Winners 2025

Minjoo Cho brings a unique blend of engineering expertise and design sensibility to her role at Ford, drawing on her MSc in industrial design and BSc in electrical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Her diverse career spans Samsung Electronics, Indeed Innovation in Germany and now Ford in the UK. Since joining Ford in 2021, she has pioneered software that enables dealers to identify emerging maintenance issues before they become critical, which significantly reduces vehicle downtime for commercial fleets. Cho also developed a prototyping framework that streamlines processes for Ford teams working with combined physical and digital tools. Her line manager praised her rare talent for making technical questions "tangible and actionable while keeping human-centered design at the core".

Laura Dusik Garrett has forged an impressive international career spanning telecommunications and automotive technology, which enables her to bring valuable cross-industry expertise to her current role at Bentley Motors. With a master’s degree in business administration from Warsaw University, she progressed through software leadership positions at Ericsson, JLR and McLaren before joining Bentley in 2023. There, she manages all software work products across vehicle development programmes, including the company's first battery-electric vehicle, while coordinating with multiple Volkswagen Group brands. Her previous achievements include delivering JLR's first phone projection portfolio, featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and managing over-the-air update capabilities for the McLaren Artura. She secured her current role when she was six months pregnant and returned to work just two months after giving birth. She now focuses on implementing new over-the-air technology processes for Bentley's electric vehicles while supporting the brand's sustainability goals.

Maria Mattos brings extensive automotive experience to her role at the Renault Group, where she's implementing a "human first, digital to support" customer experience strategy. A previous Rising Star recipient while at Audi UK, she continues to advance her career after completing the Volkswagen Group's talent programme. Her pioneering Customer Champions initiative ensures customer-focused decision-making across the Renault Group by establishing champions in every department and retailer. This has gained industry recognition, with Mattos presenting it at customer experience summits throughout the UK. Currently leading the digital aftersales project and implementing mixed-reality technology in Dacia showrooms, Mattos has also created comprehensive training documentation that significantly reduces onboarding time for dealer teams. Her manager praised her "perfect balance of steely determination and methodical approach with skill and warmth to engage stakeholders”, marking her as a future leader within the Renault Group.

Srilakshmi Ramesan joined Ford in October 2023 after completing her MSc in robotics from the University of Sheffield with distinction. Her role on the platform engineering team for EU e-commerce leverages her expertise in software engineering, cloud computing and artificial intelligence to support more than 30 products across 13 European markets. She has spearheaded the migration of products from on-premises to Google Cloud platform, creating frameworks that improve scalability and security while providing a blueprint for other teams. Ramesan is also part of Ford's AI task force and is developing an AI-powered chatbot for the European market. Her manager cited her ability to "analyse any given situation from a multitude of vantage points"  and noted that she has made "a great splash in all things platform team". Recently recognised as a Ford Top Achiever, Ramesan actively champions women in technology while pursuing her ambition to become a leader in automotive AI.