A Warrington executive director has been named the most influential woman in UK engineering in an annual list produced by board appointments firm Inclusive Boards, in partnership with the Financial Times.

Jane Atkinson, who is based at Bilfinger’s headquarters in Warrington, came top of an illustrious group of 100 women, with the top 10 featuring senior leaders from Network Rail, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Airbus, Dyson, Aecom and Laing O’Rourke.

As Bilfinger’s executive director of engineering and automation, Jane manages major design, automation and digitalisation projects alongside operation and maintenance contracts for some of the world’s biggest energy companies and is responsible for introducing new technology to help clients cut carbon emissions and boost productivity.

Jane is also chair of the Institute of Chemical Engineering, where she devotes time to introducing mentoring programmes and workshops to help women get back into their careers after becoming mothers.

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