Emily Pham | Scrum Master Support Analyst | HSBC
Emily is a technology professional working at HSBC and actively advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Growing up as an individual who is from a lower socioeconomic background, ethnic minority & was part of an underrepresented group in her studies and now in her professional life, this fuels her passion to advocate diversity, equity & inclusion. Emily is on the committee for the HSBC UK Women in Tech network where she has organised many events from global panel discussions, networking mixers and WiT awards. She also volunteers in initiatives to attract young talent into tech from inviting local schools to the office to teach Python and creating content around Cybersecurity and introduction to Technology to primary school pupils.
Asia Sharif | Software Engineer | NatWest and ChainVerse
Asia Sharif is an multi-award winning software engineer working within the FinTech industry at a leading bank in the U.K, the founder of ChainVerse and TechNewbies, an engineering mentor, public speaker, blogger, role model, and tech enthusiast.
Asia came from a non-technical background and transitioned into technology in January 2021 with the sole purpose of becoming an inspiration, seeking change, and advocating for women in technology.
Asia’s mission is to build a technology school, provide scholarships for foster children and women in tech through communities and ChainVerse, and keep mentoring hundreds of women and people from underrepresented backgrounds. Asia has now inspired 1000s of people worldwide.
Coming from an underprivileged background, Asia takes pride in the importance of helping others and is an advocate for self-development. Asia strongly believes in mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional elevation and allocates time to host workshops and tech talks to encourage women to develop a growth mindset.
Asia has worked with and is a member of many vital communities who also share her goal to promote and elevate more women and people from underrepresented backgrounds into tech, Asia’s communities include Black Girls In Tech, Coding Black Females, Black Valley, Cajigo, Women Tech Network, Ignite, Code First Girls, Baddies In Tech, TechNewbies and more!
Zoe Henley | Team Leader | GlaxoSmithKline
I have a passion for the discovery of new medicines and joined GSK as an Associate Scientist in 2006, after gaining a first-class MSci Chemistry Degree from the University of Bristol.
I was promoted to a Scientific Investigator in 2013 and achieved my PhD in 2014, through a collaborative programme between GSK and the University of Strathclyde. In September 2021, I was promoted to Team Leader and now have three direct reports who I support in their professional and scientific development at GSK.
As a scientist, I have utilised my synthetic and medicinal chemistry skills to enable the identification of potential drug candidates, one of which reached Phase 2 clinical trials in patients. I have a keen interest in the application of new technologies to the drug discovery process and have led a technical network on inhaled drug design within GSK. In addition, I have developed my IT skills to become a lead user for software which assists our scientists in drug compound design and data analysis.
In 2019, I took on another role in becoming mum to my son Sam and I have since progressed my career whilst working part-time. As a chemist, I have the opportunity to make the molecule that becomes a medicine to help patients and I feel like there is no greater mission than what we do at GSK.
Victoria Ollerenshaw | Contracts Support and Spares Manager | Carter Synergy Ltd
Working for Carter Synergy Ltd for 15+ years, I am the Contracts Support and Spares Manager for the Contracting Division.
I am a third-generation employee; my father, uncle and grandmother all had long careers with the Group. It's been in my family all my life! I am passionate about STEM, the RACHP Industry and ensuring inclusivity. I excelled at STEM subjects during school; 6 out of the 14 GCSEs I obtained were in STEM subjects. By being a STEM Ambassador, I strive to inspire the engineers, scientists, innovators, and inventors of the future.
As well as my role within Carter Synergy Ltd and being a STEM Ambassador, I am also a STEMazing woman and mom of two. Alongside this, I always find the time to enrich and develop myself; in 2022, I completed 18 months of study to achieve a Level 4 NVQ in Business Administration and Management as well as obtaining a distinction in a HVAC Technician Course. I regularly enrol in industry-related courses to further my knowledge and skills.
My goal has always been to challenge the status quo; helping to rebrand the RACHP industry and bring about meaningful change by promoting and improving diversity and inclusion across the board. My efforts are predominantly focused on being a Visible Role Model, celebrating the successes of women in STEM fields while engaging with the next generation. This has led to me winning STEM Ambassador Awards and the Diversity and Inclusion Award at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards 2022.
Samantha Hunt | Engineering Infrastructure Manager | In-Space Missions Ltd
For the first 10 years of my career, I worked for two electronic manufacturing sub-contractors, responsibilities included management of 20 employees working 3 split shifts, 4 pick and place machines, production planning, chasing materials, procedure implementation, commissioning new equipment, extending production areas, 1 off prototypes to high volume assemblies.
During the mid-90’s headhunted by McLaren Electronics, led to promotion within 6 months to Electronics Production Manager, oversight of assemblies; engine and gearbox control units, sensors, data monitoring systems, for the McLaren racing team, F1 road cars and racing teams throughout the motor sports industry, I successfully completed the planning, floor layouts and budgeting for the electronics manufacturing production line at the McLaren headquarters “Paragon”.
The next 14 years I committed to Lumi, the role was varied and ultimately led to Head of Global Business Services, responsibilities including running the Head Office with 2 office moves, supported CRM and financial system implementation, procedure implementation and continual management, assets management, and H&S regulations, managing a team supplying parts, repairs, and services to 11 operating companies worldwide, managing the manufacture of 30K bespoke interactive handsets, design to product delivery, sourcing sub-assemblies and procurement of parts from around the world.
In January 2022 I joined In-Space Missions as Quality Manager, this was a new challenge understanding the Aerospace industry, with promotion in September my responsibilities increased to include Quality, IT and Cyber Security, alongside managing and supporting the Avionics Team, implementing tools, procedures, and processes across the Engineering Department, for a more efficient environment.
Qianyu Chen | Research Fellow | University of Birmingham
Qianyu traveled to the UK at the age of 20, starting her BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Leicester.
In her second year of BEng, she was awarded a College Prize for the best second-year undergraduate. In her final year, she was awarded The IET Prize and The Institute of Measurement & Control East Midlands Section Prize for her distinguished performance in achieving the BEng degree with First Class. After completing the MSc degree from the University of Edinburgh with distinction, Qianyu was offered a funded PhD opportunity at the University of Birmingham for her excellence and intelligence in engineering. During her 4-year research studies, Qianyu has successfully published widely the results of her work in the field of railway asset management.
Currently, Qianyu works as a Research Fellow in the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham, where she leads mind-blowing research with an amazing world-class team. Qianyu has collaborated with teams from HS2 Ltd on developing simulation models for the improvement of understanding of the performance of expansion joints applied to high-speed rails.
Qianyu volunteers as an e-mentor for the University of Leicester and produces video content to showcase the laboratory equipment in the engineering building to encourage others to get involved. She has also been a motivational STEM ambassador and a member of The Code First Girls Community and The Women’s Engineering Society, thriving to inspire a variety of participants, particularly from underrepresented ethnicities, to pursue careers in sectors of engineering and science.
Paula Bekinschtein | Founder & Managing Director | WalkBek Consulting Limited
Paula is an Anglo-Argentinean Senior pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive in the field of commercial operations, sales and marketing and general management at local and global level. She is based in Cambridge, UK.
Paula has more than 20 years’ experience in leading and executing strategic projects, including product launches and designing cross-functional solutions in varied markets.
Results-oriented with an excellent ability to tackle complex challenges, Paula creates strategies to overcome the challenges and maximise the opportunities with a track record of delivering commercial growth through effective strategy and building high-performing, empowered teams.
Paula is currently the Founder and Managing director of WalkBek Consulting limited, having also worked in the past for companies such as Amgen and AstraZeneca.
Paula is driven by a genuine passion for people and important causes. She is proud to mentor a wide variety of professionals and young adults, and serves on the Board of Trustees for non-for-profit organisations involved in health, education and social welfare.
In 2022 she founded CONEXEN (Connect - Exchange - Engage) a community of executives working in the biopharma, and life sciences that believe in community building, and giving, not taking.
Since 2021, Paula has served on the Healthcare Businesswomen Association in various roles and is currently a Director at Large of the Global Board of Directors.
Kate Mackie | Operations Support Manager | Rolls-Royce Plc
Following on from a Pharmacology Honours BSc, where I was awarded the Biomedical Schools’ Extracurricular Prize for my contribution to the external community, I took a slight change in direction from science to engineering and joined Rolls-Royce Plc in 2017 through becoming a Top 10 Finalist for the Female Undergraduate of the Year Award.
I have had a great opportunity over my time with the company, to work across three business sectors: Defence Aerospace, Submarines and Civil Aerospace, and to work across multiple UK and European cities. Within these roles I have had experience effectively leading a team of >40 operators across five discreet sub-cells within a unionised, manufacturing environment through Covid-19 (and the redundancy crisis (& furlough)) to recruitment and ramp-up) and as part of a globally mobile, risk management team in response to supply chain impacts. Alongside this I was awarded a LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt accreditation in 2020 and have successfully coached colleagues in their Green and Yellow Belt qualifications. Utilising lean methodologies I have project managed business continuity projects from design to implementation, with an example reducing risk from a single point of failure and in support of sustainability saving 1100litres/hr of water. And coaching external supply chain vendors to drive a 60% lead time reduction through targeted operational improvements to mitigate customer impact. Outside of work, I have just completed an MSc in International Business in recognition of the global footprint of her industry, achieving a Distinction.
Catherine Heylings | Life sciences Consultant | IBM consulting
Catherine, 26, was raised in Toulouse, France, was born in the UK, and has been fortunate to have lived in various places.
Researching her own condition was one of the main factors that led Catherine to a career in science – she works as a Healthcare and Life Science Consultant at a major tech company. My research background focused on protocol development, problem solving, and data mining – during it the key skill I learned is how to adapt – embracing change and teaching yourself new skills, which encourages self-motivation and empowers you to challenge ideas in environments that are full of experts. Following my graduation from the University of Edinburgh as a research postgraduate, where I have a track record of building and delivering successful projects. I obtained a place working with an educational charity in Toulouse, France. My academic success stems from embracing responsibility during project collaboration and leadership roles, as well as maintaining a determined self-motivation. I have always immersed myself in different environments to build self-awareness and to challenge and improve myself – I have lived in multiple countries, worked with many experts, pursued numerous academic accolades, and became an academic mentor to broaden my understanding of science and how to communicate effectively across levels of expertise.
Anne Okafor | Planner | Cruden Building (Scotland)
With a hospitality, retail and construction background, I have long been passionate about maximising the opportunities open to the next generation, particularly within the STEM industries and recognise through personal experience, that maths anxiety is real.
It is my mission to channel this passion and help to bridge the fear and anxiety gap that often exists between education and the everyday use of maths, and to ignite the passion for a world beyond the classroom.
Despite not achieving grades in maths from school, I took up higher education and graduated in 2019 with a First-Class Honours Degree in Construction Management, achieving Chartered Status in 2022, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Quality Management in 2022.
I collaborate widely with education and industry and have been a STEM ambassador since 2021, helping to bring STEM subjects to life and demonstrate the value of them in life and careers.
Currently working as a Construction Planner with the Cruden Group (Scotland), there were so many transferable skills from my earlier career path that made this transition relatively easy once I had qualified. I want to share these.
In my free time, this is spent in STEM activities inspiring the next generation of construction professionals, along with trying to alleviate maths anxiety in children. I aim to transform construction career thinking to guide and encourage people to take steps to gain an edge over the competition, passing on essential tips, motivation and the right kind of support to stay at the top of their game.