👈 BACK TO NEWS & INSIGHTSInternational Women's Day Series 2025: Accelerating Action With Eileen Jennings-Brown
This month we celebrated International Women’s Day 2025, the theme #AccelerateAction reminds us that progress toward gender equality requires more than just conversation, it demands bold, decisive steps. Across industries, women in leadership are not just breaking barriers, they are actively reshaping workplaces, policies, and cultures to create a more inclusive future.
Throughout this month we are running our Women in Leadership series! We have a fantastic group of inspirational women leaders, sharing their insights, challenges, and strategies for accelerating action. Their stories highlight what it takes to not only reach the top but inspire other women looking to progress their career into a leadership role.
In this final instalment, we have award-winning technology leader Eileen Jennings-Brown, Chief Operating Officer at Exergy3 Limited. Eileen has been recognised in CIO100, Top 25 CTOs in Healthcare Tech across the globe (holding the top spot for females) and as one of the UK’s 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech.
1. Please could you provide an overview of your role?
As Chief Operating Officer at Exergy3, I oversee the company’s operations, ensuring we have the right foundations to scale and deliver our groundbreaking thermal energy storage technology. My role spans manufacturing, health & safety, IT, HR, risk management, ESG, communications – in fact everything needed to keep the business running effectively and growing sustainably.
A key part of my role is managing our team of skilled engineers, ensuring they have the resources, structure, and leadership needed to design, build, and refine our technology. Right now, my focus is on delivering our first of its kind technology into a commercial environment at a whisky distillery in Scotland. I drive progress by overseeing project delivery, optimising manufacturing processes, and ensuring operational efficiency and safety.
My role is both strategic and hands-on, ensuring that Exergy3 is operationally resilient, well-structured for growth, and positioned to make a lasting impact in the energy sector.
2. What do you feel is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career so far?
I’ve faced many over the years, a recent one feels most fitting here. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in recent years was breaking into a completely new industry and role after 25 years in IT. I’d spent my career driving business transformation through technology, and over the years repeatedly saw CIOs being positioned under the CFO, which I felt limited their ability to shape business strategy. So, I decided that I wasn’t going to wait for the industry to change and instead I made the leap to COO - a role where I could drive operational and business transformation and strategy at the highest level.
Pivoting into a new industry - especially deep-tech energy - meant proving myself all over again. I’ve had to navigate manufacturing, investor relations, ESG, and the complexities of scaling hardware-based innovation. But I thrive in environments where I can learn fast, solve complex problems, and bring structure to ambiguity. Now, I lead engineering teams, project execution, and scaling - all while also ensuring technology has the right voice in business leadership.
The biggest lesson? You don’t have to follow a straight path to leadership. If the system doesn’t work for you, build a better one.
3. What are you most proud of in your career so far?
I’m proud of being recognised in the CIO100 last year, which was a moment of validation not just for me, but for the impact I’ve had in shaping IT and business strategy. It reflected the years I’ve spent transforming teams, driving innovation, and ensuring technology isn’t just seen as a support function, but as a true business enabler.
But beyond the recognition, what I’m most proud of is having the confidence in abilities to carve my own successful path. After 25 years in IT, I pivoted to a COO role because I wanted to broaden my impact and ensure technology leadership has the right seat at the table. Now, I bring together operations, technology, and strategy in a way that drives real business success.
More than anything, I’m proud of the people I’ve mentored and the teams I’ve built. Whether it’s transforming an underperforming IT function into a high-performing business unit, scaling deep-tech innovation, or helping others step into leadership, what drives me is helping businesses and people succeed.
4. What advice would you give to women who aspire to work in a leadership role?
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Don’t wait for permission - If the role you want doesn’t exist, create it. If you don’t see a path forward, make one.
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Use underestimation as fuel - If people assume you can’t do something, let them think that - and then exceed expectations.
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Lead in a way that works for you - You don’t need to fit into old-school leadership styles. Be strategic, be authentic, and own your space.
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Know when to pivot - Your career doesn’t have to follow a straight line. The biggest opportunities often come when you’re willing to step into the unknown and bet on yourself.
5. This year’s theme is Accelerate Action, what factors do you think have caused an imbalance at the top of the ladder between men and women, and what do you think businesses need to do to improve gender equality in senior leadership?
For decades, businesses have blamed the lack of women at the top on a “pipeline problem.” But that’s not the real issue. Women aren’t stalling out mid-career. We aren’t lacking ambition. The reality is that many women are making strategic choices about where we want to lead - and too often, that’s outside traditional corporate structures.
Some businesses are evolving and making real progress - but too many are still moving too slowly. The strongest women in leadership aren’t waiting to be invited to the table anymore. We’ve stepped out of the shadows and are creating our own narrative - and it’s one where everyone wins.
We’re stepping into leadership roles, founding companies, investing in innovation, and reshaping industries - it’s glorious - and that’s the action we should be accelerating!
For years, businesses have treated gender equality like a side project—coaching women to “lean in” rather than questioning why leadership structures haven’t evolved. They assume the pipeline is broken when, in reality, women are moving on to better opportunities.
This is a wake-up call: evolve now, or risk losing your best talent.
The companies that will thrive are the ones that recognise leadership is evolving. The future belongs to diverse, strategic, and adaptable leaders
Huge thanks to Eileen for taking the time to share her experience and advice with us! And to all the brilliant women in leadership that have taken part, catch-up on our previous interviews here
If you are looking to take the next step in your Tech career – get in touch with the team to chat about our current opportunities, or browse our latest jobs!
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