Emma Rees was working as a hairdresser in Australia before she moved to London and took her bachelor’s degree to develop her entrepreneurial skills. While studying part-time at Birkbeck for a BA Management, she created one of the first on-demand digital platforms for beauty services. Although it didn’t work out long-term, she learned a lot from the process and with the help of two government grants, developed the skills to co-found and build Deployed, a project support infrastructure that improves project success rates.

Emma runs a team of 15 people and is grateful to be able to help elevate other women in the industry. She has spoken publicly on the barriers faced by women in tech and how these can be overcome. Emma’s experiences demonstrate the value of unique perspectives and greater diversity when it comes to innovation, and of continuing to learn throughout one’s life.

Emma is a recipient of the global Melinda Gates Female Founders award and continues to lead the way for women in tech.