Johann Muldoon | Manor Architects Ltd
Johann Muldoon is an Architect, Managing Director of Manor Architects, an RIBA Specialist Conservation Architect and MBE recipient, the youngest and first female Architect to receive the honour in Ireland.
She is also a lecturer, tutor, mentor, a TedX speaker, has judged a number of architectural competitions and awards. She is also on the parliamentary review panel at Westminster.
Johann has made history at every stage of her academic and professional career. At 16 years old Johann was awarded UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Sir Richard Branson and has continued that trend.
She has extensive experience in delivering complex projects in all sectors and, on top of this she is a mother to three small children.
Portia Bowman | D-Orbit
I am a space engineer by training, I have a degree in Physics and a Masters in Space Exploration Systems.
I have been working as a system engineer in the space sector since graduating in 2014, on Science and Exploration programmes with the European Space Agency, from the Cygnus Pressurised Cargo Module that sends supplies to the International Space Station, to Exomars - the rover mission heading to drill into the surface of Mars to look for signs of life, and EarthCARE, a climate monitoring satellite. I am currently UK Innovation Manager at D-Orbit, working on new product and service ideas that will help to create a sustainable space economy and feed into the development of the rapidly expanding UK Space Sector.
Since starting at D-Orbit in 2020 I have played a key role in the development of the new UK organisation, growing the team from 4 to 10 people. I manage new ideas and concepts for space based products and services from idea through to implementation. I am the lead engineer on 3 programs, I manage the engineering efforts across the team and ensure the designs meet the customer requirements.
After graduating in 2014 and struggling to find a job in the space sector, I co-founded the website SpaceCareers.uk, which provides space specific careers advice and a jobs board aimed at students and recent graduates. The website has been accessed over a million times and my work on this was recognised with a point of light award from the UK Prime Minister.
SpaceCareers.uk is a project of UKSEDS, the UK's Student Space Society, of which I am on the board of trustees and have been involved since 2013. UKSEDS provides a link between students and the space sector in order to support the next generation of talent, and is leading the way in diversity and inclusion initiatives in the space sector.
Shani Anderson | Collins Aerospace
I started working in Aerospace by coincidence.
As a non-engineer, I didn’t grow up with any particular desire to join this industry, but now that I am part of Collins Aerospace I am amazed by our products and technologies and am passionate about encouraging more women to pursue a career in STEM.
Based in the West Midlands, I am a HR Manager for a site that designs, develops and manufactures Heat Exchangers for Aerospace. In my 7 years, with the organisation I have worked at 4 different sites and across 3 Business Units and have been able to benefit from various experiences that have shaped me into who I am today. There is so much opportunity at Collins Aerospace and I am looking forward to growing with this incredible organisation and developing my career further.
Those who know me, know I am a visible and vocal champion for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and I am actively engaged in developing an inclusive environment at Collins Aerospace where all employees can thrive and progress.
Over the last year, I have been instrumental in implementing change within our business through creating Employee Resource Groups (ERG): Women in Aerospace and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) to drive sustainable change within the organisation. I have also worked as part of our Diversity Team to create a framework for assessing inclusion, this has been rolled out across 11 sites and ensures that D&I is a strategic priority for the business by embedding this framework in our operating processes. In addition, I am a reverse mentor to a number of senior Directors sharing my perspective and insights about my experiences as a Black woman enabling them to hold a richer view about the perspectives of others, which plays an important role in bridging the gap between different groups in the workforce.
Outside of the workplace, I support my community as a Youth Worker, encouraging young people to grow their confidence and providing them with a safe space to have fun.
As a HR Leader and role model at Collins Aerospace, my focus for 2021 is about supporting young women in STEM and empowering the female pipeline so that they can carve their own path to success as the next generation of leaders.
Cremona Makaginsar | Mott MacDonald
A visit as a 10 year old to a hydropower Saguling Dam in Indonesia, a structure that both my parents were involved in constructing years ago, opened my eyes to the impact civil engineers can have in the world.
Ever since that exciting day, I knew the path my own career would take. But I also knew it wouldn’t be easy – the gender imbalance in Indonesia was very high. Drawing on her own experience, my mother (a civil engineer herself) suggested that I choose another field of study – but it was too late… I was inspired!
Luckily, we moved to the UK when I was 15; just in time to choose my career route. It just had to be in engineering – it was my passion. I obtained my Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of Bristol in 2009, and then joined Mott MacDonald (MM) as a graduate. I received my Chartership from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in 2016 and I am now a Principal Engineer within the Metros and Civil division.
My 11 year career in civil engineering has certainly been varied, but the project that “made” me was designing the complex main interchange station for Doha Metro. My role progressed from being a designer to eventually Deputy Structures Lead responsible for the delivery and coordination of all structural elements within the station with other engineering disciplines in a Building Information Management (BIM) environment.
Currently, I am working on the prestigious (and vast) HS2 Phase 1 project, as a Package Manager for one of the largest sub-lots within N1/N2 route. I am responsible for the coordination and delivery of both scheme design and detailed design of 30 major assets along a 10km stretch of HS2's N1 route. Holistically, I manage the outputs from a very large design team of circa 300 people to ensure the project is running in line with the programme – and that the final deliverables are coordinated and clash free.
My hope is to be able to become a role model through both my work and as a STEM ambassador to encourage more women to consider engineering as a viable and truly rewarding career path.
Jolee Tung | Oliver Wyman
Jolee is a Senior Consultant in Oliver Wyman's London office where she supports private and public sector clients across EMEA with commercial strategy, customer proposition, organisational effectiveness and target operating model design.
To date, she has worked across a broad range of industries, including Financial Services, Media, as well as Healthcare.
Outside of her core role, Jolee is an active leader within her community. She co-leads EMPOWERED UK, the UK chapter of Oliver Wyman's employee resource group for racial, ethnic and cultural diversity, and is also a core contributor to the firm's entry-level recruitment initiatives. Moreover, Jolee serves as a Board member for the Mulgrave School Alumni Association, where she advises on the strategic direction of her high school's alumni program.
Jolee graduated from University College London with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree, at the top of her year. She is originally from Vancouver, Canada.
Kajal Chhapia | Oliver Wyman
Kajal Chhapia is a public policy professional with experience across financial services. Kajal recently joined Oliver Wyman, prior to which she was at the Bank of England.
Kajal joined the Bank of England in 2018 after graduating from the University of Oxford. Her main role focused on ending ‘too big to fail’ through capital and liquidity policy for global banks. During the pandemic, Kajal also spent 6 months at the Joint Biosecurity Centre (Department for Health and Social Care) determining the UK’s international travel policy. Kajal joined Oliver Wyman in 2021, working primarily across Public Sector Policy and Financial Services. Passionate about inclusion, diversity and social mobility, Kajal is also the founder and director of Divercity, a non-profit organisation championing diversity in Finance and Consulting. Kajal leads a mentoring programme with 100+ participants across 54 companies, 38 universities and 3 countries. Additionally, Kajal is particularly interested in sustainable finance and international development and holds the CFA Investment Management Certificate
Avery Johnstone | Kite Insights
Avery is a researcher, project manager and digital strategist. Having graduated on the Dean’s List from Queen’s University, Kingston with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies, Avery works at Kite Insights to conduct research, facilitate debate and drive inclusive and intersectional progress across ESG for her clients.
Avery's areas of expertise lie in the intersections of gender, health and climate research, thought leadership and engagement strategy. Currently, Avery project manages the Editorial Team for the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society - a global platform highlighting women’s voices and vision to shape a more inclusive economy and society, and supports The New York Times Climate Solutions series, leading up to COP26.
Previously, Avery has served as a Youth Ambassador to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on topics of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and has sat on the Board of Directors for a regional branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. She has also worked with Queen's Health Outreach to develop mental and sexual health curriculum for students in Georgetown, Guyana, and spent two months implementing this initiative alongside the Guyanese Ministry of Education and Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association in May/June 2019.
Avery is currently a Youth Advisor to Canadian Senator Marilou McPhedran and sits on the Canadian Council of Young Feminists / Conseil canadien de jeunes féministes. She is also a Young Leader with Women Deliver's Young Leaders Programme, an award-winning, international youth leadership programme focused on gender and health equity, and in the inaugural cohort of Apolitical's Gender Equality Collective - an education initiative for civil servants, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Jessica Curtis | Atkins Global
Shortly after graduating Edinburgh University with a BSc in Geography, I joined Atkins on the Junior Consultant Development Programme in June 2019.
To date I’ve held a few roles within the business, my first role being a PMO controller within Heathrow Airport Limited’s Cyber Programme. My role encompassed providing key support across multiple projects and facilitating the coordination of the programme logistics.
My second role, also in Cyber space, was as a Testing Project Manager within a Government Department. Here I worked closely with key stakeholders to provide a sustainable, enduring in-house capability to improve cybersecurity behaviours. Although by far the most challenging part of my career, this role was without a doubt extremely rewarding. In my current role I sit as Intervention Lead within the Management team to coordinate 3 cyber workstreams.
People are at the core everything that I do. I thoroughly enjoy working with a diverse range of people across both my organisation and clients; valuing and celebrating all those that surround me.
I’m delighted to be nominated for a Rising Star award.
Lauren Lyons | Oliver Wyman
I love the variation that consulting brings and the positive solution led impact we have with our clients.
My first 2 years were as a Generalist consultant (being promoted to Senior Consultant in my first year), I then aligned to our Organisational Effectiveness Practice and was promoted to Associate. I then made the decision to start a family and subsequently took 9 months off for maternity. I returned working 3 days a week across the public and private sector managing organisational transformations with my clients. I believed it was important to show to my peers that it was possible to have a fulfilling career while also having a fulfilling family lifestyle. That same year my growth and achievements were recognised and I was promoted to Engagement Manger. I have since been back at work full time for a little longer than a year and in addition to my project delivery role at clients, I am UK&I Chief of staff and led our Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW) network in 2020/2021, which focuses on building a community within the London office where women can thrive and collaborating with other women's networks.
I was the first person in my family to go to University. My head of sixth form was against me applying for Oxford as she didn't think my application would be successful. This taught me an early lesson to listen to the people who broaden your horizons and tell you what you could do, instead of what you can't do. A degree and masters later, in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, and post completion of my DPhil studying Influenza virus all at Oxford University I joined the world of consulting. I joined consulting after my DPhil as I felt I still had so much to learn and wanted to broaden my experience outside of science and academia. I have now worked for Oliver Wyman for 5 years across 20+ projects, within many industries and across international locations.
Angela Whatmuff | Aon
I studied Economics and Business Management at Newcastle University including a 12-month industrial placement for the Bank of Ireland in Dublin.
I joined the graduate recruitment programme for Aon in 2002 as a trainee actuary before qualifying as an actuary in 2008.
After returning from my second maternity leave in 2016, I refocused my career to become a strategic project manager. Following which I achieved the Association for Project Management (APM) Qualification in 2018 and I am now one of Aon’s leading specialist project managers where I manage an array of highly complex, unprecedented public and private section client pension projects.