The annual Rising Star awards recognise the achievements of women below senior management or director level across a number of industries.

A special award was presented to Mott MacDonald’s development director for transportation Anna Delvecchio (pictured) who was instrumental in launching a new award for the transport and logistics sector this year.

Presenting the award, Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy described Anna as “an advocate for the industry and a true champion for women in the sector”.

Anna said the award was “an incredible gesture”, and told TP Weekly News that she pushed for the inclusion of the new category in order to help provide more female role models within the sector.

“Creating visible female role models can truly help and inspire and attract others to join our sector by better showcasing the skills, capability and diversity of the career opportunities we have across transport and logistics,” she said.

She also congratulated the winners and those shortlisted, and gave particular thanks to CIHT Chief Executive Sue Percy, James Haluch of Amey and Leon Daniels and Elliot Shaw of Highways England “for helping me navigate the highways sector”.

Winners in the transport and logistics award category included Saskia Demeyere and Vivien Yip of Transport for London.

Saskia joined TfL five years ago, having previously worked in investment banking, and has worked her way up from bus station controller to her current role as service delivery manager in surface transport.

The role includes working with stakeholders to help mitigate the impact of roadworks and events on the bus network within Waltham Forest and Epping, and managing London’s third busiest bus station in Walthamstow.

Vivien is excelling in her current role as a TfL project manager which she took up after overcoming a period of depression while working as a sales manager for a large company, which prevented her from working.

She took time off for her own mental wellbeing and joined TfL after making changes in her personal life and in her ambitions for career progression.

The other winners in the category were Evlynne Smith of IBM, Patrice Gordon-Mantey of Virgin Atlantic and Susan Keir of the British Army.

Also making the shortlist were Christina Chinnian of Highways England, Harriet Burrows of Arup, Ingrid Norman of Network Rail, Shona Clive of Babcock and Vicky Ager of Amey.

Mott MacDonald’s external engagement director Denise Bower announced the winners and said: “We face a global recession at the moment that will dwarf the crisis of 2007-8, and tough times lie ahead. I am hoping that women will play prominent roles in seeing us through them, and that we will come out having further advanced gender equality.

“Collectively we have still got a long way to go, and that’s why it is important for us to celebrate and fly the flag for women’s contributions in the workplace and for equal representation, pay and opportunity.”