17 May AllBright Proudly Announces the Extraordinary Winners of The BrightList Awards 2023
Last night AllBright, the leading global collective for ambitious women, revealed the winners of the BrightList awards 2023. The ceremony celebrates extraordinary people of all ages and stages of their careers. With awards to honour aspirational individuals, who AllBright have recognised as inspiring true entrepreneurship through their endeavors, and aims to share their incredible work and stories to empower others.
The winners included Jordan Stephens, Sara Mardini, Megan Jayne Crabbe and Nicola Kilner. With moving acceptance speeches, winners shared what their award means to them; Sara Mardini said “Today was an emotional day as we went to the supreme court this morning to fight our case. It was an honor and a very big encouragement to recognised and be seen for the hard work we’ve been doing in secret.”
The energy in the room was bouncing off the walls as Rizzle Kicks star, Jordan Stephens was called to the stage after winning the Male Allyship Award. Stephens said: “My whole life it’s been very important to me to be around women and female energy. To be invited to the AllBright awards and receive a reward.. C’mon it’s a vibe! Also shout out to my girlfriend (Jade Thirwall) she’s f***ing sick!”
Held at AllBright club in Mayfair and opened by AllBright CEO, Viv Paxinos followed by a moving keynote speech by Sara Mardini, who shared her incredible story and insight into her journey. The judging panel included podcast host, author and speaker Adrienne Herbert, creative director Mija Knežević, venture capitalist Pippa Lamb, 1.2million follower content creator and hotel and real estate entrepreneur Ryan Prince.
The complete list of winner of the BrightList Awards 2023:
Madeleine Sisterhood Works Award: Jennifer Ogunyemi (Founder of Sisters In Business)
Wellness Pioneer Award (in partnership with Rituals): Ellie Middleton (Autistic & ADHD Creator)
Women of Courage Award (in partnership with Smart Works): Sara Mardini (Human Rights Activist)
Purpose Before Profit Award: Megan Jayne Crabbe (Author Creator & Body Positive Advocate)
Innovative Trailblazer Award: Valentina Milanova (Founder of DAYE)
Inclusion Advocate Award: Shani Dhanda (Broadcaster & Inclusion and Accessibility Expert)
Male Allyship Award: Jordan Stephens (Rizzle Kicks)
Exceptional Entrepreneur Award (in partnership with HSBC): Nicola Kilner (Founder of DECIEM)
Jennifer Ogunyemi, Founder of Sisters-in-Business, and winner of Madeline Sisterhood Works Award said: “I am genuinely shocked. 16 year old homeless Jennifer would be so proud right now… There’s a statistic that got me going that 95% of Muslim women fail their business within the first 3 years.”
Shani Dhanda, Inclusion and Accessibility Expert said “It feels amazing to have won the Inclusion Advocate Award, it’s great to be recognised in this way and gives me loads more courage to continue.”
Viv Paxinos, CEO of AllBright said: “We’re so proud to shine a light on the incredible women and men who are taking the steps to make a change and inspire others. The BrightList aims to empower all women by honoring visionary leaders and sharing their aspirational work. From Jordan Stephens’ mental health campaign #IAMWHOLE, to Nicola Kilner celebrating 10 years of DECIEM, we believe all women and men can lead the way to a brighter future in business.”
