ARN: Congratulations Renata Di Stefano on becoming a finalist at ARN Women in ICT Awards

ARN: Congratulations Renata Di Stefano on becoming a finalist at the ARN Women in ICT Awards 2023

22 March 2023. ARN has announced the finalists of the Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA) for 2023, underpinned by record-breaking representation as female accomplishment and achievement hits new heights in Australia.

blueAPACHE's Renata Di Stefano, Head of Marketing, is among them.

A record year

Mirroring the entire local ecosystem, the 230 finalists were shortlisted from a pool spanning partner, telco, vendor and distributor businesses.

In 2023, WIICTA housed the largest celebration of female excellence within the technology channel across Australia — the record-breaking representation ARN described.

Reading the numbers

2023 was the high-water mark on several measures. The 148 participating organisations and 390-plus nominations are the largest figures in the programme's run to that point, and the inclusion of telco businesses alongside partner, vendor and distributor categories widened the field beyond the traditional channel.

The judging panel — more than 170 industry judges — is the detail that gives the outcome its weight. A panel at that scale means each submission is assessed by multiple practitioners with direct knowledge of the relevant discipline, rather than by a small committee forming general impressions across every category. It also removes marketing reach from the equation entirely: this is a judged programme assessing submitted evidence, not a public vote.

The eight categories

The awards programme honoured the channel across:

1. Innovation
2. Technical
3. Entrepreneur
4. Graduate
5. Rising Star
6. Shining Star
7. Achievement
8. D&I Champion — Company and Individual awards

Winners are selected by the executive panel, acknowledging creativity, innovation and excellence.

The 2023 structure included the D&I Champion award at both company and individual level — recognising that meaningful change in representation requires organisational commitment as well as individual advocacy. In subsequent years the programme evolved this into a DEI Champion Individual award, and by 2026 added a Community Impact category.

About Renata Di Stefano

Renata's career in ICT began in 2010, as a receptionist at a managed service provider. With no corporate sector experience, she used the position to absorb knowledge, gain experience, upskill and network.

Within two years she had moved from administration into marketing, and she has held senior marketing roles since 2012. Today she is blueAPACHE's Head of Marketing.

That path is worth stating plainly because the industry's standard career narrative rarely accommodates it. A great many effective technology careers do not begin with a relevant degree and a graduate programme. They begin adjacent to the industry, with someone who paid attention and made themselves useful outside their job description — and a reception desk at an MSP turns out to be an unusually good vantage point from which to learn how a technology business actually works.

Renata went on to win the Shining Star – Partner award at the 2023 ceremony in May, and was a finalist again in 2024. She was previously a Shining Star finalist in an earlier programme year. Repeat recognition under different panels, against a changing national field, is the more informative signal.

blueAPACHE at WIICTA

The 2023 finalist placement sits within continuous representation across years:

• WIICTA 2022 — Jayati Gulati, Shining Star Partner Award winner
• Earlier years — representation in two categories, with Rahwa Salew as a Rising Star and Renata Di Stefano as a Shining Star finalist
• WIICTA 2023 — Renata Di Stefano, finalist and subsequently winner
• WIICTA 2024 — Angelina Priya, Quinita Lindley and Renata Di Stefano, from a field of 178 finalists
• WIICTA 2026 — Ellie Sarabi, Wireless SME Network Engineer, in the Partner – Technical category, from a field of 222

Separately, Jayati Gulati was recognised with an ARN 30 Under 30 Sales Excellence Award in that programme's inaugural year.

Why the programme matters

WIICTA addresses a persistent characteristic of the technology sector: women remain significantly under-represented, particularly in the deeply technical and the most senior roles.

Its practical function is visibility. Most work inside a technology business is invisible from outside the team that does it. Independent assessment, published nationally, changes what the industry can see — and changes what is visible to people deciding whether the field has a place for them.

Congratulations

blueAPACHE congratulates Renata Di Stefano, and all 230 finalists recognised in the 2023 programme.

Frequently asked questions

What was announced, and when? ARN announced the WIICTA 2023 finalists on 22 March 2023. blueAPACHE's Renata Di Stefano, Head of Marketing, was among them. Winners were announced on Thursday 25 May at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.

How large was the 2023 field? 230 finalists drawn from more than 148 organisations, shortlisted from over 390 nominations across eight categories, assessed by a panel of more than 170 industry judges. The finalist pool spanned partner, telco, vendor and distributor businesses.

Why does the size of the judging panel matter? Because a panel of more than 170 means each submission is assessed by multiple practitioners with direct knowledge of the relevant discipline, rather than by a small committee forming general impressions across every category. It also removes marketing reach from the equation — this is a judged programme assessing submitted evidence, not a public vote.

What were the eight categories? Innovation, Technical, Entrepreneur, Graduate, Rising Star, Shining Star, Achievement, and D&I Champion at both company and individual level. The programme later evolved the last into a DEI Champion Individual award and, by 2026, added a Community Impact category.

What is Renata Di Stefano's background? She entered ICT in 2010 as a receptionist at a managed service provider with no corporate sector experience, used the role to absorb knowledge, upskill and network, moved into marketing within two years, and has held senior marketing roles since 2012.

Did she win? Yes. Renata went on to win the Shining Star – Partner award at the May 2023 ceremony, and was a finalist again in 2024, having also been a Shining Star finalist in an earlier programme year.

What is blueAPACHE's wider record at WIICTA? Jayati Gulati won the Shining Star Partner Award in 2022; earlier years saw representation in two categories with Rahwa Salew as a Rising Star; Angelina Priya, Quinita Lindley and Renata Di Stefano were 2024 finalists from a field of 178; and Ellie Sarabi was a Partner – Technical finalist in 2026 from a field of 222.

Why does the page say the programme matters? Because women remain significantly under-represented in technology, particularly in deeply technical and the most senior roles — and because most work inside a technology business is invisible from outside the team that does it. Independent assessment published nationally changes what the industry can see, and what is visible to people deciding whether the field has a place for them.

Related

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Additional information

The full ARN article on the 2023 finalists is available on the ARN website.

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