The Diversity in Tech Awards took place on the 27th of September, and (although I’m a little late to the party on this), I wanted to highlight some of the people that one awards that night. On the night itself there were a number of company awards to the likes of EY, The Big Idea or The African Professional Network of Ireland and LinkedIn, there were a number of people to promote from the awards too. Some of these are:
Oluchi Anyabuike – Rising Star Award
Oluchi Anyabuike, an NUI Galway graduate in computer science and information technology, reflects on her journey through Fidelity Investments’ Leap graduate program. Her prior internship at Fidelity during undergrad influenced her path to a full-time software engineering role.
Leap stood out for its nurturing environment with mentors and a collaborative spirit, providing tools for self-driven learning and professional growth. Participants delve into Fidelity’s values, business domain, and tech tools while tackling full-stack projects. The program advances to more technical challenges and external team collaborations, exposing them to industry standards.
In her current Agile-based role, Oluchi excels in stand-up meetings, teamwork, and task completion, emphasising the value of soft skills honed in Leap. She’s well-prepared for her professional journey, crediting technical exposure, peer support, and ongoing career growth opportunities at Fidelity.
Begum Genc McEvoy – Women in AI – Data Scientist Award
Winner of the Data Scientist Award according to her LinkedIn profile Begum is a “She is a researcher mainly working in the field of artificial intelligence with a focus on good old-fashioned, symbolic AI. Her interests are rather diverse from computer games to algorithm design. She enjoys working on real-world problems. The vast amount of her experience thus far is on algorithm design, mathematical optimization with a focus on scheduling, matching problems under preferences, and applying AI solutions to real-world problems.
She is a strong research professional with a PhD focused on a novel concept of robustness for matching problems under preferences
from University College Cork, MSc focused on automated layout algorithms for visualisation of biological pathways from Bilkent University, BSc in Computer Engineering from Izmir University of Economics. She has lectured in various universities and colleges, and is highly experienced in event, workshop, and conference organisations.”
Tracy Gunn and Michelle O’Keefe – Platform 55 – Winner of The Entrepreneur Award
The winners of the Entrepreneur Awards Michelle and Tracey are the entrepreneurs behind Platform 55. According to its website it’s Both were balancing senior leadership positions whilst raising a young family. Having first-hand experience of the demands of balancing family life with their careers they recognised a need to support parents in the workplace. They’re on a mission to make sure that individuals can have a fulfilling family life and career.
The way we live, work and parent has changed. Platform55 was founded with a clear purpose to change the world of work. It doesn’t just make commercial sense to support families at work. It’s the right thing to do. By creating inclusive workplaces for families, everyone benefits.”
Sandra Healy – Inclusio – Tech Leader Award
Winner of the Tech Leader Award, according to her LinkedIn Profile Sandra is a “Sandra is CEO and founder of inclusio. Sandra’s career spanned 20 years in the global telecoms industry and five years at Dublin City University where she established the DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion. Sandra is an Organisational Psychologist and NLP Master Practitioner. Over 17 years she has championed and driven diversity and inclusion practice across industry and is considered a leading expert. In 2014, she was involved in establishing the EU Diversity Charter Ireland. In 2020 Sandra was a member of the Expert Advisory Group for Ireland’s Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality and is on the Leadership Council for An Garda Síochána (Ireland’s Police Force).
In 2020, inclusio spun-out of Dublin City University. The inclusio platform delivers a solution to address some of the most pressing challenges facing global employers today. Combining technology, psychology and artificial intelligence (AI), inclusio delivers a scientific, independent ‘Nudge’ platform that empowers leaders to measure, track and action DEI in an authentic way; through the voice of their people. The platform empowers leaders with the data they need to chart their progress on DEI efforts, measure ROI and benchmark in their sector, locally and globally.
In 2022, inclusio won the Altice International Innovation Awards, and most recently, the D&I Business & Finance ESG Awards (2023). inclusio is listed on the BOI Think Business, Top100 Startups to watch in 2023.”
Sinead Hickey, EY (Ireland, Dublin) – Digital Transformation Award
Winner of the Digital Transformation Award Sinead according to her profile on EY ireland’s website Sinead has over 20 years’ experience across a number of design and leadership roles in SAP consulting engagements and is a Partner within the SAP Practice in Ireland.
Sinead has worked with customers in a number of industries, including Life Sciences,
Consumer Products and Manufacturing, with a focus on deriving value from their SAP Investments and leveraging the benefits of emerging technologies within the SAP Portfolio.
Sinead holds an MA in Social & Organisational Psychology from University College Dublin and a BA in Psychology from the National University of Ireland, Galway. How Sinead is building a better working world. Sinead has been working with cloud and off premise solutions for twenty years and is focused on supporting customers in their digital transformations and facilitating the SAP Team to deliver innovative solutions.
Carolan Lennon – Salesforce Ireland – Winner of The Grace Hopper Award
Winner of the Grace Hopper Award Carolan is The CEO of Salesforce Ireland.
“Throughout my career I’ve seen and experienced first-hand the value and importance of having a dedicated focus on equality, and creating a workplace that reflects a society where all employees feel seen, valued, and empowered.
“I’m particularly proud of the work that has been happening in this space at Salesforce. Equality is one of our core values, it’s fully embedded into our company culture, and we see and feel the impact of this when we show up to work everyday.”
Ola Majekodunmi – The MC for The Evening
Majekodunmi was born in Lagos, Nigeria and raised in Dublin, Ireland. She is a broadcaster, Gaeilgeoir, producer, public speaker, writer, former co-founder of Beyond Representation and Board of Directors member on Foras na Gaeilge, Dublin Film Festival and a member of Galway Film Centre’s National Talent Academy Steering Committee.
Antoinette Marshall – Winner of the Young Female Pioneer in STEM Award
Winner of the Young Female Pioneer in STEM Award, Antoinette worked in the creative film, TV and animation industries for 10 years. She decided to transition into Engineering and studied a HNC Level 4 in General Engineering (Advanced Technician) at South West College. From here, Antoinette’s technology solution for disadvantaged learners was conceptualised early in her studies and it went on to receive several awards and recognitions. She received the Stricklands Engineering Scholarship as well as the PBL Educational Impact Award at SWC in 2021-22. She was also shortlisted for a Diversity in Tech (Disability) award at the British Diversity Awards 23’, and for an Inclusive Skills Development award at the World Skills UK Awards for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Heroes. Winning the Young female STEM Pioneer award at DITA 23’ has been a real defining moment for Antoinette, and a great esteem of positive influence and support in her continued journey for DE&I advocacy.
Caroline O’Driscoll, Mentor of The Year
A Corporate & International Tax Partner at Deloitte Ireland and has held leadership positions in various organisations. Caroline served as the chairperson of the board for the technology industry group it@cork from 2017 to 2019 and co-founded the social enterprise iWish, which aims to inspire girls to pursue careers in STEM. iWish has impacted over 50,000 girls from nearly 20 countries.
Within Deloitte, Caroline holds the role of Technology Media Telecommunications (TMT) Tax Leader for North and South Europe (NSE), overseeing 27 countries and serving on the NSE TMT executive team. She provide corporate and international tax advice to technology and life science companies, covering areas like investment, mergers and acquisitions, R&D, and tax transformation projects. They also support tech entrepreneurs in expanding their businesses internationally and have advised on high-profile exits, earn-outs, and IPOs.
In addition Caroline is actively involved in promoting diversity and inclusion in the technology sector and has spoken at various events and media outlets. She has received several awards and recognitions for their contributions, including the Chambers Ireland Award, WMB Boots Empowering Women Award, Top 10 Outstanding Young People of Cork, and the Woman of the Year award at the Women in IT Ireland series in 2021. They also received an Alumni Achievement Award from their alma mater, UCC, in 2017, a prestigious honour.
Kyran O’Mahoney – Part of the Panel Discussion on The Role of DEI: Driving Business Profitability Through Diversity and Inclusion
Kyran also took part in the panel discussion on The Role of DEI: Driving Business Profitability Through Diversity and Inclusion. According to his profile on IA Labs “Kyran is a proven and product-focused senior IT professional, with over twenty years of experience in the delivery of large complex technical projects for the Financial Services, Insurance, Media, HR, Aviation, Retail Industries and Charity Sector in Ireland, UK, and United States. Kyran has held senior positions in some of Ireland’s leading companies such as: Allied Irish Banks, Ryanair, and Dunnes Stores. Kyran’s role as CTO with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland puts him in the unique position to have hands-on experience in the field of digital accessibility.”
Fionnghuala O’Reilly – Winner of the Trailblazer Award
Winner of the Trailblazer Award according to her own website in 2019, I became the first woman of colour to win Miss Universe Ireland. I have worked as a NASA datanaut, which is a specialist in data science, and am a systems engineer and science communicator. You can spot me every weekend on CBS’s stem television show Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove. I am proud of my Irish and African American roots and am an advocate for my communities.
Some of Fig’s projects include Space to Reach that aims to “close the opportunity gap for Black and Brown Men and Women in STEM”, The Smile train “changing the world together, one smile at a time” Mission Unstoppable, which is explained above and does work for Engineers Ireland “Encouraging students across Ireland to pursue engineering.”
Dr Norah Patten – Keynote Opening Address ‘Through The Glass Ceiling to the Stars’
Dr. Patten gave the keynote address at the start of the evening entitled ‘Through The Glass Ceiling to the Stars’ and is aiming to be Ireland’s first astronaut.On her website it states “ I studied Aeronautical Engineering and gained my PhD from the University of Limerick, participated in the International Space University (ISU) Space Studies Program (SSP) in 2010, and joined the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences as a citizen scientist in 2017.
My goal is to fly on a suborbital spaceflight and share my journey to inspire the next generation of engineers, astronauts, innovators and scientists.”
Since participating in the International Space University (ISU) Space Studies Program in 2010, I have held various roles including Chair of the Space Management and Business Department; Chair of the Space Humanities Department; and Chair for a Team Project. I am now a Global Faculty Member with ISU.
In 2017, I joined Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere) at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. Through this program, I’ve participated in several citizen science campaigns including microgravity research flights, spacesuit testing and evaluation, spacecraft and aviation egress and others.
In 2019, I released my children’s book ‘Shooting for the Stars’ published by the O’Brien Press and illustrated by Jennifer Farley and won the An Post Children’s book of the year, senior.
Angelika Sharygina – Part of the Panel Discussion on The Role of DEI: Driving Business Profitability Through Diversity and Inclusion
According to her biography on techfugees.com they say “Angelika is a political analyst and researcher with experience in media propaganda, counterinsurgency, and sustainable policy development. She focuses on identifying and analysing fake news, harmful content, and extremist groups online. Her mission is to help citizens access true information, guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She is currently a visiting researcher at Trinity College Dublin, working on her PhD on the consequences of misinformation in conflict and war. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from King’s College London and was commissioned by Reuters Foundation to produce a report on media consumption and perceptions in Ukraine. Angelika advocates for equal rights for refugees and participates in the UK Youth Leadership Advisory Board with Digital Opportunity Trust.”
Angelika was part of a panel discussion on The Role of DEI: Driving Business Profitability Through Diversity and Inclusion
Hammad Ul Ahad – The Winner of the Diversity Role Model Award
The Winner of the Diversity Role Model Award Hammad is the Chief Technology Officer at Amnexis Ireland. According to his LinkedIn profile (Hammad) “is an accomplished Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with a diverse background spanning the tech industry and academia. He excels in full-stack software engineering, boasting proficiency in various programming languages and frameworks. His expertise extends to database administration, including Oracle and MySQL. Hammad has a track record of leading teams, adopting technologies like LAMP and embracing emerging trends like JAM and ELK stacks. With an outstanding record in strategic leadership, aligning technology with business goals, fostering collaboration, and inspiring innovation. The CTO’s commitment to digital transformation in sectors like Smart Cities and healthcare is evident, and they’re skilled in data visualisation tools, such as Tableau and Power BI..”