2025 RightBrains Celebration Event

6 November 2025

01:30 pm - 06:00 pm CET

The RightBrains Awards in collaboration with Computable.nl recognise exceptional female talent and leadership, and incredible male allies, who are driving change within the industry. We are celebrating that the entire industry wins by making the circle bigger together with our community partners. It’s only through strong collaboration and support that we can move the needle!

Following the success stories of previous years, we will bring an inspiring programme with keynotes from digital leaders on stage and there's lots of time to meet and mingle for our annual RightBrains Celebration Event featuring the RightBrains Awards!

Date: Thursday, 6 November

Location: Randstad Digital, Diemen

Tickets: Oops! You have missed the Eventbrite deadline. Mail info@rightbrains.nl if you need to be added to the list last-minute.

In ballet, dancers use a technique called spotting -- fixing their gaze on a single point as they spin -- to maintain balance and avoid disorientation. It’s a quiet act of discipline and focus in the midst of rapid motion. The RightBrains Celebration Event will explore what spotting looks like in the fast-turning world of digital technology. As innovation accelerates, AI evolves by the day, and global instability adds further complexity, it’s easy for individuals, teams, and even entire industries to lose their footing. In this climate, the question becomes: what do we fix our gaze on? What helps us stay centered, purposeful, and human in the spin? Our keynote speakers will reflect on the universal constants—the values and priorities that should remain in focus regardless of how fast or far we turn.

The purpose of the awards is to share inspiring role model stories and best practices. The Digital Leadership & Diversity Award goes to those leaders of organisations who don't only talk about bringing more gender balance in digital technology but have proven actions to success. The Digital Talent Award goes to someone at the start of their career who is an example for the next generation of female digital talents. Female role models are essential for attracting and retaining more women in this field, and we aim to spotlight those who are changing the face of digital technology for the better!

The RightBrains Awards will feature the following nominees:

Digital Leadership & Diversity Award nominees: Anka Gajentaan, Sonali Sahgal, Angelina Best, Norian Wasch, Dana Spataru, Britt Hoppenbrouwers, Mel Jacobs, Laura Brandwacht.

Digital Talent Award Nominees:
Emily van Putten, Deborah Esotu, Lizzie Reeves, Selen Demir, Chantal Stekelenburg, Valentine Couture, Mathilde Lemang, Eline Schuurs and Deepa John.

Award winners 2017 - 2024

The winners of the Digital Leadership Awards were: Mimoent Haddouti, Partner at PwC (2017); Corry Wouters, Cluster Manager I&A at VieCuri Medical Center (2018); Candice Dillon, CIO at VodafoneZiggo (2019); Martine van Iperen(2020); Benji Coetzee, Chief Strategy Officer at KPN (2021); Tamara Oosterman, EVP Service Quality Center at KPN (2022) and Yvonne van Rees Vellinga-Leenders, Group Director People and Facilities at Eurofiber (2023), Anke den Ouden, CEO at Microsoft Netherlands (2024).

The winners of the Digital Talent Awards were: Laura Helgering, IT Engineer II at Tikkie (2017); Lotte de Haas, Manager Digital Channels at KPN (2018); Erida Kaja, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft (2019); Lisanne Brons, EMEA Global Black Belt - AI at Work (Copilot) at Microsoft (2020), Lisanne Smink, (2021); Anastasia Khomenko, Data Analyst at RET (2022); and Claudia van der Veer, Interim Professional at Randstad Digital (2023), Véronique Van Vlasselaer, Analytics & AI Lead South West & East Europe at SAS (2024).

Check out the event highlights of 2024