Annual Awards Celebrate the Best of Women in Transport and Logistics
The two dynamos behind the everywoman organisation, Maxine Benson and Karen Gill, are always promoting the cause of the fairer sex and expressed the view that there are two principal drivers of women succeeding in business generally; gender diversity which evidences that companies controlled by women are 46% more likely to outperform those run by men, and visible role models within those firms to encourage younger colleagues coming through.
Certainly anyone who has been attending these events over the past decade will bear witness that a sea change in attitudes has occurred, gender diversity issues are heard in many if not all boardrooms and everywoman has been spreading its message globally, with India the latest country added to the portfolio. The stress has, as ever, been placed in the hands of the male dominated sector and the need for ‘male agents of change’ never been more urgent.
The problem, as ever for the ‘invisible industry’ that is logistics is the lack of interest with only 11% of girls polled expressing any desire to take up careers in it at a time when transport and logistics jobs are expected to increase by 22%.
And so to a set of awards for which this year’s nominations reached unsurpassed levels, revealing interest from those with a wide range of career experiences and journeys, demonstrating the extent of the opportunities traditionally associated with the industries. One fact which became ever clearer as video of the nominees explaining their career paths was the emphasis on mentoring both the young talent that follows them in their organisations and beyond, in the schools and colleges.
All this whilst making huge contributions to the places at which they work and supporting community schemes and, almost unbelievably, many of them new or experienced mothers still having responsibility for their families. From one woman who saved a client £15 million through technology innovations, to another responsible for introducing over 3,000 ‘walk to school’ projects to help reduce air pollution, and yet another who took her kids on a delivery run to a client on Christmas Day this year’s winners are a bunch of special ladies (and even the odd man).
For the first time this year, the awards introduced a category to also showcase the young and new talent already thriving in the industry: the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award. The winners this year then are as follows:
The Freight Award –sponsored by Atkins – Awarded to two women who are innovating and excelling in their role within freight
Above and Beyond - Katie Susans, Hubs Change & Implementation Lead, TNT
Leader - Kimberely McIntosh, Service Deliver Leader for Central London, Royal Mail
The Customer/Passenger Award – sponsored by Heathrow – Awarded to two women excelling in their role for customers/passengers in transport, logistics and freight
Above and Beyond - Amy Chapman, Customer Ambassador, Great Western Railway
Leader - Jenni Wiggle, Senior Director, Living Streets
The Infrastructure Award – sponsored by Amazon – Awarded to two women who are innovating or excelling in their role within transportation and infrastructure
Above and Beyond - Lisa Hogben, Programme Delivery Manager, The Nichols Group
Leader - Marianne Kilpatrick, Director, SNC-Lavalin Atkins Transport Consulting & Advisory
The Supply Chain Award – sponsored by Arriva – Awarded to two women who are innovating and excelling in their role within the supply chain environment.
Above and Beyond - Kelly Pepper, Head of Business Development, Unipart Rail
Leader - Anita Donohoe, Vice President and Global Key Accounts, CEVA Logistics
The Warehousing Award – sponsored by Unipart Rail – Awarded to two women who are excelling in their role within a warehousing environment.
Above and Beyond - Georgia Akuwudike, Senior Operations Manager, Amazon
Leader - Karen Hopkinson, General Manager, Co-Op
Industry Champion Award – sponsored by Asda – Awarded to a woman who is championing the progress of women working in transport and logistics
Winner - Angie Doll, Passenger Services Director, Govia Thameslink Railway
Male Agent of Change – sponsored by Morson International – Awarded to a man for his active commitment to advancing the progress of women working in transport and logistics
Winner - Gordon Wakeford, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Mobility
* New for 2019 * Apprentice of the Year - sponsored by Amey - Awarded to any male or female apprentice excelling in transport and logistics
Winner - Caitlin Slade, Apprentice Vehicle Technician, Royal Mail Fleet
A special ‘Woman of the Year’ award was handed to Allison Kemp, who founded AIM Commercial Services, a business that keeps vehicle operators compliant through its knowledge of the industry, an extensive training academy and rigorous audits. After trying her hands at the construction industry for two years, she followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather by embarking on a career in logistics.
Aged just 26, Allison became the Transport Manager for Hornigold Haulage in Wellingborough and in 2018, became the first woman ever to become the deputy chair of the Freight Transport Association National Council. Allison was singled out because she leads by example and there is no role within the business she cannot fulfil. She is completely hands-on and personally leads various different training sessions across the UK on a regular basis, including the First Aid that gives drivers and office staff confidence to deal with emergencies.
She also oversees the continuous development of her team, actively trains them to develop their skillset, whilst inspiring young school students to consider a long-standing career in transport and logistics. Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman, commented:
“This year has presented a new wave of exceptional talent and impressive career success stories with both genders making immense contributions to the transport and logistics industries. It has been proven time and again that gender diverse teams make better business decisions, which is why introducing more female talent to a male-dominated industry is so essential. The collaboration of ideas, fusion of knowledge and cross-pollination of skills is what is needed for the growth of any business.”
Photo: The winners gather on stage to celebrate their success.
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