
• Katherine Tobin, WSP
• Najwa Jawahar, WSP
• Helen McGloin, Rolls Royce Plc
• Geetha Srinivasan, Queen’s University Belfast

Rising Stars in Sport - Sponsored by PedalSure

• Stacey Copeland, Stacey Copeland
• Ice Maidens, British Army
• Hanfia Khan, Carlton Bolling College
• Abi Carpenter, CAA
• Misba Khan, Women’s Euro Arabian North Pole Expedition

Rising Stars in Technology - Sponsored by Accenture

Rising Stars in Technology – Sponsored by Accenture
• Oishi Deb, Rolls Royce
• Nicky Zachariou, Government Digital Services
• Xiao-Si Selina Wang, BT
• Desy Kristianti, Deloitte
• Seren Davis, Elsevier

Rising Stars Champions - Sponsored by CMI Women

• Captain Ellie Ablett MBE, Royal Navy
• Carol Stewart, Abounding Solutions
• Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Women in Leadership Publication
• Zaheer Jaffary, Carlton Bolling High School
• Dominie Moss, The Return Hub

Rising Stars Company of the Year - Sponsored by Bloomberg

• Barclays

About the author

Alison is the Digital Content Editor for WeAreTheCity. She has a BA Honours degree in Journalism and History from the University of Portsmouth. She has previously worked in the marketing sector and in a copywriting role. Alison’s other passions and hobbies include writing, blogging and travelling.
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