Teenager named on list of top UK business women

A 19 year old inventor became the youngest woman ever to be named on Management Today’s annual list of  the UK’s top 35 business women under the age of 35.

Ruth Amos designed her product, StairSteady, when she was just 16 years old, an invention which won her the Young Engineer for Britain award in 2006.  The StairSteady is a cost effective, space saving device which helps those who have problems with their mobility get up and down the stairs safely. 

Ruth won her place on the list for her determination to make her business a success despite having difficulty securing funding because of her age.  “When I started off, every major bank refused me business banking, and that was something that hit me really hard,” she said.  But now she has no such worries, and the accolades for her ingenuity continue to flow.  Of making it onto the list she exclaimed: “I’m stunned at being named with such well-respected women.”

Mathew Gwyther, editor of Management today said: “The recession is bringing out the steel in this year’s 35 Under 35 list. These women are unafraid to knuckle down and make tough decisions – it’s their fierce determination to succeed that really makes them stand out from the crowd. The current climate gives us all the more reason to celebrate their exceptional success. If you can make it now, you can make it any time.”

The other 34 women on the list were:

SAVANNAH MILLER, 30 – Creative director of designer label Twenty8Twelve

KATE HAMPTON, 34 – Director of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation

SAMANTHA MANGWANA, 34 – Employment solicitor at Russell Jones & Walker

JADE TONG, 34 – Associate director at DTZ – the fourth-largest global real estate adviser

LAURA STEVENSON, 32 – General manager, Sadler’s Wells theatre/dance company

RACHEL BARTON, 33 – Senior Executive in Accenture’s CRM practice

ALEXANDRA BASIROV, 32 – Head of sovereign, supranational and agency debt capital markets, BNP Paribas

LISA BURGER, 35 – Director of Operations, Starbucks central London

KATE CRAIG-WOOD, 32 – Co-founder of web and IT hosting provider Memset

EMILY CUMMINS, 22 – Inventor of the solar powered fridge

OLLY DONNELLY, 29 – Founder of Shivia Microfinance

ZEENA FAROOK, 27 - Geotechnical Engineer at Arup

ELSPETH FINCH, 33 – Director for Highways and Transportation at Intelligent Space 

MELISSA GEIGER, 32 – The youngest Equity Partner at KPMG

SOPHIE HOWARTH, 33 - Founding Director of the School of Life

JOHANNA KYRKLUND, 32 – Head of World Multi-asset Business at Schroders

PRIYA LAKHANI, 28 – Founder of Masala Masala, an authentic Indian sauce company

CLARE LANGFORD, 28 – Tesco’s Category Technical Manager for salad and prepared produce

CLAIRE MASON, 34 – Founder of PR agency, Man Bites Dog

SOPHIE MAUNDER-ALLAN, 35  – Head of Strategic Planning at VCCP Advertising Agency

LISA MYERS, 31 – Founder of Verve Search consultancy

ROSIE NAGRA, 32 – Marketing Manager for Finish (the global dishwashing brand) at Reckitt Benckiser

AZITA QADRI, 35 – Founder of Eat Your Cake (helps start-ups recruit high-calibre professionals who need flexible working hours).

DEBORAH REGAL, 34 – Currently studying at the Bar, she is also an independent member of the Metropolitan Police Authority

CLARE REICHENBACH, 35 – Head of Strategy for BBC Worldwide

EMILY SHENTON, 33 - Managing Director of Arrival Education, a charity that links inner-city schools with businesses to give pupils career support.

KATE SMAJE, 30 – The youngest partner globally at McKinsey & Co

EMER STAMP, 34 – Senior Creative Director at start-up ad agency Adam & Eve

GAYLE TAIT, 32 - General Manager for L’Oreal Paris, UK and Ireland

KATY TAYLOR, 28 - Head of Business Planning in the Metropolitan Police’s strategy department

BIJAL THAKORE, 27 – Founder,  Big On Good, an engineering and business consultancy

HOLLY TUCKER, 32 – Co-founder of notonthehighstreet.com

BIANCA WATTS, 31 – Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management

NEMONE WYNN-EVANS, 34 – The CFO of Junior London Stock Exchange Plus Markets Group