Maxine Benson’s early work experience took her from Barclay Bank in Poole, Dorset, to the travel industry in Australia, then to a film casting company in New York. Maxine returned to the UK in 1999 and, with her business partner Karen Gill, started everywoman to support women in business. Today Maxine leads everywoman’s cross-industry awards and forums that raise awareness of the full range of opportunities for all women in many sectors. Maxine was awarded an MBE for her service to women’s enterprise in 2009 and in 2017 the government’s Women’s Business Council acknowledged everywoman’s outstanding commitment to the advancement of women in business.

Annoushka was founded by Annoushka Ducas and her husband, entrepreneur John Ayton, in London in 2009. The founder and creative director of her eponymous jewellery brand, Annoushka grew up in London, later studying at the Sorbonne. From Paris, she moved to Hong Kong in the late Eighties and began to work with local artisans, designing jewellery for herself and her friends and family.  Travelling the world to discover extraordinary stones and inspirational production techniques, Annoushka’s designs exude an irreverent sense of fun juxtaposed with a timeless elegance. The Duchess of Cambridge frequently wears her Annoushka Baroque Pearl Earring Drops to complete her ‘classic contemporary’ daytime wardrobe, and Rihanna and Gwyneth Paltrow are loyal supporters of Annoushka’s layered style. In 2012, Annoushka was awarded Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to British jewellery industry, beginning with Links of London, which Annoushka and John founded in 1990. She has been named Jewellery Designer of the Year, Gift Designer of the Year, Brand of the Year (twice), and she was short-listed for the Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year. She has also taken an active role in nurturing creative talent, initiating an annual jewellery design project with students at Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design which is now in its fourth year.

Formerly an international travel industry director for Intercontinental Hotels, Karen Gill is now one of the UK’s experts on gender equality in the workplace. In 1999 she launched everywoman with her business partner Maxine Benson. Their business idea was inspired by a belief that there had to be a better way to support and advance women to achieve their professional potential. Today Karen works with multinational companies from all over the world to ensure their inclusion and diversity plans are in the best interest of all those in the workplace. Karen was awarded an MBE for her service to women’s enterprise in 2009 and in 2017 the government’s Women’s Business Council acknowledged everywoman’s outstanding commitment to the advancement of women in business.

As a former swimwear model who lived and worked in Italy for many years, Melissa Odabash has an innate sense of what women want from their swimwear & beachwear.  From the inception of the brand, the collection has been developed and constructed to sculpt and enhance the silhouette. Timeless pieces designed with clean lines and innovative textiles aim to adapt to all body types, making them a must- have for the distinguished global traveller. Melissa’s debut collection was launched in 1999, a collection which swiftly came to epitomise the glamour and sophistication of a luxury lifestyle brand, and which British Vogue was quick to name as ‘The Ferrari's of the bikini world.’

Roni, is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Geologist and SiLC (Specialist in Land Condition). A graduate of University of Portsmouth with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management. She has worked on many major construction schemes, including the widening of the A406 and M25. She received the highly prestigious presidential invitation to Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2019. She was formerly Associate Director of one of the UK’s largest Engineering Firms.  In 2009, after gaining several years of industry experience, she established Jomas Associates, serving land developers across the UK, and achieving a turnover of £2m in 2017, with further plans for growth. Jomas undertake site investigations, engineering and environmental surveys on construction projects across the UK.  Under Roni’s stewardship, Jomas focus on providing their clients with high quality, high value, expedient, engineering solutions, with emphasis on delivery. In 2017, Jomas was acknowledged as a high growth company by Goldman Sachs, and Roni took part in the 10kSB business programme run with University of Oxford, Said Business School. 
A mother to three boys, Roni is extremely passionate about gender diversity and social mobility, volunteering her time to mentor and coach others.

Sam Smith remains the only female Chief Executive of a City broking firm.  She established her firm, finnCap, in 2007 having orchestrated the buy-out of a small broking subsidiary of a private client stockbroking firm - today finnCap is ranked No1 Nominated Adviser and Broker to AIM companies. Sam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG and is a University of Bristol alumni. Sam is passionate about ensuring that girls and women see only opportunities rather than barriers to success in whatever industry they want to be in. Outside her duties as the CEO, Sam is actively involved in various mentoring projects and organizations such as Pinky Lilani’s “Women of the Future” awards, of which Sam is a former winner. Sam is also a patron for the Modern Muse project, aimed at millions of young girls throughout the UK to encourage and inspire them to look at business careers and entrepreneurship as a way to achieve their dreams.

Abi Wright, founder of Europe’s leading spa booking agency Spabreaks.com, was born in Devon where she went to the local school. After university she spent a period working as a freelance journalist before deciding her skills lay in marketing. Following a number of years working with a small collection of hotel spas, she realised there was an opportunity to market spas more dynamically. In 2008 she launched Spabreaks.com just four months after her first son was born.  Today turnover has exceeded £26m, Spabreaks.com sends more than 6000 people on spa days and breaks each week, and they work with more than 900 spas, acting as a leader for positive change in the industry.  With no formal business training and no stand-out academic record, one of Abi’s central focuses is giving confidence to other individuals in their careers, offering mentorship, guidance and a nurturing working environment.