Angela Livingstone – What it means to be part of the Twenty in Data

It means a great deal for me to be part of WiD and be selected for the ’20 in Data’. For much of my career I’d been a laser focused workaholic and whilst this approach brought me outward and material success, it wasn’t a very sustainable strategy in the long term! However, if I am receiving this recognition for my hard work and dedication to the data industry, then I am very grateful and humbled by the honour.

For me though, being part of this initiative has meant much more to me than receiving recognition. First, in a practical sense, having a portrait taken so shortly after chemotherapy meant that I was forced to start seeing myself as a ‘human being’ again. Those who have recovered from cancer will know what I mean by that. It encouraged me to step back into life. It made me lose a little weight, decide to get hair extensions, focus on other girlie things like my makeup and getting dressed up. Having my portrait taken so close to my upcoming 40th birthday as well, was a real chance to re-focus on beginning my new life after so much death. I loved the day itself and felt like a princess, of course Vik, can make anyone or anything look beautiful, so the end result was amazing. To me, a portrait of Lady Livingstone, sitting in the grounds of her manor house, reflecting on the last 20 years and readying herself for the next twenty, is something I am truly grateful for and will cherish forever, so thank you