Computer Weekly has announced the 2022 list of the Most Influential Women in UK Technology, including this year’s winner, Flavilla Fongang, founder of both 3 Colours Rule and the Global Tech Advocates Black Women in Tech group.
The list of the Most Influential Women in UK Technology has grown significantly since it was launched in 2012, when it was originally a list of only 25 women.
In 2015, it was expanded to include 50 women each year, and now in its 11th year, the coinciding Hall of Fame list, which recognises women for their lifetime contribution to the tech sector, has grown to feature 45 women.
Since the accolade’s inception, Computer Weekly has also introduced an annual list of Rising Stars to ensure as many women in the sector as possible are recognised for their work and their potential in the IT industry.
This year’s winner, Flavilla Fongang, founder of both 3 Colours Rule and the Global Tech Advocates Black Women in Tech group, chose to move into the technology sector from the fashion industry because of the tech sector’s potential to work with “disruptors” and “game changers”.
As part of her work to make role models in the sector more visible, Fongang founded the GTA Black Women in Tech group, giving black women a platform to speak about technology-based subjects. She eventually publishing a book about these women, The Voices in the Shadow, aimed at educating school-aged children about some of the more under-represented people in the industry.
1. Flavilla Fongang, managing director, 3 Colours Rule; founder, TLA Black Women in Tech
Fongang is a strategic brand specialist aiming to help technology companies with brand engagement. She is managing director of creative agency 3 Colours Rule, as well as a branding, neuromarketing and social selling course instructor for the agency.
She is a brand adviser at the BBC, a brand specialist for Consilience Ventures and an entrepreneurship expert with the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.
She founded the Tech London Advocates Black Women in Tech group, which aims to support and accelerate diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.
2. Sarah Turner, CEO and co-founder, Angel Academe
Turner founded Angel Academe, a pro-women and pro-diversity angel investment group focused on technology, and is currently CEO of the group.
She is also an advisory board member of tech recruiter Spinks, and in 2007 co-founded consultancy Turner Hopkins, which helps businesses to create digital strategy.
Previously, Turner was an external board member and chair of the investment committee for venture capital fund the Low Carbon Innovation Fund and a board member of the UK Business Angels Association, the trade association for early-stage investment.
3. Charlene Hunter, CEO and founder, Coding Black Females
Hunter founded Coding Black Females in 2017 to help black female software developers meet each other and network. Alongside her work at Coding Black Females, Hunter is a software developer.
She is an advisory board industry representative in the University of Essex Online’s computing department, is technical director at SAM Software Solutions, and technical director at full-stack and front-end training organisation Black Codher Bootcamp.
Previously, Hunter was lead software engineer at Made Tech, and held roles such as senior software developer, lead Java developer, app developer and technical consultant at various firms.
She was named a Computer Weekly Women in UK Tech Rising Star in 2020.
4. Naomi Timperley, co-founder, Tech North Advocates; growth and innovation consultant, We Are GSI; innovation and growth lead, Manchester Tech Festival
Timperley is a freelance consultant and co-founder of Tech North Advocates, a private sector-led collection of tech experts who champion the technology sector in the north of England.
Last year, she co-founded advisory firm Growth Strategy Innovation, which helps to grow startup and scaleup organisations.
Named a Computer Weekly Women in Tech Rising Star in 2017, Timperley is also a board trustee of charity Digital Advantage, a board member of community initiative WILD Digital and, until last year, was a board member of FutureEverything. In the past, she co-founded Enterprise Lab.
5. Suki Fuller, founder, Miribure
Fuller founded Miribure in 2015. The company uses data gathering and analytics to promote strategic decision-making in firms.
She is also a founding ambassador of the FiftyFiftyPledge, an advisory board member of Tech London Advocates and Tech Global Advocates, and the TLA Women in Tech co-lead.
Fuller co-founded, and until 2019 was CEO of, incubator and accelerator Salaam Ventures, which focuses on assisting ethical startups.
6. Janet Coyle, managing director business growth, London & Partners
Coyle has held several roles at London & Partners, including principal adviser, director of trade and growth, leading the export and growth strategy for the firm, and managing director of growth, before being made managing director of business growth in early 2021.
She has several other roles, including non-executive director for Rocketseed, and acts as co-chair for the Tech London Advocates Scale Up Group.
In the past, she was managing director of Silicon Valley Comes to the UK, and was an adviser for charity Founders4Schools.
7. Hayaatun Sillem, CEO, Royal Academy of Engineering
Sillem worked for the Royal Academy of Engineering for 12 years before being appointed its CEO in 2018.
Previous roles at the Academy include deputy CEO and director of strategy, director of programmes and fellowship, and head of international activities.
As well as her work for the Academy, Sillem is a trustee and judge for the St Andrews Prize for the Environment, a trustee of EngineeringUK and the Foundation For Science and Technology, and CEO of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.
8. Sheridan Ash, technology innovation leader, PwC UK; co-CEO and founder, Tech She Can
Ash has two major roles – as technology innovation leader at PwC UK, and co-CEO and founder of the charity Tech She Can. She is a board member of the Institute of Coding and, in 2020, received an MBE for services to young girls and women through technology.
Tech She Can is an award-winning charity with over 240 member organisations, which together work with industry, government and schools to improve the ratio of women in technology roles. It provides initiatives and pathways into tech careers across all the different stages of girls’ and women’s lives.
At PwC, Ash led change in the technology workforce, pioneering initiatives that saw the percentage of women in tech more than double to reach 32%.
9. Anna Brailsford, CEO, Code First Girls
An entrepreneur and co-founder, Brailsford joined Code First Girls as CEO in 2019, where she works to encourage more women into the tech sector by providing software development skills and education.
She is also a board member at the Institute of Coding, where she is focused specifically on diversity and inclusion, and is a self-employed commercial and strategy consultant.
Prior to her work at Code First Girls, Brailsford co-founded and was CEO of performance management firm Frisbee, which was part of venture capital fund Founders Factory.
10. Kike Oniwinde Agoro, founder, BYP Network
Oniwinde Agoro founded BYP Network in 2016 to help black professionals network and have easier access to jobs after a trip abroad confirmed the challenges young black people face in getting jobs both in and outside the UK.
She is board trustee for volunteer organisation Getting On Board and has received several awards and accolades, including Forbes 30 Under 30 and Financial Times Top 100 BAME Leaders in Technology.
11. Lindy Cameron, CEO, National Cyber Security Centre
As part of her role at the National Cyber Security Centre, Cameron helps the UK to plan for, and respond to, risks and opportunities posed by emerging technologies.
She has a long history of roles in the public sector, including at organisations such as the Department for International Development, the Northern Ireland Office, the Cabinet Office, and the Government’s Stabilisation Unit.
12. Beckie Taylor, CEO and co-founder, TechReturners
Taylor co-founded TechReturners, where she is currently CEO, to give skilled individuals who have had a career break the opportunity to connect with firms and help them back into mid-to-senior-level tech roles.
She is also co-founder and CEO of The Confidence Community, which aims to provide resources, training information and events to give people more career confidence. Taylor is co-founder of community WIT North, and co-founder of ReframeWIT.
13. Lopa Patel, founder, Asians in Tech; chair, Diversity UK
Patel has an extensive background in both diversity and STEM, currently holding positions as non-executive director of UK IPO, a trustee of the Science Museum Group, and chair of Diversity UK.
She also founded Asians in Tech, which annually showcases the top 100 people from Asian backgrounds working in the technology and digital sectors in the UK.
14. Clare Barclay, CEO, Microsoft UK
Barclay has been with Microsoft for more than 10 years, holding several roles including director of SMB, general manager of small and mid-market solutions and partners, and chief operating officer (COO).
She is now CEO of Microsoft in the UK, responsible for the firm’s product and service offerings in the region.
15. Emma Wright, director, The Institute of AI
With a background in law surrounding telecoms, the internet and media, Wright now uses her expertise as director of not-for-profit The Institute of AI, as well as non-executive director of Playfinder and partner at Harbottle & Lewis, heading up the tech, data and digital group. She has worked in the tech sector for over 20 years. Her team at Harbottle & Lewis is comprised of 66% female and 66% ethnic minority members.
As director and counsel at not-for-profit The Institute of AI and Emerging Technology, she has built a global network of legislators focused on the legislative framework applicable to AI and other emerging technology. This year she has been working with the OECD, WEF and the ITU and is building a reputation in relation to the regulation of AI.
She is also working with the Ditchley Foundation, considering whether the collaborative approach in relation to telecoms can work for AI regulation. She is a champion for the Digital Poverty Alliance and is working with the UK government on how the mandatory social purpose scoring can support greater access to the internet and high-speed data for those in digital poverty.
16. Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder, CognitionX; chair, government’s AI Council
Goldstaub is an expert in the impact that AI has on society, co-founding CognitionX, a platform and network that helps to build AI and data-driven systems.
She is chair of the government’s AI Council, which aims to offer advice and guidance to the government in the ongoing use and development of AI.
She also acts as marketing counsel for Founders4Schools, adviser for The Prince’s Trust and is co-founder of Future Girl Corp, an organisation that runs free events for future female CEOs. She also acts as a judge for Teens in AI, and is an advisory board member for the Campaign for Science and Engineering.
17. Efua Akumanyi, co-CTO, Coding Black Females
Akumanyi is a serial founder and software developer, and is currently co-chief technology officer (CTO) at community network Coding Black Females.
She is also co-founder, CTO and lead developer of AI shopping site Furnishful, and founder of training course provider DigiBright.
18. Liz Williams, CEO, FutureDotNow; chair, GoodThingsFoundation
Williams is CEO of inclusion campaign FutureDotNow, which aims to ensure people are not left behind by the growing skills gap caused by digital adoption.
She is a member of the UK government’s Digital Skills Council, is a member of the board of trustees for Transport for London and is chair of the Good Things Foundation.
Prior to her current work, Williams spent more than 20 years at BT in a number of roles, including programme director for sustainable business, director of tech literacy and education programmes, and director of digital society.
19. Elena Sinel, founder, Acorn Aspirations and Teens in AI; business mentor, Microsoft for Startups
Sinel founded Teens in AI and Acorn Aspirations to help young people who want to solve real-world problems using technology such as AI, virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
She has won awards for her work, including CogX 2017 Award in Using AI for Social Good Projects, and is currently an education taskforce…