Hanna Roos | Latham & Watkins LLP
Senior Associate | Latham & Watkins LLP
I was born the eldest daughter of 12 in Finland, and discouraged from aiming for Oxford. Now I’m an Oxford and Cambridge educated Solicitor Advocate (Higher Courts), and a Senior Associate at Latham & Watkins – the world’s largest law firm by revenue. I practice broadly in international disputes, and specialize particularly in energy and pharma (https://www.lw.com/people/hanna-roos).
Studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, imprinted a passion for ethics and justice which informs what I do:
- Setting up and co-leading Latham’s global Parent Lawyers Group, which supports the progression of parent lawyers (mothers and fathers) at the firm (https://www.lw.com/AboutUs/Diversity/Affinity). Our awesome initiatives to support those returning to work and planning parenting have generated excitement in our more than 30 offices.
- Co-leading our London Pro Bono Committee to help the disadvantaged by offering free legal advice. This help has merited an external award from TrustLaw. Globally, our help is valued at nearly US$ 1.1 billion since 2000.
- Mentoring junior lawyers and inspiring both male and female colleagues by leading with a gender neutral style and “leaning in” (thank you Sheryl). I believe in openness and have shared my experience of miscarriages to help others speak up, stay positive and manage their career during difficult times.
- Acting on high-profile matters to support victims of historic torture and human rights violations.
- Using my ethics and legal background to help patients. This began a decade ago after two of my siblings passed away because of a rare medical condition. I have established a collaboration with Harvard and been invited an External Professor in clinical pharmacology to a Masters course supported by Milan University, Mario Negri Institute and Novartis Pharma.
- Supporting students launching their first start-ups, as part of a leading business school’s “Founder’s Lab”.
I am a supportive wife to an NHS junior doctor, mother to a 3.5 year old Tyrannosaurus Rex (so he thinks), a caring au pair employer and the owner of an over-sized Alsatian as well as six tetra-fish. I began my career at a magic circle firm and have worked in Paris and London. We do karate as a family on weekends (to try to shake off exhaustion!) and, at our son’s insistence, sponsor wild elephants.
WeAreTheCity's Rising Star Shortlist 2016 announcement
We are extremely proud to announce our shortlist for WeAreTheCity’s Top 100 Rising Star Awards 2016.
The calibre of entries across all categories was extremely high this year and a true testament to the amazing amount of female talent within the pipeline across the UK and Northern Ireland.
On behalf of Barclays and our supporting sponsors, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who nominated their Rising Stars for this year’s awards. We received over 950 nominations spanning 260 companies from across the UK and Northern Ireland, which was treble the amount of entries received last year.
We are very much looking forward to celebrating our shortlisted individuals’ achievements at an event kindly sponsored by Bloomberg on the 17 May 2016.
The shortlist will now be judged by an additional set of expert judges, and the winners of our Rising Star awards for 2016 will be announced on 6 June and celebrated at our winner’s event at Barclays on 30 June.
To view the 2016 shortlist, please visit here
We would like to personally thank our shortlist judges: Paul Sesay, Simone Roche, Jo Gaglani, Mairi McHaffie, Nicola Horlick, Helene Reardon-Bond, Duncan McRae and Yvonne Thompson. They all gave their valuable time to assemble our shortlist and to help WeAreTheCity to recognise the fantastic achievements of all of our amazing nominees.
Supporters of our nominees are now able to show our shortlisted nominees their support by casting their votes. The vote count does not determine the winners. Please note there is no public voting for our Champions category. Votes can be cast via the shortlist pages.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish our shortlisted nominees the very best of luck in the final round of judging.
For more detail about the awards, please visit here
Francesca Brown | Goals 4 Girls
Francesca is the Managing director & CEO of Goals4Girls, which was launched in June 2013. Goals4Girls is a football development programme which works with young women aged between 11-16. The programme aims are to break down barriers & reduce inactivity amongst young women in sport, by raising the aspirations, self-confidence, self-esteem and mind sets of young women inspiring them to set and achieve their goals.
The Football development programme provides football coaching, player development pathways, coaching, qualifications, workshops, inspirational seminars, trips and mentoring to girls in and around East London.
The Goals4Girls coaching experience is different in the way that we cater to the needs of the young women, making each session Fun and rewarding. Being a female only development programme we pride ourselves with having the ability to work with a diverse selection of young women, from all cultures, backgrounds & abilities. G4G aims to encourages every individual we work with to challenge themselves, in a safe environment.
Goals4Girls has developed over 300+ Young women since launching. Currently the programme is running in The Royal Docks Community school, working closely with organisations like London Youth, Sports England, Prince’s Trust,The FA, London FA & Tottenham Hotspur Ladies.
Francesca’s experience stems from her success as a professional athlete, playing for teams such as Manchester United community and Manchester city.
She is the Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, and is a FA Qualified coach who has worked with young women from BAME, African and ethnic minority communities’ across London. Francesca is also motivational speaker who has provided insight into her business and lifestyle, to organisations such as Women in Sport & Sports England.
#ONETEAMONEDREAM
Debra Jacobs | RBS
PA to Senior Learning & Development Partner | The Royal Bank of Scotland
Debra started her career in the hotel industry with Forte Hotels, taking up a variety of customer facing roles, before moving into Conference & Banqueting. In the years that followed, Debra moved to a corporate environment organising in-house corporate events before finally moving into event management with a number of organisations. In these roles, Debra was responsible for multiple global corporate events; working to tight deadlines, constantly changing logistical aspects including venues, client demands, budgets and environments.
After many years in the events industry to achieve a more sustainable work life balance, Debra changed direction in her career transitioning into the PA role.
For the past 10 years, Debra has worked for a variety of global organisations, always within the HR function supporting at Director Level. Debra has been at for 5 years working within Group HR Functions. Debra enjoys the variety in her role and the culture at RBS.
Debra has recently launched a PA Network at RBS. The aim of the network is to bring the PAs together from across the Bank; to learn from one another, to share experiences, information and best practice and offer customised development and training. The network will help to reinforce the value of the PA role and will help support the ambition to be number one for customer service, trust and advocacy by 2020. From a standing start in January the network now has over 500 members across the bank.
Outside of work, Debra supports various international animal rescue charities. Last September, Debra was part of a committee who successfully organised the “Inspiring Leadership Trust Annual Fashion Show & Gala Event” at the Corinthia Hotel, London. The Inspiring Leadership Trust (ILT) is a charitable trust; the objective is to support vulnerable women and young people around the world.
In her spare time, Debra is an avid Afternoon Tea fanatic and is working her way through the Top 20 best places for Afternoon Tea in London. Debra also enjoys spending time with her husband, friends and family and her two cats, Harley and Miracle.
Cheryl-Anne Sanderson | G4S
Regional Manager Wales - MoJ TFM contract | G4S FM UK and Ireland
Regional Manager – G4S Wales
I have been employed by G4S Facilities Management for just under four years, starting initially as a Service Manager and rising to my current position as Regional Manager for Wales on the Ministry of Justice TFM contract. I believe that to succeed in the FM industry you have to have enthusiasm, drive, the ability to communicate effectively and most crucially, be able to listen and engage with both your client and your own team. I firmly believe that successful managers operate most effectively when working within a great team.
I actively promote collaborative working and encourage my colleagues and team at all levels to widen their aspirations, expand their experiences and seek new qualifications. I'm very proud to work in the FM industry and am keen to promote this profession as an exciting, challenging and varied career choice for young people to consider. I would also like to encourage more women to join the sector and have have recently become a committee member for the Young Managers' Forum.
Rising Star Awards 2016 | Nominations are now closed
WeAreTheCity are delighted to announce record nominations for the 2016 Rising Star Awards.
Now in their second year, the WATC Rising Star Awards are the first to focus on the UK’s female talent pipeline below management level. Through these awards we will celebrate 100 individual female contributors that represent the leaders and role models of tomorrow.
For the past three months, WeAreTheCity and its sponsors, partners, supporters & media partners have been actively seeking nominations from across the UK and Northern Ireland for the 2016 Rising Star awards. We are proud to announce this considerable effort resulted in over 800 nominations from over 300 companies, which is over double the amount of nominations received in 2015. Our Rising Star champion nominations also exceeded our expectations with over 100 individual nominations from 80 cross sector companies.
Vanessa Vallely, Managing Director of WeAreTheCity said “The response to this years awards has been truly amazing and I would like to extend my personal thanks to our sponsors, media partners, network partners and everyone who nominated and supported this years nomination process. Our aim this year was to not only encourage others to nominate their rising stars, but to encourage women to self nominate and for men to nominate their female colleagues. I am pleased that we achieved all of our objectives with over 15% of nominations being self-nominations and over 30% of our nominations being cast for women from men”.
“The calibre of entries for this years awards is extremely high and a true testament of the amazing female talent pipeline that exists across so many different industries and professions in the UK and Northern Ireland. WeAreTheCity are extremely honoured to be able to shine a spotlight on the achievements of these women through the Rising Star Awards”.
Remaining Timeline
- Shortlist judging period – 28 March – 15 April
- Shortlist announced – 25 April
- Public vote for shortlist nominees opens – 25 April
- Finalist judging period – 25 April – 27 May
- Shortlist celebration event at Bloomberg– 17 May
- Public voting closes – 27 May
- Finalists announced – 06 June
- Winners event – 30 June
Powered by Barclays
Sponsored by
Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder
"Supporting the growth of female entrepreneurs not only drives diversity within UK businesses but it also creates an environment for future entrepreneurial heroines to flourish and succeed, empowering future generations to succeed in business. I’m extremely proud that Virgin Media Business are sponsoring a fantastic category which will inspire our future leaders."
Business leaders show their support for the Rising Star Awards 2016
Now in their second year, the WATC Rising Star Awards are the first to focus on the UK’s female talent pipeline below management level. These awards will recognise and celebrate 100 female individual contributors across 20 different industries that represent the leaders & role models of tomorrow.
We are extremely proud to receive the support of so many individuals and organisations for this years Rising Star awards. We would like to extend our sincere thanks for their words of encouragement and for helping us to celebrate the achievements of the female leaders and role models of tomorrow.
READ WHAT OUR SUPPORTERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE RISING STAR AWARDS HERE
WeAreTheCity Rising Stars Top 50 Awards Video
On the 8th September 2015, WeAreTheCity and their sponsors hosted their first annual awards ceremony celebrating the female pipeline and their Top 50 Rising Stars.
Over 150 people attended the celebration and it was kindly hosted at the House of Commons, Portcullis House, London.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our sponsors and supporters for making this all possible.
Featuring WATC Founder Vanessa Vallely, Caroline Dinenage MP, Heather Melville - RBS and Tamara Box - Reed Smith LLP. Plus join Kayleigh Bateman as she interviews some of our Rising Star winners, Alice Powell, Liv Cook, Sarah Gerken and Vinita Ramtri.
WATCH THE FOOTAGE HERE