Ex-Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson; Deloitte’s Jo Ahmed; Code First Girls CEO Anna Brailsford and Panintelligence CEO Zandra Moore are among the big names to have been included in the King’s New Years Honours list.

The tech sector is well represented in the list, which also features serial entrepreneur Mark Mills and Margo Cornish.

Zandra Moore, co-founder and CEO of Leeds-based Panintelligence, has been awarded the MBE for services to gender equality in business.

She said: “This honour is a huge personal milestone – but it is also reflection of the incredible journey we have been on as a company, striving to create an environment where diversity, equality, and inclusion are at the heart of what we do.

“Also a huge thank you to the peers, mentors and allies on the mission to improve gender equality in business leadership and investment.

“A special mention also to the Let’s Fund More Women community this year who achieved a landmark reversal of an Innovate UK to half the grant funding into female founders.”

Deloitte’s senior partner in the North West Jo Ahmed received an MBE for services to business and trade.

She said: “I am fortunate enough to work with incredible teams inside and outside Deloitte and I am so proud of everything we are achieving in respect of fostering and enhancing international partnerships between Greater Manchester and key markets such as Japan.

“2025 promises to be a pivotal year for the next stage in our international relations and I am looking forward to continuing to work with colleagues and friends across the city region and beyond as we work together to benefit both people and place.

“At the risk of this sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech there are genuinely so many wonderful people who I would like to pay tribute to and thank for all their incredible support and hard work – you guys know who you are. Thank you.”

Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls, has been awarded an MBE for services to women’s equality and diversity in coding.

Poppy Gustafsson, former CEO of Cambridge cybersecurity business Darktrace, has been awarded a CBE for services to the cyber security industry. After stepping down as CEO of Darktrace she has been appointed as Minister for Investment.

Poppy Gustafsson steps down as Darktrace CEO amid £4.3bn takeover

Mark Mills DL, businessman and philanthropist, has been awarded an OBE for services to business and charity. He set out to build and exit Cardpoint, which he grew from a start-up in 2000 to revenues of £100m annually in 2006. More recently he’s been the chairman of Evoke Creative.

Dr John Lazar, co-founder of Enza Capital, has received a knighthood for services to engineering and technology. He’s also the chair at Raspberry Pi Foundation and President at Royal Academy of Engineering. He describes himself as a software engineer and business leader with a passionate interest in technology.

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Dr Jalal Bagherli, co-chair of the Semiconductor Advisory Panel, for services to the semiconductor sector. He’s also a member of the board at Nanoco Technologies.
• Annika Bosanquet, co-founder for Wrapology, for services to business.
• Gillian Docherty, chief commercial officer at the  University of Strathclyde, for services to business and technology. She oversees innovation and industry engagement, research and knowledge exchange services, campus services and marketing and development directorates at the university.
• John Flint, CEO of Leeds-based UK Infrastructure Bank (now National Wealth Fund) for public service.
• Mayank Prakash, President of British Computing Society (BCS), for services to the advancement of technology professionals. He wants governments and businesses to use technology as a force for good.
• Professor Richard Susskind, lately technology advisor to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, for services to information technology and to the law.
• David Taylor, CEO British Business Bank, and lately CEO of UK Export Finance, for services to business and trade.
• Dr Peter Thompson, CEO of National Physical Laboratory, for services to science and technology.

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

• Carl Cavers, founder of Sumo Group, for services to the video games industry.
• Christine Cort, former managing director of Manchester International Festival, for services to the arts and to culture.
• Susan Daley, director of tech and innovation at techUK, for services to the technology industry.
• Julian David, CEO of techUK, for services to the technology industry and to trade.
• Patricia Hamzahee, co-founder and director of Black Funding Network; co-founder of GiveBlack and co-founder of Extend Ventures, for services to philanthropy, to the arts and to impact investment.
• Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, which is leading the way in autonomous driving, for services to artificial intelligence.
• Professor Andrew Levers, executive director and founder, Institute of Digital Engineering and Autonomous Systems, at University of Liverpool, for services to Industry and to the Economy.
• Kathryn Roe, lately deputy director at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for services to cyber security.
• Louise Smith, chair of Innovate Finance, for services to the FinTech industry and to the empowerment of the LGBTQIA+ community. She’s also the chair of Stripe.
• Louisa Harrison-Walker, chief executive of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, for services to business and the economy in South Yorkshire.
• Susan Waterson, head of investment in the North of England at the Department for Business and Trade, for services to trade and investment in the North of England.

Members of the Order of the British Empire  (MBE)

• Professor Bamidele Adebisi, head of Smart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group at Manchester Metropolitan University, for services to Knowledge Transfer.
• Janet Collyer, chair of Quantum Dice, for services to quantum hardware and cyber security.
• Margo Cornish, for services to cancer charities. She’s married to former Manchester Airport boss Charlie Cornish.
• Cybersecurity influencer Jane Frankland, director of KnewStart, for services to women in cyber security.
• Judith Hartley, lately CEO of British Business Investments, for services to business.
• Madeline (Mads) Howard, manager of Sage UK, for services to cyber security.
• Isobel Pauline Obeng-Dokyi, founder and CEO of Foundervine, for services to UK digital growth and entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.
• James Roberts, founder and CEO of mOm Incubators, for services to engineering and to entrepreneurship.
• Philip Rose, founder and lately senior partner at SciTech, North West England, for services to children’s science education.
• Bolaji Sofoluwe, co-founder, group MD of ETK Group, for services to sustainable business growth, to female entrepreneurs and to international trade.
• Ian Stevenson, founder and CEO of Cyacomb, for services to online safety technology.

Every effort has been made to include tech representatives but if you think we’ve missed someone please email  [email protected]