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our judges

our judges

Nominations for the Unseen Business Awards are now closed.
nomination form

The Unseen Business Awards are judged by a distinguished panel of experts with extensive experience in combating modern slavery.

Their diverse backgrounds and proven track record ensure a rigorous and fair evaluation process, recognising the most impactful initiatives tackling this global issue.

All nominations will be assessed against four key criteria: commitment, collaboration, innovation and impact. Read our judging guidelines for more information on what the judges will be looking for.

nomination guidelines

lydia hopton

Responsible Tech & Human Rights Senior Manager, BT

Lydia is a passionate advocate for human rights in technology. At BT, she leads the Responsible Tech Strategy, ensuring ethical development and use of technology across the company. Previously, Lydia championed human rights within M&S’s supply chain, focusing on gender equality and worker wellbeing. Her dedication extends beyond business, with a background in sustainable investment.

jisha dymond

Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, One Trust

Jisha is a legal expert with nearly 20 years of experience navigating compliance, risk, and ethics across tech, social media, and finance. Before joining One Trust, she led risk management and regulatory compliance efforts at Twitter. She also serves as a board member for Behind the Book, a non-profit promoting literacy in under-served schools.

matt crossman

Stewardship Director, Rathbones Group

With 20 years dedicated to responsible investment, Matt leads Rathbones Group’s stewardship efforts. His expertise lies in tackling climate change and human rights issues within supply chains. A law graduate with a passion for environmental law, Matt holds the CFA ESG Investing Certificate and boasts postgraduate qualifications in Sustainable Development. He is also a trustee of the Quartet Community Foundation and former board member of LoveBristol and the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility. His Team won the 2022 PRI ‘Stewardship Initiative of the year’ award for ‘Votes Against Slavery’, an investor coalition using voting power to drive better reporting and performance around slavery issues in supply chains.

nominate your business now

Want to showcase your impact in the fight against modern slavery? Nominate your organisation for the 2024 Unseen Business Awards. Deadline 2 August 23.59pm.

submit your nomination

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about us

about us

Our mission is simple: to put an end to slavery for good. We do this by supporting survivors of modern slavery and trafficking and working collaboratively with our partners to put an end to exploitation.

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our impact

our impact

Since Unseen began in 2008, we’ve supported over 800 survivors of modern slavery through our safehouse and outreach services and identified over 30,000 potential victims through our Helpline.

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business services

Join a growing community of leaders taking action against worker exploitation. We tailor our approach to your specific needs, whether you’re taking your first steps or refining existing initiatives.

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• Unseen UK is a registered charitable company limited by guarantee in England and Wales
• Registered company number 06754171

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Justine Currell

As I came to understand more about the issue, including through a visit to an Unseen safehouse, I knew I needed to do more to stop this abuse and exploitation.

For the last five years of my Civil Service career, I was the Modern Slavery Senior Policy Advisor in the Home Office and led on development of the Modern Slavery Act, including the transparency in supply chains provision and business guidance.

I joined Unseen to lead the development of the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, and Unseen’s work with businesses. I am regularly called upon to present at national and international conferences and use my experience of working with Ministers to influence other governments internationally to take action to address modern slavery and, in particular, business supply chain issues.

In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit, music, reading and travelling.

Andrew Wallis

What ultimately compelled me to act was a report on how people from Eastern Europe were being trafficked through Bristol airport to the USA. Kate Garbers, who went on to be an Unseen Director, and I wrote to all the city councillors, MPs and the Police Chief Constable challenging them on the issue. The challenge came back to us: this city needs safe housing for trafficked women. And so Unseen began.

But we never wanted Unseen to be just about safe housing. We wanted to end slavery once and for all, and that remains our driving focus.

I chaired the working group for the Centre for Social Justice’s landmark report “It Happens Here: Equipping the United Kingdom to Fight Modern Slavery”. This is now acknowledged as the catalyst behind the UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015. It was a great honour to be awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours that year. On the other hand, I’ve also been described as “the loveliest disrupter you could ever hope to meet”.

This job has taken me from building flat-pack furniture for safehouses, to working with businesses to address slavery in supply chains, to delivering training, raising awareness and advising governments around the world.

When not at work, I enjoy travelling, spending time with my dog Harley, cooking, supporting Liverpool and Yorkshire CC, music (I’m a former DJ) and endurance events such as the Three Peaks Challenge and Tribe Freedom Runs – which I vow never to do again. Until the next time.