There are few things that Alex cares about more than getting more female representation into the IT channel. Having worked in IT distribution for almost 30 years – Alex has seen improvements – but recognises there is so much more to do in all areas of the channel. Alex has overseen Westcoast’s continuing support for CRN’s diversity initiatives as well leading the company’s high profile focus on careers in schools. As a result, Westcoast – the UK’s largest IT distributor - is one of Britain’s Cornerstone employers advising government, Ofsted and the Careers and Enterprise Company. He has helped launch Tech Channel Ambassadors and sits on the Technology Leadership Group for the Prince’s Trust and supports Speakers for Schools. Alex is careers advisor for Maiden Erlagh School Trust in Reading and regularly speaks in local Berkshire schools on the topic of diversity, inclusion and the opportunities in the IT industry for all. Alex is a well-known face in the UK IT Channel and has been awarded an Individual Award for Channel Excellence by CRN in 2016. Always enthusiastic and never short of an opinion – Alex has judged the CRN Women and Diversity Awards a number of times in the past.

As the Head of Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion at Softcat plc. Anushka is responsible for everything related to maintaining Softcat’s company culture and ensuring employees are engaged in their jobs. Anushka has a huge passion for DEI and has helped progress the company in creating programmes and interventions to improve diversity at Softcat.

Anushka joined Softcat 24 years ago with a Maths and Computing degree. After starting a career in Sales, Anushka went on to set up the Learning and Development function to support Softcat’s growth. Anushka as Head Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion and is passionate about company culture whilst ensuring Softcat is an employer of choice by putting their employees first. She also works alongside many organisations in the industry to help evolve the sector to be more diverse. Anushka sits on the advisory board for Technology Channel for Racial Equality (TC4RE) and the advisory board for Women in Channel.

Colin's spent 17 years at Computacenter and prior to Computacenter has held roles at Compaq, BT, Morse, and HP and numerous other leading IT organisations totalling 30+ years in IT strategy & leadership positions as an innovative technology thinker and future focused strategist offering unique perspectives on the cyber security industry, business change, vendors and with a specialism in early stage / emerging cyber technologies.

Colin has two daughters with one a professional footballer! He is a member of the Computacenter Ethnic Diversity EIG and the TC4RE channel community. He holds an Executive MBA with distinction, a doctorate from the University of Worcester, is a NLP practitioner, an Executive coach and trained as a Situational Leadership Coach.

With 17 years UK channel experience with Insight and SHI in commercial and sales leadership roles Dinet has a wide understanding of the Channel and the importance of celebrating Women and Diversity in the Channel. As a four time finalist herself, the opportunity to work with the CRN team and fellow judges to select the best of the best this year is inspiring.

Donavan Hutchinson is the Founder and CEO for D&A Services International Ltd the industries first DEI As A Service organisation. Donavan is also a Governor at Barnsley College with over 20 years in the technology industry and has a wealth of experience in leadership, sales strategy, compliance, mergers and acquisitions and international collaboration programs having worked as an executive leader for some of the world largest technology reseller organisations. His commitment to driving change across various industries in promoting equality for all has been instrumental in the growth of several organisations he has had the opportunity to lead during his tenure. Awarded by CRN as the 2023 Industry Achievement Award Winner, CRN Diversity A lister, CRN Channel A Lister, CRN Executive Mentor of the Year finalist 2023 and CRN Mental Health Champion of the Year finalist 2023 , Donavan's focus on equality focuses on all demographics as he continues to drive education and awareness programs across the community socially but also through consultative engagements. Donavan's focus on DEI has been seen at a global level with features in Humans Of Globe and CIO Views as one of the Top 10 Global trailblazer Leaders in DEI. Donavan is an out and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and Pride Life Global Advocate and has utilised his own experience in helping to educate others to be their most authentic version of themselves , speaking at several events on the topic of DEI and driving positive cultural change through education and awareness.

Elisha is Softcat’s Recruitment Manager, and has worked within the tech space for 10 years. Born and raised in Manchester by a single working mum, with an innate and undeniable passion for people from day one, it was no big surprise when Lish ended up pursuing a career in People and Talent. In recent years, Lish’s passion for enabling others, most specifically supporting women in business, has skyrocketed. As a result, she has been recognised with the award for CRN Outstanding Returner 2023, and also delivered a keynote at CRN Women in Tech Fest last year titled ‘The Power of Vulnerability in Leadership’. One of Lish’s biggest loves in life is getting people excited about the things that she’s excited about, and one of those major things is exploring the impact that strong and effective leadership and community can have on female empowerment in the workplace. Lish is testament to the fact that with the right support system around you, the potential that we as women in industry can realise is immeasurable.

Ellie West is the People Director for the UK arm of Crayon. She is a people first leader whose passion lies in building solid people practices that allow everyone to bring their best selves to work. Inclusion lies at the heart of everything Ellie believes in, and she invests time both in and outside of work to focus on this. She mentors, educates and allies with others to promote equality. MCIPD qualified, Ellie is an accomplished HR professional with over 15 years of experience across industries. Her background sits outside of Tech and the Channel. Prior to Crayon she worked for several large Organisations within the Supply Chain industry. Moving to Crayon in 2022, she has established a strong HR practice centred around Learning & Development, Culture and Engagement, all with Inclusive principals at their core.

Emma Taylor is head of Learning and Development at Phoenix Software and has a passion for promoting women in technology and improving employee wellbeing. With over 25 years of experience in the technology sector, Emma is an advocate for women in technology and works closely with local schools, colleges and universities to encourage more women to pursue careers in technology. Emma is also committed to improving employee wellbeing. She believes that a healthy and happy workforce is essential for productivity and success and has implemented various initiatives at Phoenix Software to support employee mental and physical health. As a previous CRN Women in Channel award winner, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a judge this year.

Emmanuelle Luba's background in IT marketing spans over two decades, during which she has honed her skills in creating and implementing effective channel marketing strategies on a global scale. Her experience in demand generation, partner program development, and team leadership has equipped her with the knowledge and expertise needed to drive success in the industry. Emmanuelle's multicultural background, having lived in multiple countries and being a “citizen of the world”, gives her a unique perspective that she brings to her work. Her passion for diversity and inclusion is evident in her advocacy for underprivileged communities in Africa and her involvement in projects aimed at making a positive impact. As a judge at the CRN Women and Diversity CRN Awards, Emmanuelle's insights and expertise will be invaluable in recognizing and celebrating the achievements of women and diverse professionals in the industry. Her commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion makes her a fitting choice for this role, and her contributions are sure to make a meaningful impact on the awards process.

Over 30 years of experience in the IT industry. My mission is to create and enhance strategic alliances that support our expertise and ambition, while delivering exceptional client experience and environmental sustainability. I am skilled in strategy, creating clarity and inspiring people to execute. I was recognized as the UK CRN Executive Mentor Winner in 2023 for my contribution to the development of the next generation of talent. Passionate about driving successful business transformation and innovation, I work with a high-performance, ethical culture with a technology-centric, business-outcome engagement approach.

Gina founded her first agency MCC International in her early 20s and grew it to be one of the UK’s largest regional consultancies before moving on to set up a successful PR division at WLM.Digital where she was co-owner and Communications Director for 7 years. Now back into consultancy, she’s working with a great team of freelancers and global partner agencies, offering a wider range of services to clients and drawing on the knowledge she’s built up over the past 30 years. Gina spends a lot of time mentoring and training and her hands on, tell it how it is approach to managing clients’ expectations has never changed. Journalists know what to expect from her and she’s built up some great contacts during her career. Humour and an abhorrence of pretentiousness have always stood her in good stead and she’s currently enjoying her third time round the working wheel.

Helen's role at Microsoft is the Device Partner Sales Go To Market Lead for the UK. She oversees the development and execution of the local sales and marketing strategy and the management of co-marketing funds with all our partner ecosystem in order to drive joint outcomes and growth with our channel. She also manages important alliance relationships in order to maximise investments to accelerate the potential opportunity across the full ecosystem. Previous to Microsoft, Helen spent 13 years of her career in the telecommunications industry. She led a number of extensive teams across multiple disciplines in sales & commercial roles. She played a vital role in defining strategy, managing mulitple business priorities and executing with agility to deliver impact across multiple channels. Helen holds a BA from the Leeds University in Business Studies. On a personal note, she currently lives in Berkshire with her two children

Jane is an Executive leader with over 25 years of experience in Sales & Marketing and General Management. She held the role of UK&IRE Channel Director at Lenovo for over 3 years and more recently heads up Lenovo’s new Global Strategic Channel Partnerships team. Jane is the voice of Lenovo UK’s Women in Leadership program, which strives to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and delivers guidance, networking and training to Lenovo employees as well as supporting it’s channel partners. Away from the workplace, she enjoys spending time with her family and enjoying time outdoors, either walking her dog or trail running.

Jenny is the Head of Alliances & Operations at Highgate IT Solutions. Since joining Highgate in 2021, Jenny’s work in sustainability has propelled Highgate to the forefront of action in the channel. Jenny is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and strives to drive awareness and equality. With over 8 years of experience in the IT Channel, Jenny has picked up some personal and company accolades along the way – most recently, Highgate were named CRN’s Reseller of the Year (Sub £100m) in 2022. Jenny is also Channel Ambassador for Techies Go Green, a sustainability initiative in the tech industry, helping organisations become verifiably carbon zero by 2030.

Julia has worked and lived in several countries and brings nearly 20 years of experience in leadership & executive positions in the IT channel. Following her career in Tech, she retrained as an executive coach and now combines her passions for coaching and leadership. She works with leaders at all levels to define their authentic leadership identity. Julia supports her coaching clients to develop self-awareness, emotional intelligence and communication skills to work effectively in diverse teams and create a more inclusive workplace. She supports her clients in developing the necessary leadership skills to lead with a DEI mindset. Her clients find that through valuing diversity, promoting equity, and fostering inclusion they increase employee engagement, reduce staff turnover, and improve business results.

An accomplished People and Culture Director in the IT /Comms Channel Kate works with organisations driving employee engagement, ensuring teams feel valued whilst focused on business performance. Kate is a lively keynote speaker who has enjoyed speaking at many conferences across the world. Outside of work Kate continually champions the Women in Technology agenda and has co led WIT North for 6 years. Passionate about driving innovation to improve lives in her local community Kate is proud to be a Non-Executive Director at Unlimited Potential and volunteer with Manchester Fashion Movement

UKI Territory Marketing Leader - Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group | CRN Woman of the Year, Winner 2022 Larisa is the UKI Territory Marketing Leader for the Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) in the UK and Ireland and she is focused on driving business and market share growth, increased brand awareness for the Lenovo Data Center business, whilst also enabling excellence for its specialist channel partners and customers. Larisa Lucaciu has joined the Lenovo family in early 2019, after a successful collaboration with BNP Paribas Bank, as their Head of Marketing and Digital Transformational Leader for both the B2B brand and their consumer products. Before BNP Paribas, Larisa has led the UK and the US territory for Original Software, overseeing their Brand Growth, Digital, Biz Dev and Marketing deliveries. Larisa is a multi-award winner and one of of her most significant recognition is the one acknowledged in 2022 by CRN Women & Diversity in Channel Awards - Woman of the Year – the strongest Channel and IT industry credit that a professional of her calibre can aim for. With a career spanning over 15 years in management, Marketing and Business Development senior roles within the IT Software, Hardware and Insurance industry, Larisa has been successful in creating thriving sales, marketing and channel business in large technology organisations including Tech Data, Digital River and Cisco.

Manpreet is CEO of Bell Integration an IT solution and service provider, leading the company’s global operations from the UK HQ. Previously Manpreet was group CFO, Manpreet started her career in finance. Her financial insights and experience gave her a deep understanding of the drivers for a successful business, and she has been able to combine this with her passion for people in her CEO role. Manpreet also credits the mentoring and coaching she has received from business leaders along the way for her success. She is a strong advocate of equality, diversity and inclusion in business, and promoting a healthy and supportive work environment. Manpreet is mum to two girls and lives with her family in Surrey.

Mary Hunter, is an acclaimed business and leadership expert, holding multiple awards and recognized as an A-list professional for 2023 by CRN. As Founder of Empowering Your Future, she is a High-Performance Mindset and Business Leadership Coach, leveraging 30 years in the technology industry and 20 years in CEO roles. Mary excels building and transforming teams for success, turning loss-making units into profitable divisions while caring for individuals. A dynamic keynote speaker, she inspires change with actionable tools. Committed to community impact, she supports STEM education, Women in Technology, and the Nottingham University Business School Advisory Board embodying leadership for future generations.

Neil Sawyer serves as the Vice President and Managing Director at HP Inc. UK and Ireland, overseeing all facets of HP's operations within the region. In his role, he leads a diverse team focused on addressing the comprehensive technology, solutions, and services needs across public sector, large enterprise, small to medium businesses, consumer and home users. With a robust background spanning over two decades in the technology sector, Neil has accumulated valuable experience through various leadership and strategy roles at prominent companies such as Lenovo, Samsung, and Vodafone. His commitment extends beyond business, as he is a fervent advocate for fostering and promoting career paths for individuals within the technology industry. Neil's dedication is particularly evident in his active support for causes such as diversity, inclusion and equal rights. Championing these values in the workplace.

Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of CapametriX, Sandrijn has been the driving force behind the company’s growth and global expansion. Prior to founding CapametriX, Sandrijn ran global sales and marketing for both Virtual Computer and Reflex Security as EVP. He also held senior positions in EMEA at companies including ProofPoint, CipherTrust and Netscreen covering Channel, Direct Sales and OEM business units. Sandrijn brings a wealth of Sales and Marketing experience from his career working with channel partners of all shapes and sizes from every corner of the planet. He also extends his business experience with years of working in other industries with a number of charitable positions, board seats and supporting roles in retail, education, local government and creative markets.

Zoe Chatley Managing Director and Owner of The Channel Recruiter has spent the last 2 decades recruiting in the IT Channel. Having worked in the industry for so long now, I champion women and diversity in the channel and cannot wait to review all the entries and be part of this event.