The annual awards programme, sponsored by the Freight Transport Association, celebrates women who are transforming the sector in the UK, while also showcasing the range of career opportunities it has to offer.

Anna – who is currently on secondment to the Rail Delivery Group as commercial account director – was singled out by the judges for her continuous support for women in the industry.

She began her career as an engineering apprentice at just 15 years old and has since excelled in a number of senior commercial and supply chain roles in the rail sector, including negotiating major upgrade contracts for Network Rail.

She established the ‘Women in Rail South’ group to provide women with a local network to support their professional and personal growth, and is also dedicated to engaging and attracting the next generation of talent into the industry.

“Winning Woman of the Year is absolutely fantastic, but it’s not just about me, it’s about how we share success in our sector and look to see how we can promote careers to improve diversity and inclusion,” Anna told TP Weekly News after her win.

She added: “This is the Year of Engineering, so it’s a really important year to try and get young girls interested in STEM subjects and inspire the next generation to consider transport careers.”

Another key award winner was Transport for London principal transport planner Harriet Glen who took the Industry Champion Award. She currently leads development of the strategic outline business case for Crossrail 2, and was elected chair of TfL’s Women’s staff Network in 2016.

She has since grown the network to over 2000 members and implemented a range of initiatives to make the workforce more diverse and inclusive.

Harriet expressed “shock and surprise” at her win, which comes just five years into her career. She added: “From a business perspective we all know there are huge benefits to having a more diverse industry.

“There is a wealth of opportunity for women in the sector and we need to sell that better so we can see a more diverse, balanced workforce and more female leaders at the very top in future.”

Everywoman co-founder Maxine Benson commented: “This year’s winners represent those making a real difference to transport and logistics. Not only are they making their own contributions to the industry, but they are mentoring others to do the same. As Everywoman ambassadors, they will go on to inspire the next generation.”

The full list of winners is included below:

Freight Award (Above & Beyond) – Kate Turner, head of planning, DB Cargo UK

Freight Award (Leader) – Keely Priestman, managing director, Diamond Distribution

Passenger Award (Above & Beyond) – Nikki Sohal, control room competence manager, Heathrow Express

Passenger Award (Leader) – Liz Chandler, director of corporate development, Merseytravel

Infrastructure Award (Above & Beyond) – Deborah Pye, director of strategic innovation, Walmart

Infrastructure Award (Leader) – Kayleigh Wilson, transition manager, DHL Supply Chain

Supply Chain Award (Above & Beyond) – June Jones, senior manager operating model, Asda

Supply Chain Award (Leader) – Faye Calland, national same day manager - storage, fashion and solutions, TNT

Warehousing Award (Above & Beyond) – Clare Maclauchlan, national development manager, Co-op

Warehousing Award (Leader) – Sharon Hammond, senior director, Food North ALS, Asda

Industry Champion Award – Harriet Glen, principal transport planner, TfL

Male Agent of Change Award – Wayne Jay, national distribution director, Royal Mail

Woman of the Year – Anna Delvecchio, commercial account director, Amey RDG