Find out about the candidates for President and Trustees below
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Home » Governance
About the Board
WES is governed by a Board of Directors. Under our Articles, the Board must have between 9 and 12 Directors, including:
•The President
•Elected Directors
•Co‑opted Directors
All elected roles are three‑year terms, as required by the Articles. Read our Articles of Association of the Women’s Engineering Society 2020 here.
Each year, the Board decides how many elected vacancies will be filled. This year, the vacancies are:
•President (1 role)
•Elected Trustee roles (2 roles)
If a mid‑term trustee is elected President; a third trustee vacancy may arise. Trustees will confirm the number of trustee vacancies on announcement of the results of the election of the President.
Election Period: 15th – 30th October
Members vote during the Election Period.
Notification of Results to the Membership: 7th November
Results are announced to the wider membership at the AGM, which will be held virtually on the 7th November 2026.
Presidential Candidates
Paula McMahon - Presidential Candidate
About me. A short biography.
I am a Civil Engineer with over 27 years experience at Director level, many influential roles as a women engineer and Trustee which will enable us to meet our WES ambitions together.
My wide ranging and high-profile engineering roles have earned me two Chartered Fellowships and lifetime achievement awards. I am a Freeman of the City of London and an Honorary Professor at Teesside University. As ICE Trustee I have implemented and supported the diversification and growth of membership and ensured the ICE are leading on ethics and conduct globally. As WES Trustee my Trustee Action Plan will enable WES to meet our ambition to have sharper clarity, coherence and impact. As a STEM Ambassador I have recorded over 300,000 STEM participants working with everyone from toddlers to CEOs.
In other roles I influence national policy, strengthening industry voices and amplify messages from blogs to an industry White Paper.
Why I’m standing.
I want to build on my journey so far and finish what I have started. Many of you have seen me on podcasts, blogs, meetings and at the last two annual conferences. I shall continue to enthusiastically be your WES Ambassador.
As Trustee Coordinator I listened and created a WES Trustee Action Plan. I shall provide continuity and leadership to meet our collective needs. As an industry leader I am trusted in a range of roles providing oversight and assurance. I shall safeguard the reputation of WES and assure sustainability. As a collaborator, chair and civil engineer I have worked with many diverse people. I shall use my decades of experience to engage and enthuse. I believe I am well suited to lead WES to meet our 2030 strategy ambitions and shall lead with courage and confidence so we collectively reach our full potential.
Together we can.
Skills and Experience.
I was awarded the WES Isabel Hardwich Medal for invaluable dedication and high performance for many years. Including leading CEG with exceptional focus and productivity, taking leading Board roles, excelling in delivering governance and always ensuring WES members’ voices are heard in decision-making. My WES wins include…
- Created a cohesive CEG team with international successes from publications to collaborative events.
- Leading the MDC team on member value, improvement plans and our growth plan.
- Improving Fellowship application rates 16x.
- Launched new MentorSet with 55% increased usage and significant savings.
- Bringing people together at WES Conferences to maximise our rare chance to be together.
- Utilising my networks to maximise opportunities enhancing collaboration and the profile of WES.
- Bringing learnings and good practice from the ICE finance and audit and other committees.
- Providing Trustees and Members a listening forum to enable continual improvement.
Sarah Haslam - Presidential Candidate
About me. A short biography.
I am a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, with over 30 years’ experience in the global automotive industry. I recently retired from Ford Motor Company after a diverse engineering career spanning product development and manufacturing, culminating in senior international leadership roles across Europe.
Alongside my engineering career, I have always been passionate about creating opportunities for others and particularly about supporting women to develop and succeed in engineering. I have been actively involved with WES since 2014 and a Trustee since 2022. I am also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers and a former Trustee of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
In 2020, I was immensely proud to receive an MBE for Services to Engineering and for promoting STEM careers for women.
Why I’m standing.
Engineering has given me an extraordinary career, and I want more women to have the opportunity not simply to enter our profession, but to build rewarding, fulfilling careers within it.
I am standing for President because I believe passionately in the power of WES to help make that happen. I have seen how much has changed for women during my career, but also how much more there is to do. WES has an exciting opportunity to increase its reach, relevance and influence, supporting women at every career stage and providing both a strong professional community and a powerful voice across engineering.
As President, I would bring energy, experience and collaborative leadership to that ambition. I want to listen to our members, strengthen engagement with our volunteers and partners, broaden our reach, and ensure WES continues to evolve around what women in engineering need - today and for the future.
Skills and Experience.
I bring leadership, governance and strategic experience from industry, professional engineering institutions and WES. Throughout my career I have led large, diverse international teams, managed complex programmes and budgets, and learned that strong results come from creating an environment where people can contribute, challenge and succeed.
As a WES Trustee since 2022, I contribute to strategy, governance and risk. I chair the Partnerships Directors Committee and sit on the Finance and Risk Management Committee. Previously, as a Trustee of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, I contributed to strategy, governance and financial decision-making and co-chaired its Education & Skills and International Strategy Boards.
My leadership style is collaborative but not afraid to challenge. I listen, ask questions, build consensus and remain focused on outcomes. I would bring those qualities to chairing the WES Board, supporting and constructively challenging the CEO, and representing WES confidently with members, partners and the wider engineering community
Trustee Candidates
Alexandra Walker
About me.
I am a professional engineer with nearly 40 years’ experience in automotive engineering at Ford Motor Company, where I had the privilege of leading teams across Powertrain, Manufacturing, Product Development and Quality. My academic background includes a BEng (Hons) in Materials Engineering from Swansea University, an MSc in Automotive Engineering from Loughborough University and an MSt in Manufacturing Leadership from the University of Cambridge. I am a Member of the IET and a Fellow of WES.
Throughout my career, I have been committed to encouraging more women into engineering, a commitment that continues through my role on the IfM Women in Manufacturing Advisory Board. I served as a WES Trustee from 2002 to 2013, including as Honorary Secretary. Beyond engineering, I have been a Scout Leader for over 15 years and am a governor at a local primary school, where I chair the Finance Committee.
I live in Billericay, Essex, with my husband, and we have two sons currently at university.
Why I’m standing.
I am standing because WES has shaped my career and values, and I now have the time, experience and energy to contribute again. I previously gave WES more than a decade of service as a Trustee, including several years as Honorary Secretary, alongside a full-time career at Ford and family life. Since then, I have gained broader strategic, governance and senior leadership experience, including working with executive teams through complex change and delivery. Many challenges facing women in engineering remain: women are still only 16.9% of the UK engineering workforce, and too many leave mid-career. Having navigated that stage myself, I want to help others stay, progress and feel supported. As one of the original WISE 1984 cohort, I also want to champion later-career women. With deep WES knowledge, proven governance experience and renewed capacity, I want to help WES grow its influence and impact for women engineers at every career stage.
Skills and Experience.
WES: Previously served as a WES Trustee (2002–2013), including five years as Honorary Secretary, steering governance, ensuring compliance with the Memorandum and Articles, organising meetings, taking and issuing minutes, and tracking budgets and spend. Awarded the Isabel Hardwich Medal in 2014; invited to judge the prestigious WE50 awards in 2019.
Governance: Twice a Governor: 10 years at a high-achieving girls’ secondary school and currently at a local primary school, where I chair the Finance Committee and help oversee budgets, priorities and robust decision-making.
Fundraising: Spearheaded annual Breast Cancer Days at Ford, raising more than £12,000.
Diversity: Long-time champion for STEM outreach, Women in Engineering and Women of Ford, including annual WES INWED events. Advisory Board Member for the IfM Women in Manufacturing initiative.
Delivery: Nearly 40 years leading complex programme delivery at Ford, aligning cross-functional teams through launches from engines and transmissions to Europe’s first eDrive and batteries, culminating in the nationally significant VCUK COVID-19 Ventilator Challenge
Eleni Veniamidou
About me.
I'm a Chartered Engineer working in offshore wind, based in Glasgow. I lead the energy yield and metocean package at JERA Nex bp, which means I'm responsible for how much energy our wind farms are expected to produce and for understanding the wind and wave conditions they will face. I came into engineering from physics – that was my degree and my master's – and I've spent the past nine years on the developer side of offshore wind, first at SSE Renewables, then bp, and now JERA Nex bp. Over that time I've worked on some of the largest projects in the UK and Ireland, including Dogger Bank, Mona, Morgan, Morven and Galway Wind Park. I'm chartered with the Energy Institute and a member of the IET and the Institute of Physics. I've been a WES member for a few years now.
Why I’m standing.
I'll be honest – I've been a fairly quiet WES member so far, and putting myself forward for Trustee is how I want to change that. I've got to a stage in my career where I want to contribute to something bigger than my own projects, and WES is the organisation I most want to give that time to. For almost my whole career I've been one of very few women in the room, and I think that experience is worth having on the Board rather than assuming. I'm mid-career and technical, and I've built my working life across two countries, so I reflect a fair part of the membership. I don't claim to have governance figured out. I'm standing because I'm ready to learn it, put the hours in, and be useful to an organisation whose purpose I care about.
Skills and Experience.
My most relevant experience comes from committee and board-level work. I sit on two Institute of Physics committees – the UK-wide Energy Group and IOP Scotland – so I'm used to how committees run, make decisions and get things done. I also spent time on SSE's Shadow Board, working alongside the plc leadership team and seeing close up how decisions are made and challenged at that level, and I'm a RenewableUK Future Leaders alumna.
In my day job I read and question financial and commercial information constantly and make judgement calls on projects that run over many years, which isn't far from the oversight a trustee provides. I've spent my whole career in a male-dominated industry, which is a big part of why WES matters to me. I haven't volunteered with WES yet, and I'd like Trustee to be where I start
Helen Robinson
About me.
I am a hydrogeologist, hydrogeochemist and geothermal specialist, and Founder and Managing Director of Aquarius Resources. For more than 14 years, I have worked internationally across engineering, groundwater, geothermal energy, water security, mining and environmental protection. My technical expertise includes hydrogeological and geochemical characterisation, isotope and gas investigations, geothermal resource assessment, reservoir interpretation, water quality and environmental risk. I have worked in volcanic, geothermal, mining and humanitarian settings, translating field data into practical decisions.
I am Vice Chair of the WES Climate Emergency Group and have been involved with WES through leadership, mentoring, and outreach. I also contribute to WING UK and WIM UK. Previously, I was Global R&D Manager and Regional Manager for Africa at
the International Geothermal Association and Technical Programme Chair for the World Geothermal Congress 2026, coordinating 820 speakers. I would bring technical depth, strategic leadership, governance experience and inclusive, evidence-led decision-making to WES.
Why I’m standing.
I am standing for the WES Board of Trustees because I believe engineering has a central role in addressing the climate emergency, and progress depends on who is included in shaping decisions. WES matters to me because it makes women engineers visible, builds confidence and networks, supports progression, and challenges barriers to inclusion.
As Vice Chair of the WES Climate Emergency Group, and through my work with WING UK and WIM UK, I have seen the value of professional communities that connect expertise with action. I would contribute 14+ years’ international technical experience alongside governance, strategic leadership, programme delivery and evidence-led decision-making. As a trustee, I hope to help WES strengthen its influence on climate, energy and water resilience, support women at every career stage, and ensure that its work continues to produce practical, inclusive and lasting change.
Skills and Experience.
My experience is grounded in making complex organisations and programmes work well. I have developed governance arrangements, quality controls, reporting routes and standards-based procedures; managed contracts, deliverables, budgets, risk and assurance; and worked with senior stakeholders to resolve competing priorities and maintain accountability. Running Aquarius Resources has given me practical experience of financial and operational oversight, business development, partnership building and making decisions where resources are limited.
I have represented professional organisations, contributed to advisory and technical committees, and worked with governments, clients, funders, researchers and communities. I have designed and delivered training, mentoring and capacitybuilding programmes, and supported early-career people through WES. My WES volunteering has included contributing to webinars, talks, written content, outreach and member activities. I also bring lived experience of navigating senior technical environments as a woman, and of building collaboration across sectors, disciplines and countries