Winner
Jo Ho
BA Mixed Media Arts, 1998
From humble beginnings and immigrant parents who barely spoke English, Jo had always wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. In 2010, Jo created Spirit Warriors, a BBC martial arts fantasy TV show, and changed the industry. It was the first series in the UK to be created by a Chinese man or woman, and starred a predominately East Asian cast, another first in TV history. Since then, she has created films and TV series for the producers of Match Point, The Killing, The Bridge, Lord of The Rings and Jane the Virgin, among others.
Jo has won many awards, including the Women in Film & Television's New Talent award, and has been named one of the outstanding young Chinese people in the UK. Jo began publishing in 2016, with her debut young adult novel, Wanted, becoming an Amazon US bestseller soon after its release. Jo is also a voting member of BAFTA and will be a founding member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain's new Diversity Committee, which will be dedicated to fighting for the rights of diverse writers when it launches.
Finalists
Noreen Naroo-Pucci
BA Fashion Design, 1993
Noreen is the Vice President of Global Design Engine (GDE) for Under Armour Inc. The GDE is a centralized creative unit for Apparel, Footwear and Accessories Design. She joined the brand back in 2008 and focused on the growth of the Women's business from bare bones to close to $800 million dollars.
Beryl Richards
BA Media Studies, 1980
Beryl directs film, TV drama and TV comedy, and has helped to create many popular UK teens’ and children’s series, for which she has been awarded four BAFTAs. In 2011, Beryl joined the board of Directors UK and now chairs their Gender Equality Group, which was set up to campaign for better representation of female directors in the UK.