Stories

As partners to Women in Defence UK, KBR was delighted to attend their annual awards ceremony last month to virtually celebrate the achievements of women in the industry.

The ceremony originally began in 2016 with five categories and 215 nominations and has expanded to include ten categories, and this year received 530 nominations. Despite its virtual setting, the evening was filled with positivity, emotion and inspirational stories from all nominees, with finalist’s friends and family watching and cheering on.

Understanding that successful partnerships are built on collaboration, KBR was honored to sponsor the Most Collaborative Award for the 5th year running. Category finalists included Jennifer from MI5, Paula Rose from the Atomic Weapons Establishment, and Dr. Kate Gill from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Paula was nominated for her outstanding contribution to the UK’s nuclear deterrent capability in the Atomic Weapons Establishment and her research into the field of plasma physics.

Dr. Kate Gill, who recently participated in KBR’s International Women’s Day panel was nominated for her crucial work in progressing the F-35 program through Software Modernization and establishing an Agile DevSecOps (DSOP) cloud ecosystem. As the international lead of an all US team, Kate has been instrumental in saving the UK MOD millions of pounds in her successful negotiation of innovative software collaboration in the global $49B program, whilst also increasing aircraft lifetime availability and streamlining capability.

It was Jennifer from MI5 that took home the award for her role in the delivery of the UK’s response to the poisoning in Salisbury in March 2018. She was nominated by her team for driving collaborative joint working that has helped transform “Russia Mission” collaboration across UKIC, HMG and Foreign Liaison Services. The classified nature of Jennifer’s extraordinary work means that it often goes unsung. She is a role model and an empowering leader who has created an environment where her team are inspired and encouraged to collaborate.

KBR are committed to be amongst the very best at driving inclusion and diversity. Promoting and fostering a strong team culture mentality, we are creating safe, collaborative environments where all ideas are welcomed and encouraged. We are pleased to announce our continuing support of the Most Collaborative award and look forward to working closely with the finalists later this year. The nominations for this year are already open and we have no doubt the talent will be just as incredible.