The judging panel will come together to go through Top 10 submissions and decide on the winner. We have chosen a judging panel of business leaders who are invested in their workplace and also the wider LGBT community. The Judging Panel will judge corporate categories only. Celebrity and consumer categories will be brought before a public vote.
Categories are:
- LGBT+ Future Leader
- Corporate Ally
- LGBT+ Network Group or ERG
- Diversity Hero
- LGBT+ Inspirational Leader
- Inclusive Employer or Company
Please enquire if you would like to receive more information on judging criteria or the nomination process. In 2020, the Outstanding Contribution to LGBT+ Life category will also return before a judging panel. Scroll down to find out more about our judges.
We are currently in the process of finalising our judging panel – the below list is a work in progress!
BARRY DAVIES
HEAD OF SUPPLY CHAIN – TESCO IRELAND
CHAIR OF OUT AT TESCO
Barry has worked at Tesco for 31 years. He started in stores in Wales, working his way through several senior management positions and stores before moving to London 22 years ago to join the Head Office operation in a number of operational and project management roles in Supply Chain. For the last three and half years has been Head of Supply Chain for Tesco Ireland.
He has been involved in Out At Tesco since its inception in 2005. In January 2019 Barry became Chair of the Network, which is one of the largest in Europe with over 3,000 members. 2019 was a huge year, with support for 43 Pride Events across the UK and Ireland, celebrating and supporting Pride with Tesco colleagues and customers in communities up and down the country.
His hobbies in his spare time (when he gets some) revolve mainly around travel and visiting different places around the world with his family and friends. He is also an avid theatre and cinema goer.
“Our Network is active year round to support an inclusive culture at Tesco where everyone’s welcome. These Awards celebrate all that is good in and around the LGBT+ community and I’m extremely proud to represent Tesco as a judge.”
BABAK ERFANI MBE
SENIOR SPONSOR, SIGNALLING & DIGITAL RAILWAY
NETWORK RAIL
Babak joined Network Rail in 2009, and has spent his career working on the development, design and construction of major infrastructure projects. He led the design and construction of part of London’s Crossrail network, before moving on to head up Network Rail’s major investment programme in signalling and digital railway projects across the South West of the UK.
In 2013 Babak established Archway, the company’s LGBT+ employee network. Over the past six years it’s grown to become the largest LGBT+ network in the rail industry and in 2017 it won the British LGBT Awards’ employee network award. Since 2016 it has hosted a major industry annual conference on LGBT+ inclusion, along with a huge variety of events all over Great Britain, along with a ground-breaking training programme for allies. This year it joined the umbrella group for LGBT+ employee networks in rail across Europe, developing international links and sharing best practice across the continent.
In 2017 Babak was awarded an MBE for his work at Archway in recognition of the support it has provided for LGBT+ colleagues throughout Britain’s railways.
BRIAN ASHMEAD-SIERS
PARTNER
PwC
Brian has been at PwC for about two years now, and during that time he’s made quite an impact. As a Partner, he leads a team of Global Mobility (“One GM”) tax specialists in Birmingham, but is also equally focused on creating digital solutions for the national One GM practice. He is developing a major new proposition and is also leading the charge for enhancing PwC’s One GM technology globally.
Despite his busy workload, Brian has quickly established himself as the new Partner Sponsor for GLEE (PwC’s LGBT+ network). He is an openly gay Partner, not afraid to stand up and advocate all LGBT+ issues, acting as a new key role model for PwC. Brian is particularly passionate about advocating those issues regionally and is cofounder of The Alliance Network – a professional LGBT+ network in Birmingham. This is growing from strength to strength currently with over 400 members, regularly hosting key events to promote LGBT equality in the workplace, particularly with a focus on key regional issues where there is often less critical mass in relation to “out” LGBT+ individuals.
In addition, Brian is also leading the charge in reaching out to the rest of PwC’s Partner and Director team to attract more leadership ambassadors, as well as then consulting with The Alliance Network membership to promote best practice in attracting more “straight allies” regionally. Brian is also a mentor and sounding board for many of the more junior LGBT+ team members and also LGBT personnel at other corporations.
Brian has been with his partner Nick for 18 years and they enjoy life in the Worcestershire countryside. They also like to travel extensively and have just embarked on a new project in Spain where hopefully they will get time to relax (once it is built!).
EMMA SCOTT
IT STREAM LEAD, LGBT+ NETWORK CHAIR
NESTLE UK&I
Emma joined Nestle in 2013 through the Nestle Academy IT placement and graduate programmes. She has spent her career working across IT ranging from supporting global HR transformation programmes through to leading security risk management systems. In the past year she had led the Applications stream, joining the UK&I IT Leadership Team.
Emma is a Stonewall Young Leaders alumni and openly gay leader within the business. She co-founded the UK&I LGBT+ network in 2016 and is the current network chair. Emma has built a network from the ground up gaining sponsorship from the board to actively increase inclusivity for LGBT+ employees within the business and our communities. The network have made significant impact in the organisation over the past 3 years and have over 200 members within the UK&I and recognition globally within the Nestle group.
GEFFRYE PARSONS
MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMMODITIES & GLOBAL MARKETS
MACQUARIE
Geff has a quarter of a century of experience in investment banking, based variously in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Amsterdam. He joined Macquarie’s Commodities & Global Markets division in 2013 as a Managing Director, and now focuses on structured risk mitigation and distribution, as well as certain key projects, in the EMEA region.
At Macquarie, Geff has chaired the Pride network for almost six years, during which time it has grown to cover 30% of the overall staff population. Under his stewardship, Macquarie was named in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers list for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 (Macquarie took a hiatus from submission in 2019), was one of only three financial services organisations to win Stonewall’s ‘Highly Commended Network Group’ accolade in 2018, and won the inaugural PinkNews’ Business Equality Award in October 2018, in recognition of Macquarie’s exemplary commitment to LGBT+ rights within its workforce, its customers and the business.
Geff uses his Pride network position, and his role model influence as a Managing Director, to promote the visibility of LGBT+ employees within Macquarie and externally. In this context, he has frequently acted as a speaker, panellist and moderator at external events, provided strategic input to various LGBT+ organisations, given press interviews, pioneered cross-industry best practice-sharing forums, and arranged many LGBT+ related charitable fundraisers, including for Opening Doors London and Diversity Role Models, for whom he is qualified as a schools role model.
Geff’s passion for promoting the visibility and interests of those identifying as LGBT+, and for educating others about LGBT+ matters, has resulted in his winning the award for ‘LGBT+ Inspirational Leader’ at the British LGBT Awards in May 2019, being ranked in the top quartile of OUTstanding list of the Top 100 LGBT+ Executives in each of 2018 and 2019, and being nominated for the award of ‘Corporate Role Model’ at the Pink News Awards in October 2018.