Jacqueline de Rojas explained

Jacqueline de Rojas (born Jacqueline Yu 11 October 1962 is a British businesswoman who works in technology.

Early life and education

de Rojas was born Jacqueline Yu in Folkestone to a Chinese father and British mother.^{[1] [2]} She joined Synon in the 1980s where she worked in its sales department.^[3]

Born Jacqueline Yu, is partly of Chinese descent, and said that after her first marriage, she changed her surname to "Jones", to "fit in".^[4]

Career

She serves as Non-Executive Director on the boards of Rightmove, Costain Group and FDM Group, and was formally on the board of AO World. She serves as co-Chair for the Institute of Coding and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Bath in 2020.

In 2017 de Rojas joined Costain Group as non-executive director. She launched the Institute of Coding with the University of Bath in 2018.^[5] The Institute of Coding is a national consortium of industry and academia, working together to address to the UK digital skills gap. She also serves as co-Chair of the Institute of Coding's Governance Board.

She was interviewed by Lauren Laverne for Desert Island Discs in March 2019.^[6]

In September 2019, de Rojas was appointed as a non-executive director of FDM Group.^[7]

In 2024 she became the chair of The Bletchley Park Trust's board of trustees where she looks after Bletchley Park's independent museum.^[8]

Awards and honours

• 2015 Computer Weekly Most Influential Woman in IT^[9]
• 2017 Catherine Variety Award for UK Science and Technology^[10]
• 2018 Appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours^{[11] [12]}
• 2018 Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK IT Hall of Fame^[13]
• 2020 Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Bath.^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Inspirational woman: Jacqueline de Rojas Executive at Citrix, board champion for women at techUK - WeAreTheCity Information, Networking, jobs & events for women. Team. •WATC Content. 2015-07-17. WeAreTheCity.com. en-US. 2018-12-07.
2. Web site: BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Jacqueline de Rojas, President of techUK . BBC. 24 March 2019.
3. Web site: Kelly . Liam . 16 February 2020 . Jacqueline de Rojas: how I got to the top in tech — with a joke . The Sunday Times.
4. Web site: Morrison. Caitlin. A View from the Top: Jacqueline de Rojas on discrimination in tech. The Independent. November 28, 2018. October 24, 2020.
5. Web site: Tech pioneer Jacqueline de Rojas to co-chair new Institute of Coding. https://web.archive.org/web/20181125191252/http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2018/03/06/jacqueline-de-rojas-coding/. 2018-11-25. Bath.ac.uk. en. 2018-12-07.
6. Web site: Jacqueline de Rojas, President of techUK . 2019-03-29 . 2024-11-18 . BBC.
7. Web site: 2019-09-25 . FDM Group taps Tech UK chair Jacqueline de Rojas to join board . 2022-05-18 . CityAM . en-GB.
8. Web site: Bletchley Park Trust announces first ever female chair of the Board of Trustees . Shefferd . Neil . 2024-10-29 . 2024-11-18 . Milton Keynes Citizen.
9. Web site: Top 50 Most Influential Women in UK IT 2015. ComputerWeekly.com. en. 2018-12-07.
10. Web site: Variety Celebrates Incredible Women at the Second Catherine Awards. 2017-11-27. Variety.org.uk. en. 2018-12-07.
11. Web site: Here are all the UK tech figures named in the Queen's New Year's Honours list. Cook. James. Business Insider. 2018-12-07.
12. News: AI chief Demis Hassabis becomes a CBE. 2017-12-29. BBC News. 2018-12-07. en-GB.
13. Web site: Most Influential Women in UK IT 2018: Entrants to the Hall of Fame. ComputerWeekly.com. en. 2018-12-07.
14. Web site: Tech trailblazer honoured by University of Bath. 2022-02-15. www.bath.ac.uk.