Sherifat Akintunde-Shitu is a data and AI thought leader with over a decade of experience spanning software development, IT risk management, technology advisory, and enterprise data platforms. She began her career as a software developer before moving into risk and advisory roles, gaining deep insight into how technology, governance, and business strategy intersect. This diverse background enables her to bring a well-rounded and practical perspective to evaluating innovation in computing. Today, Sherifat leads Master Data Management capability at Accenture across the UK and Ireland, supporting organisations to build trusted data foundations that power analytics, AI, and operational excellence. Her work focuses on designing governance frameworks, operating models, and scalable platforms that move data from theory into measurable business value. Beyond her professional practice, Sherifat is a visible industry voice and strong advocate for responsible and effective data and AI adoption. She regularly delivers thought leadership at leading data and technology conferences across Europe, speaking on modern data strategy, AI readiness, governance, and leadership in technology. Sherifat is also deeply committed to developing future talent in the industry. She leads the Accenture Women in Data and AI community and has trained and mentored over 300 professionals across 14 countries. As a judge, she brings strategic insight, technical depth, and a commitment to recognising solutions that combine innovation with real-world impact.

Adiba is an Automation Developer specialising in the Microsoft Power Platform, driving high-impact, user-focused solutions that streamline processes and deliver measurable business value. With a degree in accounting, she brings a structured, analytical mindset and a perspective shaped by experience beyond traditional tech pathways. She has built a strong track record of delivering across multiple initiatives, with a focus on bridging the gap between technical delivery and real-world user needs. Her work prioritises solutions that are accessible, purposeful, and effective in practice. Alongside her role, Adiba actively mentors with Muslim Women Connect, supporting and guiding women entering the technology industry. As a judge for the Women in Tech Excellence Awards, she brings a clear and considered perspective, recognising work that delivers meaningful impact while fostering inclusive and supportive environments.

Chloe is a Chartered Managing Consultant at Inner Circle Consulting and experienced in Whole Organisation Transformation for local, regional, and central government, including Programme and Project Management, Customer & Digital, Strategy, Cost Optimisation, Operating Model Design and Local Government Reorganisation. Chloe was a 3x winner at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2022, having started her career at PwC predominantly in the Digital Transformation space.

Highly networked and deeply embedded in the retail and technology sectors, Sarah is Founder & Head of PR at Flagship, a specialist agency that delivers pioneering PR for retail tech, and Founder of Retail Rewired, a tech community and intelligence platform. A keen advocate of women in tech, Sarah is a recognised voice in the industry and champions diversity within the tech sector.

Harley Cunningham is a Strategy and Transformation Leader at Virgin Media O2 with over 20 years' experience spanning sales, marketing, operations, technology, and business transformation. Throughout her career, she has helped organisations translate strategic ambition into practical delivery, leading complex, cross-functional programmes that improve customer experience, operational performance, and organisational effectiveness. Alongside her commercial and technology expertise, Harley is a qualified bereavement counsellor and a passionate advocate for creating more compassionate workplaces. She developed Virgin Media O2's workplace bereavement strategy, introduced practical support initiatives including the award-winning "Hug in a Box", and delivers training that equips leaders to support colleagues through bereavement with confidence and empathy. Her work in this area was recognised with a Computing Women in Tech Award. As a judge, Harley brings a balanced perspective that values both innovation and impact. She is passionate about recognising individuals and teams who combine technical excellence with authentic leadership, collaboration, and a commitment to making a meaningful difference. She believes the most influential leaders not only deliver outstanding results but also create environments where people can thrive, develop, and bring their whole selves to work.

Sheetal is a proud data and cybersecurity leader, with over a decade of experience leading digital transformation, data products & governance, and AI innovation across global financial institutions. She currently serves as the Corporate Data Products Lead - Vice President in collaboration with the Chief Data & Analytics Office at Barclays, while pursuing a PhD in Cybersecurity, specialising in AI-driven cyberthreat analysis - a field where she shares her passion and knowledge with others. A UN Women UK delegate and Tableau Academic Ambassador earlier, Sheetal has mentored women and students in both technology and finance. Her contributions to the society has been recognised as a finalist in the British Data Awards 2025, a Women in Finance NextGen Leader, and a TechWomen100 awardee. Deeply committed to education, inclusion, and ethical innovation, she continues to champion initiatives that nurture young talent and shape a future where FinTech and data are secure, diverse, and accessible to all."

Pallavi is the Founder & CEO of AI and MetaWeb Technologies, an early-stage company building practical, future-ready solutions in AI and emerging digital technologies. With over 20 years of global experience, she has led complex technology initiatives across industries, combining strong technical leadership with a systems-thinking approach to deliver impactful, scalable outcomes. She is a multi-award winner, recognised in the UK as Digital Leader of the Year and Inspirational Mentor of the Year

Zoe Dronfield is a technology consultant and commercial lead working at the intersection of healthcare data, analytics and digital transformation. She supports NHS organisations through her work with NCS-IT, helping health systems improve the use of data for clinical insight, operational performance and population health. Alongside her work in health technology, Zoe is an entrepreneur, property investor and founder of several ventures focused on digital innovation and wellbeing. She is the creator of Conquer Your Life, a digital recovery programme for survivors of domestic abuse, and author of Mind Over Manipulators. Zoe is also a national advocate for improving responses to serial perpetrators of violence against women and girls, using her lived experience to influence policy and awareness. Through her work across technology, entrepreneurship and advocacy, she is passionate about supporting women to lead, innovate and create meaningful impact.

lice Genevois is a senior leader at Lloyds Banking Group, specialising in Responsible AI, data ethics, and technology enabled transformation in highly regulated environments. She has led large scale AI programmes impacting customer outcomes, fairness, and trust, and works closely with business, risk, legal and technology teams to embed responsible decision making into everyday operations. Alice also serves on external advisory and policy groups, including the UK Government Digital Service Responsible AI Advisory Panel, contributing to cross sector guidance on AI governance and assurance.

Aniket Kulkarni is a seasoned Software Engineering and Quality Leader with over 16 years of experience driving excellence in software delivery, automation, and large-scale system design. His expertise spans AI-driven test automation, continuous delivery, and scalable architecture, enabling organizations to accelerate innovation while maintaining high reliability and quality standards. Mr. Kulkarni has successfully led cross-functional engineering, QA, and DevOps teams, implementing automation frameworks that have improved test coverage by 40%, reduced release cycles by 40%, and achieved over $1.4 million in operational savings through modernization initiatives. His strategic approach integrates data-driven decision-making, process optimization, and technical leadership, ensuring sustainable growth in the engineering field. Combining deep technical acumen with a forward-looking mindset, Mr Kulkarni exemplifies innovation, quality, and transformative leadership in modern software engineering.

Louise Leavey is an award winning, dynamic and inspirational technology and business transformation leader, recognised globally as a CIO100 2025 winner. A former Chief Information Officer at Metro Bank, she has also served as an Independent Non Executive Director and Board Advisor across several organisations. Louise currently serves as Director of Transformation – Change & Control at DUAL Group, where she leads complex, multi country organisational change and designs global digital and IT transformation strategies that align directly to business objectives and deliver measurable commercial outcomes. She is highly respected for her ability to simplify complexity, create compelling strategic vision, and unite diverse stakeholders around transformative programmes. With over 40 years of experience across major private and public sector institutions—including HMRC, Aviva, HSBC, and the EBRD—Louise brings deep expertise in technology leadership, digital strategy, commercial insight, and organisational performance. Her background in finance and commercial disciplines enables her to see the wider strategic picture while driving innovative, commercially creative solutions. Alongside her corporate leadership, Louise is committed to social impact. She is actively involved in charitable work in Indonesia, teaching female empowerment in a girls’ school, and serves as a CXO advisor to several innovative technology companies shaping the next wave of digital disruption. A recognised role model for women in technology, Louise is celebrated for her energy, passion, and track record of achieving remarkable results while championing diversity, inclusion, and the development of future tech leaders.

Sam is Head of Business Systems Technology at Lowell, where she leads the teams responsible for developing and running the organisation’s core applications and digital foundations. She champions stability, performance, and innovation across key business platforms, creating the technology base that supports Lowell’s customer focused digital services. A committed servant leader, Sam takes pride in seeing her team grow in confidence and succeed. She was shortlisted for Leader of the Year at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2023, featured in the Computing 100 IT Leaders list in 2024, and first joined the Women in Tech Excellence judging panel in 2024.

Priyanka is a fintech leader with over a decade of experience across banking, fintech, and cloud-based digital platforms. She has led cross-functional teams delivering complex initiatives in digital payments and commerce, while contributing to long-term platform and technology strategy. Over the course of her career, she has assumed progressively senior roles spanning software engineering, product ownership, and technical program leadership across multiple global organisations. Beyond her professional role, Priyanka regularly serves as a judge for major technology and innovation awards and contributes to the broader technology ecosystem through mentoring and academic engagement.

I lead large-scale cloud platform engineering at Lloyds Banking Group, where I currently run a 150+ engineer organisation delivering enterprise-grade infrastructure across GCP and Azure : spanning Kubernetes, API platforms, SRE and serverless for one of the UK's largest financial institutions. Over the past decade, I've built and led engineering teams from the ground up, shipped platforms that serve 30M+ customers, enabled 2500+ developers with self-service cloud tooling, and driven cloud transformation programmes worth tens of millions. I care deeply about the craft, I'm as comfortable reviewing a Terraform module or a Helm chart as I am presenting strategy to the board. I was recognised as IT Leader of the Year and Transformation Leader of the Year at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2025 : external recognition that I'm proud of, though the real reward is the engineering culture and team capability we've built together. My sweet spot is highly regulated, complex environments where the stakes are high and the engineering has to be both rigorous and fast. I bring strong architectural judgement, a bias for automation, and a track record of turning fragmented platform estates into coherent, resilient, developer-friendly infrastructure. Always happy to connect with engineers, leaders, and anyone passionate about cloud platforms, SRE, or building high-performing teams.

Navya Sravani is a Software Engineer at Microsoft, working at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, data, and AI. She builds scalable data platforms and intelligent systems that power Windows Cloud Experiences, with a focus on reliability, observability, and AI-driven insights. Navya has experience spanning data engineering, distributed systems, and applied AI, and is passionate about evaluating technology that demonstrates real-world impact, technical excellence, and innovation. She is also an active mentor and speaker, supporting the next generation of engineers in cloud and AI.

Rebecca joined Sophos in 2014 and has worked across a variety of roles including Business Operations and Incident Command. She moved into her Researcher role in 2022 in the X-Ops Counter Threat Unit. Here she focuses on the ingestion, management, attribution and publication of threat intelligence, whilst also maintaining personas and collect across the dark web within the Human Intelligence Team. Her research is predominantly on data leaks, access brokers, and emerging threats including ransomware-as-a-service groups. Rebecca has been acknowledged in industry for her contributions, most recently winning ‘Cybersecurity Professional of the Year’ at the Women in Tech Excellence Awards. She is also an active member of the cybersecurity community as a mentor, coach, public speaker, podcast host, TEDx speaker and co-author to ‘Securely Yours – An Agony Aunts Guide to Surviving Cyber’.

Prior to her role as Senior Sales Director UK&I and interim Managing Director UK&I cluster, Zoe has held several positions at HP. She joined HP in 2015 and has since evolved her career from Enterprise Sales Print Specialist, Global Corporate & Large Enterprise District Manager to Northwest Europe Enablement Director and UK&I End User Sales Director. Before joining HP, she has had an impressive 10-year career leading up to the role of Head of End User Sales at Brother. Zoe is known for her ability to deliver high-impact results and above all fostering collaborative teams. With her commitment to fostering an inclusive team culture, Zoe brings both experience and a culture aware approach to leadership. Zoe strives to create environments where diverse perspectives are celebrated, collaboration is encouraged, and innovation thrives through a respectful, engaging workplace. Zoe has a reputation as trusted leader who inspires & empowers others. In addition to this Zoe’s leads with an approach that blends decisive leadership with empathy.

With nearly 40 years of experience in the technology industry, I have held roles at leading organisations including Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, BT, and the Morse Group. I specialise in technology strategy, leadership, innovation, and future-focused thinking. Currently, I deliver cyber security, technology and business strategic guidance to large enterprises, IT product vendors, and early-stage or emerging tech companies. Over the past 20+ years, I have specialised in cyber security and currently define the security strategy for the Computacenter UK Solutions business unit. More recently I was invited and am now a member of the Cabinet Office National Cyber Advisory Board that uses leading figures from the IT industry to advise the UK Government on Cyber security Time permitting, I still mentor extensively and present in schools, colleges and universities on such topics as leadership, career success, imposter syndrome and or the value of STEM education. I am an active member of the Computacenter UK Ethnic Diversity & Women in Leadership EIGs, as well as the TC4RE and the channel community. I hold an Executive MBA, a Doctorate from the University of Worcester, am a trained NLP practitioner and an am Executive Coach with more than two decades of experience. On a personal note, I have two daughters and I am a trustee on the Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Care Packs UK charities.