Now in its tenth consecutive year, the Northern PoWEr Women Awards take place on Thursday 12th March at Manchester Central Convention Complex. Whittled down from 1800 nominations by a rigorous judging process, we are proud to announce the 2026 Northern PoWEr Women Awards Finalists!

Co-Headline Partners

Agent of Change

Ngozi Weller

Director at Aurora Incorporated

Nazmin Akthar

Managing Associate at Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP

Joanna Unthank

Head of Economic Inclusion and Child Poverty at North East Combined Authority

Professor Liz Todd Obe

Professor of Educational Inclusion at Newcastle University

Francesca Barker-mills

Founder at Coming Home Project

Rebecca Oliver-mooney

Founder at Raising the Glass

Laura Ryan

Founder at Meat Business Women

Disruptor for Good

Stephanie Addison

Co-Founder at Perinatal Mental Health Partnership

Danielle Ayres

Employment Solicitor at Primas Law

Dr Lucy Reynolds

Disability Advocate / Founder & Director at We Are All Disabled

Sara Bryson

Assistant Director North at Citizens UK

Cheney Hamilton

CEO & Founder | Lead Research Analyst at The Find Your Flex Group | Bloor Research International

Jo Milne

Founder at Jo Milne Foundation

Laura Swinbanks

Second Officer at Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Empowerment Champion

Sophie Green

Assistant District Commander at West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

Carol Ann Whitehead FRSA

Managing Director at The Zebra Partnership

Arushi Madan

Vice President - Security Engineering at Barclays

Renee Preston

CEO at Construction For Women

Beth Collins

CEO / Founder at PIE: Pursuing Individual Excellence

Jillian Alexander

Solicitor, Modern Slavery Advocate, Founder/CEO at Unbound Programme C.I.C

Adeola Adelakun

Director at Black Creative Trailblazers CIC

Clare Caddick

Train Driver at LNER

Inclusive Innovation - People Focussed

Istanduk

Probr

Written Off Publishing

The Rebuild Site

Newcastle University Inclusivity Game Jam

Inclusive Innovation - Tech for Good

Newcastle University Inclusivity Game Jam

Sen2gether

Mortal Fools

Large Organisation (251+ employees)

Pz Cussons

Learning Curve Group

Womble Bond Dickinson

Manchester Airports Group

Nrg Riverside

Unilever

Royal London

Weightmans Llp

Lner Toc

The Growth Company

Mentor of the Year

Samia Durrani

Cyber Security Consulting Manager - Financial Services at Accenture

Louise Stephenson

Partner at Drax Executive

Rachael Bampton-aiken

Strategic Adviser and Business Coach at Rachael Bampton-Aiken

Helen Tonks MBE

Managing Director at Hydraulics Online Ltd

Craig Hatch

European Division President at Tetra Tech

Kirstan Bradley

Head of Customer Experience at Vivify Venues

Sophie Metcalf

HR Growth Partner at Howarths

Renee Preston

CEO at Construction For Women

Fahtimah Khan

Vice President; Senior Delivery Lead - Technology at Bank of America

Micro Organisation (1-10 employees)

Power Of Women

Intotum

Kompass Health

The Maggie Oliver Foundation

Heart Leadership

Sound City

Leeds Dads

Your Well-being Company

One to Watch

Nicola Coaker

Founder at Nrthrn Baby LTD

Charlie-sam Newman

Client Experience Lead at AND Digital

Nancy Sadler

Senior Brand Manager at Essity UK

Dr Sayema Rahman Khan

Founder at South Asian Women in Higher Education Network/University of Manchester

Jillian Alexander

Solicitor, Modern Slavery Advocate, Founder/CEO at Unbound Programme C.I.C

Saumya Gupta

Assistant Vice President at Bank of America

Sukanya Nallaiah

Podcast Host and Producer at Sukany4 - The Podcast

Outstanding Entrepreneur

Gillian Ashcroft

Founder at Exceptional Care

Fiona Hull

Director at Construction Q Limited

Ashleigh Holmes

Founder & CMO at A & M Media T/A Flowd

Nicola Merritt

CEO at Cortus Advisory Group

Sophie Milliken MBE

Founder and CEO at Moja

Laura Evans-hill

Founder and Director at Nifty Fox Creative

Christy Foster

CEO at The Nursery Store

Fara Butt

Director at Shire Beds Limited

Person with Purpose - Charity/CIC/Cause

Joanna Solanki

CEO at N-compass Towards A Brighter Future

Abby Traynor

Chief Executive at Rape Crisis Tyneside & Northumberland

Sara Lawton

Director at Rise Construction Framework

Shamime Jan

Founder / Director at Bollyfit Active CIC

Lindsy James

Founder & Director at Active Fusion

Clare Sacco

Founder at Embers

Keely Dalfen

CEO at The Brick

Steph Capewell

Chief Executive at Love, Amelia

Fiona Ashcroft

CEO at Alder Hey Children's Charity

Person with Purpose - Private Sector

Claire Cook

Founder, Proprietor and CEO at Employability Solutions

Hamida Khoder

Support Worker at Leeds Playhouse

Anne Wilson Mbe

Head of Leadership Programmes at Whyy? Change Ltd

Dr Charlotte Armitage

Psychologist, Psychotherapist & Child Dev. Consultant at Be Device Wise

Alicia Mcdonnell

Group Head of Equity Diversity and Inclusion at Manchester Airports Group (MAG)

Alyxandra Murdock

Civil Engineer and Founder & Director at Solway STEM Academy & Amentum

Sophie Milliken MBE

Founder and CEO at Moja

Kirsty Watson

Founder and Managing Director at Qualia Academy

Lauren Monks

Director: CyberFirst & MEGA Hubs at IN4.0 Group

Person with Purpose - Public Sector (eg NHS, Emergency Services, Academia, Military, Government)

Dr Nicola Robinson

Prog. Leader Sport Coaching BSc/Pentathlon Coach at LJMU / Pentathlon GB

Professor Alexandra Cristea

Professor of Computer Science at Durham University

Danielle Ruane

Chief Coordinating Officer at Healthwatch in GM / UCLAN

Georgina Ralph

Crew Commander at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Shaheen Myers-duree

Founder/CEO at Balance-ED

Katie Joyce

Medicines Value Programme Lead at NENC Provider Collaborative

Dr Michelle Phillips

Head of Enterprise, Lecturer in Music Psychology at Royal Northern College of Music

Alexandra Spearritt

Chief Allied Health Professions Officer at Univ. Hospitals of Morecambe Bay

Public Spotlight

Professor Sue Black OBE

Professor at Durham University

Sara Cox

Broadcaster and Author at BBC

Gaynor Faye

Actor and Writer at UK

Victoria Derbyshire

Journalist and Broadcaster at BBC

Jill Scott Mbe

Former Lioness. Presenter. at UK Media

Shirley Ballas

Head Judge / President at BBC / Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing

Vick Hope

Broadcaster/Journalist/Author at BBC / Amnesty International UK

Small/Medium Organisation (11-250 employees)

Leighton

Manchester Fa

Gallaway Construction Limited

Distology

Womencentre

Bexley Beaumont

Sweeney Miller Law

Apconix

Caring Connections

Hope Capital