Dunelm Technology Awards — December 2024
Just before the end of year break, we held another prestigious Dunelm Technology Awards. A great opportunity to recognise some of the great talent we have across the Technology and Product organisation.
This time round we had a the tech leadership team announcing the awards to mix it up a bit, orchestrated by our People Partner, Leanne “Ant OR Dec” Orton in her final appearance before leaving for pastures new.
As is tradition, the audio embedded in the slides didn’t work, so Leanne channeled her inner trumpeteer and did one final blast of the “de-de-de deeeer” before each announcement. Luckily we’ve saved that as an audio file so can continue to use it in future awards ceremonies…My attempt at a Yoda impression for the intro to the Jedi award came out more like Mr Bean (..and that’s also been saved as an audio file, thanks Ben!)
All the winners received a custom one-of-a-kind physical trophy to add to their mantelpiece, super-kudos from the wider team and a digital badge added to a blockchain to celebrate the awesomeness online.
There were some really fantastic entries — thoughtful, considered and highlighting the great talent we have here! It was all judged by an independent panel who, as ever, found it hard to decide the winners.
Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry, it’s great to see so much peer-to-peer-thanks being shown.
VALUE AWARDS
The ‘Act Like Owners’ Award
Awarded for: Taking Responsibility, challenging, Making it happen and being resourceful
Finalists: Cuzack Lapworth, Emma Emerton, Aiden Brusby
Winner: Emma Emerton
Badge: https://www.credential.net/d28c8d54-039f-48c8-aa23-604888bf78f9#acc.U5kugJPc
Nomination: Emma exemplifies all of Dunelm’s core values, with her standout strength being “”Acting Like an Owner.”” She consistently demonstrates a proactive approach to problem-solving, identifying and addressing data quality issues before they escalate. This underscores her unwavering commitment to maintaining high-quality standards.
Her customer-centric mindset and drive for continuous improvement have significantly contributed to enhancing numerous data models, enabling the generation of effective and accurate data insights.
Emma takes full ownership of her work, ensuring that all tasks and responsibilities are executed with precision and diligence…
The ‘Stronger Together’ Award.
Awarded for: Connecting, team working, communicating and including
Finalists: Charlotte Walters, Samantha Davidson, Dean Emery
Winner: Dean Emery
Badge: https://www.credential.net/615fe130-9a9a-4271-83a3-0b125c2c1ff4#acc.H6qtjSIm
Nomination: Dean is an exceptional individual who truly excels in building connections and fostering inclusive teamwork. His ability to communicate effectively and contribute to collective success and unity is unparalleled. Dean is always willing to drop what he’s doing to help others, making him one of the few constant contributors to answers in the quality chapter. His dedication to sharing his knowledge and his unwavering can-do attitude make him an invaluable asset to any team.
Dean’s commitment to helping others and his willingness to go above and beyond are truly commendable. He consistently demonstrates a strong sense of teamwork and inclusivity, ensuring that everyone feels valued and supported. Dean’s positive attitude and willingness to share his expertise have a significant impact on the team’s overall success. His contributions not only enhance the quality of work but also create a collaborative and supportive environment that fosters growth and unity.
The ‘Keep Listening and Learning’ Award.
Awarded for: Being curious, adapting, growth mindset and self awareness
Finalists: Ernest Lukos, Musta Rohman, Callum Fanshawe
Winner: Musta Rohman
Badge: https://www.credential.net/aeaa1998-fd97-44fb-a9ec-9a38c9b99406#acc.OKQsDbxU
Nomination: Having started Dunelm with opportunity to up skill to compliment Dunelm’s tech stack, coupled with working in a team that operates within the Google Tag Manager space, Musta has remained un-phased by each opportunity to learn a technical skill or behavior required to compliment and support the team. Musta has actively sought feedback at regular intervals and immediately set to work in implementing suggestions in his daily work approach. Musta’s approach to Keep Listening and Learning has resulted in consistent incremental growth.
The ‘Long Term Thinking’ Award.
Awarded for: Customer first, thinking big, making decisions and innovating
Finalists: Sabrina Matin, Alexandra Kovacs, Ali Turk
Winner: Sabrina Matin
Badge: https://www.credential.net/5298b0c6-b1d2-402a-9953-5adf5445ee1c#acc.ZOzdbC3e
Nomination: Over the years I have worked with Sabrina, her ability to think long-term and champion the customer has been truly remarkable. Sabrina consistently demonstrates a vision for the bigger picture, making integrity-driven decisions that have long-lasting impacts. Her strategic focus has been instrumental in driving our team to success, especially in the area of customer acquisition and retention.
TECH AWARDS — TEAM
Lean Team Award
Awarded for: Exemplary use of lean methodologies and practices that has brought out great results
Winner: Distribution Team
Badge: https://www.credential.net/27d361ff-60bc-40fb-a7d5-d95af071b3e7#acc.mVG5zB4h
Nomination: I am honoured to nominate the Distribution Crew for the Lean Team award. This small yet extraordinary team consistently delivers outstanding results, and embodies the principles of lean thinking in how they operate.
The team have demonstrated an exceptional ability to implement value-adding solutions that significantly enhance operational efficiency. They display a problem solving, proactive and collaborative mindset and are always looking to deliver more effectively. Great at building 3rd party relationships, leveraging their collective expertise, with a focus on teamwork, enables them to deliver an outsized impact despite being a small team.
I wholeheartedly nominate the Distribution Crew for the Lean Team award — They are a shining example of what can be achieved through teamwork, dedication and lean principles.
Dream Team Award
Awarded for: The Dream Team is connected, aligned, collaborative, cohesive, and communicates well. A team that always helps when needed and excels in their day to day work.
Finalists: Skynet, Jarvis, Spectre
Winner: Team Jarvis
Badge: https://www.credential.net/527a3b3d-ec61-46bb-a6f1-17c5547428b4#acc.I8Np1K7U
Nomination: I would like to nominate the Team Jarvis for their exceptional performance and outstanding collaboration over the past year! This team has consistently demonstrated a high level of dedication, dedication and teamwork in achieving project milestones, while maintaining clear and open communication to their relevant stakeholders. Their ability to work cohesively as a team and utilising each member’s strengths and always striving to improve its ways of working, has not only resulted in the successful completion of its original team outcomes but is also now supporting other business outcomes (Product API, Delivering Joy). Well done to a fantastic year Team Jarvis! You deserved to be recognised! Keep it up!
TECH AWARDS — INDIVIDUAL
Culture Warrior Award
Awarded for: They’re always championing to create a better and more inclusive culture, and while their actions may seem intense to some, they’re well-appreciated in the end
Finalists: Priti Verma, John Burgess
Winner: Priti Verma
Badge: https://www.credential.net/c59c022c-6fb7-4bca-8be6-1a2bbf697b53#acc.MVgR8pS5
Nomination: Priti has been a true driving force this year in championing diversity and inclusion at Dunelm. As one of the advocates and leaders of our Women in Tech initiatives, she has worked tirelessly to create a more inclusive culture. One of her standout achievements has been organising Women in Tech Week in October.
Priti never shies away from difficult conversations, and her commitment to supporting others in fostering a more inclusive culture. She actively helps individuals elevate themselves, offering guidance, encouragement, and a platform for growth. Her passion for creating a supportive and diverse community has been one of the key drivers behind the success of the Women in Tech community this year…
Priti truly embodies the spirit of a Culture Warrior — championing a better, more inclusive culture and inspiring others to do the same. She is more than deserving of recognition for this category.
Jedi Award
Awarded for: Mentors who have made a significant difference through their guidance and helped us unlock our true potential or find our true calling
Finalists: Oliver Martin-Hirsch, Yusuf Zubair, Nickolas Theodoulou
Winner: Nickolas Theodoulou
Badge: https://www.credential.net/e2eaed07-7654-484b-a26c-ba17bf2cd06d#acc.7asLdGqF
Nomination: Nick embodies all of the behaviours that Dunelm values — he always encourages learning and is always keen to learn new tech and get involved. He takes ownership of things he gets involved with (like fixing the dunelm-web pipeline) and follows them through to completion even when he faces difficulties. He always displays long term thinking, he is consistently looking forward to future sprints and anticipating challenges we may face. He encourages team collaboration always and has helped foster really strong bonds between all team members.
He has been a mentor to me since I started at Dunelm and I know he has been hugely important in the careers of multiple engineers. He’s always happy to pair, always willing to help you out, protects the team brilliantly, and always celebrates our successes.
Innovator Award
Awarded for: They consistently go above and beyond to pioneer new ideas and drive innovative solutions
Finalists: Thiago Palharini de Lima, Hannah Taylor, Nickolas Theodoulou
Winner: Hannah Taylor
Badge: https://www.credential.net/cca148f3-08df-475d-a3f0-5bf9be1dead2#acc.TG1IZoaz
Nomination: Hannah is constantly organising and driving the SRE team forward with new ideas and enthusiasm
For all the brilliant work you have done to help us work in a more agile way and get some very cool outcomes (all our open-telemetry work)! Also for being a wonderful member of our team!
The Mouse That Roared Award
Awarded for: Acknowledges the quiet achiever who, like a timid mouse, has fearlessly roared by stepping out of their comfort zone and making a significant impact.
Finalists: Lauren Edge, Kamilla Aliakhmet, Hannah Miller
Winner: Lauren Edge
Badge: https://www.credential.net/220d90d5-55d0-4938-94ae-edb39e91c7ec#acc.4g8GsTmX
Nomination: It’s not easy being over three crews. Three times the set of meetings; three times the research and UX process; three times the playback of results and stakeholder management. Lauren came into the Product Design Chapter from being a BA, wanting a change of direction into her passion for UX. In the time since she made that move, she has gone from strength to strength. Not just in her technical UX abilities, but more importantly her confidence, ability to influence outcomes and articulation of methodology and rationale…
Lauren has recently joined the UX team from her previous BA role and I’m amazed by her transformation and continous development. She has quietly grown into an increasingly confident UX-er, able to efficiently handle three crews at the same time — and what I say handle, I mean she’s always 3 steps ahead, her user testing and design and ready for hand over well before any deadline. Her research and presentation skills have also improved significantly, while her contribution to successful projects such as back in stock notifications or the PLA landing experience is highly commended. The Mouse Roared indeed!
Savvy Saver Award
Awarded for: They’re always looking for opportunities to do things more efficiently and save some money
Winner: Kieron Vann
Badge: https://www.credential.net/00a12643-32de-428d-8ce5-cd15e3357a31#acc.rup69foX
Nomination: Kieron’s reputation as a savvy saver reflects his skill in identifying cost-saving opportunities without sacrificing quality. His innovative strategies have led to significant savings for the department and the business. Kieron has also instilled a culture of financial prudence within his team, CTE.
He manages 21 contracts for various applications, some not directly used by Colleague Technology or the wider Tech Department. Months before renewals, he reaches out to Tech Leads, Principals, and End Users to ensure optimal use of licenses and avoid wastage.
Kieron deserves this award for his diligent work on renewals with Procurement and Finance, while balancing his responsibilities for CTE as a Leader.
The Celebration of Differences Award
Awarded for: Championing our diversity and inclusion efforts
Winner: Priti Verma
Badge: https://www.credential.net/ad365407-05de-4343-868a-e0baa464bc17#acc.amgoJl8c
Nomination: Priti has always been a shining light for D,E & I here at Dunelm, but this nomination reflects the hard work, commitment and tenacity displayed in organising our amazing Women in Tech week. She championed the event and pulled the team together around her which resulted in a fabulous, well attended agenda of events. A huge well done and thank you.
Finally, a massive thanks to the Event Team that brought it all together, we all get a badge too…”woop”:
Linda Chan — https://www.credential.net/06110447-5754-43c8-8a7e-c7ac83227685#acc.Fmwtl5yX
Leanne Orton — https://www.credential.net/302531ef-f7f5-44f6-b14d-ae9b21eea104#acc.YNWy7nvo
Drew Tavernier — https://www.credential.net/bcba1f61-81a8-48e3-bde4-2ed3085d120a#acc.YtvlQOeH
Paul Kerrison — https://www.credential.net/54b42bce-375b-478f-b0f2-12802b047f2d#acc.H84PvMun
