‘Over the past year, AI has shifted from being the preserve of specialists to something many people expect to use as part of their everyday work.’
The AI and Software Development Awards celebrate the pioneers, teams, and organisations driving innovation in AI and software development.
This year’s winners will be announced at a live awards ceremony on Thursday, 14th May in London.
Anastasiia Gorodetckaia of Lloyds Banking Group is a finalist in two categories: Developer of the Year and Software Rising Star of the Year.
Anastasiia is an Agentic BI Manager, currently seconded to the Generative BI team in Lloyds Banking Group’s AI Centre of Excellence. A fast‑rising developer, she combines analytics, low‑code automation and GenAI to deliver solutions that materially improves how people work in complex, regulated environments.
Her work spans Power BI, Power Automate and conversational analytics, with a strong focus on engineering discipline, governed data foundations and user‑centred design. In 2025 she has delivered personalised, event‑driven insight services used by over 150 Relationship Managers, transformed legacy reporting into scalable Power BI solutions, and built automation that replaces manual monitoring with targeted, timely prompts.
More recently, Anastasiia has worked end‑to‑end within a software development lifecycle in the Generative BI team, supporting semantic model readiness, prompt optimisation, evaluation and responsible AI practices. Her contributions have helped move Generative BI from experimentation into operational readiness, delivering measurable improvements in time to insight, accuracy and user experience.
Recognised for both pace and impact, Anastasiia also invests heavily in lifting others by delivering award‑winning training, mentoring early‑career colleagues and sharing practical case studies at scale, making her a strong Software Rising Star and Developer of the Year shortlisted nominee.
Why do events like the AI & Software Development Awards matter?
Events like the AI & Software Development Awards matter because they recognise real, high impact work rather than theoretical innovation. In fast moving fields such as AI and software engineering, it is easy for progress to be measured in prototypes rather than outcomes. These awards create space to celebrate teams that are delivering responsible, scalable and tangible value, particularly in complex and highly regulated environments.
They also help set benchmarks for the industry, highlighting what good looks like, from ethical AI practices to strong engineering foundations and effective change adoption.
What would winning this award mean to you, your company, and your team?
Winning this award would be a strong external validation of the work we have delivered under challenging conditions: balancing innovation with security, governance and risk management. For the organisation, it would reinforce our position as a leader in responsible AI adoption, demonstrating that advanced AI can be embedded safely and effectively at scale.
For the team, it would be meaningful recognition of the behind-the-scenes effort: designing robust data foundations, working closely with stakeholders, educating users, and ensuring solutions are genuinely usable, not just impressive on paper.
What is your/company’s proudest achievement over the past year?
Our proudest achievement has been successfully moving generative AI from experimentation into operational reality. Over the past year, we have delivered production ready generative BI solutions that are trusted by users, aligned with governance standards, and soon to be embedded into day to day decision making.
This required not only strong technical delivery, but also deep collaboration across risk, data, technology and business teams: ensuring AI solutions were explainable, dependable and valuable, not just novel.
What have been the biggest challenges of the year so far, and how have you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges has been operating at the intersection of speed and responsibility. The pace of AI innovation is relentless, while regulatory, risk and data obligations require rigour and caution.
We overcame this by investing heavily in foundations: semantic modelling, governance frameworks, clear design standards, and strong data quality, while also empowering people through training, communication, and shared ownership. Our people were instrumental: challenging assumptions, flagging risks early, and helping translate technical capability into business ready solutions.
How has your industry changed over the past year, and what still needs to change?
Over the past year, AI has shifted from being the preserve of specialists to something many people expect to use as part of their everyday work. The conversation has moved from “Can we use AI?” to “How do we use it safely, well, and at scale?”
What still needs to change is the industry’s tendency to prioritise tooling over understanding. Strong data foundations, design discipline, and user enablement are still too often underestimated and without them, AI solutions struggle to deliver lasting value.
What do you see as the main opportunities for your industry in the coming year?
The biggest opportunity lies in augmenting human decision making, not replacing it. Generative AI can dramatically reduce friction, helping people explore data faster, ask better questions, and focus on judgment rather than mechanics.
We plan to capitalise on this by continuing to invest in high quality data models, responsible AI patterns, and practical use cases that solve real problems for users, while maintaining trust and transparency.
What key demands have you seen from your customers in the last 12 months?
Our customers, both internal and external, are asking for clarity, reliability, and confidence. They want AI powered solutions that are easy to use, grounded in trusted data, and transparent in how outputs are generated.
There is also a growing demand for tooling that works with people: supporting analysis, sense checking insights, and accelerating learning, rather than acting as a black box.
Which new technology trend are you placing your bets on?
We are placing our bets on Generative AI built on strong semantic and data foundations, rather than standalone models. In our experience, the combination of high-quality data modelling, governance, and conversational analytics is what unlocks sustainable value.
This approach ensures AI systems are not only powerful, but also accurate, explainable, and fit for regulated environments, which is where real, long-term impact will be made.
The AI and Software Development Awards will take place on 14th May in London. Click here to view the shortlist and here to book your table.