The Women of The Year Awards (WOTY) has appointed Lou Robey, senior leader and champion of women as Relationships Director, creating new strategic partnerships for the organisation, providing strategic support to the WOTY Board of Directors and to help grow its commercial offering, beyond the Awards.

A senior leader in transformation and communications, who champions women at all levels, Lou brings with her over 35 years’ experience across multiple sectors, including 25 years at the BBC, Lou has led some of the UK’s most ambitious change programmes. Her roles included Head of Internal Communications, Head of Change at BBC Technology, and Co-leader of the BBC Culture Change Programme.

Formally Managing Director of Women in Change and taking the organisation global, she is now a female founder of three businesses. Over the past 12 months, she has gone on to build her own brand, Voice4Impact, as a digital content creator and influencer and brings with her significant opportunities for sponsorship of the prestigious awards.

Zalena Vandrewala, Chair of WOTY comments “Lou has a fantastic track record of working with large organisations, especially in the women’s space. We are absolutely delighted to have her on the team, creating opportunities for new key strategic alliances, and supporting the longer term plans for continuous learning for women of all ages.

Robey states “As a female founder of three businesses and a champion for women in business, I’m delighted to continue this work into 2026 by coming on board to support the strategic growth of The Women of the Year Awards, celebrating women who are not only leading today but shaping what’s possible for tomorrow.”

The appointment is made in advance of the WOTY 2026 launch on 5th March 2026.