186 finalists from a pool of over 102 organisations and more than 300 nominations submitted. Credit: WIICTA ARN ARN is proud to reveal the finalists for the Women in ICT Awards in 2025. Set for 15 May at Doltone House in Jones Bay Wharf, the prestigious event will recognise and celebrate female excellence across the Australian ICT industry. Since 2012, WIICTA has put a spotlight on all career stages from graduate-level entrants to well-established CEOs, in addition to inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers and technical experts, as well as talent rising through the ranks and consistent high-performing individuals. In 2025, WIICTA will house the largest celebration of female excellence within the technology channel across Australia featuring 186 finalists from a pool of over 102 organisations and more than 300 nominations submitted, spanning partner, vendor and distributor businesses. “This is a stunning display of emerging and established female talent in Australia,” ARN Editor Julia Talevski said. “This year’s finalists have set an extremely high bar and are a source of inspiration for women leading the way in technology — we are proud and privileged to be celebrating each and every one of them.” In 2025, WIICTA will honour the channel across eight categories, spanning Innovation, Technical, Entrepreneur, Graduate, Rising Star, Shining Star, Achievement and DE&I Individual Champion award. In response to a wealth of standout submissions, specific categories have been divided to best acknowledge and highlight the depth of female talent in the Australian market. “Our goal is simple, to ensure as many outstanding women are endorsed through this unique awards program in Australia,” Talevski added. The winners will now be selected by an executive panel of more than 150 industry judges, acknowledging creativity, innovation and excellence. ARN congratulates all finalists and thanks all organisations and individuals for taking the time to submit nominations. Finalists are listed below by name and organisation. DE&I CHAMPION: This award recognises an influential individual who actively drives diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives through mentoring and thought leadership across the tech industry. This candidate is a role model to aspiring executives, cultivating diverse teams to drive change and culture, both internally and externally. Partner: Eva Hopewell – Accenture Debjani Dasgupta – Cognizant Karen Grieve – Deloitte Kalpana Sharma – Exigo Tech Nicole Holmes – First Focus Lesley French – Insight Enterprises Jessica Tolsma – Otto IT Sammy Herbert – SixPivot Pattigrace Lupari – Spirit Technology Solutions Vendor/Distributor: Julie Canepa – Cisco Rhonda Robati – Crayon Sinead Kinsella – Lenovo Ash Tyszkiewicz – Okta Chelle Morgan – Pax8 Sumiya Sultan – Schneider Electric INNOVATION This award recognises a creative-thinking candidate who is a standout in bringing innovation to life through a big picture and out-of-the-box approach to business. This individual converts ideas into viable and profitable solutions through unique thought processes, designed to continually push the envelope. Partner: Rachel Albrecht – Acclario IT Renata Di Stefano – blueAPACHE Erin Regan – Data#3 Lou Compagnone – Datacom Laura Flynn – Infotrust Angela Noel – Insight Enterprises Sunny Andalebi – OutcomeX Maxine Wee – PwC Faith Rees – SixPivot Distributor: Rachana Shah – Ingram Micro Caitlin Gerrie – NEXTGEN Danni Munro – Pax8 Vendor: Sarah Tan – Atlassian Alyssa Blackburn – AvePoint Catherine Lee – CrowdStrike Jade Meara – F5 Rachel Wolfe – Five Faces Felicity Purdham – HPE Shalin Narain – Lenovo Iris Chan – MyPass Global TECHNICAL: This award recognises a problem-solving candidate showing advanced technical and engineering expertise, exhibiting deep knowledge of products, solutions and services. This individual provides exceptional business value through specialised skills, training and competence, spanning technical, pre-sales and support roles. Multinational Partner: Manasa Yerrabolu – Accenture Claire Healey – Deloitte Reinal Shetty – NTT DATA Partner: Angelina Priya – blueAPACHE Cielo Lacandula – Brennan Ingrid Zambrano Villota – Data#3 Yera Patel – Exigo Tech Emily Van Gorp – First Focus Sheena Shrivastava – Infotrust Laven Zhang – Interactive Hanieh Madad – Patient Zero Candice Lloyd – Smart WFM Benajir Khan – Tecala Vendor/Distributor: Ann Lawoko – Access4 Linda Wang – Cisco Ksenia Turner – Crayon Tammie Roy – Hewlett Packard Enterprise Vanessa Sunassee – MyCISO Mila Fedynskaya – Schneider Electric Natalie Mead – Snowflake ENTREPRENEUR: This award recognises an enterprising candidate with a risk-taking mentality, exhibiting excellence in launching new ventures, products or services. This individual has a proven background in building successful innovation, evident through converting market-leading ideas into outstanding business offerings. Partner: Natalia Scheidegger – 3rdmill Amy Reynolds – AMR Technology Brigitte Auguste – Araza Shantel Wilson – ASI Solutions Mandip Kaur – Cognizant Sarah McAvoy – CyberUnlocked Kat McCrabb – Flame Tree Cyber Consultancy Maryanne Demery – Seccom Global Regina Melamed – TechClick Vendor: Susan Choy – Cisco Denise Farmer – Clio Nicole Nixon – Five Faces Gabriella Sarnelli – Schneider Electric Katherine Persoglia – The Brokers’ Bible Angie Keeler – Zella DC GRADUATE: This award recognises a standout graduate candidate who has commenced a career within the tech industry, through a graduate program (between 2021-2025). This individual has made an immediate and positive impact on the business through providing a fresh perspective and high levels of professionalism. Partner: Madison Sandiford – Akkodis Emilie Hanckel – Chamonix IT Stephanie Lloyd – Datacom Anna-Marie Diaz – Deloitte Jess Maschmedt – Interactive Emily Chen – Logicalis Isabel Macdonald – Publicis Sapient Luna Liu – Rapid Circle Vendor: Varan Dhaliwal – Check Point Software Technologies Winnie Soemargo – HPE Aruba Networking Vanessa Andjanie – NetApp Shivangi Singh – Schneider Electric RISING STAR: Open to females with 10 years or less experience in ICT. This award recognises a standout candidate rising through the ranks, acknowledging significant advancement during the early stages of her career. This individual is growing in stature and importance, demonstrating outstanding business acumen, deep market expertise and high levels of professional integrity. Multinational Partner: Chloe Wain – Accenture Alicia Stark – Cognizant Jackie Xu – Deloitte Courtney Cusack – FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia Nona Naraghi – Logicalis Dhivya Sundarababu – NTT DATA Carine Lim – Publicis Sapient Brianna Marlow – Sekuro Partner: Jessica Leong – A Corp Computers Hailey Abraham – Acclario IT Sridevi Jadeja – Araza Ashleigh Rose – Arinco Marilyn Tiangco – ASI Solutions Rishona Elijah – Barhead, an Akkodis Company Kate Rawinski – Blackbird IT Lily Forster – blueAPACHE Rebecca Hetherington – Brennan Ravneet Lehal – Cloud Context Anneke Crouse – Delta Insights Isabella Baker – Infotrust Renee Saric – Interactive Ivana Taleska – IT&T Eleanor Au – Tecala Jasmine Anders – The Missing Link Distributor: Ashleigh Collier – Crayon Sunny McPhillips – NEXTGEN Hayley-Rose Robinson – Pax8 Caecilie Wickstroem – Tech Data Dakota Gunning – Wavelink Vendor: Clare Challis – AvePoint Jade Coote – Brother International Justine Whatmough – ConnectWise Laura Brock – CrowdStrike Dipixa Sharma – Equinix Orlaith Freaney – GoTo Cindy Darnell – Hosted Network Monika Marczuk – HP Terry Garcia – HPE Aruba Networking Samantha Borg – Kaseya Lily Fay – Netskope Danielle Adamson – Okta SHINING STAR: Open to females with 11-20 years’ experience in ICT. This award recognises an established candidate with a strong record of achievement, acknowledging excellence in spearheading company initiatives and driving strategic growth. This individual is a consistent high performer, regularly achieving standout business results and increased levels of seniority within the organisation. Multinational Partner: Sanya Turkalj – Amdocs Jessica Finn – Cognizant Kellie Nuttall – Deloitte Philippa Fleming – NTT Data Tania Mushtaq – Rapid Circle Rodiya Yusuf – SoftwareOne Australia Poonam Arora – Wipro Partner: Cecilia Huang – ASI Solutions Quinita Lindley – blueAPACHE Dorothee Hartmann – Business Aspect Fabienne Allen-Grzechnik – Data#3 Toni D’Angelo – First Focus Tara Jafari – Net Communications Jade McIntosh – Orro Alanna Kane – Otto IT Demelza Green – Patient Zero Jennifer Favelle – Tecala Distributor: Sandy Vaishnav – Crayon Clare Zeynoun – Ingram Micro Julie Armstrong – NEXTGEN Zoe Edwards – Pax8 Effie Milosevic – Wavelink Vendor: Stephanie Shannon – AWS Lara Wood – Cisco Anna Christensen – Cloudian Jagakala Thankaraj – Hewlett Packard Enterprise Cassie Wallace – Kiandra Emma O’Sullivan – Lenovo Bhawna Vohra – MyPass Global Sarah Sloan – Palo Alto Networks Jayne Lewis – Ping Identity Crystal Bhavsar – Ricoh Australia Jacqui Sommers – Snowflake ACHIEVEMENT: Open to females with 21 years or more experience in ICT. This award recognises a standout candidate who has delivered unrivalled businessE contribution, evident through outstanding professional achievements. This individual has earned a reputation as an esteemed thought leader resulting from her distinguished career as both a business leader and role model. Multinational Partner: Clare Elizabeth Cranston – Cognizant Petro Nel – Datacom Natalie Rice – Insight Enterprises Lisa Fortey – Logicalis Helen Airiyan – SoftwareOne Partner: Dimity Holliday – Chamonix IT Olga Rankin – Connetico Renee Mortlock – D6 Consulting Galit Jona – Delta Insights Kelly Drewett – Expose Angela Logan-Bell – Interactive Debbie Watson – Nexon Philippa Lyons – RTV Group Tanya Hain – Spirit Technology Solutions Distributor: Roshantha Pillay – Dicker Data Jenelle Carmody – Ingram Micro Linda Volker – NEXTGEN Group Julie Malcolm – Wavelink Vendor: Kelly Johnson – Acronis Vanessa Gill – Cisco Sally Hakim – Dell Technologies Yvette McEnearney – GoTo Karen Drinan – HP Australia Cheryl Woods – NetApp Philippa Cogswell – Palo Alto Networks Anita Carbone – PowerShield Linda Motherwell – Pure Storage Astrid Groves – Schneider Electric SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. 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