Meet the judges for the 2017 WISE Awards

Megan Stowe

Procurement Director, Corporate Strategic Procurement and International Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager, Intel Corporation

Megan has been at Intel for 20 years working in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK during this time. She started in Sales and Marketing in Australia working in PR and events management and then moved to Hong Kong to start up their SMG site procurement in Asia During this time she has covered a variety of roles including Sales & Marketing, Travel, relocation, immigration & HR procurement areas. She has predominantly held Global positions, setting global procurement and Supply chain sustainability strategies, performance metrics and managing global teams (LAR, NA, APAC and EMEA) She has worked and lived in Asia Pacific (10 years) and EMEA (10 years). Currently, Megan looks across the indirect services/procurement supply chain working with the different verticals (sales & marketing, HR, travel, IT, Logistics etc) within the EMEA Region working with her team on implementing global strategies locally and driving local strategies where it is needed.In addition to this she is managing the International Supplier diversity& Inclusion program which has a key focus on Women owned business in our supply chain. The key objective of this program is to ensure we are working with an inclusive supply chain. With this initiative we are looking at and have achieved increasing our spending with women owned businesses in our supply chain across the globe at the tier 1 and 2 levels, while developing our pipeline of inclusive sourcing opportunities. Megan is a board member of the WeConnect International, along with the Chair & Director of the European WeConnect Advisory board and co-chairs the WISE Young Womens Board. She works closely with schools and universities ensuring STEM is promoted to girls. Megan’s passion is to promote the education and empowerment of Women and girls especially around the STEM and business areas.

She is Irish/Australian/South African by nationality and grew up in Africa. She graduated from the University of Cape Town, South Africa with a MD Psychiatry/Sports medicine. Prior to Intel she worked for Warner Lambert Park Davis & Caltex Head office in Cape Town.

Abi Vocking

Talent Acquisition Manager for EMEA for Intel Corporation

Abi has over 20 years experience working in the field of HR, Strategic Sourcing and Talent Acquisition. Abi started her career in recruitment, followed by a move to HR which took her to live in Munich and then Prague working for a busy European start-up company.

Abi has been at Intel for over 10 years having initially joined as a commodity manager in the strategic sourcing team supporting temporary and permanent staffing suppliers globally. Abi then transitioned to support Intel’s IT services outsourcing companies and in that time was successful through leading the design of a transformational program to save Intel $25m over 3 years. For this initiative Abi was awarded Procurcon’s “Rising Star” award in 2014.

Abi recently moved into the Global Talent Acquisition team and currently manages a team of recruiters who support Intel’s hiring across EMEA. One of Abi’s key focuses is to take on the challenge of increasing the numbers of diverse hires Intel employs to make diverse hiring part of Intel’s DNA. Currently the work she has been doing on this has led to Intel hitting their diversity hiring targets for technical females for Intel’s software development and engineering fields in Europe.

Graham Brown

Operations Director for Land and Air Systems, Thales UK

Graham Brown was appointed Director of Operations for Thales Land & Air Systems UK in July 2017. His responsibilities encompass all engineering, design, logistics and manufacturing activities across the four businesses and ten sites that comprise the country business unit.

Prior to this he was Head of Operations for the OME UK business and Operations Director for the Global Business Line, which has activities in seven countries.

His Thales career began as an engineering apprentice and stretches for more than 25 years. During this time he has held positions on a number of different Thales sites across the UK. He has a technical background in electronic and optical testing before progressing into his managerial career. To date he has occupied senior roles in Manufacturing Operations, Customer Services and Support, Business Integration and Programme Delivery. He holds an Honours degree in Physics with Technology Management and a Masters degree in Manufacturing Management.

Beside his Thales responsibilities, he also sits on the ADS Scotland Council, participates in the Glasgow Economic Leadership forum and is also a member of the Strathclyde DMEM Strategic Advisory Board. He is also the Chairperson of a local charity organisation in his home village.

Graham is married and lives in West Dunbartonshire with his wife and their two children. He lists his interests as music, golf, sport in general, with a specific love of football where he is an SFA Qualified coach for his son’s football team and also a very keen follower of Rangers.

Bethany Ross

Graduate Systems Engineer at Defence Missions Systems, Thales UK

Since graduating, with honours, from her master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liverpool, she has worked for Thales as a Combat Systems Engineer. Although her degree and her role are in different engineering disciplines, there are constant opportunities to use the transferrable skills that she have gained. She is thoroughly enjoying the change in discipline and relish the opportunities to expand her knowledge of the Naval sector and engineering as a whole. She has attended several training courses during the 2 years she have been in industry, including Underwater Acoustics and Sonar Systems, Naval Combat Systems Engineering and Scrum Master training. These have furthered her knowledge of the complex systems associated with maritime operations and working effectively using agile practices to meet customer requirements. At Thales she is heavily involved with the Mine Warfare sector and the design process of the complex systems required in these dangerous scenarios. She has been part of key design decisions and have developed innovative solutions for use in the final delivery.

As a female Engineer, Bethany feels that she have a responsibility to engage young women with the engineering field by becoming a positive role model and being active in STEM and WISE events. She wholeheartedly believes in the work that these organisations are doing to encourage both boys and girls to study science related topics. She was lucky going through school as her A-Level Physics teacher inspired her to apply for Engineering; she is hoping to be able to do that now at all academic stages. she believes that this award and the activity to create a toy to promote engineering in schools will be a brilliant aid when delivering activities and presentations and will definitely further engagement.

Andrew Randwich

Chief Scientist, AWE

Professor Andrew Randewich is AWE’s Chief Scientist.

After completing a PhD in plasma physics, he joined the company in 1997 in the High Altitude Nuclear Effects Team where he developed a novel capability to model Artificial (Nuclear Induced) Van Allen Belts. He also worked to improve AWE’s understanding of and capability in Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) phenomenology, and won the Discovery Award for Early Career Scientific Innovation.
Andrew later worked on thermonuclear burn modelling in support of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), and as a Team Leader for transport algorithms in the Computational Physics Group. Since then, Andrew spent two years managing the Physics Certification programme, and in 2009 moved to lead the High Performance Computing Group where he was involved in the procurement and installation of some of the largest computers in the UK. After 6 months as acting Head of Design Physics, Andrew was appointed Head of Plasma Physics in November 2011.
The Plasma Physics Department’s main role is using high power lasers to underwrite high energy density physics simulations. As part of the role, Andrew was Asset Manager for the ORION laser, one of the largest science capital investments in the UK. Andrew also managed several other science facilities such as the ASP neutron accelerator.
Also in 2011, Andrew became Head of Profession for Physics with responsibility for the Continuous Professional Development of all Physicists at AWE, and the company’s interactions with the Institute of Physics.
Andrew became AWE Chief Scientist in 2013 in which role he Assures AWE Science and Capability and leads the company’s Strategic External Outreach with Universities, Industry and OGDs. Andrew is a Chartered Physicist and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. He was also appointed as a visiting Professor at Imperial College, London in April 2012.

Rachel Welsh

Material Scientist - AWE

Rachel joined the company earlier this year as part of AWE’s graduate scheme after completing her BSc degree in Chemistry at Imperial College London. She is now part of the Organic Materials Development team working within Conventional Material Science.

Rachel’s first project at AWE was researching into the physical properties of resin potting materials used in fibre optics. Currently, she is working on the development of Additive Manufacture as an alternative method for the production of silicone pads. This involves discussions with a variety of groups on site, in particular production and engineering, and also with colleagues in the U.S. She has a second project concerned with Alternative Marking Paints and Inks.

Rachel is one of AWE’s graduate representatives and as such represents the growing graduate community at AWE. She organises events and seminars for the graduates and is passionate about helping develop the new FUSION graduate programme. Rachel is also part of the Outreach School’s Mentoring programme and is participating in this year’s AWE Team Challenge.

Rachel feels passionately about encouraging more women to pursue a career in Science and Engineering. She discovered a passion for science at school inspired by her excellent teachers and feels strongly about passing this enthusiasm onto others, particularly the younger generation. She believes the WISE awards are really valuable for motivating women in science and engineering and it is a great opportunity to inspire excellence.

Rachel is a keen sports woman. She has been swimming competitively from a young age. She has swam in regional and national competitions and currently swims for Reading Swimming Club.

Clare Bye

Executive Vice-President, HR, AVEVA

Clare has over 25 years generalist HR experience gained across a variety of sectors working both nationally and globally. Prior to joining AVEVA in 2015, Clare ran her own HR consultancy for 5 years. Clare has held senior HR leadership roles with Marks and Spencer, RAC and Munters AB. She is member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management.

Jo Stansfield

Deputy Head of Platform, AVEVA

After a few years of working for other companies as a Software Developer, I joined AVEVA in 2008 as a Senior Software Engineer. Throughout my career, my domain has been in information management, and I spent 8 years working as a Product Manager liaising with developers and customers before being promoted to Deputy Head of Platform.

Jo is a Deputy Head of Department, responsible for Interoperability capabilities of AVEVA’s software solutions for Integrated Engineering and Design, and Asset Information Management. She enjoys the challenge of delivering Enterprise Software meeting complex customer needs. An essential aspect she finds particularly stimulating is my work with people across many different roles, organisations and global locations.

During her career, she has worked both in Product Management and Software Engineering roles, specialising in software for science and engineering, particularly Information Management for industries including automotive, aerospace, oil & gas and shipbuilding.

She is a graduate of Cambridge University (Natural Sciences).

Alasdair Henderson

Board Director, BAM Nuttall

Alasdair Henderson is a Board Director of BAM Nuttall Ltd., with responsibility for People & Culture, Safety, Sustainability, Communications and the BAM Ritchies specialist ground engineering business. He is a Chartered Engineer, Visiting Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying. He is the current Chair of the Federation of Piling Specialists, the trade association representing more than 80% of the UK’s specialist ground engineering contractors. Alasdair is an experienced practitioner of specialist geotechnical techniques, including drilling, grouting and underground construction, and has worked on some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects including Crossrail, Hinkley Point C and HS2.

Alongside his current role, Alasdair oversees research activity for BAM Nuttall and adjudicates on innovation proposals for the Royal BAM group through his position on the Business Innovation Committee. He is a member of the International Advisory Group for the DISTINCTIVE consortium researching nuclear waste and decommissioning, and a member of the Trial Projects Working Group advising UK government on new methods of infrastructure procurement.

Happily married to a Civil Engineer, Alasdair has two daughters and a son, all of whom (fortunately) seem to enjoy engineering the world as much as their parents do.

Aileen Randhawa

HR Director, MBDA

Aileen has over 20 years’ experience in the field of Human Resources. Aileen started her career in International Relations in the public sector in France before joining the automotive industry in the UK, holding commercial, marketing and HR roles. Aileen joined the BAE Systems Group in 1996 and held a number of HR generalist roles across the UK, specialising in organisational change, development and restructuring in response to market and economic realities.

In 2001, Aileen joined Xchanging, heading up 2 apprenticeship schools as well as delivering HR services into the client base. Aileen then became Head of Learning and Development, with a focus on general training delivery for a diverse customer base, as well as apprenticeships.

In 2005, Aileen set up her own consultancy providing generalist HR services to small businesses who did not have their own HR department, as well as to larger businesses.

In 2009, Aileen joined MBDA, first holding a number of HR Director roles based in France, and then being appointed HR Director at MBDA UK in April 2013.

Aileen is passionate about providing equal access of opportunities and learning to all, and enabling an environment that encourages all employees of all backgrounds, to contribute to the best of their abilities. This is key in facilitating innovation and creativity in all aspects, but particularly in STEM topics as part of the ongoing development for both our current and future engineers.

Aileen is married with 3 children.

Hannah Springall

Senior Interconnects Design Engineer, MBDA

Hannah has worked in the engineering industry for 8 years undertaking various roles, experiences and opportunities. Her career started as a mechanical engineering apprentice at MBDA UK, spending 4 years completing further education, alongside 3 month rotational placements in different areas of the company. During her apprenticeship, Hannah played an important part in encouraging women into engineering through her interactions with students at various school events, being a STEM Ambassador and managing work experience placements within MBDA. More recently Hannah was interviewed for an article about diversity & inclusion with The Telegraph.

On the completion of her apprenticeship Hannah joined the Interconnects Design Department. During her time here, she built up her knowledge and experience by taking on every possible job that came her way.

Hannah has been heavily involved in the MBDA Apprenticeship Programme, since finishing her own apprenticeship. She acts as a mentor and role model for any apprentices who undertake a placement within her department, and has created training manuals for several placements within the Mechanical Engineering function.

At the beginning of this year, the Interconnects Design Department transferred to the Electronic Engineering function and with this a new challenge was presented to Hannah. After her success with the apprentices in her Mechanical Engineering Role, she was tasked with setting up a new Electrical and Electronics Apprenticeship – with the aim of developing multi-skilled engineers.

A particular highlight of her career has been working in Portsmouth on the New Type 45 Destroyers and Type 23 Frigates, involved with the Improvement and integration of the munition equipment. Alongside her day-to-day job role, Hannah is also involved in Research and Development projects within MBDA, working on finding and introducing new technologies and solutions into the company.

Stuart Aitkenhead

Safety & Compliance Director, Babcock

Stuart graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Glasgow Caledonian University and over a 30 year career has held a variety of technical and managerial positions, specialising in the design, construction, maintenance and operation of complex buildings and facilities across a diverse range of industries including healthcare and life sciences. He joined Babcock at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (Clyde) in 2008 as Estates Director. In 2013 he took up his current role as Safety & Compliance Director, responsible for developing and implementing standards and improving performance across all operational areas in engineering practice, safety, security, environmental and quality. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He takes a keen interest in the professional development of apprentice and graduate engineers and acts as the Board sponsor for the accredited programmes within Babcock at Clyde. He serves on the Executive Committee of the industry body, Scottish Engineering and on the Skills Development Scotland Engineering Skills Leadership Group. He is a STEM Ambassador and also active within the I Mech. E, serving as a Professional Review Interview Panel Chair and an Independent Mentor. He is also a Trustee and Vice-Chair of Erskine, Scotland’s leading veterans’ charity.

Jessica Duffy

Assistant Engineer, Babcock

Jessica is an Assistant Engineer at Babcock; she works in the defence sector designing high-integrity weapon handling and launch equipment for submarines. She started her career in 2012 as a Technical Apprentice and spent 4 years carrying out various placements throughout the company, before securing her final year placement in the design team. Jessica completed a number of qualifications alongside her apprenticeship which has allowed her to achieve her current position as an Assistant Engineer. During her final year as an Apprentice, Jessica spent 3 months on site at Devonport Dockyard, working alongside the Royal Navy, where she carried out a number of practical tests and sea trials. She found this to be an extremely valuable experience.

Jessica is part of the Babcock’s Women’s Network and a STEM Ambassador. She is passionate about inspiring young students into the engineering field. Jessica regularly attends local schools to advise pupils on the different routes into engineering. She also runs activity days to enthuse and encourage the younger generation into a career in engineering.

Orla Dunne

Global Co-Head of Deployment & Runtime, Goldman Sachs

Orla is Global Co-Head of Deployment & Runtime within the Platform Business Unit. She serves on the Technology Division Risk Operating Committee and the EMEA Business Resilience Committee and is co-sponsor of the European Women in Technology (EWIT) Network. Orla joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 as the equities business support manager in Technology. In 2002, her role expanded to include USG and Windows SA responsibility for trading. In 2004, she took on the role of trading divisional manager in Europe and in 2006 she began managing the European Market Data team. Orla’s role continued to expand in 2007, when she assumed management responsibility for the Application Systems Infrastructure (ASI) teams. In 2009, she began managing the network, voice and multimedia teams and in 2010 she assumed responsibility for APG. Orla was named managing director in 2009. Prior to joining the firm, Orla worked at UBS as an equities support manager in Europe. Earlier in her career, she worked at Morgan Stanley in both application development and infrastructure.

Catherine Lewis

Global head of Client Asset Protection Technology, Goldman Sachs

Catherine joined Goldman Sachs in February 2011. She is Global head of Client Asset Protection Technology, co-leads the Data Governance office. She co-leads the internal European Women in Technology affinity network, responsible for their Networking and Outreach pillar as well as their Girls in IT outreach initiative. Prior to working at Goldman Sachs, Catherine worked in the Technology department in JPMorgan for 13 years where amongst other things she managed Client Reference Data technology, Client Profitability Technology and was a Program Manager in Research Technology implementing a Global Publishing System. Her past career has also included working for the EC in Brussels where she worked in the Aeronautics and Customs divisions where she worked on a number of technology projects including a bespoke messaging system for customs offices across the member states. Catherine attended Leeds Metropolitan University where she studied Business and Finance. She lives in South West London with her husband Simon and daughters Adele and Yvette.

Fiona Carragher

Deputy Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England

Fiona Carragher is the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for England, supporting the head of profession for the 50,000 healthcare science workforce in the NHS and associated bodies – embracing more than 45 separate scientific specialisms.

A Consultant Clinical Biochemist by background, Fiona has a broad portfolio of policy responsibilities, providing professional leadership and expert clinical advice across the health and care system as well as working with senior leaders within both the NHS England and the wider NHS. Given her background, she has a particular responsibility to provide clinical advice and professional leadership for pathology within NHS England.

Fiona has significant experience in both public health and treatment & care, having led and worked in multi-professional teams for two decades at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh and Kings College Hospital, London - with a focus on providing high quality, innovative laboratory services. Most recently she led a number of specialised laboratories for the diagnosis and monitoring of inherited metabolic disease and was Director of Newborn Screening for the South East Thames Region.

As Scientific Director for NHS London she led a number of broader healthcare science projects including technology adoption and leadership development, and created a proactive scientific and diagnostics network across the capital that supports quality improvement and effective commissioning

She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and is a member of multi-professional organisations such as the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine and British Inherited Metabolic Disease Group.

Kathryn Harris

Principal Clinical Scientist, NHS England

Kathryn is Principal Clinical Scientist in the Microbiology Department at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust . She began her career at Public Health England, where she gained her PhD and later joined Great Ormond Street Hospital as a post-doctoral scientist.

An expert in molecular diagnostics, she is focused on innovation and translational research in the clinical microbiology service, bridging the gap between academic research and clinical laboratory services to bring real benefits in patient care through more rapid, accurate diagnostics. Translation of her research over the past 15 years has resulted in a diagnostic molecular microbiology service that provides over 20 different tests for Great Ormond Street Hospital and over 50 referring UK and international laboratories.

Current research interests for Kathryn are focused on complex molecular techniques, such as Next Generation Sequencing and data analysis, with particular interest in Mycobacterium abcsessus infection in paediatric Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients and novelmethods for the detection of antimicrobial resistance, and she is part of the ‘AntiMicroResist’ consortium funded by EMPIR and the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Kathryn was one of the Chief Scientific Officer’s (CSO) WISE fellows in 2016/17 and has thoroughly enjoyed this amazing opportunity to develop her personal leadership and communication skills.

Richard North

Head of Intellectual Property – Protection, Licensing & Control, Rolls Royce

Richard North is Head of Intellectual Property – Protection, Licensing & Control for Rolls-Royce, with accountability for strategy, policy and execution of all aspects of intellectual property for the group. Richard leads a team of patent, trademark and licensing professionals.

Richard joined Rolls-Royce as an undergraduate 1983. He undertook a variety of engineering roles for before moving to his current position.

He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Aston University and a MSc in Gas Turbine Engineering from Cranfield University.

Rolls-Royce is the UK’s leading filer of patents and 672 inventions were approved internally for patent filing in 2016. The famous Rolls-Royce trade mark is registered in more than 100 countries. Intellectual property is an essential ingredient of most commercial transactions whether IP-specific licensing and research partnerships, or supply agreements, joint ventures and investments/divestments.

Stephanie Newman

Turbine Blade Integrated Project Team Lead, Rolls Royce

Stephanie joined Rolls-Royce in 2009 after graduating from Cambridge University with a Masters in Aerospace Engineering. She joined the Rolls-Royce Engineering Leadership Graduate Scheme which allowed her to do a variety of roles across engineering in a number of business sectors including 9 months in the Electrical Systems research group in Singapore. After completing her graduate training she moved to Montreal, Canada for 2 years to work in the Energy Gas Turbine sector before returning to the UK as Airframe Integration Manager for the Trent 1000 engine on the Boeing Dreamliner Aircraft. Last year she was selected for a secondment as the President of the Defence Business’s Technical Assistant. Through this she developed her business and leadership skills as well as leading the business transformation project for Defence. Throughout her career so far she has enjoyed combining engineering and technical skills with her talent for leading change and influencing diverse teams. In her spare time she enjoys many sports including tennis and playing the Double Bass with the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra. Stephanie has remained passionate for promoting diversity in the STEM pipeline inside and outside of work since leaving school. In particular she sat on the WISE Young Women’s Board 2015-2016. She is keen to promote STEM to all ages, and to particularly share her excitement for STEM with the next generation of Female engineers to encourage more girls to realise their dreams in science and engineering.

Helen James

Culture Manager, BAM Nuttall

Helen is our WISE winner of 2015 for Health and Safety, she says ‘it’s my proudest moment so far’.

Civil engineer Helen has worked with managers, directors and over 200 volunteers from all disciplines across BAM Nuttall to ‘train the trainer’ and then helped plan, coordinate and deliver workshops nationwide to over 10,000 people.

BAM’s Beyond Zero programme has been transformational in the way of changing culture to a workforce who are engaged, demonstrate leadership at every level, take ownership of responsibilities and are empowered to speak up and raise issues, the organisation continually strives to always do better and take on improvements.

Helen’s early career was spent in education and careers providing advice and guidance to people of all ages to help further their education capabilities and job prospects. She decided herself to return to education in 2008 and study BSc in Civil and Construction Engineering and soon found an opportunity working in BAM Nuttall on their culture programme which encourages everyone to look at their relationship to safety and consider what it means to people at work and at home.

'I enjoy working with people especially if it involves developing their skills, knowledge and learning. I constantly feel challenged and encouraged to always go the extra mile to a make a difference.'

Growing up, Helen has been influenced by family members in construction, her gran was a crane operator in the war and her dad runs a plant hire company, Helen says ‘I’ve always been around machinery, muck and dirt – I find it fascinating, I have mud in my blood’. I want to do more to showcase our great industry and work to attract a more diverse workforce, address the skills shortage and gender imbalance as well prove to companies that a more flexible working approach will help women consider and seek out opportunities in construction.

Helen is a member of women@BAM, she champion’s gender diversity and her WISE recognition reinforces the importance of what the group believe and promote. Helen led the role out of ‘Bring Your Daughter to Work Day’ aided the implementation of the WISE 10 Steps and is involved in other initiatives including reshaping women’s PPE, Inspiring People events to name a few.

'It will be an honour to be a WISE judge in 2017.'