We announce the winner of our Totum Rising Star Award, which celebrates the achievements of more junior professionals working in marketing and business development in today’s professional services sector.

Totum is delighted to announce that the Winner of Totum’s Rising Star Award 2022 is:

Amanda Birch, Marketing & BD Executive at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP).

Our Rising Star Award Judges were particularly impressed by Amanda’s ability to work beyond her level, adapting to strategic and structural changes across the firm, engaging effectively with multiple senior stakeholders across departments/sectors, working independently on a wide range of projects, and developing and delivering a new and innovative product that has had a real impact on the business.

One of our Judges, Heather Vadgama, Chief Marketing Officer at Walkers Global, says: ‘In selecting Finalists and then the Winner, I was looking for people who were going beyond their role level and experience – who had a mind-set of growth, whether in terms of profile raising or improving their firm’s approach to marketing and BD. Winner Amanda Birch really stood out for that.’

A huge congratulations to the other finalists: Nalisha Patel (Bristows); Connor Adams (Simmons & Simmons), Lauren Brenton (Burges Salmon); and Joseph Knight (Kennedys). We had an outstanding response and the standard of the nominees was exceptional.

‘I was really impressed by all the Rising Star Award submissions,' adds Heather. 'Competition was strong, they were all high performers. Their efforts particularly stand out in what has been a tough environment, especially for those at these more junior levels of BD and marketing who had moved into new roles and firms. Their energy, commitment and resourcefulness really stood out to me.’

All the submissions we received show just how far marketing and BD in the professional services sector has evolved - becoming a career destination for a growing number of people at the start of their careers. ‘What stood out across the submissions is the focus on digital across the sector today,' says Heather. 'We're seeing digital natives who have the natural engagement with apps and other digital channels to build their firms’ profiles and this is bringing rapid progress.’

Totum would like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate. We would also like to thank our Judges for their time and careful consideration: Alexis Gray, The Berkeley Partnership; Ali Hellewell, Gerald Eve; Nicky Lloyd, Simmons & Simmons; Gareth Owens, Norton Rose Fulbright; Heather Vadgama, Walkers; and Deven Vyas, Reed Smith;

Finally our huge congratulations to Amanda Birch, our Rising Star Award Winner 2022.