241 Pizza

This kind of positivity is what keeps these women striving to get to the top. It’s about passion, ambition and — above all — enjoying what you do.

MELISSA BAILEY 33

IBM’s youngest-ever senior certified IT architect, Melissa Bailey is chief technical officer for the industrial and communications sectors for the UK, Ireland and South Africa. She teaches at seven universities and is on the engineering and technical strategic panel of the British Computer Society.

LAURA BATES 28

Having worked at Deutsche Bank and Arthur Andersen, Oxford graduate Laura Bates is now managing director of Bombay Duck, the home-accessories range founded by her sister in 1993. Bates took over in 2005, launching it in America, Japan and Australia and expanding the stock to more than 2,000 items, sold through 1,000 stores.

SARA BERMAN 32

Managing director of her own fashion label, Sara Berman runs the business with her sister Amiee. The St Martin’s graduate was an unprecedented three-times winner of the M&S New Generation Award, and her brand has been a best-seller in Harrods and Liberty. Berman also designs lines for Urban Outfitters and Asos.com. She launched her own diffusion collection last year.

JODI BIRKETT 32

As the youngest corporate- finance partner at Deloitte, Jodi Birkett has advised on more than 25 high-profile mergers and acquisitions in two years, including the refinancing of Manchester United FC and the £800m public-to-private Matalan deal. Birkett has run the New York marathon and is also a keen rugby player.

PAULINA BOZEK 31

A graduate of the London School of Economics, Paulina Bozek is executive producer at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, working on the highly successful Playstation music games series, Sing Star. Shortly after joining in 2003 from Ubisoft in Canada, Bozek was awarded the first Bafta Interactive New Talent Award and, in 2005, Sing Star was awarded a Bafta for originality.

LUCINDA BROWN 34

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