Mary Ball is the founder and ‘Chief Problem Solver’ at BallPoint Consultancy. With over 15 years’ experience in fast-paced tech startups, she’s led sales, account management, and strategy across a range of high-growth businesses.

She’s known for her practical, direct approach and her ability to simplify complex challenges into clear, actionable steps. Mary’s focus is on helping founders and CEOs separate the ‘shiny’ from the valuable so they can prioritise what truly moves the needle.

She also works with SMEs to unlock growth, particularly when it comes to accelerating revenue, refining sales strategy, or regaining momentum after hitting a plateau. Through BallPoint, she partners closely with clients to identify opportunities, shape the path forward, and support them through to execution.

Dan is the Global Inclusion & Diversity Talent Acquisition Lead at Avanade, a global IT consulting firm with just under 20,000 full time employees globally. His role at Avanade is a strategy / advisory function to help the business create sustainable diversity talent strategies to improve the internal representation numbers to be reflective of the communities Avanade serves. In 2022 he delivered a program designed to cross train women from outside the IT sector into Avanade’s Data Analytics practice. In each of the past 3 years he has supported the TA function deliver over 40% female hires into the business.

He is also the founder of The Intersection Network, a community interest company created specifically to help TA professionals navigate the intersection of diversity and talent acquisition activities. Dan recently created and launched a new online diagnostic tool to help organisations assess the maturity of their talent acquisition diversity and inclusion efforts. Designed for TA, HR and diversity professionals the ‘Diversity & Inclusion Talent Acquisition Maturity Assessment’ assigns a score that benchmarks your current strategies against best practice and also your industry peers. Dan has been in the talent acquisition space since 2003 with a focus on D&I since 2015.

Nabila is a Strategic Advisor to Smoothstack USA and an Advisory Board Member at Migrant Leaders UK. Previously, she was on the Board of Tenth Revolution Group (TRG), the parent company of various talent delivery and talent creation brands.

She was also Group President of Revolent, responsible for leading on the creation of tech talent that can thrive in niche technology markets. Nabila was the first and youngest female VP at the FTSE 250 company she used to work for and has accrued 20 years of leadership experience in professional services, talent solutions and marketing based in the UK and USA.

Nabila plays an active role in encouraging, supporting, and promoting diversity in the workplace and was recognized in Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 List 2019, as well as being selected as Globant's Most Inspiring Executive UK in 2021.

Since Alexis joined Stafford Long, her journey has been deeply rooted in bridging the gap between organisations and the untapped talent often overlooked. As the Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), her role transcends mere responsibilities—it embodies a mission that she holds dear. Alexis’s approach to EDI goes beyond traditional boundaries. She’s championed a shift from seeking culture ‘fit’ to valuing culture ‘add,’ advocating for the inclusion of diverse perspectives, experiences and identities that enrich workplace environments. Her involvement as a judge on panels for prestigious awards like the ‘Women in Tech awards, ‘RAD awards’, ‘UK Top 50 Inclusive Employers’ and the ‘Inclusive Awards’ speaks volumes about her commitment to the cause. It’s an opportunity that has allowed Alexis to witness first-hand the remarkable initiatives aimed at promoting inclusion.

Danielle has been a senior leader in technology for over 20 years, working for global leaders Hays and Tenth Revolution Group. In 2021 she launched IT recruitment company, CloudCo Solutions, bringing all of her experience and relationship-centric approach to create a values-led business focused on finding diverse cloud, data and AI talent for their customers. Danielle believes in creating opportunities for all and is a strong advocate for ED&I within the technology sector, building long-term partnerships to drive change and really make a difference. Not only is she driving change in the industry, she has spent the last 10 years running kids coding clubs both in the North West and London to engage children from a young age to pursue tech careers and regularly speaks at industry events on improving diversity & social mobility in the sector. Danielle is a founding member within the North West Tech Talent Consortium working alongside leading North West tech employers to attract and retain diverse tech talent into the North West digital economy. She also Co-Chairs the Action for Children Board.

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Anthony has been in the tech industry for nearly 20 years and has an extensive background in supporting companies with employer branding and recruitment attraction as ex MD of Technojobs and ContractorUK.

Anthony founded the popular site, womenintech.co.uk which was started up to support more women finding and growing their careers in tech. Anthony has played an active role supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives in the industry, has helped to set up a popular women in tech mentoring scheme and advised many companies on their Women in Technology journey.

Anthony now supports and advises clients within the Recruitment, Corporate, HR Tech and D&I sector at The PHA Group.

Dr Anju Solanki (Hons DBA) is the founder of MEA Consulting Group, a thought leading equity, diversity and inclusion consultancy. At MEA, Anju has cultivated innovative and thought provoking training and advisory services for a variety of leading organisations including the NHS, FTSE 100 companies, charities and the government. She also led the design of world class virtual reality EDI training backed by behavioural science. Anju has been a Business Mentor for the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Her work has seen her featured in Forbes, BBC, Good Morning Britain and GB News. 

Prior to MEA, Anju had a successful 12 year career in Investment Banking, working at Citigroup, Barclays and Lloyds. Anju became super passionate about driving social change having experienced first hand the invisible barriers underrepresented groups faced.

Anju is a recognised leader in the EDI space and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2023 by Arden University for her services to EDI. 

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Ben is a globally renowned leader in talent acquisition, with an impressive track record in technology recruitment across both agency and in-house settings, including his recent roles at AstraZeneca and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Widely recognised for his initiatives supporting Women in Tech, Ben has built a formidable reputation and demonstrates an unwavering passion for driving positive change in the realms of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity.

A previous recipient of the 'Best Recruiter' award, Ben now contributes his expertise as a judge for the event.

With over 60,000 employee’s, Serco focus on serving governments globally. In Europe we operate in ten countries across four key sectors, International Organisations, Space,Defence and Immigration.

Our business thrives because of our talented and diverse workforce, we continually challenge ourselves to ensure diversity equity and inclusion are embedded in our cultureand ways of working. Our workplace culture is one that embraces diversity and fosters equity, respect and belonging for every individual, We are committed to equal employment opportunities and creating an inclusive environment that proudly celebrates the perspectives and backgrounds of our employees.

Services include ICT services in support, infrastructure, operations and development, Managing Contact Centres and providing high level technical personnel into the Space sector.

Elena proudly joined Serco in February 2022, and since then, her journey at the company has been truly rewarding. In her current role as a TA Specialist (50%) and DEI European Lead, she is dedicated to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels they belong and can make a positive impact.

Since January 2025, Elena has become the first person at Serco to hold a dedicated 50% DEI role in Europe. Previously, DEI initiatives were carried out on a voluntary basis by colleagues across Europe. In this role, she developed a comprehensive strategy that aligns with global requirements, introducing webinars and support materials in five languages to ensure colleagues feel valued and included, regardless of their background or location.

Throughout her career, Elena has been passionate about empowering women and girls in STEM through and community engagement.

As the first European DEI Lead with a dedicated role, Elena built a network of DEI ambassadors representing five main languages within the European business. She created a long-term strategy to collaborate with various teams and maintaining a consistent approach to inclusion. The network now includes her manager as a sponsor, Four ambassadors (+ herself), and 50 allies across European locations.

Elena is honoured to bring her experience and passion for equity and representation to the Women in Tech Awards as a judge. She believes that recognizing and celebrating women’s contributions in technology is essential to driving meaningful change. Through her work, she continues to advocate for a future where every voice is heard, every person feels included, and every woman in tech is empowered to thrive.