Celebrating the Innovator of the Year Finalists

Jun 23

Innovator of the Year Finalists 2025

This award celebrates women who are redefining what’s possible through digital and tech innovation. Over the past year, our finalists have embraced emerging tools, tackled challenges with creativity, and turned bold ideas into meaningful impact. These are the women pushing boundaries, inspiring change, and building the future.

Souad Slyman - University of Roehampton

About:
Dr Souad Slyman is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain & Innovation at the University of Roehampton, known for turning cutting-edge research into classroom impact. Armed with a BSc in Mathematics & Computing, an MA in Education, and a PhD in Computer Science from Goldsmiths, she blends academic rigour with industry insight from her early career in clothing and food retail. Souad’s work champions technology-enhanced learning, while her current research uses AI to improve teaching, assessment, and workforce upskilling.

Reason for Shortlisting:
Dr Souad made our shortlist because she pairs deep academic expertise with real-world impact – using her game-based model and book to reduce maths anxiety, spearheading cutting-edge research on AI-enhanced teaching and large scale upskilling, and continuously translating insights from her industry background into practical, scalable solutions. A Senior Fellow of the HEA and active voice at major conferences, she is leading efforts to close the UK’s AI skills gap and equip both students and professionals for a tech-driven future.

Elmira Gazizovakey - IT SA

About:
Elmira is a product-marketing leader whose decade-long, three-country career has one constant: turning emerging tech into everyday value. As Product Marketing Manager at a Swiss IT consultancy, she makes advanced digital solutions usable in regulation-heavy sectors such as finance and healthcare. Fluent in four languages and equally at home in strategy, creativity and technology, Elmira keeps innovation human-centred – freeing teams for deeper work and helping organisations serve people better.

Reason for Shortlisting:
Elmira earned her spot on the shortlist because over the past year she designed a hands-on Generative AI programme that has already upskilled 100+ SME professionals and is co-building a Learning Hub that gives smaller businesses practical, on-demand support. Beyond her role, she amplifies impact by mentoring, running free workshops, and speaking at events, making digital innovation accessible to all.

Lama Massoud - The WordWave

About:
Lama is the founder of The WordWave, a first-of-its-kind, AI-powered content platform in the MENA region. After pivoting from a career in medical laboratory science during the pandemic, she pursued a newfound passion for writing, which developed into The WordWave, delivering end-to-end, industry-specific content for brands across the region. Now developing an all-in-one platform driven by AI agents to streamline every stage of content creation, Lama is also completing a Master’s in Entrepreneurship & Innovation to sharpen her leadership as she scales the venture.

Reason for Shortlisting:
Lana’s entry stood out for boldly pivoting from medical science to launch her AI-powered, bilingual content platform. Built with minimal resources and no formal business training, she pairs smart automation with specialised English-Arabic writers to give regional brands – among them PwC and Fintech Saudi – fast, high-quality content at scale. Committed to ongoing innovation and excellence, Lama works tirelessly to keep the platform future-focused – redefining how businesses in the region create, manage and measure content success through smarter, scalable solutions.

Veronika Höller - Tresorit

About:
Veronika is a global digital marketing strategist, author, mentor, and keynote speaker. As Head of Demand Generation at Tresorit, she has rebuilt the company’s growth engine by unifying AI-powered SEO, PPC, CRO, PR, and content into a single conversion-focused funnel. Veronika publishes books on digital transformation, teaches advanced digital strategy as a Senior Team Lead at Turing College, and regularly takes the stage at events to forecast the next wave of AI-driven marketing.

Reason for Shortlisting:
Veronika turns innovation into action, from training AI assistants for SEO audits to authoring pragmatic books on AI-powered search and paid media, while simultaneously building the next wave of talent as a Senior Team Lead at Turing College and co-founder of a women-in-digital mentoring programme. A trusted voice at events, Veronika combines cutting-edge expertise with real-world impact – delivering results, sharing knowledge, and proving that 17 years of fully remote work, two kids, and a menagerie of pets are no barrier to industry-defining leadership.

Katerina Kulp - HILLOW HILLOW

About:
Estonian-born and now UK-based, Katerina has amassed over 3.5 million followers and 2 billion views by mixing sharp humour, absurd props, and everyday storytelling so learners remember the English language as well as the laugh. Beyond social media, Katerina speaks at UK schools about building careers in digital education and is developing a community platform for learners to connect and grow together

Reason for Shortlisting:
Katerina secured her shortlist spot by proving that short-form entertainment can be a serious force for learning. She built a vast community and her skits have caught the eye of Duolingo, ELSA Speak and Lingoda, who tap her for campaigns that actually move the engagement needle. With a 4% engagement rate and 50m+ monthly Instagram views, her influence continues to grow. Through humour, creativity, and a passion for empowering others, Katerina is transforming how people approach language and education – she continues to turn everyday scroll time into global, engaging language growth, in a fun and meaningful way.

Karolina Tądel - Wrocław Medical University, Institute of Mother and Child

About:
Karolina is an AI-in-medicine pioneer whose research and leadership are reshaping modern healthcare. As a PhD candidate at the Medical University of Wrocław and the author of publications, Karolina bridges the gap between science and practice, creating solutions that have a tangible impact on improving the quality of care. She also currently serves as Head of Data Management at the Institute of Mother and Child.

Reason for Shortlisting:

Karolina earned her shortlist place because she turns cutting-edge research into practical change. Her PhD at Wrocław Medical University is producing tools that spot neonatal sepsis earlier – work already praised nationwide – while the course she created on AI in Medical Sciences is giving tomorrow’s doctors a head-start in digital medicine. Meanwhile, at the Institute of Mother and Child she leads data projects that speed up clinical decisions and improve patient care.

Camilla Edwards - First Opinion Veterinary Ultrasound

About:
Camilla is a vet who turns ultrasound from guesswork into “got it.” With nearly 20 years of experience in small animal practice, Camilla is the founder of First Opinion Veterinary Ultrasound (FOVU), which was established to give vets and nurses the calm confidence they need at the probe. What began as a few lunchtime demos has grown into online courses, a membership community, scan-along challenges and a structured reporting tool born.

Reason for Shortlisting:
Camilla made our shortlist because she has turned a hands-on, specialist skill into a global, digital learning experience. She’s built interactive courses, challenges, a quiz funnel and a lively membership community that have already lifted thousands of vets from hesitation to confidence. Over the past year she went further, self-teaching software development to launch a reporting tool that guides users organ-by-organ, prompts clear thinking and spits out a professional report on the spot. Camilla uses digital innovation not to show off what tech can do, but to remove barriers, reduce fear, and create momentum for veterinary professionals to grow in their skills and careers.

Bobbie King - SQEPtech

About:
Bobbie is the co-founder of SQEPtech, an HR and people management tech firm she has helped scale since 2018 by broadening its talent- and learning-platform portfolio. Earlier roles across manufacturing, energy and construction honed her mix of software development know-how and HR tech insight; she began as a business analyst and moved through IT implementation and project management posts.

Reason for Shortlisting:
For reinventing workforce competency management with a cloud SaaS platform that revolutionises how organisations track skills, training, and compliance, Bobbie earned her place on the shortlist. Spotting the flaws in traditional methods, she led the product from concept to rollout. Bobbie’s influence extends past the tech stack: she personally cultivates deep client partnerships to tailor solutions and runs a fully remote, high-performing team that proves digital collaboration delivers.

Juliet Powell - Mercor Intelligence

About:
Juliet is a Cambridge MBA and award-nominated strategist who sits at the crossroads of AI, product, and communications. As a Generative AI & Product Strategy Consultant at Mercor Intelligence, she partners with leading labs to fine-tune large language models. Her earlier stint as Research & Strategy Manager for the Theo Paphitis Retail Group saw her steer digital engagement through turbulent market shifts, while at Hudson Sandler she turned complex data into clear strategies for names like Alibaba Group and NatWest.

Reason for Shortlisting:
At Mercor Intelligence, Juliet devised training frameworks that optimise the performance of Large Language Models (LLMs), cut false responses by 35%, and boost sales-pipeline accuracy by 25%. She has also trimmed product development cycles, guides C-suite teams on AI strategy, and co-founded Cambridge Judge’s AI Interest Group, where she staged the university’s first AI Open Day. Whether she’s presenting to the House of Lords on tech diversity or coaching colleagues to build AI responsibly, Juliet proves that sharp engineering know-how, strong values, and real business results can go hand in hand – the very spirit this Innovator of the Year award celebrates.

The Digital Women Awards are proud to celebrate these extraordinary individuals.