The Final(ist) Countdown! Tina Hand, Head of Systems Support is a Finalist at National Awards

We’re so thrilled to announce that Tina Hand, our Head of Systems Support, has been confirmed as a finalist at the national Women in Tech Excellence Awards. Run by Computing, the fourth annual Women in Tech Excellence Awards will take place virtually.

Last year, Tina won the ‘Empowering Potential Leader’ at the East Midlands Leadership Awards and this she’s listed as a finalist for ‘IT Leader of the Year’. In less than three years that she’s worked here, she’s re-developed our Help Desk structure to create new roles, which allowed for better progression opportunities, and also implemented a pay progression scheme for the Help Desk team, whilst constantly driving and achieving consistently high SLAs for our customers.

Tina said: “I’m so pleased to be a finalist for the Women in Tech Excellence Awards. As anyone who’s worked with me will know, I’m not keen on talking about myself so it’s amazing to be nominated by the Retail Assist team. Whilst my role is focused on strategy and service delivery, culture is so important to me and I had a very clear vision in how I wanted our Help Desk culture to be for the people working on it. My people are my main motivation and I like to ensure that my team are supported, developed and encouraged to grow, especially whilst we’re all currently working from home. I’d like to thank everyone for all of their support and will keep my fingers crossed for the 1st December!”

After receiving over 800 nominations, the Women in Tech Excellence judges put together a shortlist of the top performers in the tech industry. Joining Tina as finalists include representatives from companies such as Arsenal Football Club and HSBC, with the winners being announced on Tuesday 1st December at a virtual ceremony.

Dan Smith, our CEO, said: “We’ve always said that our team is our greatest asset and we’re immensely proud not only of the work that Tina delivers every day, but also that she has been recognised nationally for her talent as an IT leader. Tina is passionate, focused and always calm under pressure: she’s a complete asset to our company and to our customers, and she’s already a winner in our eyes.”

A statement from the Women in Tech Excellence Awards said: “Although we are facing huge challenges in our personal and professional lives as we cope with the impact of Covid-19, Computing is committed to continuing to champion greater diversity in the technology industry for the long term. Our Women in Tech Excellence Awards (formerly Women in IT Excellence Awards) are important as they recognise top-performing women from across the technology space and provide inspiration for younger women looking to build a career in our industry. Now in its fourth year, we have taken the decision to rename the awards to bring them closer to our hugely successful Women in Tech Festival, which last year brought hundreds of people together to discuss diversity, celebrate success and network with the best and brightest minds in the industry.”