Harjinder Kaur | PwC
Dr Harjinder Kaur is a research, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and gender expert gained from working in the Government, NGO and private sector. At PwC, she works in the international development practice leading on M&E and gender. Previously she worked as an M&E and gender advisor at Plan International UK; a research/M&E and gender independent consultant in Africa and Asia including Deputy CEO for a local NGO in Cambodia; and as a UK Government Senior Gender Advisor to the Minister for Women and Equalities and Minister for International Development, where she represented the UK at the EU, US/UN, and the Commonwealth.
She has given numerous presentations and published extensively for academic, policy and practitioner audiences on gender and engaging men and boys for gender equality. She has an extensive record of community and professional engagement and been a Board Director and Advisor to a number of NGOs and charities such as Westminster Women’s Aid, Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP), UN Women, MenEngage Alliance, and GREAT Initiative Great Men Advisory Panel. She is also the founder and director of www.menandboysforgenderequality.org The aim is to raise awareness of the need to, and to, engage men and boys in promoting gender equality and ending violence against women and girl.
For her gender work, she has been shortlisted for and won a number of awards including the Asian Women Achievement Award in 2017 for Public Service. Concurrently, whilst working full-time, she also completed a MA, MSc, PhD (on gender) and an Executive MBA.
Kirstie Watson | Accenture
As a Technology Consulting Manager within Accenture's Communications, Media & Technology industry group - Kirstie has led a variety of Technology Consulting programmes across a number of Accenture's Diamond Telco Clients in the UK. Since joining Accenture in 2014 from a background in Archaeology, Kirstie has dived headfirst into the world of Technology Consulting - and is now a Technology Consulting Practitioner with deep expertise in the Communications industry. Her experience ranges from managing programmes across Data Migrations, to Robotics Process Automation, GDPR Readiness and Offshoring - where she has helped her clients to manage security compliance issues, and to further realise significant operational improvements and savings through technology.
Kirstie is also a passionate advocate for Girls in STEM - where she looks to inspire the next generation of female Technology leaders - and is a leader in Accenture CMT's Gender Balance programme.
Genevieve McCormick | Deloitte
Genevieve is a Consultant in Deloitte’s Technology Programme Delivery department. This role combines the knowledge and understanding of IT systems (from back-end architecture through to digital applications) and applying project management skills and critical thinking to problem solve and deliver technology transformation and solutions to clients.
Genevieve is aligned to the Public Sector Community and has been delivering technology transformation to a government body for the past 18 months. In this role she has produced and launched an IT strategy with the organisation on a national scale and project managed the development of a digital application for service users.
The strategy work was to address complex needs of an organisation with great ambitions to improve the outcomes of service users and better serve the public. Genevieve was passionate in delivering these outcomes. There were instances where the work involved direct contact with prisoners, she was unflinching in her dedication and exceptionally brave. She was instrumental in connecting with an offender charity and carried out a number of workshops with offenders on license to understand their perspectives and help shape a strategy for the client that reflected the needs of their service users in a way that's not been carried out before.
Following the successful delivery of the strategy, she has developed a digital application. Tasked with a challenging tapestry of programme ways of working, departmental tensions, external supplier relationships, and architectural and technical ambiguities associated with hosting and security, she kept a cool head and brought intelligence, foresight, and relationship building skills to bear in a way which has fostered great working relationships and built trust where there had previously been broken working relations, misunderstanding and misconception.
Genevieve began her career as a graduate in KPMG’s Technology Risk department following a degree in International Relations and Geography at Durham University. Her development as a graduate trainee allowed her to take a passion for politics into consulting for Public Sector clients and combine this with consulting skills and technical know how, providing solutions for the problems that clients face.
Rhiannon Evans | Deloitte
Having dedicated my studies to Law, with a strong focus on criminal law and justice, I was thrown a curve ball when changes to the criminal law funding system meant I exited my education and professional training into a landscape of limited opportunities. Understanding the importance of resilience and finding opportunities that work for you, I soon found myself as a Graduate Trainee within the Metropolitan Police Service Directorate of Information where I developed a solid base of project management, business analysis and contract management (a nod of recognition to my years of legal studies!) skills, whilst gaining true insight into frontline policing and the behind the scenes support required to help officers deliver the best service to the community. Ever the one to relish new challenges, I chose to move to Transport for London to further develop my business analysis skills and try out a new sector. This period saw me enhance my relationship management skills and also provided me with an opportunity to train and lead on employee engagement and its link to developing high performing teams within an organisation; a subject I remain passionate about to this day. When I moved to my current role within Deloitte, I knew instantly it was an opportunity to get back into the Criminal Justice Sector and I have embedded myself within the Security and Justice Account team, delivering to a client base I feel truly invested in. I thoroughly relish the role I play in developing advice and guidance to clients on the challenges they face; ensuring the quality of the service they deliver to the public is never compromised in an environment of intense public scrutiny and demanding budgetary pressures.
Louise O'Sullivan | IBM
Louise O’Sullivan is a Senior Strategy Consultant at IBM. After completing her BA (Hons) in Business Management, MSc in Management and her first graduate role in finance (realising it wasn’t for her!) she joined the IBM graduate scheme. She grew and learnt quickly, achieving her promotions in quick succession. Now, she is primarily involved in leading and managing Business Change and Learning Development projects across many industries. Louise is incredibly passionate about what she does; consistently delivering value to clients, driving innovation and building trust and strong relationships with clients and colleagues alike.
Louise has always been dedicated to her development, and is now recognised as an SME in Learning, a competent Project Manager certified in both PRINCE2 and Agile, and highly skilled in Design Thinking, Learning Development and Change Management Methodologies.
Outside of her client work, Louise is also heavily involved in: developing and growing global IBM communities, mentoring peers and creating, implementing and driving the People Agenda across UKI accounts. Focusing her efforts on developing and promoting a people-centric and supportive environment for her colleagues to share knowledge, network, build skills, and find new opportunities in.
Hannah Proctor | Mercer Limited
I graduated from the University of West England with an honours degree in Law and Business Studies before joining Mercer in 2014. For the first two years of my career at Mercer, I worked within the health division, namely Mercer Marsh Benefits™ (“MMB”). This gave me direct exposure and experience of working in the UK Employee Benefits industry where my primary focus was to provide first class consultancy and support services to a corporate portfolio of clients.
Although I would now class myself as having all round knowledge of UK benefits, my particular areas of expertise were on UK contract based pensions (including Automatic Enrolment) as well as Group Protection benefits, such as Group Life and Group Income Protection.
Keen to progress within Mercer, I volunteered and undertook a number of additional projects/assignments to learn new technical and behavioural skills. This included ‘Reverse Mentoring’ with members of the Mercer UK leadership team, attending and actively participating in Sales Effectiveness training using the Miller Heiman sales methodology, leading on client meetings with more senior consultants and taking the lead on local office charity projects. I tried to make the most of these opportunities and was keen to receive feedback from colleagues at every opportunity.
As a result of the development work that I put in, I applied for a job within Mercer’s Multinational Client Group (“MCG”) in late 2015, was successful in that application and then joined the team in January 2016. As a member of this team, I provide International Consulting services to a number of household name multinational organisations. My daily work involves global benefits consulting, multi-national benefits co-ordination and salary/benefits benchmarking as well as a host of additional daily duties in order to provide a first class service to my clients.
In order to support my development within the MCG team, I am a student member of the International Employee Benefits Association (“IEBA”) and I am studying for the Diploma in International Employee Benefits.
Janina White | Governance Risk Compliance Global Limited
Janina (Yana) White is a British writer, couch and troubleshooter.
She has Master’s Degree in Journalism and Political Sciences as well as a qualification of a Chartered Company Secretary (a professional who works with companies documents) in addition to various linguistic and financial qualifications.
Janina is an author of political / business thriller-crime novels (series “True London crime novels”), to be filmed in 2018, series “England for dummies”, in Russian language, which you can read and buy here.
She also writes non-fiction books such as “10 laws of over-motivation, or how to become a superhero in 10 days”, “Poor Rich Mum”, “Manual for the Lord of the Soul”, “My profession – brainfixer”, “Life without stress” etc. which you can find and buy on www. yanawhite.com. On this website you can find more information on Janina’s coaching services.
Janina has also produced as a co-author a scientific paper with the Nova Science Publishers (New York), in English language, on newest assessment productivity tools in economics.
In 2016 Janina has published a book in Russian language “To buy or not to buy. Покупка недвижимости в Великобритании” which has become an instant bestseller and chosen by Waterstones to be sold via their website and in store.
In 2017 the book has been translated in Polish so now the Polish community can learn how to get on a property ladder.
As a troubleshooter Janina deals with complex legal and litigation issues which she sometimes develops as a feature stories in her books and other publications.
At the moment Janina also works with women from all backgrounds as a coach to help them to achieve their objectives sooner and more efficient way.
Rhianne Blockley | IBM
Rhianne studied Economics, Geography and Graphics at A Level, achieving 3 A grades resulting in her place at the University of Exeter to study Business Economics. Following her degree, she joined the Graduate Programme within IBM’s Talent and Engagement (T&E) Practice in October 2014.
Rhianne has worked with several high-profile clients in a variety of sectors. Her first being the Executive Assistant to the IBM Managing Director of one of IBM’s largest Industrial Accounts. She then went onto a Training Developer role for a public sector client, subsequently leading the training piece for a large Release, successfully designing, developing and delivering the Training, affirming her strengths of building relationships, attention to detail and managing multiple workstreams. Rhianne then moved onto a Financial Services client as the Communications & Engagement Lead where she continues to grow and develop her skills and capabilities, inspiring positive behaviours and improving the employee experience.
At present, Rhianne works as a Senior Business Consultant, and is currently working as the Change Enablement Workstream Lead for a Transformation Programme within a large Test Service. Rhianne sees her future in business transformation, engagement initiatives and development of people agendas.
Outside of work, Rhianne loves to travel and takes every opportunity she can to do so! She also enjoys socialising with her friends and family and going to the gym.
Xia Chen | Deloitte
Xia is a Junior Architect within the Deloitte Technology, Strategy & Architecture practice who has over 2 years’ of experience working in IT Architecture and Integration consulting in the UK. Her consulting experiences includes completing 1) an Architecture Analysis and Engagement Roadmap, 2) an Application Management Audit, 3) an Architecture Maturity Assessment, 4) an Enterprise Architecture Capability Setup, 5) Integration delivery experience on ESB platforms, and 6) Integration Centre of Excellence Setup. She has worked with clients from industries including Automotive, Public Sector, Retail, Travel & Leisure, Financial Services, and Pharmaceuticals.
Graduated with a MSc Management from Imperial College London and a BSc IT Management for Business from University of Manchester, Xia has been an active alumnus in volunteering activities contributing back to her alma maters.
Darryl Brissett-Dowe | Capita
In sixth form I studied Maths, Physics, Chemistry and French. I remember thinking “What am I going to do with this?” The answer came to me following an unfortunate accident involving my PlayStation and a hardwood floor. Console condemned, I opened it up to reveal the amazing, complex circuitry inside. I needed to know how it worked.
I applied to study for a BEng in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham- what really captured my attention was the management side of the course. I loved working with people – supporting them to succeed.
Post graduation I won an internship with the Environment Technology Centre at the University of Nottingham. We advised on using technological interventions to combat environmental challenges.
I went on to become a Lean Practitioner, working in both the public and private sector. Here I helped clients define value and transform their organisations with focus on value added activities. I was awarded a ‘Mark In Action’, recognition of my outstanding customer service.
I moved to Fujitsu, where I expanded my skill set, focusing on Enterprise Architecture, Agile Software Development, Business Analysis and Process Re-engineering projects. I am currently a Senior Consultant at Capita Transformation.
Throughout my career I have coached and mentored clients and colleagues; Key to this is to embrace and harness their differences – I have a passion for diversity that informs my approach to work and life.
I have helped to develop Women’s Business Networks, with the aim to discover and address why there is still such a large disparity between men and women in IT and Consulting. In one case, I was nominated as a ‘Role Model’, featuring on their newsletter and website. At Capita Transformation, I am on steering groups for Diversity & Inclusion and our Women’s network- Ellevation.
In my spare time I volunteer for, and am on the General Committee for, the British Science Association. I see this role as an opportunity to promote the sciences and technological industries as a safe space for people of all backgrounds, genders and socioeconomic statuses.
I currently sit on an advisory board for an All Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity & Inclusion in STEM. Here I get the opportunity to work with MPs and business leaders, review the Industrial Strategy, influence policy and create lasting change. Together, we are working towards shaping a STEM sector that truly represents the diversity, ingenuity and creativity of the British population.