Partnering with Women in Data aligns perfectly with Aviva’s commitments to creating a diverse and inclusive organisation. It is a fundamental part of living up to our purpose of being with you today, for a better tomorrow. It means being there for all our people, serving all our customers well, and helping to contribute to fairer, more equal communities.
We are proud to have achieved our WIFC target of over 40% of women in senior management and to be named in “The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality Awards” for 7 years running. We are incredibly excited that our Group Chief Executive is HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter (WIFC) Champion. Nevertheless, we are determined to keep challenging ourselves to do more to build a workplace – and society – that works for all.
Data is one of the most important aspects of our 10-year strategy and is critical to the success of our business. The hundreds of data professionals who work with us are crucial to the ongoing success of our organisation. They’re playing an increasingly high-profile and influential role. We encourage a data driven culture of growth and inclusion to meet these ever-changing needs and seek talent that thrives on embracing change. To be able to achieve this it is essential to continue to strive for an environment for diverse data talent to grow and succeed.
With more than 18.7 million UK customers, and 320 years of experience, we have one of the broadest and deepest data sets in the financial services industry. Within that data, lies the answers to a multitude of questions, the solutions to a host of problems and the clues that will lead us to new and exciting opportunities. The truth is, data – and how we use it to better serve our customers and make smarter business decisions – will be one of the most important aspects of our strategy over the next ten years.
Data is a critical asset, essential to our business and we’re always on the look-out for the next innovation to meet our customers’ ever-changing needs. Giving them more control, helping them sort out things more quickly, making their lives easier, and ensuring they enjoy greater peace of mind. Our data teams are the ones who make that possible – turning data into insights so we can shape the future of financial services. It means we can reimagine customer journeys, dream up new digital marketing and platform ideas and develop products and services our customers have never experienced before.
With you today, for a better tomorrow
For more than 320 years we’ve been looking after our customers and helping them prepare for the unexpected – and we’ve picked up a thing or two along the way.
That’s why over 18.7 million people, in the UK, Ireland, and Canada choose us to protect what they have and to help them plan their future.
That future might seem a long way off, but the small steps you take now can make a big difference down the line – and even help you achieve your ambitions along the way too.
Count on us
We paid out £25.6 billion in benefits and claims to our customers in 2023.
Faster, happier, more productive
We’re committed to social action, climate action and being a sustainable business. In 2023 our colleagues spent 87,599 hours volunteering to support local communities.
Investing for the future
We provided £1.7 billion of financing for renewable energy infrastructure between 2020 and 2023.
In December 2025, Aviva was delighted to host the Aviva Awards Night, a brilliant evening celebrating inspiring women and allies across the data community. Roisin McCarthy, Founder of Women in Data®, joined Aviva to present the 2025 Aviva Spotlights and welcome the incoming 2026 cohort, continuing Aviva’s commitment to celebrating and supporting exceptional talent across the data community.
I need to start with a full disclosure: unlike some brilliant women out there who soar despite the world’s attempts to “clip their wings,” my story is one of privilege and luck. I’ve been supported by kind and wise people all along.
I went to a state‑run, selective school in Kazakhstan. I went to Lomonosov Moscow State University. My time in Barcelona at the Centre for Mathematical Research where I did my PhD and the papers I wrote and the acknowledgements from people who were leagues ahead of me helped me start believing that I might have the ability to contribute something of value.
I secured a five‑year position at the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford for my postdoctoral research. Stars aligned, and all that hard work modelling pathogen evolution paid off when the group I joined was chosen to advise No. 10 during the coronavirus pandemic. Our work helped avert millions of infections by providing a host of non‑pharmaceutical interventions and informing NHS resource‑allocation strategies.
I turned down a tenure‑track position to join Aviva and have never regretted it. I love the work we do: every completed project comes with a real sense of accomplishment and pride.
What I enjoy most about working with data is that moment when an inference consistently proves correct. It shows that you have understood something that was unknown just a second earlier, a true discovery! and it feels as close as one can get to having a seer’s superpower.
I started my career driven by a curiosity about how data shapes decisions. Over time, I developed expertise in creating user-friendly dashboards that transform complex information into clear, actionable insights. Today, as a Dashboard Developer at Aviva, I enjoy making data accessible and impactful for the business. My goal is to keep learning and explore advanced analytics to deliver even greater value.
What is it you enjoy the most working with data?
It’s dynamic. There’s always something new to learn and different ways to approach a problem. I enjoy uncovering insights that help solve real-world challenges and drive better decisions
Originally a maths graduate, I’ve now spent over 13 years at Aviva, starting in PLU pricing before moving into the UKGI Data & Analytics team. Two themes have shaped my career:
I’ve recently returned from maternity leave and am now working part-time. It’s been a steep learning curve of juggling both roles and I’ve enjoyed connecting with other parents/carers to discuss the balance.
What I enjoy most about working with data is the fact we get to wow our customers with innovative, conscientious solutions. I’m proud we get to turn ideas – whether sparked by stakeholder needs or opportunities we uncover ourselves – into end-to-end tools that genuinely move the business forward. Seeing what a small, committed team of people can achieve by applying their expertise and collaborating closely with others will never get old and I’m very grateful I get to be a part of it.
Data tells you a lot of things. All you need is a keen eye and patient mind to hear it!
I have been with Aviva for close to 3 years now, working in the Data Governance Team as a Data Quality Manager. I have experience of more than 7 years in the domain of Data Quality Management working with global banks like HSBC and JP Morgan Chase.
I have always been a curious child. I used to feel uneasy if something wasn’t getting to my head right. I would like to always know the why, what, how of things. As I grew older, the logical bug in me grew with me and I found drawn towards solving problems – be it solving a sudoku puzzle or a logical reasoning question or a crossword. That is probably the core ingredient in me that led me to find a place in the world of data. I did my bachelor’s in engineering and master’s in marketing and analytics in India.
My goal is to drive growth in Aviva’s data literacy, not just pertaining to analytics and GenAI, but related to more foundational aspects like data quality and metadata management.
I love deep diving into any dataset to understand how it is linked with the business process that has created it. Studying the dataset and looking for issues help me figure out the areas of improvement in the business processes.
My path into data has been anything but traditional. I originally studied Animal Biology, where a fascination with genetics introduced me to coding through bioinformatics — a challenging but curiosity‑sparking start. During my industry placement, I moved into a data and business intelligence analyst role and quickly fell in love with the problem‑solving, creativity, and constant learning that data work offers.
After graduating, I joined a consultancy in their data and analytics capability, gaining experience across data management, strategy, engineering, cloud, and analytics. Over three years, I discovered how much I enjoy bridging the gap between business and technical teams and building systems that genuinely help people.
In late 2024, I joined Aviva as a Data Engineer to deepen my skills in the General Insurance Data Engineering tech stack. I’m now a Lead Data Engineer, overseeing the Personal Insurance Motor and Retail pipelines — critical data products used across the business. This role has strengthened my ability to empower my team, shape requirements, and ensure we deliver high‑quality, reliable data.What I enjoy most is turning complexity into clarity. There’s something incredibly rewarding about transforming messy, ambiguous information into something meaningful and trustworthy. As a data engineer, I get to build the foundations that enable insights and better decision‑making — a balance of challenge and creativity that keeps the work exciting every day.
My path into data has never been a straight line, more like a curious zig-zag driven by an almost compulsive need to learn new things. I’m happiest when I’m trying something unfamiliar or picking up a new skill.
My first taste of the data world came at an insurance broker, analysing policy data to spot potential fraud. I was hooked from day one. Turning a spreadsheet full of numbers into a story, finding the patterns, and generating insights felt like magic. Wanting to grow, I used annual leave to shadow the actuarial team, where I discovered SQL — and everything clicked. From there, data became my home.
During my first chapter at Aviva, I worked in the UKGI Technical Underwriting team before moving into People Analytics and Insights, where I transitioned from Data Analyst to Data Engineer. I later joined a fintech in London as a People Analytics Senior Specialist, but the always‑on culture and heavy commute made me rethink what I wanted. That clarity brought me back to Aviva.
I am now part of the Personal Lines BI team, where I’ve discovered a genuine love for leadership. I never thought it was in my skillset, but supporting others’ development and helping build a strong, resilient team has been incredibly rewarding.
Data engineering constantly evolves new tools, new concepts, endless things to learn. It’s impossible not to be learning something. And for someone with a novelty-seeking brain, a field where no two days look the same is pretty much the perfect place to be.
Education: BSc Geography
https://www.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-waldron-ab6a97270/
Talk about a squiggly career! Upon leaving university I went travelling around the world for a year, upon returning I began an exciting career in the Ministry of Defence. It was here I honed my skills for threat intelligence and the collection process. I began to understand the broader threat landscape and the actors that played their part to disrupt our way of life in the UK. 16+ years later, I needed a new challenge and discovered my skill set fit well with the cyber security world.
My role has opened many doors, opportunities, and experiences for my personal and professional growth. Currently, I am responsible for communicating cyber threats across the organisation through data collection and analysis, sustaining a community of practice and developing strategies and policies.
I have a passion for equality, diversity, and inclusion and for being a role-model for women in cyber and data.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-read-0a761936/
Expertise: Building high performing teams that maximise value extraction from data solutions
Education: TOGAF Certified Architect, Oracle Certified Associate, SCRUM Alliance Certified Product Owner.
Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of building and leading data-driven teams across various industries, all with a core focus on leveraging data to deliver tangible business value. I’m a seasoned data leader, with a strong background in data platforms, cloud technology and data strategy. In previous roles, I have led data teams at a major BPO and headed up the data architecture function at a financial services company.
At EDF UK, I have led the EDF UK Customers business migration to AWS/Snowflake and have led numerous large scale data transformation programmes. I promote a less is more tech strategy and am focussed on ROI and driving reusability wherever possible.
I’m deeply committed to driving diversity within tech, which I champion through my involvement in the EDF UK data and tech steering group. I’m fully supportive of initiatives such as early careers programmes that help develop and nurture talent. I passionately believe that the gender disparity in roles such as a tech and engineering needs to be addressed and it’s on all leaders to create a culture and environment where talent can flourish.
In the data landscape, I believe that data is more interconnected than ever and the ability to share data between producers and consumers is vital to drive innovation. As we advance in this data marketplace era, I’m excited to continue building strategies that use technological transformation to drive real-world impact. And of course, developing talent that enable value to be extracted from data and drive an innovative data culture.
Expertise: Driving AI initiatives into operational business applications
Education: Applied Science, 25 years in data innovation
https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-eszeki/
My adventure into the world of AI began in the mid-90s, pre-internet, as a Geographical Information Systems Analyst for the Australian Government. I quickly realized the immense value of data accuracy and cleanliness. Hungry for more challenges, I moved into the vibrant world of publishing at Lonely Planet Publications. Here, I understood the critical importance of project deliveries, cost efficiency vs. accuracy and digital publishing, witnessing the dawn of Google Maps and its transformative effect on the industry where I learnt that I would, where possible need to be at the forefront of data technology. Fuelled by my passion for exploration, I sold everything and travelled the world, eventually landing in the UK. My freelancing days were filled with diverse data projects, sharpening my skills and expanding my horizons. I found a home at Kimberly Clark Professional, where I turned raw data into actionable insights and honed my data engineering skills. This marked my first foray into data science, developing predictive churn models, stunning data visualizations, and natural language sentiment models. These experiences laid the groundwork for building digital marketing insights and eventually leading the data team. Recognizing the impact of ML and AI seven years ago, I transitioned to a small startup, honing my data and AI skills while leading projects and teams, especially in NLP. This path led me to EDF, where I initially served as a consultant before becoming a full-time member in the EDF Blue Lab incubator as an AI Lead. Today, I am at the helm, driving AI innovation to operational scale deployments. I oversee strategy, governance, and the responsible deployment of AI, working alongside my talented award-winning team. With a profound understanding of AI technologies and strong management abilities, I ensure foster innovation within my team. My commitment to responsible AI practices upholds transparency and ethical standards in every initiative and support EDF in understanding AI Governance practices building their AI strategic future. With over 25 years of experience working with data, my leadership and passion for advancing AI technologies empower EDF UK to achieve extraordinary results, enhancing sustainability and operational efficiency. I take pride in contributing to a culture of excellence and responsibility, shaping the future of energy innovation.
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