WeAreTheCity is extremely proud to announce our shortlist for the 2023 Rising Star Awards.
For the ninth year, WeAreTheCity is proud to shine a spotlight on over 230 incredible individuals as part of their annual Rising Star Awards.
On behalf of our headline sponsors, Royal Bank of Canada, and our supporting sponsors, it gives us great pleasure to announce the 2023 Rising Star Award’s shortlist and congratulate all the shortlisted individuals.
The Rising Star Awards which opened in January 2023 saw a record number of 1,450 nominations submitted from across the UK and Northern Ireland. All our judges stated that the calibre of entries for this year’s awards was nothing short of exceptional. The awards include over 20 different categories highlighting the need to see more women represented within these respective industries. The awards also include separate awards for Men for Gender balance, our Champion award, our Global Award, and our Company of the Year. All shortlisted individuals also have the opportunity to enter our additional public vote award where the winner will be chosen by the public*.
This year’s shortlisted nominees include Anita Marinelli, Founder & Trustee of My Shining Star Children’s Cancer Charity which she founded officially in 2016. Her work has been documented in many national newspapers, supported by celebrities from Chelsea Football Club and Arsenal to name a few.
We also have Sophia Lee Roberts, who is a Graduate Project Manager at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence and became a charity trustee at 20 years old.
Hannah Crompton is a Data Scientist and Project Advisor at EVP Innovation and Engineering, BP. She is an exceptional Data Scientist committed to using digital to solve the world’s greatest energy challenges.
Julie Hammond works for the NHS and is also a private GP. She is a Medical Director and Lead Aesthetic Practitioner at Dr Hammond Aesthetics Women’s and is an amazing mental health advocate with a passion for improving representation in medicine for people from underserved backgrounds.
These are just a few to mention but you can check out the full shortlist here.
The Rising Star awards also include a Company of the Year award, which recognises the achievements of a company that can demonstrate that they are actively supporting and developing their female talent pipeline through initiatives, training, development programmes and/or internal employee relations groups.
The awards also continue to celebrate Rising Star Champions, recognising the efforts of senior leaders who are actively supporting the female pipeline and we are also celebrating the Men for Gender Balance category.
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is delighted to be powering the Rising Stars Awards for the fourth year and extended our partnership through to 2024. These awards are critical to celebrate and showcasing incredible talent across multiple industries in the UK, something that is particularly important during these challenging times. Diversity and inclusion are more than just a value at RBC, it’s our strength, and it’s one of the ways we bring our purpose of helping clients thrive and communities prosper to life.
Dave Thomas / CEO, RBC Europe
The calibre of entries this year has been truly exceptional. Every one of these women should be extremely proud of their achievements. They are key contributors to their industries and outstanding role models. I wish them the very best of luck in the final round of judging.
Vanessa Vallely OBE / Founder, WeAreTheCity
The winners will then be invited to celebrate their achievements at a virtual award ceremony on 12 July, alongside our sponsors, judges and special guests.
We would like to thank our judges Rosie Nixon, Carol Ann Whitehead, Rob O’Neil OBE, India Gary Martin, Helen Pankhurst CBE, Anna Delvecchio FCILT, FCIPS, Kate Stephens, Athena Lamnisos, Asif Sadiq MBE, Charlotte Sweeney OBE, Lieutenant, Colonel Sulle D Alhaji, Commander Sam Kinsey-Briggs MBE MA, Flavilla Fongang, Dave Savage, Joanne Monck, Paul Sesay, Joy Burnford, Birgit Neu, Victoria Wratten, Ben Stevenson, Professor Susan Vinnicombe CBE, Dr Kate Devlin, Catherine Hall, Jenny Blackford, Dr Byron Cole, HonDBA, Scarlett Russell, Professor Funke Abimbola MBE, Dr. Diahanne Rhiney BCAe, Dr, Ruth Oshikanlu MBE, Ambily Banerjee, PhD, Paul Sainthouse, Sue Percy, Sam Newman, Michaela Gibson, Melanie Seymour, Martina Satherlund, Ania Rontaler, Lee Chambers, Elliott Rae, Stacey Toder-Feldman, Vanessa Sanyauke, Tunji Akintokun MBE CCMI, Priscilla Baffour, Stephanie Armstrong, Girgit Sandu, Tamara Lowhan, Anne Golden, Bhavini Shah, Sally Penni, Deborah Garlick.
The public vote of support will open on 9 May 2023 for all shortlisted nominees. The public vote count is a factor in the judging; however, the number of votes does not necessarily determine the winners in each category. New for 2023 we are introducing an overall public vote winner; this will be the individual with the most votes overall across all categories. Votes can be cast via the Rising Star website from 9 May.
Please note there is no public vote for the Company of the Year category.
