We partnered with Women in Data® to empower women in the data profession. By collaborating with Women in Data®, we aim to provide mentorship and career development opportunities for colleagues, and to support initiatives that inspire and advance women in data® roles. This partnership aligns with our commitment to diversity, inclusion and ethical practices, and will help support a robust and equitable future for the industry.
Zoe is a Senior Business Data Analyst with nearly 21 years’ experience at Royal London, having built her career through a variety of business and data‑focused roles. Over that time, she has developed a deep understanding of how organisations work and how data can be used effectively to support better decisions.
Throughout her career, Zoe has worked closely with a wide range of stakeholders, translating business needs into meaningful insights. Her strength lies in understanding the real‑world context behind the data – recognising risks, limitations and opportunities, and ensuring insights are both relevant and actionable.
Alongside this, Zoe has continued to grow her technical capability, developing her skills in areas such as SQL and data visualisation to strengthen how insights are delivered and communicated.
Zoe is passionate about sharing her journey to encourage more women to consider careers in data. She’s keen to challenge the misconception that you need a technical background or formal qualifications to succeed in this field. Through her own experience, she hopes to show that many different skillsets – such as communication, problem‑solving and business understanding – are just as valuable, and that technical skills can be learned with the right support and opportunities.
Tabitha joined Royal London in September 2025 after completing her Economics degree. She’s currently on the Enterprise Leadership Graduate Scheme, with her first rotation in the Group Data Office, focusing on how AI and automation can enhance underwriting.
As part of her placement, she developed a Copilot agent that retrieves key rules from our Underwriting Guide, helping underwriters quickly access the information they need without searching through documents. She’s also building her technical skills through our Data & AI Academy, learning SQL, Power BI and prompt engineering.
Since joining, Tabitha has gained exposure to exciting, high‑impact projects and has been inspired by the pace of innovation across the organisation. She’s passionate about using data and AI to solve real business challenges and hopes to encourage other women in their early career to explore opportunities in this growing space.
Raushanara has over 20 years of experience as a data professional, spanning sectors including telecommunications, retail, automotive, professional services and financial services. She has delivered numerous strategic systems transformation programmes and large-scale data migrations. She is highly skilled in SQL, data warehousing, Azure and Power BI.
As a part-time female Senior Data Visualisation Engineer from an ethnic minority background, Raushanara represents multiple under-represented groups in the technology sector and is passionate about improving representation for others.
Most roles with non-traditional working patterns are held and often required by women. Because of this, organisations need to recognise and clearly communicate their support for flexible working from the outset if they want to attract more women applicants and drive meaningful change. One practical step she advocates for is ensuring job advertisements explicitly state that all forms of flexible working are welcomed, including part-time, term-time and job-share arrangements – and that organisations genuinely follow through on these commitments.
She hopes that by sharing her story – even through a brief profile – she might inspire someone, perhaps even one woman, to pursue a qualification or take their first step towards a career in data.
Jennifer works in the Data Management Office at Royal London Asset Management, where she focuses on the creation and maintenance of securities and portfolios. She joined the team in 2022 bringing years of experience from the financial services industry.
Her role is dynamic and fast paced, involving the development of new processes, proactive problem solving, and dedicated support for internal stakeholders. In a rapidly evolving field, she remains committed to continuously building and enhancing her data-related skills.
Having worked across a range of teams, Jennifer recognises the importance of supporting colleagues in their development. She values contributing to team growth by helping others build their confidence and advance their capabilities.
Jennifer is a strong advocate for women in data® and believes that diverse, inclusive teams drive better insights, reduce bias and contribute to stronger financial strategies overall.
Nusra is a Senior Data Governance Analyst at Royal London Asset Management, where she focuses on ensuring data is accurate, well defined and trusted across the organisation. She joined Royal London Asset Management in 2020 as a trainee analyst and has since progressed into a senior role, reflecting the breadth of opportunities available within data to learn, grow and build a long‑term career. Her passion for data developed during Economics with Econometrics degree, where she began to see how data can shape meaningful decision making, from influencing economic policy to supporting organisations in making informed decisions.
Through her work in Data Governance, Nusra has contributed to the embedding of data governance policies, the establishment of trusted metadata and data quality processes, and the strengthening of regulatory compliance, including GDPR. What matters most to Nusra as a data professional is building trust in data and ensuring it’s used responsibly. She believes this enables confidence in the data, leading to positive outcomes for both the organisation and its clients.
With data being a diverse and evolving field, Nusra encourages women considering a career in data to remain curious and open to learning, particularly in the early stages of their careers.
Lindsay’s route to working in data has been anything but direct having spent many years in finance roles across almost every industry – including retail, financial services, software, football and pharmaceuticals – before moving into procurement and eventually joining our Group Data Office. Nevertheless, each of these roles has shared a reliance on data, whether it’s managing financial documents like balance sheets and invoices or analysing spending and due diligence for contract renewals.
Lindsay’s analytical background and experience with relevant policies, procedures and controls have built strong transferable skills and a solid understanding of quality data practices.
As a Data & AI Governance Analyst, Lindsay helps her business areas apply our Data Governance Framework to ensure policy compliance. She collaborates with stakeholders to interpret and implement data governance standards, translates business needs into technical requirements, and facilitates best practices like monitoring controls and mitigating data risk. All of this, alongside keeping up with the current regulatory environment means there’s never a dull day for the team!
Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys travelling, listening to her very eclectic music catalogue, dragging her husband along to gigs and walking the Cheshire countryside with her two cocker spaniels.
We anticipate significant transformation in the UK’s data landscape over the next five years, driven by advancements in technology, regulatory changes and growing awareness of data privacy and ethics.
We foresee a surge in the adoption of AI and machine learning, enabling more sophisticated data analytics and personalised financial solutions tailored to individual needs. The introduction of stricter data protection regulations will compel organisations to enhance their data governance frameworks, helping to ensure transparency, security and trust.
As data becomes an increasingly critical asset, we expect to see a rise in the demand for skilled data professionals, particularly women, who are currently underrepresented in the field. Our partnership with Women in Data® highlights our commitment to nurturing this talent and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Royal London is the largest mutual life, pensions and investment company in the UK, and in the top 30 mutuals globally*, with assets under management of £199billion, 8.5 million policies in force and over 5,000 employees.
Figures quoted are as at 31 December 2025. Royal London supports partnerships aligned to its values as a purpose-driven, modern mutual.
This includes our work as the only Founding Partner of the first British & Irish Lions Women’s Team, where we are investing in women’s and girls’ rugby across both grassroots and elite levels to support the development of the next generation of players and coaches.
*Based on total 2022 premium income. ICMIF Global 500, 2024
Zoe Kean
Senior Business Data Analyst
Zoe is a Senior Business Data Analyst with nearly 21 years’ experience at Royal London, having built her career through a variety of business and data‑focused roles. Over that time, she has developed a deep understanding of how organisations work and how data can be used effectively to support better decisions.
Throughout her career, Zoe has worked closely with a wide range of stakeholders, translating business needs into meaningful insights. Her strength lies in understanding the real‑world context behind the data – recognising risks, limitations and opportunities, and ensuring insights are both relevant and actionable.
Alongside this, Zoe has continued to grow her technical capability, developing her skills in areas such as SQL and data visualisation to strengthen how insights are delivered and communicated.
Zoe is passionate about sharing her journey to encourage more women to consider careers in data. She’s keen to challenge the misconception that you need a technical background or formal qualifications to succeed in this field. Through her own experience, she hopes to show that many different skillsets – such as communication, problem‑solving and business understanding – are just as valuable, and that technical skills can be learned with the right support and opportunities.
Tabitha McLean
Enterprise Leadership Graduate
Tabitha joined Royal London in September 2025 after completing her Economics degree. She’s currently on the Enterprise Leadership Graduate Scheme, with her first rotation in the Group Data Office, focusing on how AI and automation can enhance underwriting.
As part of her placement, she developed a Copilot agent that retrieves key rules from our Underwriting Guide, helping underwriters quickly access the information they need without searching through documents. She’s also building her technical skills through our Data & AI Academy, learning SQL, Power BI and prompt engineering.
Since joining, Tabitha has gained exposure to exciting, high‑impact projects and has been inspired by the pace of innovation across the organisation. She’s passionate about using data and AI to solve real business challenges and hopes to encourage other women in their early career to explore opportunities in this growing space.
Raushanara Begum
Senior Data Visualisation Engineer
Raushanara has over 20 years of experience as a data professional, spanning sectors including telecommunications, retail, automotive, professional services and financial services. She has delivered numerous strategic systems transformation programmes and large-scale data migrations. She is highly skilled in SQL, data warehousing, Azure and Power BI.
As a part-time female Senior Data Visualisation Engineer from an ethnic minority background, Raushanara represents multiple under-represented groups in the technology sector and is passionate about improving representation for others.
Most roles with non-traditional working patterns are held and often required by women. Because of this, organisations need to recognise and clearly communicate their support for flexible working from the outset if they want to attract more women applicants and drive meaningful change. One practical step she advocates for is ensuring job advertisements explicitly state that all forms of flexible working are welcomed, including part-time, term-time and job-share arrangements – and that organisations genuinely follow through on these commitments.
She hopes that by sharing her story – even through a brief profile – she might inspire someone, perhaps even one woman, to pursue a qualification or take their first step towards a career in data.
Lindsay Hill
Data & AI Governance Analyst
Lindsay’s route to working in data has been anything but direct having spent many years in finance roles across almost every industry – including retail, financial services, software, football and pharmaceuticals – before moving into procurement and eventually joining our Group Data Office. Nevertheless, each of these roles has shared a reliance on data, whether it’s managing financial documents like balance sheets and invoices or analysing spending and due diligence for contract renewals.
Lindsay’s analytical background and experience with relevant policies, procedures and controls have built strong transferable skills and a solid understanding of quality data practices.
As a Data & AI Governance Analyst, Lindsay helps her business areas apply our Data Governance Framework to ensure policy compliance. She collaborates with stakeholders to interpret and implement data governance standards, translates business needs into technical requirements, and facilitates best practices like monitoring controls and mitigating data risk. All of this, alongside keeping up with the current regulatory environment means there’s never a dull day for the team!
Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys travelling, listening to her very eclectic music catalogue, dragging her husband along to gigs and walking the Cheshire countryside with her two cocker spaniels.
Jennifer Atkins
Senior Data Management Analyst
Jennifer works in the Data Management Office at Royal London Asset Management, where she focuses on the creation and maintenance of securities and portfolios. She joined the team in 2022 bringing years of experience from the financial services industry.
Her role is dynamic and fast paced, involving the development of new processes, proactive problem solving, and dedicated support for internal stakeholders. In a rapidly evolving field, she remains committed to continuously building and enhancing her data-related skills.
Having worked across a range of teams, Jennifer recognises the importance of supporting colleagues in their development. She values contributing to team growth by helping others build their confidence and advance their capabilities.
Jennifer is a strong advocate for women in data® and believes that diverse, inclusive teams drive better insights, reduce bias and contribute to stronger financial strategies overall.
Nusra Basheer Ahmed
Senior Data Governance Analyst
Nusra is a Senior Data Governance Analyst at Royal London Asset Management, where she focuses on ensuring data is accurate, well defined and trusted across the organisation. She joined Royal London Asset Management in 2020 as a trainee analyst and has since progressed into a senior role, reflecting the breadth of opportunities available within data to learn, grow and build a long‑term career. Her passion for data developed during Economics with Econometrics degree, where she began to see how data can shape meaningful decision making, from influencing economic policy to supporting organisations in making informed decisions.
Through her work in Data Governance, Nusra has contributed to the embedding of data governance policies, the establishment of trusted metadata and data quality processes, and the strengthening of regulatory compliance, including GDPR. What matters most to Nusra as a data professional is building trust in data and ensuring it’s used responsibly. She believes this enables confidence in the data, leading to positive outcomes for both the organisation and its clients.
With data being a diverse and evolving field, Nusra encourages women considering a career in data to remain curious and open to learning, particularly in the early stages of their careers.
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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