The Barbara Cox Woman of the
Year Award
Recognising the women driving
the future of automotive.
the future of automotive.
Driving change. Recognising impact.
The Barbara Cox Award celebrates women who are making a real difference. Those who are driving progress in their own way and helping to shape a more inclusive, innovative automotive industry.
This could be through:
- Leading change within their organisation
- Supporting and championing others
- Contributing to their local community
- Bringing new ideas, perspectives or ways of working
It’s not about job titles or seniority - it’s about impact. Whether someone is early in their career or already established, what matters is the difference they’re making, and we want to celebrate that.
Meet our winners: Let's celebrate the amazing women of automotive
This year, we recognised both an industry winner and a team member of Cox Automotive through two awards.
Both winners were announced at our awards event in June and received a £5,000 grant to support their personal development or to give back and help others, helping them continue their journey and build on the impact they’re already making.
Laura Goddard
HR Business Partner, Cox Automotive
Laura reaches 25 years of continuous service with Cox Automotive this July — a journey that began as a stop gap and became a career defined by growth, reinvention and genuine care for others. Away from work, she serves as Deputy Director at the Colchester Samaritans, bringing the same steadiness and empathy to people in crisis as she does to everything she does at Cox.
Sarah Cox-Thornley
Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Passenger Cars
In 27 years across five automotive brands, Sarah has transformed not just her own career but the careers of countless women around her — with four in five mentees securing their target promotions and female senior leadership at VWG rising to 31% under her watch. She has been proving automotive's doubters wrong since the very start.
About the award
Since launching on International Women’s Day 2016, Women with Drive has been bringing women together to connect, grow and succeed across the automotive industry.
The Barbara Cox Award celebrates the women who are driving meaningful change across the automotive industry.
As part of the 10‑year celebration of Women With Drive, the award recognises those who lead with purpose, champion others, and make a lasting impact -through innovation, leadership, and meaningful contribution to the communities around them.
