Heres Britain's 139 Coolest Women to Watch in 2018

When we think of trailblazing women breaking barriers doing incredible work we often think of the awesome;

• Martha Lane Fox,
• Joanna Baroness Shields OBE,
• or Nicola Mendelsohn CBE of Facebook.

A quick Google search highlights the following incredible female leaders.

Each one of these women are fantastic and deserve to be celebrated.

But.

And I say a ‘but’ cautiously ..

I don’t see many women that look like me

What do I mean?

I mean — women from diverse backgrounds.

With the exception of Indra Nooyi Chairman and CEO of Pepsi & Co.

I find myself asking, where are the rest of us? And why are they not celebrated?

So I scratched my itch and put together a diverse list of inspiring women that equally deserve recognition — regardless of colour.

Diversity is not just about ticking boxes and inclusion should not just be about employer branding or even a PR farce. It is about being an instrumental part of the conversation and facilitating opportunities.

Why?

Cos you can’t be what you can’t see.

Here is a diverse list of 139 fabulous women. With this list I hope we all see someone that looks like us, someone we all relate too and someone we see as a role model.

1. Isabel Montoya Founder and Chef Nuuk Bakery
2. Aneeqa Khan Founder Eporta
3. Ade Hassan Founder Nubian Skin
4. Michelle You Co-founder Songkick
5. Marija Butkovic Founder Women of Wearables, Co-founder Kisha Smart Umbrella
6. Tamara Rajah Founder Live Better With
7. Amber Atherton Founder Zyper
8. Sarah Hesz Founder Mush App
9. Sara Tateno Founder Happity
10. Susan Ramonat Founder Spiritus Partners
11. Sheeza Shah Founder UpEffect
12. Urenna Okonkwo Founder Cashmere App
13. Yodit Stanton Founder OpenSensors
14. Gen Ashley Director of Women Who Code
15. Nafisa Bakkar Co-founder Amaliah
16. Sharmadean Reid MBE Founder Beautystack and WAH Nails
17. Seetal Fatania Founder J’adore Adorn
18. Hasna Kourda Founder Save your wardrobe
19. Sahar Fikouhi Director at DARF Design
20. Upma Arora Co-founder of Dhaba Lane
21. YeeMun Thum Partner at Potential VC
22. Shefaly Yogendra Serial Entrepreneur
23. Sonia Padam 8 Hours Studio
24. Kiran Singh Multi-Award Winner, Lifestyle, Mindfulness & Wellness Coach, Author and Interior Designer
25. Ekaterina Lengefeld Founder Your Interest
26. Weerada Sucharitkul Co-founder FilmDoo
27. Connie Nam Founder Astrid & Miyu
28. Abadesi Osunsade Community Product Hunt, Founder Hustle Crew
29. Anisah Osman Britton Founder 23 Code St
30. Arfah Farooq Co-founder Muslamic Makers
31. Noreen Niazi Muslim Women Connect
32. Vanessa Vallely Founder WeAreTheCity
33. Anjali Ramachandran, Co-founder Adas List
34. Lu Li, Founder Blooming Founders
35. Saira Khan Digital Innovation Leader HSBC
36. Sarah Lloyd Hughes Founder Ginger Training and Coaching
37. Roberta Lucca Co-founder Bossa Studios, Founder BOLDR
38. Nene Parsotam Co-founder Vine Creatives. Founding Member We Are Stripes
39. Mariam Jimoh Founder Women in the City
40. Adaobi Adibe Lead VC at Campus Capital, Co-founder Careforseven
41. Anisa Haghdadi Founder Beatfreeks
42. Hushpreet Dhaliwal Corporate Development Deep Science Ventures
43. Shruti Ajitsaria Head of Fuse Allen and Overy
44. Marion Gamel CMO Betsson Group, CEO Betsson Services
45. Doniya Soni Principal Policy Officer Greater London Authority
46. Nikki Cochrane and Kathryn Tyler Founders Digital Mums
47. Ella Goldner Co-founder Zinc VC, Co-founder NewCo
48. Natasha Walter Director Women for Refugee Women
49. Samantha Payne COO Open Bionics, Innovation Fellow at Wired
50. Cassandra Stavrou Founder PROPERCORN
51. Linda Wang Co-founder Lendingblock
52. Alexandra De Faucigny Founder London Expectant Mums Meetup, Founder Tendre Deal
53. Sumita Jindal CMO Digimeal
54. Silja Litvin Founder PsycApps
55. Samiya Parvez Founder Andiamo
56. Noor Shaker CEO GTN Ltd
57. Nadia El Hadery CEO YFood & London Food Tech Week
58. Tanya Suárez Co-founder IoT Tribe
59. Hope Jikiemi Founder Epoh-Ireti
60. Wan Tseng Founder Wisp
61. Suki Fuller Founder Miribure
62. Justine Roberts Founder Mumsnet and Gransnet
63. Tina Lobondi Creative Director and Founder Tina Lobondi
64. Vicky Hunter COO at 3beards and silicondrinkabt
65. Dr Aygul Zagidullina Director of Social Media at Motaword
66. Jessie Link Head of Engineering Twitter UK
67. Vera Mehta Head of Development at UK Ministry of Justice
68. Olga Bagach Director at Founders Keepers
69. Susie Coleman Software Developer at Guardian News & Media
70. Becca Caddy Freelance Tech Writer for WIRED, The Observer, The Sunday Times
71. Gayathri Rajan Lead Software Engineer at Capgemini UK
72. Jo Franchetti Web Developer Advocate Samsung
73. Kamila Sledz Agile Coach at Barclays
74. Claire Cohen Women’s Editor and Associate Features Editor at Telegraph
75. Jacqui Gibbons Journalist at Time Inc. UK
76. Janine Gibson Editor-in-Chief of Buzzfeed UK
77. Yessi Bello Perez Editor UK Tech News
78. Adizah Tejani Advisor UCL School of Management, Director of Marketing EMEA Token
79. Cansu Deniz Bayrak COO Startupbootcamp
80. Lauren Razavi Award-Winning Writer, Speaker and Consultant
81. Vivienne Scantlebury Senior Business Adviser for the Enterprise Europe Network
82. Kiana Sharifi Head of Talent Services at Balderton Capital
83. June Angelides Founder at Zinc VC Mission 1, Founder Mums in Technology,
84. Jawahir Roble Britains First Muslim Female Referee in the UK
85. Nina Salomons Lead at VR Diversity
86. Emma McGuigan Managing Director of Technology at Accenture
87. Helen Lamb,VP at Fujitsu
88. Charlotte Finn VP of Programmes at Salesforce EMEA
89. Jo Bertram Northern Europe general manager at Uber
90. Elizabeth Eastaugh Head of Customer Experience at Expedia
91. Kiki Loizou Former Enterprise Editor at the Sunday Times
92. Ingrid Lunden Writer at TechCrunch
93. Harriet Minter Freelance Journalist, Speaker, Women in Leadership Advocate, Former Editor of Women in Leadership at Guardian
94. Olivia Solon Journalist at Guardian
95. Emily Spaven UK News Editor at LinkedIn
96. Katharine Viner Editor-in-Chief of Guardian News and Media
97. Margarete McGrath Director of Digital Strategy at EY
98. Sue Duke European Director of Public Policy at LinkedIn
99. Cindy Rose CEO of Microsoft UK
100. Magdalena Kron Head of Rise London
101. Claire Gilmartin CEO Trainline
102. Ijeoma E. Okoli Director at JPMorgan Chase & Co
103. Kjersten Margaret Moody VP of Information and Analytics at Unilever
104. Sherine Yap Global Head of CRM at Shell
105. Itxaso del Palacio Investment Partner Europe at Microsoft Ventures
106. Yasmeen Ahmad Practice Partner of Analytic Business Consulting at Teradata
107. Anna Boffetta Associate at Balderton Capital
108. Anna Hyde Partner at Bethnal Green Ventures
109. Sonali de Rycker General partner at Accel Partners
110. Reshma Sohoni Partner and Co-founder at Seedcamp
111. Carolyn Johnson VP Global Technology Talent Strategy at JPMorgan Chase & Co
112. Anne Sheehan Enterprise Director at Vodafone UK
113. Sasha Koren Editor at Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab
114. Ffiona Jones Manager of Technology Consulting at Deloitte
115. Hema Patel Group manager at BNY Mellon Pershing
116. Emma Gannon Author, Broadcaster and Host of the Ctrl Alt Delete podcast
117. Jennifer Wetton New Technologies and Innovation Manager at Santander
118. Natasha Sayce-Zelem Head of Technology at Sky
119. Christine Ashton SVP of Technology at Thompson Reuters
120. Lauren Garey Banker & UK Head of Female Strategy JPMorgan Chase & Co
121. Raminder Bath Director of IT at Credit Suisse
122. Shivvy Jervis Tech and Digital Futurist
123. Anne-Marie Imafidon Co-founder Stemettes
124. Ruth Milligan Head of Financial services and payments at techUK
125. Catherine Allen BAFTA-winning AR, VR and Immersive Media Specialist
126. Valerie Mocker Head of Development and European Digital Policy, Nesta
127. Hermione Way Consultant and Former Head of European Communications at Tinder
128. Saritha Arunkumar Security Leader at IBM UK
129. Zoë Rose Ethical Hacker and Cyber Security Consultant at Baringa Partners
130. Neila Romdane Founder Tatteo, Marketing Strategy Hatch Enterprise
131. Lillian Li Investor at Salesforce Ventures
132. Paulina Sygulska Founder GrantTree
133. Nazo Moosa Technology Investor and Managing Partner at v | t partners
134. Wendy Tan White Partner at BGF Ventures
135. Julia Qiu Associate Partner at Mosaic Ventures
136. Luciana Lixandru Partner at Accel Partners
137. Amanda Foon Portfolio Finance Manager at Octopus Investments
138. Rabeb Othmani Developer Advocate
139. Adiba Maduegbuna Android Engineer at Asos

This list barely scratches the surface when it comes to highlighting women doing incredible things.

It is my mission at sprinters is to bring diverse role models to the table and drive change. Be part of the conversation at sprint STARS, our flagship conference taking place in collaboration with London Business School, 26 June.

ps we have a small number of FREE tickets up for grabs. Enter promo code LINK100 to grab your ticket here.