2023 SHORTLIST

 

Advocate of the Year

A woman working in tech who has gone out of her way to support the cause of getting more women and diverse groups of people into the industry in the last 2-years. As well as examining the initiatives the candidates has pioneered to inspire women and diverse talent to succeed in tech, judges will also assess their leadership, evidence of growth and their work’s impact on, and integration with, the business. 

Jeanene Williams, IT Vision Australia    

Jenny Tan, ISACA SG Chapter    

Jill Tang, Ladies Who Tech     

Joy Chen, GHD Digital    

Michelle Mannering, GitHub    

Neha Agarwal, Citibank    

Smita Jamalamadaka, HSBC Technology India   

Sonia Vatcher, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia    

Subashini Lenainnagamage, Pearson Sri Lanka     

Swati Mohan, NatWest Group  

Ally of the Year 

A senior figure who has gone out of their way to improve the diversity levels within IT, within the organisation and/or in the wider community. Successful nominations must provide case studies or examples of how the candidate has gone out of their way, or strategically prioritised, getting more diversity of talent into IT and/or supporting them in their careers, and how they intend to continue their work and support.

Jerome Bourgeon, Credit Agricole CIB

Maqsood Syed, JLL Singapore    

Richard Lord, HSBC Hong Kong

CI/ TO of the Year

A chief information / technology / operational officer or director / head of who has demonstrated positive impact on the company’s top line and driven new customer value through the innovative use of technology. Candidates will include examples of strong leadership and how they have employed a technology strategy to enhance product development and improve the service the company provides to customers. Judges will also assess how well ingrained this senior leader is in the business and how she has helped put technology at the heart of the business, driving strong commercial results in the process. 

Daisy Santosa, Software AG Singapore     

Kedi Wu, Chevron    

Neelima Sharma, ESL Steel Limited Vedanta     

Prachi Shah, Syncron    

Rucha Nanavati, Mahindra Group     

SathiDevi S Raj, Randstad India Pvt Ltd    

Shui-Min Tan, NUS Information Technology 

Data Leader of the Year

A woman IT, technology or business leader who has demonstrated successful results in data technology in the last 2-years. This could include demonstrations of successfully deploying data technologies; improving how a company uses or deals with data; delivering effective data strategies; enhancing decision-making with data; contributions to a growth/continuity plan; and/or furthering knowledge, awareness and education around data and related technologies.    

Aleena O’Neill, Newcastle Permanent Building Society    

Datin Habsah Bt. Nordin​, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas)     

Ekta Gupta, MatchMove Pay Pte Ltd     

Geraldine Wong, GXS Bank     

Manisha Banthia, Fiserv India Pvt Ltd     

Maryam Maqbool, Meezan Bank Ltd     

Meadha Batra, Publicis Sapient   

Mona Agarwal, Pearson Global Business Services     

Radhika Rathi, Infocepts     

Winne Chen, HSBC China 

DEI Initiative of the Year

This award will be presented to a project or initiative that has had demonstrable success in improving the recruitment, onboarding, development and/or progression, and inclusion of underrepresented talent. This may be a digital technology driven initiative or project that has also improved communication, engagement and support and removed a significant barrier to change affecting diverse talent.  

Submissions must include the name of the initiative or project.  

Change Network, Software AG Australia 

Digital IT Women’s Guild, HSBC ASP China 

Graduate Trainee Program, First Derivatives

SoftwareAGain, Software AG Bangalore Technologies    

TakeITforward (TIF), J.P. Morgan    

TechLadies    

VIC ICT 4 Women

Digital Transformation Leader of the Year  

A woman chief digital officer, digital director or leader of a digital transformation who has led an IT/Digital transformation or business change programme driven by technology in the last 2 years. Judges will look at examples of the technology and innovation involved; leadership; best practice; results and return on investment; alignment to business goals; how culture shifts were managed; and a growth/continuity strategy. 

Dr Beena Kumari, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory    

Falguni Kadvani, DFA Robotix 

Fenny Valentina, PT. Central Data Technology    

Fiona Gordon, JLL Australia     

Gayanika Gunasekera, SriLankan Airlines    

Juliana Chua, EssilorLuxottica    

Madhumati Iyer, Singtel   

Meera Shenoy, Youth4Jobs Foundation     

Uma Bhatt, Johnson & Johnson     

Vidyalakshmi Uppili, Accolite Digital 

Diversity Lead of the Year  

This award is open to the VP of Diversity, Chief Diversity Officer, Heads and Directors of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in the tech industry. This person has  demonstrated  success in addressing inequalities and improving outcomes, ensuring a culture where all employees can thrive. This nominee is a role model and innovative leader in actively supporting employees; has introduced organisational change that can be measured in terms of staff engagement, retention, satisfaction, and wellbeing. This person is a great influencer and inspires and motivates others to improve the business for all.   

Carol Lee, ISACA China Hong Kong Chapter

Deepali Arjun, HSBC Technology India

Nicole Liu, HSBC Technology Center China

Nicole Poon, MatchMove Pay Pte Ltd 

Shalaka Kapadia, HSBC Technology India

Shikha Agarwal, Software AG Australia 

Vanessa Sorenson, Microsoft New Zealand

Veronica Llorca-Smith, Leaders for Good

Entrepreneur of the Year

A woman leader of a technology, digital or e-commerce start-up that has demonstrated excellent growth in the last 3-years. Judges will look at demonstrations of a growth mindset, inclusive and inspirational leadership, and standout achievements. 

Debra Taylor, OpenSparkz

Harshani Perera, Inqbaytor

Helen Tung, NewSpace2060

Jennifer Lauretta Leong Bee Yoong, 360 Smart Home 

Natalia Mykhaylova, WeavAir

Nikitha Karrai, RedCliffe Group Ltd / Pinheads Interactive Pte Ltd 

Shwetha Ravi, Learnseeker

Yashu Kapila, BugRaptors

IT Team of the Year 

An IT team, led by a woman, that has delivered real value – with tangible business results – to a company. Judges will look at projects and achievements, along with examples of best practice, leadership, ROI generated, alignment to business goals and growth strategies. 

JLL – PDS APAC BI Team, Led by Anshu Chaudhary 

Software AG Operations Malaysia, Led by Diana Jayne Gonzales 

JLL - Global BI Strategy, Enablement, and Technology Team, Led by Fiona Gordon

SriLankan Airlines, Led by Gayanika Gunasekera 

Software AG - Global Support APJ Team, Led by Nurul Syuhada Binti Mohd Anuar 

Syncron, Led by Prachi Shah 

Grabtaxi Holdings Pte Ltd, Led by Quinny Lei 

NUS Information Technology, Led by Shui-Min Tan 

Singapore Life Ltd, Led by Yean Ping Yar 

Shinsegae I&C, Led by Yoojeong Lee 

Lifetime Achievement Award

This category recognises the achievements over a long period of time which have made an important contribution to the general standing of the technology industry. This individual has dedicated a major part of their working life to helping and supporting others. Judges will be looking for evidence of multiple projects and how they have impacted women and young girls. This individual is required to have more than 10 years of service within the technology industry.

Anjali Sharma, General Mills 

CJ Meadows, i2e – The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, S P Jain School of Global Management 

Neha Agarwal, Citibank 

Prachi Shah, Syncron 

Sandra De Zoysa, Dialog Axiata Plc. 

Tracy Quah, Informatica 

Verena Siow, SAP Asia 

Next Generation Leader of the Year

A woman under the age of 30, or who turns 30 in 2023, who has progressed rapidly though their career and demonstrated business value and innovation through the use of technology. This could include demonstrable success deploying technologies; improving approaches to technology; delivering effective strategies; enhancing decision-making; creating business value, efficiencies and cost savings, or improving services; driving new innovation in the industry; or furthering knowledge, awareness and education around technology. 

Candidates must have a 2-year track record of work and contribution in their organisation. 

Clare Lim, DocuSign

Hansani Halwatura, Millennium IT ESP 

Mishty Negi, J.P. Morgan

Nayab Aweez, Apple Inc.

Nicolette Ow Keng Ngee, C+C Communication Designs

Nipuni Rajapakse, Pearson Sri Lanka 

Prachi Dahibhate, Relfor Labs Pvt Ltd

Vidhi Agrawal, Infocepts 

Yoojeong Lee, Shinsegae I&C

Zain Masri, Google

Security Leader of the Year

A woman CSO, CISO or any other senior IT security function (including cyber security and data management), who has delivered outstanding work, implemented innovative approaches to security and contributed to the impact of policies, procedures and projects within the business. Submissions should include examples of this work; the ROI; the methodologies of implementation; the impacts on the business and other stakeholders; and their strategy to uphold security best practice. 

Alexandra Mercz, GoTo

Carol Lee, Hang Lung Group

Hansani Halwatura, Millennium IT ESP

Harsh Kaur, Trend Micro

Neha Malhotra, Singapore Computer Society - Cybersecurity Chapter.

Nishu Mittal, Emirates NBD

Priyanka Tamahankar, cyberSecurist Technologies Pvt Ltd 

Shakthi Priya Kathirvelu, Funding Societies / Modalku

Social Impact Project of the Year

This award honours a responsible tech project or initiative within an organisation or company, with a demonstrable social or environment impact. It recognises social responsibility, charity work or green and sustainable initiatives that are driven or implemented using pioneering digital techniques. Entries will be judged on their effectiveness, innovation and overall commitment to doing good. Entrants should reference how their technology links to the UN Sustainability Goals, and which SDGs in particular.  

GenerationTech, J. P. Morgan

HP Inc.

Ladies Who Tech

The 2 Senses, Cognizant

Recycle3Go​, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS and PETRONAS

Youth4Jobs Foundation

Tech Start-up of the Year

A company that has torn up the rule book to create innovative processes and ways of working to drive a coherent and sustainable working strategy. Judges will look at demonstrations of growth (turnover, profit, employees etc.), standout achievements and customer testimonials. The business must be under 3-years old.

360 Smart Home 

Big Data Minds MENA

WeavAir

Woman of the Year

A role model who has demonstrated a high degree of excellence, innovation and leadership in the last 5-years, and shone a light on the great things women in technology can achieve. In their submission, nominees should not only demonstrate outstanding business- and tech focussed achievements, but also give examples on how they have actively sought to bring more diversity to the technology industry.  

Anjali Sharma, General Mills 

Datin Habsah Bt. Nordin, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas)

Irene Sow Mei Lock, Group Technical Solutions, Petronas 

Jeanene Williams, IT Vision Australia

Neha Malhotra, Singapore Computer Society - Cybersecurity Chapter

Punam Firke, HSBC Technology India 

Rajshri Gadad, Eaton Corporation 

Tracy Quah, Informatica 

Vanessa Sorenson​, Microsoft New Zealand

Verena Siow, SAP Asia