It’s What You’ve Been Waiting For: The Official 2022 Shortlist For Women Leading Tech Is Here!

It’s our favourite time of the year, the shortlist for the third ever Women Leading Tech awards is here!
At B&T, we’re thrilled to share our shortlist of incredible entrants leading the tech industry to a more diverse and inclusive future.
The event will be an absolute cracker and we’re incredibly excited to celebrate all of our amazing nominees.
Now if you don’t have a ticket yet (how dare you!), you can still get them here – this year’s awards are happening on the 28th of April at the Sydney Town Hall.
A huge congratulations to all the amazing finalists – and if you didn’t make it this year, now is the perfect time to get cracking for your 2023 application!
Alright, that’s enough waffling on, here is B&T’s official 2022 Women Leading Tech shortlist:
Adobe
Joyous
Orro Group
Slalom Australia Pty Ltd
Stone & Chalk
VMware
DATA SCIENCE (SPONSORED BY IBM)
Aurelia Harjono, Sparro
Diana Sepluveda, IBM Australia Ltd
Dominique Eden, Seer
Dr Rahil Garnavi, IBM Australia Ltd
Harmeet Kaur Sokhi, Thoughtworks
Kathryn Collier, Eliiza
Melanie Wuong Sze Shien, Quantium
Pip Karoly, Seer
Rosyll Xavier, Linktree
Sandhya Iyer, Latitude Financial Services
Somya Malviya, GroupM
Zehra Rizvi, WhyHive
DELIVERY (SPONSORED BY FOXTEL GROUP)
Amanda Oakenfull, IBM Australia Ltd
Carla Keay, Adobe
Demelza Green, Patient Zero
Divya Panwar, Telstra
Hayley Smith, Yahoo
Hoda Mirzaeipoueinak, Finder
Jade Watson, GroupM
Kristen Pak, Hype & Dexter
Laura Mulligan, humm group
Louise O’Donnell, ReachOut
Sally Creber, VMware
Saranyah Shanmugam, Slalom Australia Pty Ltd
DESIGN (SPONSORED BY RESOLUTION DIGITAL)
Brigitte Barta, Icon Agency
Candice Ong, AKQA
Cassandra Cox, Art Processors
Deanna Grindrod, Switch
Helen Whitehead, IBM Australia Ltd
Kathy Veloso, IBM Australia Ltd
Kim Bartkowski, IBM Australia Ltd
Michelle Schuberg, Curiious
Nancy Lee, T-shirt Ventures
Sally Hughes, IBM Australia Ltd
Sandy Jenkins, Millipede
Yihan Lin, Thoughtworks
EDUCATION RESEARCH (SPONSOREED BY MONASH UNIVERSITY)
Faezeh Marzbanrad, Monash University
Hannah Beder, Creatable
Michelle Colgrave, Edith Cowan University
ENGINEERING (SPONSORED BY VMWARE)
Alexis Tyler, CitrusAd
Amanda Spencer, VMware
Dulini Mendis, Seer
Effy Elden, Thoughtworks
Elena Zagari, Wipro
Evelyn Chu, Matrak
Jue (Grace) Xie, Monash University
Nidharshi (Nish) Warusavitharana, Brighte
Niloofar Aliakbarzadeh, Advanced Mobility Analytics Group Pty Ltd
Rachael Jayne, Art Processors
Valerie Sandford, ARQ Group
Vicki Romanovski, Telstra
ENTREPRENEAUR/ FOUNDER (SPONSORED BY AUDA)
Angela Harbinson, The Separation Guide
Bronwyn Le Grice, ANDHealth
Danielle Owen Whitford, Pioneera
Jess Wilson, Good Things Foundation Australia
Kim Teo, Mr Yum
Maud Lindley, Serendis Leadership
Rachel Gately, Trellis Data
Sam Ramlu, M Theory
Sarah Neill, Mys Tyler
Simone Barker, Zebrar
Siobhan Savage, Reejig
Taylah Allen, triSearch
EXECUTIVE LEADER (SPONSORED BY PUBMATIC)
Amie Scruton, Art Processors
Ange Ferguson, Thoughtworks
Carol Chris, GB Group PLC
Cath Whitaker, SelfWealth
Julie Canepa, Cisco
Kelly Weideman, Evolt
Laura Henshaw , Keep it Cleaner
Melissa Fahey, hipages Group
Sarah La Roche, TRAVLR
Shamane Tan, Sekuro
Siobhan Savage, Reejig
Tracey Plowman, Bamboo Pty Ltd
MARKETING (SPONSORED BY LINKEDIN MARKETING SOLUTIONS)
Adrien Jarvis, Sharesies
Ana Norte, VMware
Azadeh Williams, AZK Media
Georgia Swanson, ARQ Group
Georgie Obst, HESTA
Kat Warboys, HubSpot
Katy Harrison, TikTok
Rachael Townsley, Quantcast
Stephanie Brown, Intuit
Stephanie Gillies, Trustpilot
Sue Lau, CHEP Network
Vanessa Wolff, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
MENTOR (SPONSORED BY ATLASSIAN)
Davinia Simon, Stax
Helen Xenofontos, Adobe
Jane Beck, Slalom Australia Pty Ltd
Jyo Shukla, ActiveXchange
Kate Toon, Stay Tooned
Laura Mulligan, humm group
Lauren Hammacher, Quantium
Lisa Lie, Half Dome
Mahsa McCauley, She Sharp Charitable Trust and AUT
Mari Kauppinen, The Marketing Practice
Minsun Collier, MediaCom
Stephanie Famolaro, The Trade Desk
PRODUCT (SPONSORED BY ROKT)
Aeirin Fabella, News Corp Australia
Ang Crilley, Telstra
Asha Potla, Soprano Design
Cathy Arnold, SEEK
Emily Chen, Iress
Jo-Ann Chung, WLTH
Kara Smyth, Nurch PTY LTD
Marianne Hawkins, Initiative
Dr. Mercedes Paulini, ReadyTech
Pauline Thomas, Macquarie Cloud Services
Ruby Kolesky, Joyous
Samantha Konieczka, Orro Group
REGIONAL TECHNOLOGIST (SPONSORED BY SAMBA TV)
Belinda Sheehan, IBM Australia Ltd
Jaqi Haworth, Orro Group
Kate MacAlpine, Domain
Nikki Kovacevic, Aussie Broadband
Pearl Myers, IBM Australia Ltd
SALES (SPONSORED BY HUBSPOT)
Aimee Gossage, Quantcast
Batoul Peters, Twitch
Elisa Kelsall, TikTok Australia
Jessica Miles, Integral Ad Science
Kali Guillas, The Trade Desk
Lamia Lee, Lucid
Maddison McMahon, Quantcast
Michelle Gibson, VMware
Orsi Toth-Pal, Yahoo
Preeta Jadhav, VMware
Savannah Ross, Rakuten Advertising
Yasmin Sanders, Samba TV
And of course a massive thank you to our incredible judges:
JUDGES
Abigail Charlesworth, AKQA
Adele Bernard, Talkwalker
Aldeida Aleti, Monash Uni
Anais Read, Assisterhood
Angela Goodsir , Thinkly
Ani Moller, Myer
Ann Nicholson, Monash
Anna O’dea, Agency Iceberg
Anny Havercroft, TikTok
Ayaan Mohamud, Impact.Com
Bernie Johnson, Adrenalin Media
Brady Dennett, Woolworths At Work
Brittany Kury, BPAY Group
Charis Kumpula, AKQA
Christina Gerakiteys, Singularity Australia
Clare Dlugosz, Mediacom
Denise Mccormack, Hatched Media
Elise Krucler, Cash Rewards
Elise Stitt, Finder
Gareth Tomlin, Paramount
Gayle While , Dentsu
Georgia Woodburne, Inskin Media
Georgina Wall (Georgie), Resolution Digital
Gillian Guerin, Ipsos
Heidi Savva, VMware
Inbal Costis, Outbrain
Jane King, Cartology
Jo Jones, Commbank
Julie Cooper , Azk Media
Juliet Mackenzie, Zip
Kate Mcbean, New Corp
Kath Blackham, VERSA
Kath Usabal , Vision6
Kim Chandler Mcdonald, Flat World Integration Pty ltd.
Kshira Saagar, DoorDash
Lauren Bigland, Media Math
Le Tran , Dropbox
Leanne Cartwright-bradford, Audible
Mary Proulx, One Green Bean
Megan Mulia, Data Action
Melinda Petrunoff, Pinterest
Michelle Hutchison, Finder
Natalie Ranki-Goldman, ROKT
Nicole Stirling, ACQUIA
Olia Mcdonald, Resolution Digital
Paul Bailey, Tourism Australia
Prof. Sarah Pink , Monash Uni
Rachael Townsley, Quantcast
Rachel Page, Yahoo
Rachida Murray, Sparkfoundry
Rashell Habib, Paramount
Rebecca Den Braber, Hatched Media
Richard O’sullivan, Inmobi
Ryan Menezes, Groupm
Sally A Illingworth, Lamps Media
Sally Marsden, Cash Rewards
Sarah Keith, Involved Media
Sarah Liu, The Dream Collective
Sarah Sullivan , Linkedin
Sharon Gray, The Spec Sheet
Simon Hickox , Seismic
Simone Archbold , Kasada
Smitha Virik, TEAM LEWIS
Sue Collier, Igodirect Group
Suzanne Croxford, AKQA
Tweety Li , Dynata
Yolande Strengers, Monash Uni
Yun Yip , Foxcatcher
Zoe Johnson, Wooliesx
Wow! That was a lot of names. If there are any spelling errors or changes to make, please contact meg@themisfits.media by close of business April 14th – there’s nothing worse than having a misspelled trophy displayed on your mantlepiece/bookshelf/windowsill above the toilet.
Find out more about the Women Leading Tech Awards HERE.
Tickets to the awards are now on sale HERE.
Early bird tickets end: Wednesday 30 March 2022
As an initiative created to support gender parity and representation across the tech industry, Women Leading Tech is an event inclusive of non-binary and gender diverse members of the tech industry, as well as any individual identifying as a woman.
Thank you to our Women Leading Tech sponsors:
Please login with linkedin to comment
women leading tech Women Leading Tech 2022 Women Leading Tech ShortlistLatest News

Bank Of Queensland Drops OMD, Hands Media To Initiative & Performics
Bank of Queensland Group has announced that following an extensive review of their existing media agency roster, the Group will split media across two agencies, being Performics and Initiative. As part of the acquisition of ME Bank by the BOQ Group in 2021, the marketing teams from across the Group were consolidated into one central […]

Why A Federal Election Is A Treasure Trove Of Data For Strategists & Marketers
Luisa Dalli (lead image) is a senior strategist at Havas Media Group. In this guest post, Dalli says Australia didn’t merely elect the Albanese government but it also shone a bright light on where we are and what we want as a nation… It’s been two months since Australia’s federal election, yet the underling feeling […]

“Don’t Read The Comments, Darling!” Richard Wilkins On Helping Son Christian Navigate Logies Dress Backlash
Proof the red carpet's about the only interesting part of the Logies comes this story from B&T's Christian obsessive.

Why Trust, Not Crypto, Is Today’s Most Valuable Online Currency
In uncertain times, trusted sources become even more significant in the world of media. Elise Bennett (pictured), head of account management (APAC) at Outbrain, reveals what advertisers need to know about the new trust exchange. Instability breeds uncertainty. From bushfires to the pandemic and war, there’s been plenty of both to go around in recent […]

Monday TV Wrap: MasterChef Cooks Up Solid Numbers For 10
MasterChef continues to prove it's like a proverbial Thai red curry left in the fridge overnight - it just gets tastier.

Radio Ratings: Kyle & Jackie O Are Hot On Ben Fordham’s Winning Trail
Sure, B&T's radio ratings aren't always first or aren't particularly thorough, but we guarantee a Media Watch-free read.

Nine’s Radio Stations Bag Best Ever Survey 4 Results
GfK Survey 4 of 2022 reveals that Nine’s talk stations achieved a cumulative audience of 1.873 million – up 9.1 per cent on Survey 4 of 2021. It’s the highest ever Survey 4 audience for the network, and comes off the back of record audiences in Surveys 1, 2 and 3. Sydney’s 2GB is a […]

“Absolutely Disgusting & Racist!” Adlander Slammed For Age/SMH Column Calling For Nick Kyrgios To Be Deported
There is nothing more divisive than tennis ace Nick Kyrgios. Save for hot or cold custard or Nicole in 'Eyes Wide Shut'.

British Drag Queen Busted Sniffing Amyl Nitrate During Live Pride TV Show
B&T never condones the use of drugs in any manner. Except for crappy dance music, where they're almost a necessity.

Lindsay Lohan Reprises ‘Mean Girl’ Role In Witty Work For Eco Sport Shoe Brand
It does help to have seen Lindsay Lohan's back catalogue with this ad. Not that we'd knowingly wish that on anyone.

Booking.Com Offers A Neighbours Fan The Opportunity To Holiday On Ramsay Street
A lucky Neighbours fan could win the ultimate prize. Well, by "ultimate" there appears to no sign of Charlene or Harold.

You’re Invited! Level Up Your Social Selling With Seismic
Diary free the morning of the 27th? Want to fill your stomach with brekkie & brain with social selling skills? Read on.

PepsiCo MarTech Expert Reveals Insider Tips On ‘Relationship Marketing’
Look, it's top expert tips on relationship marketing. Could possibly be useful for weeding out creeps on datings apps.

Optimising Commits To Environmental Support As Part Of 1% For The Planet Movement
Independent SEO agency Optimising has further reinforced its commitment to the environment by being part of 1% for the Planet, on the back of it gaining B Corp Certification last year. Optimising continues to walk the walk around environment sustainability by being part of the global movement, which inspires businesses and individuals to support environmental […]

Instagram Isn’t Dead: Here’s Why It’s Not Going Anywhere
Think Instagram is dead? Think again with this. That said, it's safe to say Myspace & the Blackberry are now both dead.

Sue Squillace Announces Departure From Dentsu
Sue Squillace heads for the Dentsu exists. Framed Indigenous art current leads wine decanter in leaving present options.

SCA Rebrands Its Promotions Division To Brand Experience
SCA rebrands its promotions division to Brand Experience. Also encouraging the use of the buzzword "moving the needle".

Ryvalmedia Again The Numero Uno Agency For Media Wins For May
View Australia's top performing media agencies for May right here. Or rage away if your filthy competitors are on it.

M&C Saatchi Still Tops For New Business Wins For May
M&C Saatchi nabs top performing creative agency slot. Refutes claims it had to do with Woolies selling $12 lettuces.

Public Memorial Announced For Radio Legend Peter ‘Harvs’ Harvie
Friends & colleagues invited to a memorial for radio legend Peter Harvie. Even sworn enemies likely to gain admission.

Get Your Entries In For Best Of The Best Now!
A tidy desk and punctuality aren't enough to win a Best of the Best Award. Not, that we do stress, they'd hurt either.

Regional is Booming At This Year’s B&T Awards!
Has the regionals ever been hotter, B&T asks? Nothing a global pandemic & cheaper hooch prices haven't aided, mind you.

OOh!media CEO Cathy O’Connor To Share Regional Advertising Insights At Newcastle Business Club
oOh! supremo to appear at the Newcastle Business Club. Planning some Screaming Jets or some Silverchair as intro music.

Comms Staff Encouraged To Take Survey Into Cultural Diversity, Inclusion & Representation
Media and communications staff at all levels are invited to take part in a national online survey examining perceptions and practices around cultural diversity, inclusion, and representation in the industry. The FAIR survey, now in its second year, provides a snapshot of cultural diversity in the communications industry, as well as how practitioners incorporate diverse […]

PubMatic Partners With AlikeAudience To Offer Media Buyers Exclusive Sell-side Access To Transactional Data
PubMatic has announced a partnership with AlikeAudience in Australia, Japan, and Indonesia, enabling advertisers to access quality audience data on the supply side. Activating data on the supply side cuts down complexity and delivers more efficiency and value for both media buyers and data owners, through higher match rates and better CPMs. The partnership expands […]

PHD Sets Sail With Celebrity Cruises’ Media
Callers to PHD treated to the Love Boat theme song as hold music today after agency snares cruise line's media.

Apex Car Rentals Unveils “Making Extra Ordinary” Via Host/Havas
Apex Car Rentals unveils latest brand campaign. Apex customer reveals "I am going to thrash the living shit out of you."

WeAre8 Australia Announces Key Leadership Appointments Ahead Of Australian Launch
WeAre8's not even launched & already the appointments are coming thick and fast. News of a printer can't be far off.

Optus Sport Becomes Official Aussie Broadcaster Of Spanish LaLiga
Live streaming service Optus Sport will be showing all major games of the Spanish La Liga Santander and the LaLiga SmartBank, giving football fans an extra reason to become subscribers. The Spanish Football League is considered one of the greatest in the world, containing the likes of European champions Real Madrid, Catalan giants FC Barcelona, […]

TVNZ+ Launches With A Warning About The Perils Of Free Streaming Via Dentsu Creative
In the recently launched campaign for TVNZ+, Dentsu Creative, and Sweetshop’s Damien Shatford, have delivered an entertaining look at the new streaming brand, TVNZ+. TVNZ launched the reimagined streaming brand last week to better reflect its digital offering, repositioning the platform as a streaming destination rather than an OnDemand catch-up service.

Nikki Van Dijk And Surfing Australia Team Up With Ruffie Rustic Foods To Promote Plant-Based Meals
Ruffie Rustic Foods have teamed up with Nikki Van Dijk and Surfing Australia to encourage groms to be kind to their bodies and minds through providing nutritious, plant-based meal options. Ruffie Rustic Foods are on a mission to prove that plant-based eating can be easy and convenient, without compromising on flavour. Whether you’re vegetarian, flexitarian, […]

Nestlé Australia Launches First Nations Creative Program Tuck In!
Nestlé Australia today launched Tuck In!, a program supporting emerging First Nations creatives to establish career pathways in commercial content creation. Tuck In! invited First Nations chefs and aspiring content creators to develop recipe and video content celebrating the combination of bush foods and Nestlé products. Nestlé Oceania marketing & communications director Anneliese Douglass said […]

British Army’s YouTube And Twitter Accounts Get Hacked By Crypto Scammers
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that the British Army’s Twitter and YouTube accounts had been compromised by hackers who used them to promote their non-fungible token (NFT) products. The two accounts have since returned to normal, as the Ministry said via their own Twitter page. “The breach of the army’s Twitter and YouTube accounts […]

Trinity P3 Leads Transparency Charge By Asking Agencies To Declare Harassment Policies
The only time B&T bullies or harasses staff is the toilet stinker, kettle water thief or the staff fun run enthusiast.

Tesla Is Up Against A Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
Being the richest man on the planet is not without its dramas as Elon's spate of recent bad news continues apace.

“Unfreaking Believable!” MAFS Australia Gets Cancelled In The United States
Sadly, we've only got Nick Kyrgios & Paul Hogan to make Americans think we're a nation of bogans after MAFS gets axed.