Rising Star Winners 2016

Sarah’s career began at LV= as an administration assistant, having graduated from Reading University with a degree in English Literature in 2008.

Swiftly gaining a reputation for energy, enthusiasm and a drive to succeed, Sarah naturally developed within analytical and risk management roles; building her expertise whilst becoming an accomplished people leader. Sarah is passionate about relationship building, problem solving and troubleshooting, and is dedicated to helping teams and individuals improve their processes and ways of working.

Recognised as a high potential, talented individual, Sarah was selected for a 2 year fast-track development programme with personal sponsorship from the Life Executive team in 2013. Having excelled on the programme, Sarah progressed into her current position in 2015 as Senior Risk Business Partner supporting the Protection management team.

During this time, Sarah also co-founded the first women’s network at LV= to help women achieve their full potential and drive postive cultural change as part of the D&I agenda.

Outside of work, Sarah is excited to be planning her wedding in December and lives with her fiancé and step-daughter in Poole.

I have worked for the NSPCC for nine year’s, I started as their Receptionist and have worked my way up to the Facilities Manager. I absolutely love what I do and have the added bonus of bundles of job satisfaction to be able to go home at the end of every day knowing you made a difference. One of my proudest achievements at the NSPCC was to set up the apprenticeship scheme, working along side another Charity called City Gateway who work with YP from challenging backgrounds. I have committed 2 years to each apprentice, I work with them on all levels guiding/mentoring them through their apprenticeship and supporting them through some difficult personal situations. I am now reaping the rewards as I watch them leave the NSPCC into full time employment having turned their life around. I also volunteer for Childline after work as a Children’s telephone counsellor it’s a total honour to be a part of these young people’s lives.

I have worked with Interserve for over eigth years and moved from a trainee engineer to a senior site manager running one of Interserve’s flagship projects for 2015, Factory 2050 in Sheffield. Whilst working full time at Interserve, I completed my degree: Construction Management(BSc) where I won Leeds Metropolitan University student of the year, and a training trust award with Interserve for my continued education whilst working.  In 2015 I was also highly commended as Employee of the Year for Interserve Construction and was part of the successful ‘Team of the Year’ for works at Factory 2050 for Interserve plc.  I am a board director for the Interserve Employee Foundation and most importantly a mother to my 9 year old daughter who has been a part of my life throughout all of my studies and work.

Sophie Kimber graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2010 before working in various administration roles. She started at ISS UK Ltd in January 2013 where her career in Procurement began. Sophie is studying towards her MCIPS qualifications of which she has achieved her Diploma and is 4/5 through the Advanced Diploma. Sophie is a motivated and ambitious individual continuously striving for career progression which is evident through 2 promotions in the last 3 years. Sophie has a positive and adaptable approach to work with a range of diverse skills, she yearns success and is keen to learn, develop new expertise and has the ability to work assertively and professionally.

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.

Sarah has been an Officer Cadet in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) for 2.5 years and is currently undertaking the final phase of her training at sea before sitting her oral board at the end of the year.

In addition to representing the RFA in both the RN COMPASS and Naval Servicewomen committees, she regularly writes articles for Nautilus International, the Defence Intranet and the charity Human Rights at Sea.

Sarah is passionate about diversity and inclusion and is keen to improve the visibility of the RFA within the MOD and the RN, bringing the specific issues that the LGBT and female RFA personnel face at sea to the forefront. In her spare time Sarah volunteers as a Special Constable in the North West of England.

I grew up on Guernsey and at 19 I decided to join the Royal Navy. I joined to become a pilot and it took almost four years of training to become qualified as a frontline helicopter pilot. I joined the Commando Helicopter Force and I have been fortunate to fly all over the world; Norway, California, Afghanistan, Jordan, and all over Europe. I would say I’m one of a handful of female pilots in the Navy, but I can’t say it’s ever effected my progression, I’m a firm believer that you get out what you put in and hard work always pays dividends. I have been in the Royal Navy for over 8 years now and I am excited to see what further opportunities the Navy will offer. In my spare time I enjoy all things active; wakeboarding, snowboarding, cycling, mountain biking and running.

Squadron Leader Sherry McBain is an RAF Nursing Officer and a team leader on the Critical Care Air Support Team (CCAST). She repatriates critically ill or injured patients from global locations and she specialises in the care and safe transfer of patients with brain injuries. McBain holds the position of co-deputy chair of the RAF LGBT FREEDOM Network. In this voluntary role she is passionate and focused on improving the lived experience for the RAF LGBT community and educating the wider RAF about these challenges A driven, passionate and inspiring woman, she strives to be a visible role model to women and the LGBT community within and external to defence. McBain is also a school role model for two charities, Stonewall and Diversity Role Models.

Originally from Blackpool, Sophie came to London to study French and Linguistics at Queen Mary, University of London. After graduating, Sophie was elected Vice President Education and Welfare 2010-11 and President 2011-12 of Queen Mary Students’ Union, representing 16,000 students.

She also served on the National Union of Students’ National Executive Committee as the Higher Education representative. Since then she has worked at Disneyland Paris, at Hotcourses supporting young people going into Higher Education and worked on a Blackpool Council funded programme supporting young, homeless and NEET 16-19 year old women.

She currently works for Free The Children and WE Day as Manager of Speakers and Facilitators, the WE Schools delivery team. Sophie is also an alumna of UpRising and PwC’s leadership programmes and volunteers as a governor at Thornton Heath Nursery School.

Sophie is passionate about equality, young people and the transformative power of education.

As the manager of the new Smart Works centre in West London, it is my job, and my privilege, to bring our amazing Smart Works service to more women who need our help to succeed at interview and get their lives back on track.  Over the last year, I am proud to say that I have increased the number of appointments we’ve delivered by 41%, from 545 to 770, recruited and managed over 30 volunteers to deliver our service, who have together clocked up over 2000 hours of service.  Most importantly, over one in two, 59%, of the women who came to see us in West London went on to succeed at their job interview.

A visit to Smart Works takes just two hours, and during that time each woman receives a high-quality outfit, theirs to keep, and one to one coaching tailored to that upcoming interview.  Many of the women that walk through our doors have been unemployed for years.  We see single mothers with no support, women with physical and mental disabilities and ex-prisoners.  They frequently arrive nervous and feel daunted by the prospect of interview however they always leave confident, charged and lifted by the support they receive.  At Smart Works we believe every woman has many wonderful talents they can offer the world, what they lack is confidence.  My role is to assist them in unlocking their confidence so that they can showcase their skills and shine in their interview.

I have made it my mission to reach out to as many women as possible and welcome them through the Smart Works doors.  This meant rapidly building relationships with people who could refer, the Job Centres, Work Programme providers and other charities working to support women back into employment.  It has also meant building a skilled and reliable network of volunteers who could deliver an impeccable service to the women we see.  It also meant building a support network in the local community and spreading the word.

It has been a fantastic year for me and for Smart Works in West London and I am looking forward to building on this in the year ahead.

Frah is professionally experienced Youth and Community worker who works extensively with young people and communities in the voluntary and statutory sectors as a young volunteer and qualified youth & community worker.

Frah has been working for the YMCA  for over 6 years  and has also been part of a programme called (Roots for Reconciliation) which is YMCA Europe’s initiative for stronger youth activism towards peaceful transformation of conflicts in Europe, South Caucasus and the Balkans especially considered  and was awarded as The Young Leader of the year ‘Youth Matters Awards 2015 England’.

Whilst working with the YMCA Frah has also been engaged as a Trainer and Peace Advocate for a number of organisations and national Government working groups e.g ‘Youth Spirit’ which is a youth work unit in Jordan Working on gender equality & sustainable development), which works in partnership with European Youth Foundation throughout the ‘middle east’ to strengthen equality for all in order to respond to the needs of the most disadvantaged young people.

Charlotte at just 24 years of age has founded two companies, Inkpact and OR. She was described in Gadgette as, “ a motivational machine that we have no doubt will be the UK’s next Richard Branson.” She was named this year as one of the Maserati100 and listed as the top 19 young entrepreneurs to watch in 2016 by Startups.

Founded by Charlotte in 2015 Inkpact offers genuinely handwritten communication solutions that enables clients to more effectively attract, engage and retain customers. In the age of impersonal digital communication emails and online marketing are easily ignored but send someone a personalised, handwritten message and you will win their attention.  With Inkpact’s software large volumes of personalised messages are just a click away.

The best bit, each message written gives a mother, ex convict, a vulnerable young women or an elderly person a way to move their lives forward.

Charlotte is also a speaker, an advisor to social enterprises, a huge supporter of women in tech and director of a £50k fund to accelerate student start-ups

Georgie Bullen is a visually impaired GB Paralympian in the sport of Goalball and the Director/Founder of Team Insight. Georgie has been severely visually impaired since the age of five, but has never allowed her disability to stand in the way of doing whatever she wanted, however after the Paralympics the barrier of getting a job seemed almost impossible to overcome as she discovered that over 66% of visually impaired people of working age were unemployed. It was at this point that Georgie decided she needed to be proactive in changing employers perspectives on blind people. So, Georgie chose to combine her passion for Goalball with her determination to raise visual impairment awareness to launch Team Insight. Team Insight delivers thrilling team building and visual impairment awareness training events through the Paralympic sport of Goalball, as well as other blindfolded activities. It is a high impact experience which puts its participants in the shoes of blind people whilst testing the traditional team building aspects of communication, trust and team work. Since its launch, Team Insight has won numerous awards, gained the endorsement of the RNIB and gained clients such as O2, Atos and Great Northern Rail. Team Insight has also now begun to go into schools to help young people learn about visual impairment.

Phoebe Gormley is a 22 year old entrepreneur and owner of the first tailor exclusively for women in the history of Savile Row; Gormley & Gamble. Having interned on the Row and Jermyn Street from a young age, tailoring was always a passion of Phoebe’s. She soon began to realise that there was a gap in the market for bespoke womenswear; elegant, intelligent designs of Savile Row quality and fit. And so she took a ‘Gamble’ – quitting university and using what would have been her final year’s tuition fees to start her own business. She made her first sale in October 2014, from a small office in the City, and can now be founded at 13 Savile Row. Recent accolades include wins at the Women of the Future and Great British Entrepreneur Awards. G&G also benefits from the continued support of The Prince’s Trust and MassChallenge.

Jamie Tolentino-Deludet currently works at Investec Asset Management’s London office within the Central Marketing team. She takes care of the web and development needs of IAM’s main website globally as well as SEO, PPC, UX and analytics. Previously, she was responsible for digital campaigns in the Americas, Europe, Australian and Asian regions. She blogs on the Huffington Post UK and writes for The Next Web as well as Adobo Magazine. Previous roles include being an Innovation Strategist and Junior Engage Strategist at Quirk London after completing a BSc Psychology at University College London (UCL).

In 2012 Alison was instrumental in setting up the first corporate volunteering programme at Hermes Investment Management, whilst continuing in her role as support to the European Equities team. She has worked tirelessly since to find a range of volunteering opportunities for Hermes staff within the local community and in September 2015 she fulfilled her ambition to become Hermes’ first dedicated Corporate Citizenship Programme Manager, overseeing all CSR activity within the organisation. As well as Community Volunteering, this includes Diversity and Inclusion, Environment, Staff Social Events and the Hermes Charity of the Year. Alongside her work within Corporate Citizenship, Alison is currently working with Blueprint for Better Business and BiTC to further expand Hermes’ ongoing commitment to Corporate Responsibility.

Alison’s passion to drive community engagement stems in part from the work of her late mother, who was a highly respected Race Equality Campaigner and a true inspiration to Alison.

Alison graduated in French from Newcastle University and lived and worked in Luxembourg for 5 years before moving to London.

I have been working at Saunderson House for eight and a half years, and thoroughly enjoy my role here. I’m encouraged to grow and help develop others around, which I find extremely rewarding. I’m extremely motivated to succeed but also to help others do so and I believe that you cannot achieve success without others supporting and helping you.

Katie joined Standard Life Investments in July 2011 as an analyst providing research across various asset classes. In October 2012 Katie took over as deputy Fund Manager on the MyFolio Range and responsibility for a large segregated client. Prior to joining SLI, Katie was part of the Multi-Manager team at Gartmore. She joined Gartmore from Kleinwort Benson in 2007 where she was a private client portfolio manager and deputy fund of funds manager. Katie started her career at Heartwood Wealth in 2000 as a trainee portfolio manager. She holds a BSc in Economics and Management with German from Southampton University, the Securities Institute Diploma and the IMC.

I have worked in informal learning since the age of 16. I discovered my passion lay in increasing opportunities for young people to enable them to flourish.

Over the last six years I have been working with Ignite!, working to increase young people’s and their families engagement and access to S.T.E.M education. Leading on developing 3-2-1-Ignition* one of UK’s the first Science Pop Up Shops. Following which I developed Community Curiosity Labs – spaces where young people science learning is driven by questions in some of the hardest to reach areas of Nottingham.

Alongside my work with Ignite! I have worked on a range of other initiatives including running workshops in Dubai and Beirut with charity Spark and Mettle and the British Counci to help build soft skills in over 300 young people.

I am a trustee at young people’s creative learning agency T.M.C and on the advisory board of Dragon Breath Theatre.

For the past eleven years I have been working and teaching Fine Art Photography in the UK. Originally from Dallas, Texas, I came to the UK to start a new life in education and art and design. In the States, I have previously taught History, Journalism, and Photojournalism as well as working in the publishing industry for Harper Collins and Macmillan. Teaching and running a boarding house of fifty- one girls in one of the finest academic institutions in England has provided me the insight needed to deliver outstanding pastoral care as well as inspirational teaching. I believe a young person’s successful academic and creative arts achievements require a solid foundation of nurtured support and care. My personal educational philosophy is to never stop learning and it is my intention to empower young people to use the visual and creative arts as a tool for lifelong learning and personal expression.

Rupal has over a decade of experience in financial services strategy consulting, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Oliver Wyman’s EMEA Insurance Practice.

Rupal’s current role is Program Manager of OW’s Social Impact team which takes a capabilities-based approach. She is passionate about women’s financial inclusion where she believes OW is uniquely well placed to create impact and is developing this theme to be published in 2016.

Rupal co-leads OW’s Women’s Network globally across 30+ offices. Recent activity has included launching cross-company mentoring, parental coaching and presenting best-practice gender diversity initiatives to support the broader industry.

Rupal is a strategic advisor to her Family’s charitable foundation, focused on women and girls. She is co-director of the Women-for-Change network founded to connect City leaders passionate about using their skills, resources and networks with tangible ways to create social impact.

Rupal is an executive advisor to a UK-based executive search firm.

Lauren is a Media Relations Manager for Aviva UK Life and Deputy Chair of Aviva Pride, Aviva’s LGBT Network. Lauren joined Aviva on a graduate scheme, undertaking four roles across the business in two years. In addition to her day job, Lauren is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, an active member of Aviva Pride and Aviva’s Women’s Network, as well as the founder of the LGBT Insurance Network in Yorkshire.

After six years of working with NGO’s to advance human rights, I joined Accenture in 2015. Since then, I have worked with senior government officials across several departments to drive forward our clients’ transformation agendas.

Currently, I am leading the UK government’s first implementation of the Scaled Agile Framework; a radical delivery lifecycle redesign which will transform the operational model of a 180 person programme.

Alongside my primary role, I am also defining the requirements to re-engineer a government system which raises £34bn in revenue for the Exchequer. I love the challenges that consulting brings, and am dedicated to driving innovation throughout our client’s business.

Beyond my core client role, I am proud to champion the agenda for women and inclusion and diversity in the workplace; steering mentoring schemes to proactively develop opportunities for my colleagues across the company, and leading the Accent on Enablement team in Health & Public Service. Outside of Accenture, I continue to support the child rights NGO I founded as an active Trustee.

I am a Bid Manager in the Integrated Transport Division of Mott MacDonald. I have worked in the Company for ten years starting in a technical transport planning role and moving into project management and business development over the years. In my current role I manage and support a variety of bids across the division ranging from international airport developments to local UK based public transport schemes.

I am the co-chair and founder of Advance, Mott MacDonald’s UK Equality, Diversity and Inclusion network. The network was launched in 2014 and covers all areas of EDI in the UK such as Gender, Race, LGBT, Disability, Age and Parents & Carers. As operation lead in the network I work with the strategic committee, 10 regional champions and staff to deliver its aims and objectives.

Helen is a programme management specialist at PwC working in the Industrial Products industry sector.  She has overseen significant growth of a programme management team in this sector since joining PwC in 2010.

She co-founded PwC’s LGBT employee network, GLEE@PwC, sits on its leadership team. She launched GLEE@PwC Foundation which brings together all the work the network does for the community. She acts as a visible lesbian role model in the organisation as someone from Northern Ireland, she has been most proud of helping to launch GLEE@PwC in Northern and the Republic of Ireland over the last 12 months.

Jennifer is a Business Consultant at ZS, focused on Marketing and Customer Insights (CI). Since starting in 2009, she has been promoted three times, taking on leadership roles in pushing innovation in the ZS European Marketing & CI practice area and managing this work for the largest client in Europe. Prior to ZS, Jennifer worked in marketing & communications strategy for healthcare and medical device firms.

Jennifer’s passion is in human behaviour and psychology, which naturally lead to her interest in marketing. She received an MSc in Organizational Behavior and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics, and a BA in Economics from the University of New Hampshire.

While at ZS, Jennifer has actively worked to support junior women, driving the London Women’s Leadership Initiative, aimed at attracting, retaining and promoting women to take on leadership roles. She has led the development of a programme geared at empowering women and raising organisational about the benefits, challenges and steps to achieving diversity.

Outside of working, Jennifer has a passion for travel, previously living in Dublin, Madrid and New Zealand before moving to London nine years ago. Jennifer is a certified yoga instructor, Pilates enthusiast and occasional marathon runner.