The inaugural Excellence in Business Leadership Award was held in 2010. From a pool of overwhelmingly talented and accomplished candidates, the winning nominee was Ms Jane Silber.
In March 2010, Jane Silber was appointed CEO of Canonical, the London based firm founded by billionaire software entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical is the launch pad for Ubuntu, the open source computer operating system which is now the world’s leading Linux distributor. Her appointment hit the headlines because Jane is one of the first women to make it to the top in IT. According to Jane, “There is enormous pleasure in constructing an elegant technical solution. I love that feeling! But I gradually realised a huge part of the success depends on how people and teams interact. Building software is 90% people.”
Before moving into this position, Jane ran several of Canonical's business units as Chief Operating Officer. She has over 20 years of business development, operations and software management experience. Her previous roles include Vice President of Interactive Television Company and vice president of General Dynamics C4 Systems. She has also worked in Japan for Teijin Ltd conducting artificial intelligence research and product development, and in the US at General Health, a health risk assessment firm. She holds an MBA degree from Oxford University, an MSc degree in Management of Technology from Vanderbilt University, and a BSc degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Haverford College.
Highly commended nominees
- Sarita James, Chief Operating Officer, Growth Ventures and Innovation, Citigroup
Sarita James is Growth Ventures & Innovation’s Chief Operating Officer, based in the New York City office. She is based in the New York City office. Sarita joined Citi in 2010. Prior to Citi, Sarita served in a variety of public and private sector roles. Under the Obama Administration, Sarita served as one of fourteen White House Fellows and Acting Branch Chief of the Small Business Administration’s Microloan Program. During Mayor Bloomberg’s second term, Sarita was an Executive Vice President of New York City Economic Development Corporation. In this role, she managed the 50-person Strategy and Policy Division. Prior to EDC, Sarita was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where she advised Fortune 500 technology and telecommunications clients. Sarita started her career with Microsoft as a Program Manager for its .NET Services group, where she co-authored two patents. She holds an MBA degree from Oxford University and a BA in computer science from politics Harvard University.
- Keely Stevenson, CEO, Bamboo Finance USA
Keely Stevenson is CEO of Bamboo Finance USA. Bamboo Finance is a private equity fund specializing in the financing of social ventures. She has worked in the field of social entrepreneurship for over a decade with experience on five continents. Keely joined Bamboo after living in East Africa with the Acumen Fund, a global social venture investment fund. Earlier in her career, she was the first employee hired by the CEO of the Skoll Foundation where she designed grant programs for social entrepreneurs and led the team who created the world's first online community for social entrepreneurs, Social Edge. She has also served as the Interim Executive Director of a social enterprise in Peru (ProPeru Fund) and a start-up professional development program for social entrepreneurs in India (Social-Impact International). She holds an MBA degree from Oxford University and a BA in politics from UC Berkeley.
Selection panel
- Diana Breeze, Director of Organisational Development, J Sainsbury PLC
- Kathy Harvey, Director, Open Enrolment Programmes, Saïd Business School
- Elizabeth Paris, Associate Fellow, Saïd Business School
The Award Ceremony was held at the Business School on 1 June 2010. The key prize for the winner was complimentary access to one of the leadership offerings of the Saïd Business School Executive Education Centre. The winner was also hosted for a seminar and college dinner with current students in early September 2010.