Honouring The Godfather
In 2024, RUSH continued its tradition of honouring the legacy of our 'Godfather,' the late Dr. Ray Thomson, former Board Chairman.
The Godfather Award, now in its fifth year, has become a cornerstone of our mid-winter RUSH Awards celebration. This prestigious accolade recognises the RUSH Person of the Year, and celebrates individuals who embody the values Dr. Thomson held dear: excellence in craft, teamwork, innovation, leadership, humility, and sustained performance. The selection process, involving peer nominations and voting by our Senior Leadership Team, ensures that the award truly reflects the essence of our organisation's culture and aspirations.
This year we congratulate RUSH Godfather winner Jum Eivers, Programme Director in Delivery. Jum embodies the Godfather award through his extraordinary dedication, consistent high performance, and significant impact on RUSH's operations. Over the past year, Jum has led key projects and transformed challenging ventures into measurable successes. His unwavering commitment to excellence and his solutions-focused mindset enable him to navigate through challenges effortlessly, earning respect and admiration from both internal and external teams. Jum’s dedication to RUSH’s values is evident in his every action. He prioritises a people-first approach, consistently advocating for his team’s well-being and long-term sustainability.
His dedication, talent, and humility make him the perfect recipient of The Godfather Award 2024, and we know that Dr. Ray Thomson would be proud to see his legacy carried on through exceptional individuals like Jum.
We've decided not only to honour our new recipient but also take time to reflect on our past winners. Their achievements and contributions have set a high bar, exemplifying the very best of RUSH and serving as role models for us all.
In 2023, Mikhail Diatchenko, Technical Director, was the worthy winner of the award. In his peer nominations, he was described as a silent yet powerful guardian figure, always ready to step up whenever tasks needed to be done or when his colleagues required support. He embodies all the values at RUSH and serves as a role model for his peers. Putting the team's interests above his own, he excels in his craft and shares his knowledge with modesty.
In 2022 Alaina Luxmore, Director of Marketing, received the award for her dedication and commitment to RUSH, and her infectious passion for seeing us succeed and deliver on our promise to design and build technology to better serve humankind. She lives and breathes RUSH's values, being a role model to others, pushing herself and others to always be better, and approaches her work and people around her with care and consideration.
The winner of the 2021 Godfather award was Product Lead, Simon Thomas, for being a true all-rounder who stamped his mark on some of the company's most important projects. His team ethos, exceptional professionalism, and sheer talent are to be admired.
The first recipient of the Godfather award in 2020 was Harry Jackson; Frontend Software Engineer, People Leader and all-round nice guy. Former RUSH CEO, Pavan Vyas, called out Harry's massive efforts that year despite exceptionally trying circumstances, praising his performance with a dependability and enthusiasm that would make Ray proud. Harry's coworkers rated him as an absolute superstar, someone who had their back and truly believed in succeeding as a team.
Dr. Thomson's spirit of innovation, unwavering determination, and rare blend of humility and charisma continue to inspire us all. Congratulations to all our Godfather Award winners!
