This year’s Summer Prize Giving and Thank You celebration began with a warm welcome by the Dean of the Management School, Professor Fraser Mcleay.
Professor Fraser Mcleay congratulated Prize Winners and Contributors on their amazing achievements and extended his welcome to their guests and families. He went on to introduce the evening’s line up of events before welcoming the first guest speaker of the night, Rob Pulford, Partner and Global Co-Head of Goldman Sachs Financial and Strategic Investors, and Management School alumnus (BA Business Studies 1994).
Rob shared memories from his time at Sheffield, including anecdotes of pop culture in the 90s, as he referenced the launch of the TV series Friends and a tour of the band Oasis - drawing upon how some things have changed immensely over 30 years whilst there are also many similarities.
Key takeaways from Rob’s insight into his career journey were: whilst you may not have a career plan, it’s important to find enjoyment from your career, to ask lots of questions and take on opportunities.
Professor Fraser Macleay then began the evening’s presentations, starting with the Management School’s prestigious Dean’s List award for 2025. This year’s undergraduate Dean’s List winners are Maria Jose Chiriboga, Jessica Fitz-John, Junyu Zhao, and Roksolana Rohozhynska. Maria, Jessica, Junyu and Roksolana were invited to the stage to receive their Dean’s List trophy and certificate awarded by the Dean, who also shared highlights of just some of their impressive achievements in social responsibility and employability during their time at Sheffield.
Next, our University and sponsored prizes winners were announced by Dr Melanie Hassett, Interim Associate Dean for Education at the Management School.
Prizes included the Mary Bowerman Memorial Prize awarded to Jack Whiteman, Idris Hicks Memorial Prize awarded to Samuel Carter, and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) prize awarded to Alexander Porter and presented by CIM representative Jonny Crawley. Dr Melanie Hassett continued the presentation with the Top Performer awards going to Jack Whiteman, Jeongyeon Yoon, Shannon Bailey, and Madi Parkinson, each for the best overall performance on their respective programmes.
Then it was over to Dr Richard Bruce, Director of Internationalisation at the Management School, to extend a warm thank you to our fantastic student contributors. Students were invited to the stage and presented with their certificates in recognition of their contributions as Student and Employability Ambassadors, Student Engagement Champions and Communication Creators, and as Academic Representatives.
After the formal presentation, alumna and Dean’s List Winner Laura Bradley was invited to the stage to share her insights as a recent graduate (BA Business Management with Employment Experience 2022). Laura shared her own career experience as Digital Product Owner at Mobile Banking, NatWest Group, and her key takeaways were:
- The benefits of having a growth mindset approach to career development.
- Say yes to opportunities, you don’t know where they might take you.
- Careers can be ‘squiggly’ and unpredictable.
Closing remarks were given by Teresa Hitchcock, Partner DLA Piper and member of the Management School’s Advisory Board, who shared an inspirational speech drawing upon her extensive career in regulation and compliance and as a solicitor. Teresa’s final piece of advice was to work hard and have determination in whatever field you chose.
Congratulations and thank you to all our Prize Winners and Contributors! A special thanks to our sponsors, guest speakers and presenters for making this such a special celebration.
Our undergraduate prizes
The Dean's List
The Dean's List is awarded annually at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels, to students who applied for the award and who demonstrate excellence in the three areas of: academic achievement, social responsibility and employability.
2025 winners: Maria Jose Chiriboga, Jessica Fitz-John, Junyu Zhao, and Roksolana Rohozhynska
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (Yorkshire Region) Prize
This prize is kindly sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and is awarded annually for the best overall performance in marketing at undergraduate level.
2025 winner - Alexander Porter
Idris Hicks Memorial Prize
This prize was founded in 1974 by colleagues and students of Idris Hicks, senior lecturer in accountancy and financial administration. The prize is awarded to the student with the best performance at Level 2 in the accounting and financial management modules.
2025 winner - Samuel Carter
Mary Bowerman Memorial Prize
This prize is awarded in memory of a former Professor of Accounting, for the best overall performance in accounting and financial management out of all students who have taken at least three final-year undergraduate modules in accounting and financial management.
2025 winner - Jack Whiteman
Top Performers
This awards students who have achieved the best overall academic grade out of every student on their course.
2025 winners:
BA Accounting and Financial Management - Jack Whiteman
BA Business Management - Jeongyeon Yoon
BA International Business Management with Study Abroad - Shannon Bailey
Dual honours programmes - Madi Parkinson