Kanika Selvan | University of Sheffield
Kanika Selvan is Associate Director of Data and Technology at the University of Sheffield.
At the age of 33, the youngest member of her leadership team and a committed advocate for diversity through technology, her Transformation Director states that she is ‘the most talented Data and Technology leaders I have ever had the privilege of working with’.
Kanika is a strong believer that social change is best achieved through reshaping how technology is delivered and led in organisations. Inclusive Leadership practices are embedded in all that she does, whilst mindfully building a pipeline of talent, set up to challenge the norm. She often talks of herself as a 'professional disrupter', leaning into uncomfortable conversations and challenges to ensure the right outcome for her people, her technology, the HE institution she works for, feeding into the wider communities it serves.
Her role as AD of Data and Technology, means that she leads technical teams to deliver strategic change that will shape the experience for Students and Employees. Her career path speaks a story of courage and resilience, as a BAME, neurodiverse woman who has transitioned through; starting her own social enterprise, a graduate programme in Energy Retail, to Telecoms and finally into Higher Education. She has grown through 4 incremental promotions in the last 3 years, now managing teams of over 80, sizeable budgets and delivering releases of technical changes that cover both software and infrastructure in complex technical ecosystems. Kanika is a strong believer that her personal progression is directly correlated with her passion to grow talent and empower teams to think differently. Through restructures, she has built in roles to drive a pipeline for diverse talent, championed the adaptation of procurement processes to speak directly to the Diversity & inclusion agenda in recruitment, grown, recruited and trained female tech leaders internally and supporting them to grow into other organisations for further development. She is now celebrated as a public speaker, showcasing the practices diversity of experience and thought can bring to technical change.
As working from to her values is her core driver, her work to promote inclusivity and equity is also shown in the portfolio of other activities she does. She mentors for the Ada woman's network, Black Valley technical Career Accelerator Programme and Diversity in Housing, offering up personal time to connect and coach other women to succeed.
She supports the supports the Tech Training Organisation, Diverse and Equal, with strategic & commercial development, enabling them to deliver new initiatives to grow diverse tech talent. Speaking at their events, driving new commercial partnerships and shaping the vision for driving a shining new future for communities that have been historically marginalised to step into their power.
She is also a Non Executive director for Incommunities Housing Association, sitting as Group Board Member and Chair of Customer board, she takes on an additional role as Diversity & Inclusion Lead. This Social Housing provider of 25,000 homes, with a £100m turnover, she supports the board as both a strategic leader and embedding Inclusive leadership practices at a senior level. She regularly speaks out to support employee engagement with D&I and draws the link between the ability for the organisation to be successful & the need to understand their diverse Northern Bradford community base
Kanika has founded and led employee diversity networks. Her most notable, the founding of Npowers women's network (Moxie) The ambition to create an employee network that would increase representation of female staff, create a space for a discourse around gender related work inequality & support other diversity networks to encourage an intersectional approach. She chaired the set up and delivery of the employee network as it recruited representation across 8 sites, grew its membership to 300+, delivered diversity events, reported to the executive board, started a new engagement with HR professionals who quickly collaborated with us and quick following of LGBTQI+, Neurodiversity & BAME employee networks.
Karen Holden | A City Law Firm
I started ACLF 14 years ago as I wanted to create a law firm that wasn’t just about money.
Or status, but the clients and staff rapport & passion. It was difficult during a recession; starting a family & learning everything that comes with running a business . After a bumpy start , only a suitcase of files and 5k, the firm has grown, it has a reputable place in the market and is a listed legal 500 firm despite its size. We are a niche, dynamic, innovative firm punching above our weight. Our clients are exciting and loyal from autonomous cars and block chain to LGBTQ members to royal family members.
I have a great team who have been amazing but I essentially did take all the risks and did this myself from scratch. I was given freedom of the city in 2018 for my equality work which I am passionate and driven to continue. I have launched in 2022 a female Foumders growth program to support other female founders scale, maintain the growth plan, take in investment and have ongoing support.
Sam Cooper-Gray | HSBC
Sam Cooper-Gray is the Global Head of Market Strategy and Engagement for HSBC Business based in London. Sam was appointed to this role in 2019.
In this role, she is responsible for leading the strategy and staff and customer engagement for HSBC Business, supporting over 1.3 million customers in over 50 markets and territories to access the best products and services for their needs.
In addition to her responsibilities at HSBC Global Business Banking, Sam is the Global Sponsor for HSBC Change Makers, an employee led initiative to drive inclusion across the organisation and previous Global Co-Chair for HSBC BALANCE. HSBC BALANCE has over 50,000 members, 220 Executive Leader Ambassadors and 1,000 Advocates across 48 markets and is an employee resource group focussed on ending gender imbalance within the bank and across the industry. She is also a Board member for Women on the Wharf and The Financial Alliance for Women and a trustee for the Kent Community Foundation. She leads the Women of the Wharf Beyond Mentoring programme connecting over 750 mentors and mentees across 20 major firms base in London and a lead mentor for Business in the Community’s Race Campaign Mentoring programme. In addition to this Sam has experience as a non-exec director for a number of firms, advising on diversity and inclusion.
Sam was Named as one of the Top 50 Trailblazers in Gender Equality List in 2021 and winner of ‘We Are the City’s’ Top 100 Rising Stars Editor’s Choice award in 2020. She was also listed as one of the city’s Inspirational women by Brummell Magazine in 2019 and is a judge for the Inclusive Companies Awards.
Prior to taking on her current role, Sam was the Global Head of Learning for HSBC Commercial Banking, supporting the development of over 24,000 employees across 53 markets and has held senior positions within HSBC for over 21 years, including roles in Risk, Trade, Leadership and the Chief Operating Office.
Kirsty Moore | HSBC
Kirsty Moore is Managing Director, Regional Head London, HSBC Global Private Banking and has over 25 years of experience advising families on their wealth with a particular focus on entrepreneurs and wealth being realised from private companies.
Her team help support entrepreneurs manage their wealth today and for future generations by providing personalised financial planning and investment advice.
Kirsty is someone who likes to get things done, a mum and an equality champion. She is the Chair of the Private Banks UK Engagement Forum which encourages and empowers staff to make a difference by changing people's lives for the better through volunteering charity work and well being. She also sponsors and leads HSBC Private Banking UK’s mentoring programme, which focuses on gender and ethnicity and last year was extended to offer reverse mentoring as well as traditional mentoring. Over 500 participants have taken part in the programme since its inception, providing a crucial career development resource within the business and supporting diversity of talent.
Marie Hemingway | Speak Out Revolution
Marie is the founder and CTO of the award winning Not-For-Profit Speak Out Revolution, bringing strategic insights through innovative technology to individuals and organisations so that they might optimally drive efforts to eradicate workplace inequality.
As a Physicist, Marie has spent her career working in industries where women are systematically excluded and has tirelessly supported efforts within her professional and voluntary pursuits to remove barriers for women.
Alongside her voluntary work with Speak Out Revolution, Marie supports the UK Defence Enterprise to improve their strategic investment decision making as a Principal Consultant within Atkins. Marie also sits on the board for the Women's Infrastructure Network, an organisation supporting women working across infrastructure industry sectors to network, exchange ideas, and experience and help shape the infrastructure agenda.
Avye Couloute | Girls Into Coding
Avye, a 14-year-old student is a multi-award-winning tech maker, social entrepreneur, female tech advocate, workshop leader, and the founder of Girls Into Coding.
She is aware of the gender imbalance in Stem education & occupations and works tirelessly to create Tech opportunities for young people.
After observing most attendees at her workshops were boys, she was determined to get more girls into Tech. Three years ago, she founded Girls Into Coding (GIC) - a program of free events where girls aged 10-14 have an opportunity to explore coding, physical computing & robotics. She reaches out to female role models in STEM, inviting them to give talks at these events.
Avye’s endeavors have allowed her to emerge as a visible female role model. She demonstrates her Tech projects to the public including international events, leads regular tech workshops, writes blogs, has had several articles which highlight & celebrate her work in tech, video presentations, won Tech competitions, has fundraised to supply girls with physical computing kits & books, designs / develops & makes robotic kits used at her events.
She is on a mission to engage at least 1000 girls per year with hands-on workshops, including robotics, coding, physical computing, 3D printing, 3D Design & more.
During Covid 19 she launched a virtual version of GIC and is also was able to successfully deliver her robotics workshop online to girls, using kits that she designs and posts to their homes. She is now delivering her program both virtually and in person.
She advocates for diversity in the tech sector and believes you are never too young for your ideas to have value.
She wants all girls to feel empowered to access opportunities to learn how to code, develop their making and digital skills regardless of where they come from.
Siobhan Duncan | Robotical
Everyone in my family - and not just my immediate family - is either an engineer or a musician.
My dad’s a software engineer, my uncle a composer who plays tuba for an orchestra, my brother and sister are both in computing and AI and so it goes on. I’m definitely cut from the same cloth; I have a passion for both.
Music was the path I followed initially, applying to RSAMD (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow, believing it a total long-shot, but being accepted onto the programme. It was too good an opportunity to miss and I spent an amazing two years in Glasgow, studying and gigging – I got to perform at both Edinburgh and Glasgow Jazz festivals during this time. I was torn however. I missed engineering and was envious of friends who had pursued sciences at university. I decided it was time to chase my other dream.
I’d always loved Lego, building things and modifying them – fancied myself an inventor – and, being a big Sci-Fi enthusiast, was fascinated by robots. I have my two high school Physics teachers to thank for fostering in me a deep interest in STEM. They encouraged me to apply for a regional Space School programme. It was heavily competed and about 30 pupils from across the Highlands and Islands were accepted onto the first round. I was lucky enough to be one of them, which meant I got to meet real astronauts. We were tasked to invent something functional for astronauts to use in a space station. Mine was a form of toolbelt and it got me through to the next round, which was a residential camp in Edinburgh. I was 15 at the time and had an absolute blast. It was my first experience of programming robots and fuelled my enthusiasm for robotics.
After finishing up at RSAMD I got a conditional offer from Heriot-Watt University (I needed to resit my Maths and Physics Highers as they have a three-year shelf-life!) and then started out on a Combined Studies degree before settling on a BEng in Computing and Electronics. I set my sights on the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics for a MRes/PhD programme but, to guarantee myself a place, I had to get a First. Only twelve students were admitted that year, two women - and I was one of them.
A career highlight to date was winning an award at the ACM symposium on Applied Computing Conference, a student research competition. I was also the only woman that made it to the final five which made it all the sweeter when I won.
I am passionate about community outreach, particularly encouraging young girls to consider a career in STEM. I regularly visit schools, present at events and do my best to inspire the next generation of female engineers and roboticists by being a very visible (and vocal!) cheerleader and role model.
Before starting my MRes/PhD, I worked for an app development company for a year but first came across Robotical in 2017 when working at the Edinburgh Science Festival. We attended a training day at their office and I connected immediately with the team and Marty the Robot. I kept up to date with company developments and when I spotted a recruitment ad for a Lead Developer, I had to throw my hat into the ring. I feel so privileged to have landed my dream job. I had always wanted to go into EdTech and create a robot that would help engage young kids in STEM and with Robotical, I get to do just that!
Harshitha Shivakumar | IBM
Enthusiastic and passionate about technology, Harshitha has won several awards for being a role model in the tech industry due to her exceptional technical expertise, strong leadership skills, continuous innovation, outstanding contribution as a strong advocate for encouraging more women into technology, mentorship for early professionals and for being a Diversity Champion at IBM.
After growing up in India, Harshitha moved to the UK and gained a First class MEng Computer Science and Software Engineering degree from the University of Birmingham. During her University course, she did a Placement Year at IBM as a Technical Support Analyst. Her outstanding all-round performance during her Placement year made her a finalist for several National Awards.
Harshitha was also the only student from her cohort to receive appreciation from the University’s Vice Chancellor at the Graduation ceremony for her academic excellence and for being a role-model to her peers. After graduating from University in 2019, Harshitha returned to IBM as a Graduate Technical Consultant. As a Consultant, she has taken on diverse technical roles on a variety of projects and has helped achieve business transformation for clients primarily in the Distribution and Public Sector. Harshitha is currently a QA Lead for a large team on a critical customs transformation project for a prestigious client in the Public Sector and is the youngest person to ever take on this role on her team.
Akua Opong | London Stock Exchange Group
Akua is an experienced IT and Service Management professional having worked in the financial service for over 6 years, currently at London Stock Exchange Group.
Her project work and key deliverables include overseeing and maintaining the company hardware and software systems, resolving technical issues acting as an escalation point for the first line support team through the ITIL framework. This involves onboarding staff, providing IT inductions, audio/video support, account migrations, laptop deployments and supporting hybrid working as part of the return to office project.
Outside of her main role, Akua is a keen diversity and inclusion advocate, a mental health champion Community Lead for the UK Charity Committee and LSEG’s Women’s Inspired Network. She is passionate about raising the profile of women in STEM, as a Cajigo Mentor and STEM Ambassador.
Akua is a neurodiversity advocate (self identifies as Dyslexic and has ADD), a fundraiser, Board Advisory Member for Neurodiversity in Business plus a charity volunteer and a keen sports volunteer for Netball England and British Athletics. She is an aspiring humanitarian and working towards becoming a Trustee.
She has featured in Investment Week, Forbes, provided STEM career talk for various educational institutions and been a panellist for One Tech World conference 2021 discussing Harnessing Neurodiversity in Tech. In 2021, Akua also featured in the Tech London Advocates the Voices in the shadows book, Awarded Highly Commended for Role Model of the Year: Financial Services at Women in Tech Excellence 2021 and is a TechWomen100 2021 winner through WeAreTheCity.
Akua is an experienced IT and Service Management professional having worked in the financial service for over 6 years, currently at London Stock Exchange Group. She has featured in Investment Week, Forbes, provided STEM career talk at for various educational institutions and been a panellist for One Tech World conference 2021 discussing Harnessing Neurodiversity in Tech.
Ria Johal | Amazon
Ria is a Program Manager for Amazon, joining the company in 2019 after starting her career in Investment Banking.
In her role she has worked on several high profile partnerships across the platform, including supporting The Royal British Legion fulfilling their 2021 Poppy Appeal through Amazon.co.uk, earning her a reputation as a trusted high-performer and a safe pair of hands. She also leverages her expertise to drive positive action across the wider business and manages multiple programs; including mechanisms for inclusive meetings and Amazon’s Reverse Mentoring Program, which Ria designed to give junior employees a path to share their unique lived experiences with senior leaders and facilitate authentic conversation outside of employees perspective circles. She has now scaled the program to 6 other countries and runs across all sectors within Amazon.
She is also currently the UK Chair of Amazon’s People With Disabilities Affinity Group. In this role, Ria leads to influence business goals across EMEA and works to drive change internally through awareness and education, improving internal resources for employees and devising strategies to increase inclusivity for Amazon products. She frequently partners with student programs and other affinity groups to participate in panels and share a host of knowledge; ranging from advising students with disabilities how to transition from an educational into a professional setting, accessing workplace adjustments, advocating for Carers rights and balancing chronic health conditions with career progression.
Ria is passionate about giving back to the external community too. Having studied Electronic Engineering at University, she draws on her expertise and experiences to advocate for marginalised groups studying and working within STEM. She volunteers at her local library to run coding clubs for children, founded her own mentor circles to support 50+ young people as they forge their own career paths within Tech and she is an Ambassador and Mentor for Stemettes, a social enterprise encouraging girls and non-binary to understand and consider STEAM. She also sits on the Mentoring Steering Committee for the charity GroceryAid and is a partner for Psalt, a NFPO with Inclusion at its heart, offering opportunities and training to young Black people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
A true trailblazer and rising star, Ria works tirelessly to be a force for good and ensure everyone feels empowered to be their authentic selves.