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.
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.
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.
Alalea Kia | Research Fellow | Imperial College London
I am a materials scientist and engineer with a passion for resilient and sustainable infrastructure.
Following my undergraduate MEng (Hons) degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University College London (UCL), I undertook a PhD at Imperial College London to pursue a career in research. Permeable pavements absorb stormwater to prevent surface flooding, however conventional approaches are prone to clogging and have a very limited operational service-life. I have been inspired to question the status quo from an early age and therefore I developed a unique solution to this problem during my PhD, rather than trying to improve the existing pavement systems that has been unsuccessfully attempted by others. Through laboratory testing and multiple iterations, I have produced a next-generation permeable pavement (called Kiacrete) that never clogs and has a long, maintenance free 40-year service-life. This pavement has been delivered at a trial site at White City in London, exposed to real-world conditions for over two and half years and has shown excellent performance. More recently I have secured two research Fellowships (Royal Academy of Engineering, RAEng, and UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, FLF) to further develop Kiacrete for use in critical infrastructure (e.g. highways, airports). This ongoing work is supported by local government, transport infrastructure and utility operators, engineering consultancies and contractors, who see the benefit from this technology in increasing the resilience of these critical assets to current and future climate change, along with the need to increase the sustainability of the built environment towards a net-zero future.
Liseli Sumbwanyambe | Junior Associate | McKinsey & Company
Liseli is an award winning Management Consultant at McKinsey & Co.
She previously led UK&I Innovation (Beauty and Personal Care) at Unilever, leading a team of 12 across Research and Development, Project Management and Supply Chain. After a series of fast promotions, Liseli was the youngest person at this work level within the UK&I business and the youngest member of her team (excluding interns). Using her experience across commercial functions she has been able to pursue a career across both industry and academia. The same year Liseli completed the MPhil Bioscience Enterprise (a hybrid degree across biotechnology and business) at the University of Cambridge, she returned as a guest lecturer. Liseli is now the youngest lecturer on the course delivering the sales and marketing content for the programme.
Liseli was the founder and chair of Unilever UK&I's first race equity network and serves on multiple charity committees to facilitate the development of diverse future leaders. In these roles Liseli has worked closely with a range of senior leadership teams on D&I strategies and supported with development of employee groups across multiple industries. Liseli is also a Committee Member of the Amos Bursary, a charity supporting young black males and females to reach their full potential. Her impact to the community was recently recognised following being named an Emerging Leader in Marketing by the UK Advertising Association.
Joy Ly | Business Transformation Consultant | Capgemini
Joy is a consultant who has spent the past 4 years transforming businesses using technology.
She was also a young carer to her father since she was 18, before he sadly passed away in 2021. Being a young carer whilst juggling education and then a professional job wasn’t easy, but Joy never let this stop her from achieving her dreams. Since joining Capgemini, she launched Capgemini Young Carers – an employee network that brings together carers and allies across the organisation. In February 2023, she featured in Capgemini’s active inclusion campaign, sharing her carer story in the hopes of helping others and the campaign went on to win 3 industry awards.
As a first-generation Briton to Vietnamese immigrant parents, she is also passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is the Lead for Race & Inclusion in her business area and together with her team they push boundaries in order to drive change and deliver their mission of levelling the playing field for all no matter your background or circumstances in life.
Kariel Parian | Senior Manager | Deloitte
Kariel is an ambitious and motivated leader who has quickly risen through the ranks to become a Senior Manager at Deloitte.
With a diverse skillset, Kariel consistently demonstrates a passion for innovation, leadership, and excellence in the world of professional services. Driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact, Kariel has garnered a reputation for delivering exceptional results and fostering long-lasting client relationships.
After obtaining her master’s degree from the London School of Economics, Kariel gained diverse experience across multiple industries, combining her passion for building client relationships with strategic thinking. Previous to Deloitte, Kariel led the marketing team of a rapidly growing scale-up, helping the business to grow from 40 to 250 employees in just under 5 years.
At Deloitte, Kariel oversees the sales and marketing division for the Emerging Growth practice, exclusively working with the UK's start-up, scale-up and venture capital community. She leads relationships, partnerships and programmes – supporting rapidly scaling companies at every stage of their growth journey.
Kariel's accomplishments extend beyond the professional sphere, with a strong commitment to giving back to the community. As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Kariel consistently uses her platform to create opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Outside of the office, you can find Kariel on the football pitch every Sunday playing with the Comets WFC.
Soma Ghosh | Career Adviser | The Career Happiness Mentor
I started as a careers adviser in 2008 working in schools and colleges supporting young people with their careers.
In 2016 I started my business after feeling a sense of unhappiness at work. I started supporting women with careers to be happy at work and find confidence at work and find better jobs and feel more fulfilled at work. In 2019 I started a podcast to talk about on-going themes like burnout, workplace bullying, redundancy, career change and general advice about finding a new job etc. Over time I then had parents reach out to me for careers advice for their teens I started working with parents to help their teens with careers advice. I also started to see more people notice my podcast and the work I was doing. In 2022 I rebranded my website as there was a demand for the work I did and started collaborating with others within the wellbeing and career space. Some of the work I was doing evolved into talking about mental health at work, stress and also how to manage time better at work. The theme of confidence was an ongoing theme though not just with professional women but young people too. I also starting seeing more people on LinkedIn respond to my posts about business and I also support new business owners too. I have also been a regularly featured and shared insights in publications like Stylist magazine and Metro
Victoria Ross | Chartered Financial Planner | Progeny Wealth
Before financial planning, I worked in investment banking. In 2018, I realised that I would gain more job satisfaction if I was able to use my financial skills to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
After extensive research, I decided that financial planning would be the truly rewarding space for me.
That year, I left my role and started training as a financial planner at Addidi Wealth, a women’s wealth financial boutique. The company gave me the fast-track approach I was looking for, both with regards to immediate exposure to the clients and also accelerating me through the financial planning qualifications. I completed the CII regulated financial planning diploma in 2019. Addidi also gave me something I didn’t know was possible, the ability to focus on working with women within finance. Having come from a very male dominated world, where I worked with human resources to help them understand how to attract women to finance, it was a very natural and exciting step for me.
Addidi Wealth joined Progeny Wealth in 2019, where I have been able to continue my focus on women’s wealth as a Chartered financial planner. I entered the three-year Progeny Adviser Academy, but because of my previous experience, I was able to complete the programme and graduate in just two years. Following the retirement of Addidi’s founder, I’ve been taking over this client bank and it’s an honour to continue the great work and help these women achieve their financial and life goals.
Kelly Greenaway | Senior Brand and Marketing Communications Manager | phs Group
A professional senior marketing/brand manager with over 19 years’ experience of multiple industries.
A high energy results orientated leader with a talent for building and leading cohesive teams with problem solving skills and the ability to manage time-sensitive projects with large budgets. Proven success for building strong stakeholder relationships and partnerships; brand management, public relations, developing and implementing end-to-end marketing campaigns, resulting in increased customer engagement and acquisition.
I have experience in creating thought-leadership campaigns to drive change across organisations, determined to break taboos and stigma around issues that people generally don’t want to talk about – but they should, as they are issues affecting people in their every day lives.
I have developed phs’ corporate social responsibility strategy, and within that strategy I was able to pull out the key themes that would support the positioning of phs ‘doing the right thing’.
As the leading hygiene services provider in the UK, with over 120,000 customers over 300,000 locations, phs has a unique position in the marketplace. It is our responsibility to set benchmarks for standards to drive change and innovate.
Four years ago, our Period Equality journey and campaigning first began. More recently I have developed and launched a Male Incontinence campaign in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK. Together, phs and Prostate Cancer UK will create a world where men are not limited by urinary incontinence – helping them to live their lives well.
In 2020, I was a finalised for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Marketer of the year.