Finalists announced for Northern Ireland’s 2023 Women in Tech Awards

Taking place at Belfast’s Europa Hotel on Thursday, May 25 and hosted by Sarah Travers, the event will recognise and reward women who innovate, challenge, and embrace technology to change the sector for the better.

Sponsored by Vanrath, the awards, now in their second year, were created by Version 1’s Lorna McAdoo and will be hosted by the Women in Business Group, Northern Ireland’s leading network for women in the workplace.

Roseann Kelly, CEO of the Women in Business Group, said: “Northern Ireland has truly cemented its place as a global tech hub in recent years, and with that continued growth comes an opportunity to not only enable more women to enter the industry, but to also showcase the stand-out success stories which have helped elevate NI’s industry to the next level. Our 2023 finalists are a testimony to that talent.

“Since launching our Women in Tech conference six years ago, we’ve seen first-hand the tremendous women working in all areas of Tech in Northern Ireland. The exceptional standard of entries and breadth of sectors represented made the judging panel’s job very difficult. Each of our 49 finalists are incredible role models whose defining work can help inspire a younger generation to pursue a career within this growing industry.”

The six-strong judging panel included John Healy (chairman of The Software Alliance), Judith Millar (business development manager of the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen's University Belfast), Nuala Murphy (director at Diversity Mark), Patricia O’Hagan (CEO of Core Systems), Audrey Osbourne (investor at TechStart Ventures) and Louis Kingston (corporate relationships manager at Sync NI).

After extensive deliberation, the following shortlist was confirmed:

C Level Woman of the Year (sponsored by PwC)

· Fiona Browne - Datactics

· Becca Hume - Inclutech

· Fiona McGilly - First Derivative

· Joanne O'Doherty - Kinsetsu

· Faye Thomas - Vyta

· Pauline Timoney - Automated Intelligence

Digital Transformation Leader of the Year (sponsored by Core Systems)

· Alison Ballard - Allstate Northern Ireland

· Joana Cavadas - Aflac Northern Ireland

· Rucha Marathe - ubloquity

· Charlene McDonald - Kainos

· Sinead McCloskey - Danske Bank

· Rebecca Vogel - Connected Health

Entrepreneur of the Year (sponsored by Allstate Northern Ireland)

Emma Corbett - Insurin

Laura Haldane - SciLeads

Becca Hume - Inclutech

Emma McClenaghan - Genysys Engine

Green Impact Award (sponsored by Danske Bank)

· Antoinette Bradley - Aflac Northern Ireland

· Paulette Pinkerton - Version 1

· Annemarie Roddy - CarbonFIT

· Faye Thomas - Vyta

Male Advocate of the Year (sponsored by Version 1)

· Dr Joe Butterfield - School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen's University Belfast

· David Collins - First Derivative

· Ross Hompstead - ASOS

· Killian O'Rawe - Reward Insight

· Jonathan Sinclair - Inclutech

One to Watch in the Future (sponsored by BT)

Nuala Houston - SciLeads

Becca Hume - Inclutech

Courtney Lewis - Datactics

Christina Matier - Codec

Chloe McAree - Hamilton Robson

Emma McClenaghan - Genysys Engine

Paula McMillen - Allstate Northern Ireland

Returner of the Year (sponsored by Aflac Northern Ireland)

· Stephanie Adlum - Version 1

· Josephine Harper - Version 1

· Nicola Marshall - PwC

Tech Advocate of the Year (sponsored by Fujitsu)

· Sherry Bhardwaj - KX

· Naomi Gaston - PwC

· Shauna Leonard - Datactics

· Marie-Therese McCann - ESO

· Nicola Nelis - Allstate Northern Ireland

· Claire Nixon - Realtime Recruitment

Tech Team of the Year (sponsored by Realtime)

· Laura Clatworthy - Version 1

· Jackie Crooks & Joanne O’Doherty - Kinsetsu

· Roisin Gilmartin - Core Systems NI

· Becca Hume - Inclutech

· Riona Leonard - TPICAP

· Laura McFarland - Liberty IT

· Caroline Morris - Kainos

· Rebecca Vogel - Connected Health

Outstanding Woman in Tech (sponsored by VANRATH) – winner announced on the night.

300 guests from all business sectors are expected to come together to celebrate inspiring individuals operating in today’s thriving tech sector which now accounts for more than one in seven jobs in Northern Ireland, according to Tech Nation.

The 2023 Women in Tech Awards recognise businesswomen from a diverse range of tech disciplines through 9 categories, and May’s ceremony boasts a number of prestigious sponsors, including Vanrath, Allstate NI, BT, Danske Bank, PwC, Fujitsu, Aflac, Realtime, Core Systems, and Version 1.

To find more details or to book a ticket for May’s event, visit here.