Veuve Clicquot Announce Finalists for the 2022 Bold Woman Award

The Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award celebrates 50 years of recognising pioneering female leadership
CEO of Ocado Retail and CEO of Royal Academy of Engineering amongst shortlist
Large focus on social enterprise this year, with several shortlisted women overseeing social causes such as mental health and racial equality

Yesterday, the finalists for the 2022 Bold Woman Awards by Veuve Clicquot were announced, on International Women’s Day. First launched in 1972, this will be the 50th year that Veuve Clicquot has honoured the impact of pioneering female leadership and entrepreneurship.

Following the same format of the previous two years, the 2022 programme comprises two categories: the Bold Woman Award and the Bold Future Award.

Bold Woman Award – celebrates excellent female leadership, honouring inspirational women with a proven record of business or organisational growth, underpinned by a commitment to supporting other women into leadership roles. The finalists selected by the panel of judges are:

• Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Dr Sillem has transformed the Academy’s scope and impact, alongside growing the organisation’s income for 2020/21 to £51.2 million (up from £27m in 2017), all while striving for greater diversity in a profession that is 86% male and making representation and inclusion across the engineering community a priority for the Academy.
• Roni Savage, Founder & MD of Jomas Associates, an Engineering & Environmental Company serving the Construction industry since 2009. Jomas was heralded as a high growth company by Goldman Sachs in 2017. The following year, Roni was awarded Black British Business Person of the Year. She has worked on many major construction schemes across the UK and is Policy Chair for Construction for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
• Melanie Smith CBE, CEO of Ocado Retail, has overseen the business’s phenomenal success as it increased revenue by 40% since 2019 – faster growth than any other grocery retailer – and personally led the firm’s strategy to keep the UK fed during the early phases of the pandemic.

Bold Future Award: This award celebrates up-and-coming leaders of the future, honouring the women who will shape tomorrow. The finalists selected by the panel of judges are:

• Victoria Hornby OBE, Founder and CEO of Mental Health Innovations (Shout). Shout 85258 is the UK’s first free, 24/7 digital messaging service to help those struggling with mental health. The organisation has had over 1 million conversations since its inception.
• Mursal Hedayat MBE, Founder and CEO of Chatterbox. Chatterbox is on a mission to shake up the labour market by connecting talented yet marginalised people with opportunities in the digital economy. Their first product is an AI-powered, award-winning platform that helps companies improve cross-regional collaboration and cultural intelligence through the power of language learning.
• Lavinya Stennett, Founder & CEO of The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise founded in 2019 working to teach and support the teaching of Black history all year round, aiming to empower all students with a sense of identity and belonging.

The awards continue to take inspiration from a woman whose innovative thinking and creativity led to entrepreneurial success, Madame Clicquot. Both awards recognise women who emulate her enterprising spirit and courage, transforming the business landscape and creating opportunities for other women. The nominees have been judged across four key pillars, from successfully reinventing traditions and demonstrating entrepreneurial daring, to championing better representation of female leaders and maintaining an ethical approach to business.

Pip Jamieson, Bold Awards judge and founder of The Dots, said:

“This year’s shortlist honours women who are having a transformative impact on the UK, driving not just financial success but real change across industry and wider society. The Bold Future category in particular is dominated by those leading social enterprises and charitable organisations, reflecting a shift towards entrepreneurship that’s driven by ethical values and purpose. Alongside representing a new generation of pioneering leaders, these tremendous nominees are driving fresh initiatives that will truly improve the lives of many.”

Jean-Marc Gallot, President of Veuve Clicquot, commented:

“This is the fiftieth year that Veuve Clicquot has celebrated trailblazing female leadership and while each candidate demonstrates the same entrepreneurial spirit of Madame Clicquot, all are leading organisations that are committed to driving a better future. This list encapsulates everything these awards were originally launched to recognise, from phenomenal business acumen and true entrepreneurial daring, to a commitment to improving female representation.”

The award’s judging panel is comprised of a mixture of industry titans and networkers including Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik; Pip Jamieson, Founder of The Dots; Sian Westerman, Co-Chair at British Fashion Council Trust; Naomi Kerbel, Global Head of TV and Radio at Bloomberg; and Moira Benigson, Founder of MBS Group.

The winners will be announced at an award ceremony in London in September 2022.

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