BA of the Year Hall of Fame

The winner of the IIBA UK Business Analyst of the Year Award 2023 has been announced. Pip Hall, BA at Telent Technology Services Ltd, satisfied all of this year’s criteria: dealing with ambiguity, demonstrating excellence and thinking differently. Pip was presented with the award at the IRM UK BA Conference Europe by Conference Keynote Speaker, David McCandless.

The judges were impressed with Pip's enthusiasm: "Pip is a committed and passionate Business Analyst who is changing the way the organisation thinks, applying the "Pip Lens" to deliver transformation."

On receiving the award, our new BA of the Year said: “I'm astounded! It's amazing to do something for the profession.”

Pip is a Business Analyst working with Telent Technology Services. Having changed career within the transport sector, Pip uses the insights gained from her extensive customer service experience to inform her business analysis activities. She prides herself on advancing continuous improvement and challenging the assumptions that deter individuals and organisations from embracing change.

Paul is a Business Analyst working at Jet2 and counts innovative thinking as his business analysis superpower. He also applies this skill to assessing how business analysis can embrace the future and how accessibility to the BA role might be increased. Paul recently launched NXTGN, an organisation focused on developing business analysis tools and cultivating a thriving community of innovation within the business analysis discipline.

Judges' comments: "A Senior Business Analyst, Paul is a pioneer in the field of AI, looking at ways in which the profession can leverage the technology in the future."

Paromita is an experienced Lead Business Analyst currently working at Close Brothers. She has demonstrated her skills when delivering effective business analysis on a range of complex projects over a 15-year period. Paromita prides herself on possessing a mix of professional business analysis skills and extensive domain knowledge within the financial services sector.

Judges' comments: "Paromita is a Lead Business Analyst who uses a wide range of BA techniques to create clarity from confusion to deliver complex financial projects under tight deadlines."

Amber is a Lead Business Analyst at Lloyds Banking Group. She has extensive experience of working within IT and wider business change projects at Lloyds. She has applied her business analysis skills to a diverse range of initiatives, which have included projects involving colleague and customer change, Cyber Security, and Identity and Access Management change

Judges' comments: "Amber is a data driven Lead Business Analyst who trailblazes a forensic and holistic approach that puts customers' needs at the heart of the solution."

Brittany has worked at Evri for three years. Joining as a graduate, she progressed to a Senior Business Analyst role after working on many challenging and complex projects. Recently, she has focused on raising wider awareness of business analysis by joining community groups and speaking to students about life as a BA. Her goal is to improve understanding of the BA role and the opportunities it presents to those entering the world of work.

Judges' comments: "A meteoric journey to Senior Business Analyst is due in no small part to Brittany's skill in building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and delivering results under pressure."

Nicola is currently working as an Enterprise Business Analyst at Evri. She enjoys attempting work outside her comfort zone whenever possible and tries to learn something new every day. Beyond her day-to-day role, Nicola volunteers with the YBA group to help other Young Business Analysts to develop their careers. She continues to develop her business analysis knowledge through both formal and informal learning and networking opportunities.

Judges' comments: "Nicola is an enthusiastic Enterprise Business Analyst who is clearly passionate about supporting others and promoting the business analysis profession at every opportunity."

Simon is a Principal Business Analyst at Whitbread, with 16 years’ experience in helping deliver change initiatives of all sizes and levels of complexity. Simon has worked across several sectors including financial services, transportation and hospitality. Away from the workplace, Simon is a keen endurance challenge enthusiast and a passionate advocate for neurodiversity awareness and acceptance.

Judges' comments: "Simon is a Principal Business Analyst who loves improving his business knowledge by ‘going on safari’ and continually stretching his comfort zone to grow in the profession."

Rebecca is a Business Analyst working for Capco. From her teenage years as an alligator handler in Texas to her university career as a marine biologist, Rebecca has a life-long interest in learning about the world and in making connections. She credits her flexible mindset to her history of working in varied environments, which has enabled her to develop a strong ability to listen to her clients and fully understand their needs.

Judges' comments: "Rebecca is a Senior Consultant who applies her creativity with an agile mindset to steer a successful course through significant regulatory uncertainty."

A highly qualified BA with over 10 years’ experience, Helen has delivered outcomes against programmes and projects of varying size and complexity. Her goal is to drive outcomes that align with both strategic objectives and customer needs. To achieve this, she works with stakeholders at all levels to identify and analyse problems and opportunities. Now a BA function lead, Helen has built a BA capability from the ground up, designing and implementing frameworks and standards to support the consistent delivery of high-quality outputs.

Judges' comments: “Helen has impressive tenacity and authenticity in her work. She is committed to continually developing her skills and extending her professional networks across the Civil Service, and beyond.”

Hannah is a business analyst at Royal London. She has worked on strategic projects and has a track record of building high performing teams that are a mix of internal and external SMEs, management consultants and engineers. Her business analysis work has included delivering high quality requirements, shaping company standards and work practices, and ensuring organisational readiness. She is keen to inspire and influence her colleagues and stakeholders. Hannah enjoys crafting and puzzles, and believes the mindset and skills required by these hobbies are highly relevant to her professional work.

Judges' comments: “Good, strong business analysis is the basis of Hannah's success in addressing challenges in her projects, complemented by intelligent stakeholder engagement.”

Andrew joined Transport for London in 1995 and worked in Bus Operations before taking over technical operations of the London Buses Command and Control Centre. After successfully delivering a number of high-profile technical projects, he made the career move from operations to business analysis in 2017. Andrew has worked on major programs including Road User Charging and the Taxi and Private Hire re-let schemes. He is now the Lead BA on a complex technology project for bus systems.

Judges' comments: “Andy has an insightful and innovative approach to evaluating project benefits, then demonstrating their worth to the organisation. He is committed to improving professional standards and mentoring less experienced BAs in his community.”

Angus has thrived in his role having been involved in discovering and delivering digital agile projects at Aviva. He now leads a program of work as a Principal BA, supporting both project and feature teams. Angus is passionate about learning and development, and hopes to complete the BCS Advanced Diploma in Business Analysis this year, while continuing to train and support the development of those new to the BA role.

Judges' comments: “Angus has many strings to his bow. He freely contributes his knowledge and skills within his organisation, and outside, to improve BA standards and outcomes.”

Nicola has worked at Yorkshire Water for three years after joining as a BA apprentice. She has developed her business analysis expertise and expanded her career while working mostly in an agile environment. In her most recent role she has focussed on networking and collaboration, working closely with colleagues and the apprenticeship community. Her goal is to improve the visibility of the BA role, especially to those new to the world of change.

Judges' comments: “Nicola is creative, persuasive and diligent in her BA work, which enables her to overcome significant obstacles and raise morale in the team. She is not afraid to push herself out of her comfort zone to develop in her role.”

A Lead BA in the Bank of England and a committed and delivery-focussed team player, Neal has considerable experience in designing, planning and delivering effective change. He takes a collaborative approach, working to build trust and credibility with stakeholders while taking ownership of complex problems. Placing a high value on critical-thinking and project planning skills, Neal's goal is to optimise the use of technology to achieve organisational objectives. His passion is to turn vision into achievement.

Judges' comments: “Neal's thoughtful, considered and meticulous approach to business analysis enabled his highly complex project to succeed, where others had failed. His passion for developing Young BAs is inspiring.”

James joined the HR department within Allianz in April 2018, where he was involved in various HR projects as a Subject Matter Expert. He moved to a Foundation BA role within the BA Practice in September 2019, immediately joining the BA Apprenticeship Scheme. James achieved his BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis in August 2021, completing his apprenticeship in February 2022. He has recently been promoted to the role of Business Analyst and is working on a global change initiative within Allianz.

Judges' comments: “A skilled BA, setting professional standards for others to follow. James is also a natural ambassador for the industry, leading a number of outreach activities.”

John is the global lead of the business analysis community and head of BA training at Capco, and is in charge of Capco UK's BA and Process Excellence. A specialist in leading business analysis, functional architecture and SDLC best practice he champions agile and business analysis methodologies. John has over 20 years' experience in financial services and a proven ability to bridge technology and business goals to provide solutions.

Judges' comments: “John uses his extensive network to improve the outcomes of complex global projects. As Global Lead, he has a clear passion for  training, developing and nurturing the next generation of BAs”.

Rebecca Richmond-Smith was announced winner of the BA of the Year Award 2021 on Tuesday 21st September, at the BA Conference Europe.

The judges said of Rebecca's achievements: 

"Rebecca has demonstrated that age is no barrier when it comes to having a strategic impact as a business analyst."

On accepting the award, Rebecca said:

"I didn't know what to do when I finished Uni, except I knew that I wanted to solve problems, to be an internal analyst. I'm now passionate about creating greater visibility of the BA role, for those who have the same passion and core skills set. I'd like to say well done to all the other finalists. They're all amazing."

Rebecca is currently a BA at CMR Surgical, a growing medical robotics company. As part of the central improvement team, Rebecca is responsible for providing a business analysis service across the company. In practical terms, this has led to a variety of different projects from delivering quick wins to large-scale enterprise-wide projects. Outside work, Rebecca is also a project lead in YBA (Young Business Analysts) helping young BAs to grow their personal and professional confidence.

Christina is an accomplished Lead BA within Capita's Public Service division, bringing to her role a wealth of experience in delivering financial, productivity, operational and service improvements. As a true advocate of the BA profession, Christina contributes to the BA community by representing IIBA UK as Finance Director, IRM's BPM conference as an advisory board member, sharing her thoughts on webinar and authoring articles. She is also passionate about developing BAs of the future through knowledge sharing, coaching and mentoring.

"Christina is impressively committed to taking the business analysis profession forwards. Her energy, passion, knowledge and skills are inspiring." 

Francesca is an Agile change professional working in the Jersey finance community. She has 16 years’ experience of working on initiatives such as NCIRs, customer journey improvements, regulatory and systems-led change, restructuring and digitalisation. She is passionate about growing female representation within her industry, sharing the importance of the BA role and how it can influence the wider business. Francesca believes that BAs of the future should be supported to bring fresh insights and perspectives, enabling them to tackle the challenges of an ever-changing world.

"Francesca is not just opening doors for women to enter the business analysis profession, she's kicking them down." 

Kristy is a life-long learner who applies her learning actively and shares it with others. Her BA experience has involved working in both business-to-business and business-to-customer environments, involving cross-functional and global teams in companies such as Kodak and BT. She has also enjoyed working for a digital start-up company which deployed a platform on a global scale. Kristy has a passion for helping others achieve their full potential.

"Kristy's empathy, compassion and inclusivity set her apart as a BA leader." 

Nadiya provides high-quality BA services to estabilished firms and start-ups, both on clients’ sites and virtually. She also educates individuals and teams on the specifics and value of business analysis through carefully-designed case studies. For the last 15 years Nadiya has  successfully completed BA delivery on projects and products within the  energy/commodities, financial and physical trading, software product development and investment banking sectors. She loves her work and finds it very rewarding to see the results.

"Nadiya is a consummate professional, leading her team to deliver exceptional business value from the BA service." 

Paul has been a BA for five years and he enjoys exploring innovative ideas and ways of working, exercising the brain and tackling problems head-on. After leaving the forces, he has worked hard to understand the world of business, with customer service as a starting point. Outside of work, Paul can be found enjoying the roads of Yorkshire on his motorbike or chuckling in the mud as he enjoys a casual game of airsoft.

"Paul's vision for the future of business analysis both within and outside his organisation is very inspiring." 

Sam is an IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional and BCS Advanced Diploma holder, who is passionate about business analysis and using the BA toolkit to optimise business benefits for large organisations. He has worked in financial services for ten years from entry-level BA to practice manager and has recently moved into the energy sector to test his skills in a new domain. He is an advocate of life-long learning and in his spare time acts as a mentor as well as a Director at IIBA UK.

"Sam sets the bar for professionalism and commitment to lifelong learning as a business analyst." 

Sara is a Lead BA with six years’ experience of leading requirements elicitation, process improvement and solution design for transformational change. Collaborating with her stakeholders, Sara incorporates design thinking and Agile principles, realising value through excellence and execution. Sara is a creative and resilient leader who believes in empowerment and recognition and she strives to be known for adding value, building trust and making a difference. She holds the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis and is working towards the Advanced Diploma.

"Sara is exceptionally skilled at creating strong relationships with her stakeholders, providing support and reassurance to them during times of significant change." 

Srikanth is a senior BA working at the Bank of England and has over 15 years of business analysis experience. Over the years, he has gained a wide variety of work experience in various industries such as banking, housing, healthcare and education and has been fortunate to experience other roles across the full project lifecycle.

"Srikanth uses his many interpersonal skills and passion for his profession to build a new and productive relationship between business analysis and business architecture."

In selecting Taz as the winner, the judges highlighted:

"An outstanding BA practice leader, a true ambassador for the profession and a team manager who prioritises his people's health and well-being."

Taz is a BA Manager with the Bank of England. He realised early in his career that too many projects were driven by technology and not derived from business needs, which caused him to seek a career in business analysis. He feels that BAs add most value when they are independent, representing the best interests of the business, and offer impartial and objective advice based on thorough analysis, research and understanding of the real business problems and issues.

Gary is a thought leader in business analysis, leading the team through pivoting from traditional waterfall delivery to collaborative design skills and mind-set using capability and skills development, incorporating Design Thinking, Lean Start Up and Agile principles. He is a dedicated, creative and passionate business analyst with extensive process improvement expertise, supported by experience within telecommunications, retail and customer service management, operational excellence and process design. Gary is fully qualified with the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis and professional certification in Agile Business Analysis.

Jay has been working as a Lead Business Analyst for the Bank of England for nine years. He is an ‘all round’ lead BA with experience throughout the software development lifecycle starting from shaping, scoping and sizing of projects to producing detailed functional backlogs. Jay has led business analysis work for major strategic initiatives at the Bank, including Capital Requirements Regulation 2, Funding for Lending scheme and Financial Stress Testing. Jay is an AI (Artificial Intelligence) specialist BA and helps projects to establish the AI scope and achieve the objectives around using AI to assist decision making.

Neal is a Senior Business Analyst experienced at supporting the business to design, plan and deliver effective business change. He is a committed and delivery-focussed team player who, through a collaborative approach, works to quickly build trust and credibility with stakeholders, taking ownership of complex problems to advance the use of technology to achieve organisational objectives. Neal demonstrates strong critical-thinking and project planning skills with a passion for turning vision into achievement.

Pilar Scullion is a Senior Business Analyst at Allianz Insurance, with over 10 years’ experience across a range of programmes and projects in Telecoms and Insurance. She is currently leading a team implementing new financial regulatory standards, and believes the best results are achieved with encouragement and collaboration. She has also championed the implementation of a new process modelling tool using BPMN standards. Her natural curiosity makes her ideally suited to the regular learning opportunities offered by life as a BA.

Sean is a highly driven individual who always strives to do what is best for his customers. He has been in the business analysis field for eight years, working his way from a Junior Business Analyst to Lead Business Analyst in that time within the Insurance and Banking industries. Sean has a real passion for great customer outcomes and has spent the last four years in the digital space as part of Royal London’s Direct to Consumer division.

Steve Asquith is a Lead Business Analyst at Hermes Parcelnet. Working as part of a Change Delivery function he leads a team of Business Analysts delivering change across a varied Portfolio. His passions are finding new ways to engage people in change and, through analysis and understanding, discovering hidden links, benefits and synergies. Steve brings a certain flair to his work, a level of innovation and style that’s hard to ignore; just ask him about Babylonian counting!

William Gall is a dynamic change professional who successfully leads change team delivery through Business Analysis, Architecture and Product Owner roles. He has 20 years of experience working in change across engineering, logistics, insurance and retail banking sectors. He holds the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis and regularly attends and speaks at the IIBA Business Analysis Conference Europe.

The winner of the Business Analyst of the Year Award 2019 – sponsored by AssistKD and IIBA UK – is Linda Parker of Registers of Scotland. The judges described Linda as "an incredibly innovative and empathic analyst, leading the development of the profession in Scotland".

Linda was presented with the award by Paralympian, Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords and Broadcaster, Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Linda has been a successful business analyst for nearly 30 years and, for her, the role never grows old. Her avid interest in other people, and keenness to learn and improve, means she loves being a BA. Currently, she is a business analyst working for the Registers of Scotland.

Outside of work, she runs half-marathons, walks her dogs and even has time for her husband!

Amy is a business analyst and a product engineer. She has recently moved into the digital space within the John Lewis partnership, working on an Agile project to create a skincare finder. Her previous 15 years were spent in a traditional BA role, delivering incremental change on waterfall projects, across John Lewis Buying and Selling. She’s passionate about adding value and meeting user requirements in a simple way. This stems back to when she first joined as an IT Graduate trainee iteratively building a workflow prototype for promotions.   

Bronia is a business analyst working in the international financial sector on the Isle of Man. She is a consultant and director of Sabiduria Ltd and founder of the Isle of Man Business Analysis Network. She holds two International Diplomas, in Business Analysis and Solution Development, and has practitioner-level qualifications in Test Analysis and Test Management. Bronia has a keen interest in understanding how people are influenced within projects and in encouraging young people to consider a BA career.

Emma Myers is a business analyst at the Bank of England. She has worked for the organisation for over 10 years, beginning her career in service management before moving into a BA role. With over three years of BA experience, she has worked on a range of projects including data collection, capacity management, HR improvements and central banking settlement services. Emma is midway through a part time degree in Computer Science.

Jennie has been a successful BA for 13 years in the public sector, recently with CMC Partnership Consultancy Ltd. She has contributed to award-winning projects and programmes, and still finds the variety within the profession exciting with each new role. She believes in building strong honest relationships and that establishing a mutual understanding of the problem is key to implementing change successfully. Jennie is an oral examiner for the BCS International BA Diploma, and is studying towards the Advanced Diploma.

Kei is Senior BA in the Architecture, Analysis and Consultancy Division, bringing over 13 years of public sector experience to the Bank of England. He leads on multiple high-level projects including the Central Services Strategic Transformation programme and has a strong interest in developing the Bank’s Enterprise Architecture capabilities. Kei is a proven team-player whose strengths are his approach to problem-solving, stakeholder engagement and attention to detail. Kei also researches and advises his team on tooling and industry trends.

As a junior business analyst, Lauren is able to use her passion for building strong stakeholder relationships in her day-to-day role. With eight years of experience at the Bank of England, she has developed the ability to work in a business environment as well as with technology and this has greatly benefitted her career as a business analyst. She has thrived in her current programme with the multiple opportunities it has given her to work collaboratively with stakeholders and peers on a priority one project.

Nikkita is a hard-working motivated individual that who has always striven to be the best at what she does, be that in work on her projects or outside work with her Bollywood dancing. She is a sociable person and loves bringing people together in order to create a sense of community. She enjoys travelling to countries across the world and getting involved in the different cultures that each place has to offer. 

Ravi is a consulting business analyst with over 20 years’ experience, currently working for HSBC Bank since March 2016. Prior to HSBC, Ravi has worked for many other financial organisations across the world. Ravi also gained the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis as well as in Solution Development and the IIBA© CBAP qualification. 

The winner of the IIBA™ Business Analyst of the Year Award 2018 – sponsored by AssistKD – is Danielle Harley of Allianz Insurance. The judges described Danielle as a "highly skilled and self-confessed 'BA nerd', who is passionate about getting results and sharing best practice."

Danielle was presented with the Award by England's 2003 Rugby World Cup Winning Head Coach and Former Director of Sport Team GB, Sir Clive Woodward. The presentation was made yesterday (25th September) at the Business Analysis Conference Europe, in London.

Danielle Harley has worked in business analysis in the UK and Australia for over 11 years and is currently a Business Analyst in IT at Allianz Insurance. Having worked on a range of programmes and projects, she has recently led the analysis in IT for implementing GDPR. Her passion in knowledge sharing and lifelong learning has led her to implement a skills hub and a Community of Practice for business analysts.

William Gall is a Lead Business Analyst with Nationwide Building Society. He is enthusiastic and self-driven, and builds and enables collaborative teams to successfully deliver business value through efficient change programmes.

Guido Marcuccilli is an experienced manager with a strong operational background. He has a breadth of experience in leading teams and driving change initiatives built up in a 30-year career in roles with Royal Bank of Scotland and latterly as a Business Analyst with Renfrewshire Council. He has a passion for business improvement, people development, change leadership and customer service.

Sarah Ottery is a BCS-certified Business Analyst. With a degree, two further BCS Diplomas, 12 years’ experience and two World Marathon Majors under her belt, she is leading the way at Scottish and Southern Energy. When she isn’t managing, coaching, and mentoring the future generation of analysts, she’s busy leading Health and Wellbeing initiatives and encourages participants to take part.

Linda Parker has been a successful business analyst for nearly 30 years and, for her, the role never grows old. Her avid interest in other people, and keenness to learn and improve, means she loves being a BA. Currently, she is a Business Analyst working for the Registers of Scotland.

Outside of work, she runs half-marathons, walks her dogs and even has time for her husband! 

Ian Phillips’ became a Business Analyst at the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2012, investigating problems and helping deliver key business and technology improvements to a 175-year old organisation.  His first job at 17 as Legal Accounts Assistant introduced him to office life. Finance had an appeal, but a skill in relating to people and their problems, and enjoyment in searching for better solutions drove him to become a BA. Ian is a co-founder of the Cambridge Business Analysis Community.

Kei Poon is a passionate Business Analyst who finds that working at the Bank of England has given him an amazing opportunity to demonstrate his enthusiasm and skills for business analysis. He has been able to apply new elicitation techniques to improve requirements gathering and thrives in working collaboratively with stakeholders and peers on complex projects. 

Jason Wood joined Nationwide in May 2016 as a Senior Business Analyst with 10 years’ business analysis experience across financial services and service environments.  He holds the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis and is working towards the Advanced Diploma. He is currently working on a large-scale migration project which provides an opportunity to introduce a different, more collaborative way of working.

"Winning the BA of the year 2017 award has been a massive achievement and a boost not only to my confidence but also to the confidence a new colleague has in my abilities as a Business Analyst. It has almost fast tracked that process for me. Not to mention the massive networking opportunity it brings along with it!” 

Mayuri Gupta works for Centrica plc.  Her strongest attribute is the ability to see the potential for improvement in everything, since it keeps her moving forward in the dynamic world of IS. She likes working with people and believes that good projects are more likely to result from a team pulling their entire weight together. To this end, she strives to make use of skills that bring the team together and makes them more efficient as a group.

Sean is an ambitious, disciplined and proactive business analyst who has worked for Deloitte on a range of large and small projects within the retail and financial services industries. He has a proven track record and significant experience in stakeholder relationship-building, business process modelling, analysis and requirements gathering. He has an excellent understanding of the theory behind business analysis and the ability to apply this in practical terms to business situations and process investigations.

Kayleigh joined the BA Practice of the Nationwide Building Society in October 2014 and had the opportunity to work within the Mortgages Portfolio, which has made major process improvements having recently introduced new technologies and techniques into the Mortgage Interview Process. She has worked predominantly on mortgage process improvements, which lead to her leading a team of BAs on one of the organisation’s biggest changes to mortgages. That opportunity has also given her a promotion to Senior Business Analyst in the last year, and the acclaim of being voted Nationwide’s BA of the Year 2017.

Marta is a Lead Business Analyst for Lloyds Banking Group and she has worked in the financial services industry for ten years. She is based in London. Marta holds the BCS Diploma in Business Analysis, and is PRINCE2 and Agile ScrumMaster accredited. She is a keen traveller who has lived and worked abroad. Marta loves to fly overseas at any given opportunity, mostly to ski down mountains or to climb up them

Helen has been the Lead Corporate Business Analyst at South Gloucestershire Council for three years. She has over 15 years’ experience in both business/systems analysis and project management, and has worked in both the public and private sectors. Helen manages the corporate business analysts as well as undertaking major project work, ensuring that value is added. Her current role includes leading the introduction of Agile development techniques within the Council’s Digital Transformation Project.

Having started his career as a developer, utilising eXtreme Programming techniques such as Paired Programming and User Stories, Carlos has since worked in consultancy, testing, project management and analysis. Since then, business analysis has always been a part of his roles and, for the past 15 years, he has been a business analyst delivering projects, programmes and products, using both waterfall and Agile approaches.

Rizwana is a Senior Business Analyst in AstraZeneca. She has 18 years’ experience in business analysis and design across business and digital projects. She specialises in aspects of business analysis, including business process management and user experience. In addition, she has successfully established and managed business analysis teams and has written the business analysis standards within her organisation. Away from work, she lives with her husband and two sons in Cheshire. She also enjoys walking, photography and reading.

Stacey is a Senior Business Analyst within the Analysis Practice at John Lewis. Stacey has over eight years’ experience in delivering technology-enabled change across supply chain, order management and e-commerce projects. She has notable skills in analysis, requirements management, workshop facilitation, delivery leadership, stakeholder management, and Agile and lean techniques.

The winner of the IIBA™ UK Business Analyst of the Year Award for 2016 has been revealed as Ian Richards, of Capita (pictured here with BBC Newsnight's Gavin Esler).

The award was presnted by BBC Newsnight's Gavin Esler on 20th September in Victoria Plaza, London.

Having started his career as a mathematics lecturer, Ian changed direction and has since accrued over 20 years' experience as a business analyst; he is currently a Managing Consultant within Capita's Transformation division. He is an active member of the International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA®), presenting at many IIBA® events nationwide. Ian has presented at the IRM Business Analysis Conference Europe and is also one of the few, but increasing, Certified Business Analysis Professionals (CBAP®) in the UK.

Ragu is a Lead Business Analyst working with Lloyds Banking Group. He is a seasoned professional, with more than ten years of experience in IT. He has held a variety of roles in the IT industry and worked in various business sectors. Ragu manages a team of business and data analysts who are pivotal in delivering Lloyds' Cyber Security Programme to reduce the risk of impact from cyber-attacks. He graduated from Strathclyde Business School and holds the Diploma in Business Analysis.

Adam is a Lead Business Analyst at National Grid with six years' experience as a business analyst and over 10 years' experience within the utilities industry across a number of blue chip companies. During his career, Adam has sought out key positions in business-critical programmes, building expertise and insight in process re-engineering, data management and, more recently, he has adopted innovative analysis techniques using a blend of waterfall and agile delivery approaches.

Judy became a business analyst at Aviva two years ago. She has over 30 years' experience of IT delivery in financial and technology service organisations, previously performing various roles from software engineering and design to consultancy. Delivery-focused and a real 'people person', Judy has a flair for putting the customers, both internal and external, at the heart of everything she does. Originally from New Zealand, Judy has worked predominately in the UK.

Beth is an experienced business analyst, working on IT and business change projects for over 15 years in financial services. Her latest role is as a Consultant Business Analyst for Diligenta Ltd on their Aviva account, where she has led the analysis for their regulatory change portfolio of projects and for a number of change projects for Aviva as they complete their integration of Friends Life. Beth holds degrees at BA(Hons) and Masters levels, the Expert BA Award and is a Certified ScrumMaster.

Simon joined Nationwide as a BA in June 2014 and had the opportunity to work within the Digital Operations area, which was using innovative ideas and techniques to enhance their customer services processes. He completed the first wave as an analyst but was selected to lead in the second wave which led him to work on the improvement of the Visa Disputes and Mortgage Redemption processes. He was subsequently selected for a Senior BA role which he has held for eight months.

Nicola is a technology consultant within the analysis team at Deloitte with a particular focus on retail. Nicola has over seven years' experience in delivering and advising on technology-enabled business transformation programmes and has notable skills in analysis, requirements management, workshop facilitation, scope management, project management and stakeholder management.

The joint winners of the IIBA™ UK Business Analyst of the Year Award for 2015 have been revealed as Carline James, of Allianz Insurance, and Rachel Henry-Jones, of Nationwide Building Society, (pictured here with AssistKD's Paul Turner).

The Awards were presented by Dame Tessa Jowell at the Business Analysis Conference Europe 2015 on the 22nd of September.

Of Rachel, the judges wrote:  "Her tenacious approach, combined with her natural and personable manner, displays all of the characteristics of an excellent business analyst."

The judges' comment on Carline was:  "Her passion and enthusiasm, together with her commitment to the profession, is most impressive."

The judges said that, after lengthy discussion, it was impossible to choose between two such outstanding  candidates and the only fair decision was the joint Award.

Congratulations to Sandra Leek, Business Analyst of the Year 2014. The judges commented that the field was extremely strong this year and many congratulations also go to the finalists Jonathan Bryant, Elizabeth Gratton, Lynda Shrubsall and Mark Wilson.

Sandra is an experienced business analyst and project manager, working for over 15 years in financial services. Her latest role is as a senior lead business analyst in Lloyds Banking Group, where most recently she has been leading a programme and then transitioned into leading a specific domain and finalising and overseeing a large, multi-faceted portfolio business area. Sandra holds the Expert BA Award and is an oral examiner for the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis. Away from work, Sandra is a Justice of the Peace and enjoys scuba diving.

Jonathan has been a business analyst at NFU Mutual for just over five years, after moving from a similar role in Santander. He specialises in business consultancy and process improvement and is passionate about driving NFU Mutual's analysis function forwards.  He also loves producing documentation that explains concepts clearly and helps to promote his team, and the value it delivers, within the business. Jonathan holds a law degree (LLB), lives in Birmingham with his wife, is involved with his local church, loves running and writes a weekly blog about whisky.

Elizabeth has 14 years' business analysis experience in IT and business change projects, in the financial services and insurance sectors.  She is now a consultant BA working for Diligenta Ltd on their FriendsLife account and, over the last 12 moths, has worked on two large-scale transformation projects to remove legacy systems and infrastructure. Elizabeth holds degrees at BA(Hons) and Masters levels. She also holds the Expert BA Award and, as of June 2014, was training to be a Certified ScrumMaster.

Lynda is a business analyst with 25 years' experience of projects and programmes in various financial services organisations, ranging from start-ups to global companies; she is currently at Allianz Insurance. Her projects have included complex regulatory change, the creation of new products, new customer deals, new software systems and global strategic transformations. Lynda is delivery-focused, with a passion for customer-centric analysis. She was educated in Switzerland, is qualified in PRINCE 2, is a Charted Insurance Practitioner and holds BCS BA Diploma certifications.

Mark is a change management consultant, specialising in business analysis with Allianz Insurance. Since completing his graduate development programme at the company five years ago, he has undertaken numerous business analysis assignments, ranging from acting as the design authority for a Solvency II project to his current role as lead business analyst on Allianz UK's major growth programme. Mark enjoys analysis of all sorts and thrives in challenging conditions.  His ambition is to become an authority on business analysis, helping to develop the profession and build on its excellent reputation. Mark is a holder of the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis.