Women lead the rise of data-driven leaders

Winners announced for the first Data-Driven Leader Awards

The inaugural winners of the new Data-Driven Leader Awards have been announced at an awards ceremony in London to celebrate the achievements of inspirational data-driven leaders and managers. 

The awards saw a field of strong entries from a wide range of organisations, teams and leaders, with the judges noticing a strong theme of championing gender diversity in IT and leadership. The 2024 stand-out entries and category winners are all women or women-led teams. 

Created by Corndel, the leading strategic workplace training provider, the awards celebrate brilliance in data-driven leadership. The awards are the first industry awards to celebrate inspirational leaders and managers who combine great leadership skills and an innovative data-led approach, a critical combination of key skills in today’s fast-evolving businesses, organisations and workplaces.

The 2024 winners are:

Data-Driven Leader Award – Marion Shaw, Head of Data and Analytics, Chaucer Group

Marion’s achievements are many: she has implemented a Data Culture programme, achieved gender diversity targets, secured significant investment for data initiatives and delivered impactful data projects, all whilst promoting women in IT through her visibility and mentorship efforts and fostering team development and well-being.

Data Rising Star Award – Beth Macalindin, Digital Clinical Practice Educator, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Beth has delivered measurable and immediate impact in her role, improving medication scanning rates and training over 1,000 colleagues in digital literacy, empowering frontline employees and directly benefiting patient care.

Public Sector Champion Award – Data Science team, NHS Business Services Authority

This team’s impact and technical know-how were unmatched in the field, ultimately reducing health inequalities for children and young people, leading to widespread adoption and application of the insights at both national and local levels in the UK.

Data-Driven Social Good Award – Access Social Care

Under the leadership of Kari Gerstheimer, this organisation impressed the judges with the sheer scale and potential future impact of their achievements through their data-driven initiatives, such as establishing beneficiary-facing legal services, developing innovative digital tools, and advocating for transparency in government funding.

Data-Driven Initiative of the Year – Data Team, Admiral Group

This team were praised due to their focus on the importance of both people and data which has spearheaded a noticeable cultural change within the organisation, including fostering collaboration, promoting ongoing learning and development and driving a positive data-driven culture.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Chimene Painter, Group Operations and Technology Data Management Lead, UBS

Chimene has been driving data strategy for the last 20 years. She is described by her colleagues as fearless, full of strength and charm and her impact can be felt across the financial services industry.

James Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Corndel, said:

“I’m delighted to announce the first winners of our Data-Driven Leader Awards and extend our congratulations to all the very worthy winners. We created the awards to celebrate the data champions who have embraced today’s new era of data-driven decision-making and the rise of data-driven leadership. Our winners’ innovative approaches and excellence in their roles serve as inspiration to organisations across all sectors to embrace and champion data-driven leaders in their businesses.”