Kirstin Kadé | Product Manager | ZOE
As a Registered Associate Nutritionist (ANutr), I have dedicated my career to improving human health through nutrition using technology.
My background in this field has been diverse, from working on the world's largest in-depth study of nutrition and the gut microbiome to date (PREDICT), to being involved in the launch of the ZOE COVID Study app, which has become the world's biggest app-based community epidemiological study into COVID-19.
I am currently working as a Product Manager at ZOE, a personalised nutrition company on a mission to improve the health of millions. In this role, I am responsible for the development and launch of ZOE's core nutrition product.
I bring a unique perspective to this role, having worked across many different areas in marketing and communications and a background in nutrition science.
As a member of the team at ZOE, I am excited to be part of an organisation that is making a real difference in people's lives through personalised nutrition. I am passionate about the work we do and am committed to developing innovative and effective products that help people achieve optimal health.
Theresa Yurkewich Hoffmann | Policy & sustainability lead specialist | Microsoft
I am a global advisor in technology, working at Microsoft to help businesses envision innovation and navigate regulation – everything from cloud technologies to carbon tracking.
I have a JD and a BA, and completed innovation programmes through Cambridge and Oxford. I have lived in Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK.
I started my career path as a lawyer working in civil litigation , where I wrote several articles on the intersection of technology and regulation. After several years, I pivoted careers and began working as an account director in public affairs, specialising in fintech and other tech start-ups. It was here that I gained global exposure to clients across EMEA including Germany, the UK, Nigeria, and South Africa. I also started advising the OECD’s public governance unit on court modernisation and digitalisation projects, combining my legal background with my technology experience to support people-centred justice. Over the last few years, I’ve spent my career working at the centre of policy and innovation – both for the City of London Corporation (in delivering the first Digital Sandbox as well as our lawtech programs), and now, at Microsoft as a regulatory and sustainability specialist. I am passionate about current events and thinking about how we can solve global challenges in a practical way.
Outside of my career, I enjoy being active in my communities. I've been a Global Shaper, a board member of Jus Gentium, a Young Diplomats of Canada delegate, and a mentor for those looking to enter the technology space.
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.
Anne Okafor | Planner | Cruden Building (Scotland)
With a hospitality, retail and construction background, I have long been passionate about maximising the opportunities open to the next generation, particularly within the STEM industries and recognise through personal experience, that maths anxiety is real.
It is my mission to channel this passion and help to bridge the fear and anxiety gap that often exists between education and the everyday use of maths, and to ignite the passion for a world beyond the classroom.
Despite not achieving grades in maths from school, I took up higher education and graduated in 2019 with a First-Class Honours Degree in Construction Management, achieving Chartered Status in 2022, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Quality Management in 2022.
I collaborate widely with education and industry and have been a STEM ambassador since 2021, helping to bring STEM subjects to life and demonstrate the value of them in life and careers.
Currently working as a Construction Planner with the Cruden Group (Scotland), there were so many transferable skills from my earlier career path that made this transition relatively easy once I had qualified. I want to share these.
In my free time, this is spent in STEM activities inspiring the next generation of construction professionals, along with trying to alleviate maths anxiety in children. I aim to transform construction career thinking to guide and encourage people to take steps to gain an edge over the competition, passing on essential tips, motivation and the right kind of support to stay at the top of their game.
Samantha Hunt | Engineering Infrastructure Manager | In-Space Missions Ltd
For the first 10 years of my career, I worked for two electronic manufacturing sub-contractors, responsibilities included management of 20 employees working 3 split shifts, 4 pick and place machines, production planning, chasing materials, procedure implementation, commissioning new equipment, extending production areas, 1 off prototypes to high volume assemblies.
During the mid-90’s headhunted by McLaren Electronics, led to promotion within 6 months to Electronics Production Manager, oversight of assemblies; engine and gearbox control units, sensors, data monitoring systems, for the McLaren racing team, F1 road cars and racing teams throughout the motor sports industry, I successfully completed the planning, floor layouts and budgeting for the electronics manufacturing production line at the McLaren headquarters “Paragon”.
The next 14 years I committed to Lumi, the role was varied and ultimately led to Head of Global Business Services, responsibilities including running the Head Office with 2 office moves, supported CRM and financial system implementation, procedure implementation and continual management, assets management, and H&S regulations, managing a team supplying parts, repairs, and services to 11 operating companies worldwide, managing the manufacture of 30K bespoke interactive handsets, design to product delivery, sourcing sub-assemblies and procurement of parts from around the world.
In January 2022 I joined In-Space Missions as Quality Manager, this was a new challenge understanding the Aerospace industry, with promotion in September my responsibilities increased to include Quality, IT and Cyber Security, alongside managing and supporting the Avionics Team, implementing tools, procedures, and processes across the Engineering Department, for a more efficient environment.
Victoria Ollerenshaw | Contracts Support and Spares Manager | Carter Synergy Ltd
Working for Carter Synergy Ltd for 15+ years, I am the Contracts Support and Spares Manager for the Contracting Division.
I am a third-generation employee; my father, uncle and grandmother all had long careers with the Group. It's been in my family all my life! I am passionate about STEM, the RACHP Industry and ensuring inclusivity. I excelled at STEM subjects during school; 6 out of the 14 GCSEs I obtained were in STEM subjects. By being a STEM Ambassador, I strive to inspire the engineers, scientists, innovators, and inventors of the future.
As well as my role within Carter Synergy Ltd and being a STEM Ambassador, I am also a STEMazing woman and mom of two. Alongside this, I always find the time to enrich and develop myself; in 2022, I completed 18 months of study to achieve a Level 4 NVQ in Business Administration and Management as well as obtaining a distinction in a HVAC Technician Course. I regularly enrol in industry-related courses to further my knowledge and skills.
My goal has always been to challenge the status quo; helping to rebrand the RACHP industry and bring about meaningful change by promoting and improving diversity and inclusion across the board. My efforts are predominantly focused on being a Visible Role Model, celebrating the successes of women in STEM fields while engaging with the next generation. This has led to me winning STEM Ambassador Awards and the Diversity and Inclusion Award at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards 2022.
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.
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.
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
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.