Bentley board member named on top 100 list

Dr. Astrid Fontaine, member of the board for people, digitalisation & IT at Bentley Motors, has been announced as one of the top 100 Most Influential Women in the Engineering sector.

The list, produced by board appointments firm Inclusive Boards in partnership with the Financial Times, features senior leaders who hold a range of roles across the engineering sector. 

Since joining Bentley, Astrid has driven the development of a new digital strategy that will see the piloting of new digital services. Her team also drives the digital transformation of business processes, enterprise product and customer solutions.

As an ambassador for women in STEM, Astrid has also introduced the company’s first digital technology apprenticeship programme. She is fostering Bentley’s company-wide diversity programme, and this year the business welcomes the highest ever intake of female trainees to the business, with 35% of all new apprentices and 63% of the digital technology apprentices being female.

She said, ‘With women still underrepresented across the STEM sector, the Inclusive Board report is an important initiative and I’m delighted to have been featured in the list published today.

‘Our industry offers a wide range of career options from automotive design, engineering and manufacturing; through to information systems, technology and digitalisation, where I’ve been fortunate to be supported in the development of my own career.

‘As Bentley celebrates its centenary and enters its next 100 years, my priority is to ensure we attract a diverse range of candidates into all of our functions and develop their potential as part of our journey to inclusiveness.’