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.
Ahlam Qattan | Engineering Manager | Astor Bannerman
I started my career in the automotive sector, after having a passion for motor racing throughout my childhood.
I enjoyed the fast-paced work and exciting projects, but I felt like I wanted to do something that could impact more people. I moved to a design consultancy where I got the chance to experience a wide range of industries and expand my skills. During this time, a project in the medical sector appealed to me most, so after a short career break I started my next challenge.
I began working at a prosthetics company, designing upper limb bionic prosthetics. I really loved getting to work closely with users while designing the equipment and getting a real sense of how my work could make a difference. I also got the opportunity to work with a range of large Pharmaceutical companies on wide reaching projects, but it only reminded me of how rewarding it was to work more closely with those the devices are impacting.
I am now working on the design and build of washing, bathing and handling equipment for disabled children and adults in care. It provides a great balance of rewarding work that’s also challenging, whilst allowing me to work closely with user’s to design something that fits their needs in the best way possible. It gives me a great sense of purpose knowing a product I designed can improve an individual’s quality of life.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jessica Curry | Associate Consultant | Capgemini
I joined Capgemini nearly 2 years ago having completed my Master's degree and held previous jobs in marketing, writing, and teaching.
Since then I have channelled my love of innovative technology and analytics into developing my expertise in product development, service design, and business analysis, particularly in the public sector which I find is the most rewarding kind of work. I have most recently held a role in Capgemini's strategic accounts team supporting transformation projects and driving senior stakeholder management and communication. In particular this work in strategic accounts has been incredibly enriching and a opportunity to really push myself, working with and supporting the executive board of a global company of hundreds of thousands of employees, and its global account executives, at such an early stage in my career.
My business unit prides itself on being people-focused in how it operates as well as client delivery, and this is something I am so proud to be a part of and try and champion in my day-to-day work. Not just in my interest in user-centered design on client projects, I feel strongly that a people-centric approach is the way to get the best results, regardless of the context. I am lucky enough to have been able to live this out in the two short years I have been working at Capgemini, but I can see it becoming a central part of my leadership style as I progress to a more senior and experienced consultant.
Fiyinfoluwa Amosu | Consultant | Daintta
Growing up in Nigeria as the first of four daughters, my parents taught me the importance of hard work and not letting others dictate my limits.
I did not always know what I wanted to do but I knew that whatever career path I chose needed to have a positive impact on others.
With a BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of Warwick this opened me up to a range of opportunities. I joined the graduate scheme at Atos Consulting where I worked in a range of roles helping to deliver digital transformation to various public sector organisations. There I realised that the public sector faces complex problems and innovative solutions are required to solve these problems.
I left Atos to get an MSc in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management from Imperial College Business School because I felt the degree would equip me with the skills needed to solve complex problems.
Joining Daintta after my Masters, I have been able to work on projects that help government organisations solve these complex problems using innovative methodologies while working with a team of people whose values align with mine.
Making a positive impact means giving back to society. I have been able to do this by volunteering to be a career coach to women in the community while at ICBS, and being a STEM ambassador, encouraging young people to explore STEM careers. I hope for a greater positive impact in the future especially helping young people.