PCR’s top 50 women in technology

We asked you to nominate the women who inspire, make a difference and deserve recognition within the UK PC and technology channel, and the response was overwhelming.

PCR whittled down the list to feature 50 of the most influential women working within the industry today…

JEN ANDERSSON,

PR MANAGER FOR NORTHERN EUROPE,

NVIDIA

Andersson joined Nvidia in March 2012 after holding positions at B2B and B2C PR agencies, during which she successfully launched Skype into the UK market and was instrumental to its success. As PR manager for Nvidia, she supports both brand and product work across the UK and Northern Europe.

VICTORIA BELL,

OWNER,

BELL IT SOLUTIONS

Bell is the co-founder and director of Bell IT Solutions. She previously spent over ten years working for various global organisations in roles supporting the growth of business through IT. In 2013, she was nominated for Best Female Business Newcomer at the Welsh Women Mean Business Awards. 

EMMA BIGNELL,

EU SALES DIRECTOR,

TURTLE BEACH

Having previously led the sales team at UK distributor Lygo, Bignell then made the transition to EU sales director when the company was acquired by sound card and headset manufacturer Turtle Beach. She was a vital part of the Turtle Beach team that picked up both a PCR Award and an MCV Award earlier this year.

BETHANY BROWN,

HEAD OF MARKETING,

BROCADE

Described by her peers as efficient, hardworking and resourceful, Brown is the head of marketing for Brocade, which specialises in data centre networking solutions and services. She has an impressive track record within marketing having previously worked for Ingram Micro and Exertis Micro-P.

ANNA CHENG,

UK ENTERPRISE AND TECHNICAL PR MANAGER,

INTEL

Cheng possesses a strong understanding of and love for the tech industry with multinational corporate experience. She graduated from North Carolina State University with a Batchelor of Science degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering before joining Intel as a field sales engineer. 

RACHAEL CROOK,

MARKETING MANAGER,

TECH DATA

Crook is responsible for promoting the business of some key heavyweight vendors across Tech Data’s print and supplies, components and accessories and consumer electronics businesses. She has managed the successful launch of more than 20 new vendors in the last year alone. 

LINDSAY EVANS,

ELECTRICALS BUYING MANAGER,

SAINSBURY’S

Evans is an experienced retail buyer. After working as a senior buyer at Argos for almost a decade, she moved to Sainsbury’s in 2011, where she took up the role of senior buyer of new technology. In 2012 she moved to her current position. 

KATE FULLER,

MARKETING MANAGER,

ENTATECH

Fuller is responsible for driving awareness of Entatech’s range of vendors and vast product portfolio through a range of innovative and creative marketing initiatives. She works closely with key vendors to promote their product ranges and increase sales amongst the distributor’s resellers. 

LORELEI GIBB,

MARKETING DIRECTOR,

DOLPHIN COMPUTER UPGRADES

Responsible for Dolphin’s digital marketing, Gibb manages social media profiles for tech businesses that understand the importance of an online presence but don’t have the time or resources to manage, monitor and maintain their profiles. She also runs social network training sessions. 

ELIZABETH GOOCH,

ACTING EXECUTIVE CHARIMAN,

EG SOLUTIONS

Gooch started her career in the financial services IT industry before establishing EG in 1988. She was made an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours 2012 for services to the Financial Services Sector. In 2013 she won the West Midlands Woman of the Year award for her outstanding contribution to technology.

RACHEL GORDON,

MARKETING MANAGER,

MAD CATZ

Gordon is the chief liaison between vendor Mad Catz and its UK sponsored professional gamers. She is responsible with seeding PC product with major developers and publishers for use at community events, trade shows and press days, and works closely with distributor Entatech.

JO-ANNE HANDLEY,

EMEA CHANNEL MARKETING MANAGER,

POLYCOM

Handley runs the marketing program across EMEA for enterprise communications specialist Polycom. She is responsible for relationships with pan-EMEA distributors and ensures partners get real sales leads using a combination of demand generations materials followed by telemarketing.

LINDA HASSALL,

HEAD OF MARKETING FOR UK AND IRELAND,

ACER

Hassall is responsible for all UK and Ireland marketing campaigns and activity for both the consumer and commercial channels. Having been with Acer for four and a half years, she has helped the firm go from having little brand awareness to becoming a well-known name.

CAROLINE HODGSON,

BRAND MANAGER,

BT SHOP

Hodgson joined Dabs.com as marketing executive in 2010 and has gone on to lead the BT branded consumer business unit – BT Shop – to huge growth in the last two years. Hodgson manages the entire BT portfolio commercially as well as creating all marketing assets and materials for campaigns.

MARIE HUGHES,

ACCOUNT MANAGER,

HAMA

Hughes has opened some big accounts for Hama over the past few years, including the likes of Shop Direct Group and JD Williams. “She has the tenacity to provide outstanding service to all her customers, and has a fantastic personality which makes everyone she meets very comfortable,” a colleague tells PCR.

MARIA JACKSON,

HEAD OF MARKETING,

INGRAM MICRO UK

With a strong background in the conception and execution of integrated marketing programs for ICT services, solutions and software in B2B environments, Jackson is an experienced marketing professional. She’s a driven confident and energetic team player.

LIANNE JOHNSON,

RETAIL ACCOUNT MANAGER,

KASPERSKY LAB UK

With ten years of service under her belt, Johnson is one of the longest serving members of the UK team. Her loyalty, passion and drive quickly saw her rise through the ranks within the company to become a retail account manager, and she helped build the retail business from the ground up.

AMY JOLIC,

SALES MANAGER,

HANNSPREE UK LTD

Jolic joined the UK Hannspree office back in 2010, bringing with her 14 years of industry experience and expertise. As sales manager she plays a vital part in developing and managing channel relationships as well as adding some girl power to what is otherwise an all-male team.

ANN KEEFE,

SALES DIRECTOR,

KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY EUROPE

Since 2000, Keefe’s role has been to drive the business for the UK and Ireland – she manages a team that is responsible for all product lines and all sectors of the business from the consumer to the large multi-national enterprise and datacenter accounts.

LIZ KING,

DISTRIBUTION PARTNER MANAGER,

FUJITSU

King has been working for Fujitsu since 2006 and manages partnerships with a number of key distributors, including Entatech. Jon Atherton, Entatech VP and director, tells PCR: “Liz has been one of the key reasons why we have been successful with Fujitsu during the last 18 months.”

JENNIFER KINGWILL,

UK/IRELAND CHANNEL MANAGER,

BULLGUARD

Kingwill has secured BullGuard Preferred Vendor status with Network Group, attended over 25 channel events over the past year to boost the channel’s visibility, helped her customers grow revenue share and maintained strong relationships with partners.

EMMA LATTIMER,

MARKETING,

TP-LINK

Lattimer has a broad skills base including PR, communications and marketing across B2B, B2C and the channel. She also organises exhibitions and events including the Helpdesk and IT Support Show, The Gadget Show Live, Grand Designs and industry specific events to maximise brand awareness.

CLARE LEETHAM,

MICROSOFT MARKETING ACCOUNT MANAGER,

WESTCOAST

Leetham has been working within the IT industry for nine years and recently made the transition from Commercial to marketing with great success. She couples both innovative ideas and a proactive nature to deliver top quality marketing campaigns.

EMMA LOVELESS,

DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR,

CENTERPRISE INTERNATIONAL

Loveless is well regarded in the industry by customers and suppliers due to her wealth of experience. Since 2010, she has been responsible for Centerprise’s distribution division and has brought several international brands to the UK market.

AMY MAJOR,

PRODUCT MANAGER,

EBUYER.COM

Major is Ebuyer’s product manager for software, servers and storage. She works closely with some of the etailer’s larger suppliers like Microsoft, Symantec and WD to maintain a great relationship with both parties. She plays a key role in acquiring the latest technology and is an expert in business software.

LAURA MILLS,

PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER,

PLANTRONICS

Mills has taken the vendor’s mobile bluetooth product portfolio across Europe and Africa, driving its market share to become number one in several key markets. She is responsible for devising the marketing strategy and promotional activity surrounding new product introductions.

ELIF NERGIZ,

UK CONSUMER AND RETAIL MARKETING MANAGER,

LENOVO

Nergiz has worked for Lenovo for over three years as the manufacturer’s UK consumer and retailer marketing manager. Having graduated from Brunel University in 2006, she held roles at Acer, Compel, The Walt Disney Company and Evesham.

ALESSANDRA DE PAULA,

SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER,

WD

De Paula has the personality to inspire those she works with. She has a wealth of experience in the tech sector, having worked for Intel, D-Link and Microsoft. “She works tirelessly and truly deserves to be recognised as a top woman in the UK PC and tech industry,” one of her peers tells PCR.

TRACEY PERKINS,

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS,

MIDWICH GROUP

Perkins has been with Midwich since 1995. Tracey’s career path has taken her from credit control to group credit services manager and, following a management reshuffle in early 2014, she nOw takes a deserved place on the Midwich board and oversees the operational side of the business.

JOANNE PLUMMER,

MARKETING MANAGER,

SYNOLOGY

Synology is very active in both the UK and Scandinavia markets with a strong presence at events such as Gadget Show Live, PCR Boot Camp and its DSM launch – all arranged by Plummer. “She is the only lady in the team and keeps us out of trouble,” UK MD Mike Chen tells PCR.

TRACY POUND,

MANAGING DIRECTOR,

MAXIMITY

After starting her career as a programmer in 1984, Pound was appointed as a manager at a small software company at 21. She was soon headhunted by a division of BTR Industries where she was its first female manager to head up its UK IT operations. In 2000 she launched Maximity following the birth of her first child.

KATIE RAWLINGS,

HEAD OF MARKETING AND RETAIL SERVICES,

EXERTIS GEM

Rawlings has been at distributor Exertis Gem for more than three and a half years, following a seven-year stint at PCR publisher Intent Media. Her specialties include media sales, digital sales, marketing, PR, media buying, in-store executions, events, campaign planning, sales management and strategy.

ZOE SANDS,

EMEA HEAD OF DIGITAL MARKETING,

JUNIPER NETWORKS

With responsibility for evangelising digital marketing and social media, Sands has also helped develop the content and capabilities of six country websites for the vendor. She has also been developing digital marketing campaigns to drive brand awareness and engagement.

VICTORIA SATTERLY,

MD,

CHANNEL ASSIST

As an entrepreneur experienced in launching IT consumer brands and driving sales within the retail landscape, Satterly has extensive industry relationships with retailers, vendors and channel partners. She is a strategic thinker focused on optimising commercial results and business efficiencies.

STEFANIE SEARS-BLACK,

HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – MEMORY,

SAMSUNG UK

Sears-Black’s career in the IT industry has brought success in the many roles she has had. For the past three years, she has managed the Samsung SSD and memory card business in the UK, making it one of the best performing regions for Samsung memory globally.

ALICIA SHEPHERD,

HEAD OF B2B CHANNEL,

CMS COMPUTERS

As an experienced manager working within the IT industry, Shepherd is described by her peers as enthusiastic, passionate and a great relationship builder. She has helped make CMS Computers one of the largest system builders in the UK, by identifying new business opportunities.

SARAH SHIELDS,

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND GENERAL MANAGER,

DELL UK

Shields has a solid track record of growing market share against the odds and launching new brands into competitive markets. She has a proven ability in growing online, call-centre, direct and indirect sales teams both on and offshore, with past roles including stints at AMD and Acer.

JOANNA SHIELDS,

CHAIR,

TECH CITY UK

Shields has spent the past 27 years building some of the world’s best-known tech firms including Google, Bebo, Aol, and Facebook. As Chair of Tech City UK – a technology cluster located in London – she promotes growth in the UK tech industry. She has been recognised in several honorary lists.

OLIVIA SOLON,

DEPUTY EDITOR,

WIRED UK

As deputy editor of Wired UK, Solon has a raft of experience in journalism, specialising in technology, science, start-ups and digital culture. She has also had work published in Metro, Business Life, Business Voice, The Telegraph, FT.com, GQ and more. She has also co-authored a book of the 100 top innovative companies.

SARAH STALLARD,

ACCOUNT MANAGER,

NOVATECH

Having been at Novatech for one and a half years, Stallard has quickly established herself as a highly competent account manager. One of her customers tells PCR: “I have been trading since 2003 and Sarah is the best account manager we’ve dealt with. She does her job with total professionalism.”

GEMMA TELFORD,

PRINCIPAL,

THE IT MARKETING AGENCY

Telford has been a prominent figure in the channel for over 15 years. She brings marketing campaigns to life with intelligent approaches and creative thinking. One of her colleagues tells PCR: “Just standing next to her at various award ceremonies or conferences it is evident that she knows EVERYONE.”

CAROLINE THOM,

CHANNEL MARKETING MANAGER,

COMPUTERS UNLIMITED

Thom has been working as Adobe channel marketing manager at distributor CU for two and a half years, following a spell of almost three years at Ingram Micro. “She was great fun to work with, but always maintained a professional focus,” says a former employer.

JO TWIST,

CEO,

UKIE

The boss of UK video games trade body UKIE, Twist has helped fund and promote the Next Gen Skills campaign and convince the European Commission to approve tax breaks for UK developers. She previously worked at Channel 4 as commissioning editor for education and as multiplatform commissioner for BBC Entertainment.

JULIET WARD,

TECHNOLOGY TRADING MANAGER,

ARGOS

Responsible for a large computing, tablets and mobile tech buying team for Argos, Ward plays a key role in developing the retailer’s growing technology business. As a busy mum of two, she knows first-hand how mobile technology has become part of normal everyday life for families.

IRENIE WHITE,

OPERATIONS MANAGER,

CREDATIV

White is Chair of the Open Source Consortium (OSC) and is looking to build on the foundation established over the last few years, as well as push forward new initiatives which address the need for more open standards in school education and a better gender balance in the industry.

HOLLIE WHITTLES,

DIRECTOR,

PURPLE FROG AND FRAGGLEWORKS

Whittles is a founder and director of FraggleWorks, a web design company with a focus on start-ups. Her IT consultancy work through Purple Frog has seen her work closely with blue-chip companies and SMBs. She is also an MIOEE Accredited Mentor at the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs.

KATIE BICKERSTAFFE,

UK AND IRELAND CHIEF EXECUTIVE,

DIXONS RETAIL

Bickerstaffe helped roll out the Currys/PC World store makeover across the UK last year in a bid to appeal to women shoppers as well as men. She is a non-executive director of Scottish and Southern Energy plc, and was previously MD of Kwik Save Ltd. She has previously worked at Dyson and Pepsi.

RENE WRIGHT,

HEAD OF BUYING AND CATEGORY MANAGEMENT,

TESCO

A commercial retailer with around 15 years’ buying, marketing and trading experience gained within the consumer electronics retail environment, Wright has previously worked as head of trading for PC World, head of computing at Best Buy and head of tablets at Carphone Warehouse.

NICOLA YOUNG,

OEM SALES MANAGER,

MICROSOFT

Young is an experienced sales and marketing manager focused on channel and partner growth. She is responsible for the UK OEM distribution channel at Microsoft and a sales team focused on OEM distribution partners, hardware resellers and system builders.

MAGGIE ZABOURA,

FOUNDER,

ZABOURA CONSULTANCY

Zaboura has worked with a wide range of brands over the past five years including Kingston and CyberLink. She started her career at Imago Distribution, and later became EMEA sales director at Matrox, before moving to Corel as European Sales Director.