The winners at the 2023 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards were announced at the ceremonial luncheon last night at The Londoner Hotel, which welcomed 450 of the industry’s top talent.
Now in their 16th year, the awards celebrated 69 outstanding individuals; sharing their extraordinary stories, championing their achievements and recognising them as role models for future generations of female talent and the vital contribution women make to the transport and logistics sector.
This year’s 17 winners embody a wide range of career experience and journeys, from apprentice to senior leader, and sit across all sectors of the industry, from freight and retail to public transport, sustainability and tech.
They showcase the progression, accomplishments and increasing avenues of opportunity within a traditionally male-dominated industry.
The awards recognised two winners per category (Leader and Above & Beyond) and one recipient of the Tech Innovator, International Inspiration, Industry Champion, Male Agent of Change, Apprentice of the Year and Woman of the Year Award.
In recognition of the significant and vital role sustainability has played in transforming the sector the new category “Sustainability Champion” was included this year for the first time.
The 2023 Woman of the Year Award was presented to Shipra Singh, General Manager at Amazon EU SARL Ltd, from London. Shipra leads a team of over 200 managers across 125 sites in 12 countries within the UK and EU, and is responsible for the transportation operations, driver experience and yard infrastructure and technology programs for Amazon.
Graduating as a Mechanical Engineer in 2010 from Delhi University and later with an MBA from Oxford University, she joined Amazon as a Pathways Operations Manager where she worked across multiple operations in the UK, leading large teams within their warehousing operations.
In 2020 she joined her current organisation, EU TOM within the Amazon Transportation Services and since then Shipra has pioneered cost saving and efficiency improvements, whilst also leading her organisation with the vision to create gender parity in hiring, improving the gender equity from no female managers in 2020 to 30 per cent female managers in operation roles across EU.
The 2023 category winners are:
The Customer / Passenger Award – awarded to two women whose commitment to the highest standards of customer or passenger service led to outstanding business results:
• Billie Hoey, Service Assurance Specialist at FedEx Express, from Nuneaton (Above & Beyond)
• Rebecca Rathore, Operations Director at Stagecoach Bus, from Manchester (Leader)
The Freight Award – awarded to two women exemplifying the excellence, drive and innovation of women across the freight subsector:
• Anika Shenfield, Learning & Development Manager at Freightliner Ltd, from Felixstowe (Above & Beyond)
• Kelly Vasey, Sales and Marketing Director at Espace Europe Ltd, from Staffordshire (Leader)
The Infrastructure Award – sponsored by IAG Cargo – awarded to two women who are demonstrating outstanding achievements within infrastructure
• Claire Williams, Head of Cycling at Transport for West Midlands, from Birmingham (Above & Beyond)
• Caroline Milnes, Senior Manager, Fleet Management and Programs at Amazon, from London (Leader)
The Supply Chain Award – sponsored by Unipart Rail – awarded to two women who show exceptional talent and drive within the supply chain system:
• Charlotte Burns, Operations Manager at Oceanblue Logistics, from Bradford (Above & Beyond)
• Lisa Tomlinson, Divisional Director at Carlton Forest 3PL, from Doncaster (Leader)
The Warehousing Award – sponsored by FedEx – awarded to two women excelling in their role within a warehousing environment:
• Lindsay Mackie, AGM at Wincanton, from Corby (Above & Beyond)
• Isobel Maslen-Jones, MMN Process Expert at Amazon, from Bradford-on-Avon (Leader)
Industry Champion Award – sponsored by Asda – awarded to a female pioneer whose longstanding and continuous support of women in transport and logistics has led to impactful and measurable change:
• Diane Ward, Deputy CEO at Carlton Forest Group, from Sheffield
International Inspiration Award – sponsored by EV Cargo – awarded to an exceptional role model working outside of the UK & Ireland who inspires women and men in their community:
• Melissa Osterwind, President at SRI Fine Art Services, from New Jersey, USA
Apprentice of the Year Award – awarded to an enterprising female apprentice who is making an exceptional contribution to their organisation in their early career:
• Koli Begum, Mentor/Bus Driver at Go-Ahead London, from London
Male Agent of Change Award – sponsored by Mott MacDonald – awarded to a male role model who is actively committed to encouraging, advancing, sponsoring, or championing the progress of women in transport and logistics in his organisation and beyond:
• Tom Flannery, Practice Manager – Rolling Stock Technical Services at Atkins, from Derby
Tech Innovator Award – sponsored by Amazon – awarded to a woman designing, developing, researching, implementing or being exceptionally creative with technology within the industry:
• Oana Jinga, CCO and Co-founder at Dexory, from London
Sustainability Champion Award – sponsored by Coca Cola Europacific Partners – awarded to a woman or female-led team making an exemplary contribution to sustainability and environmental protection within a transport or logistics company:
• Claire Wansbury, Atkins Fellow and Technical Director at Atkins, from London
With women still only accounting for 20 per cent of the 1.7 million people working in transport and logistics, tackling the lack of female recruits would be an invaluable resource to a pressurised industry and these diverse teams will be better positioned to unlock innovation and drive growth.
The everywoman awards programmes play an important role in highlighting success stories, shifting perceptions and creating role models to inspire future female talent who may not see the industry as an option to them, whether that’s in distribution, technical and operational roles, or leadership and management positions.
A significant 76 per cent of former Award winners agreed that their everywoman Award has positively impacted their career and 63 per cent said it improved their personal and professional confidence, demonstrating the powerful impact that these awards have and the importance of role models for women in traditionally underrepresented industries.(1)
Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman, said: “We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards. These individuals embody the passion, dedication, skills, and leadership that are making transport and logistics the dynamic and resilient foundation of the UK.
“It’s been an honour to hear the amazing stories from the extraordinary winners and we are delighted to shine a spotlight on these exceptional women whose achievements will motivate others to consider a career in this industry, paving the way for future generations of ground-breaking women to succeed.”
For further information about the winners, visit https://www.everywoman.com/everywoman-intransport-and-logistics-awards/2023-winners.
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