Carol Ann Whitehead | The Zebra Partnership
I am a Royal Society of Arts Fellow, an advocate of women’s rights, equality, diversity and inclusion.
Founded in 2000, The Zebra Partnership, is a boutique agency that brings together talented freelancers in the fields of publishing, campaigns, communications and event management on a project by project basis across all sectors. A flexible team that can white label, co-produce or work under their own brand.
I am a communications expert that has had over twenty years publishing, promotions and organising events of all shapes and sizes from 8 to 8000, indoors and outdoors, here in the U.K. and overseas, plus experience of developing and organising five royal visits since 2004.
The publishing arm of the business, is managed by co-founder and games veteran writer and author Dan Whitehead, a voting member of BAFTA with over 20 books, graphic novels and comics under their belt. I am an award winning publisher from the European Publishing Institute and I provide PR and marketing support in addition critiquing the development of the publication. Our Zebra Comics is a popular brand extension and one of our creations graced the cover of the Big Issue in the North - Ella Upgraded a 12 year girl of mixed heritage who has STEM powers - the issue was a 'Kids Take Over' with interviews and articles by children and a pull out sample Zebra Comic.
I am also on contract Marketing, Business and Event Production Lecturer at Access Creative College, Guest Lecturer at University of Manchester and former Associate Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Recipient of the Inclusive Companies Certificate of Excellence, winner of Entrepreneur Jacqueline Golds #WOW Award, #QueenOf Engaging Events award, in addition to Regional and National Winner of the Forward Ladies Mentor of the Year 2019 and on the Northern Powerwomen Power List 2020
Claire Curran | Linaker
I’m the MD. I’m 38 and the only female MD of a sole M and E business in the UK. We have over 100 engineers (HVAC -combustion, f gas, electrical and fabric)
I manage the entire business completing both maintenance activities and projects.
We are 26 years old operate in the commercial sector supplying services to Amazon, Whitbread, Whetherspoons, RPC, Sucdens to mention just a handful of our 500 strong client base)
I have grown the business by 50% in just 2 years.
I also, with my superwoman pants on look after 3 children (Zeph 2, Jorgie 5 and Milan 14) with my husband of 10 years. I am originally from Stoke on Trent but now reside in Kent.
I am the first female non exec board member of BESA. Where I help to promote the engineering industry. Getting involved in curriculum for apprentices and the development of SFG20.
I have worked in facilities and hard service engineering since the age of 19. I started my working life at GSH, one of the then leading UK providers of commercial engineering services in the UK, I moved to SES (now Wates) and then Thames engineering (purchased by Rentokil Initial now Integral) I was a solution manager helping to provide clients with bespoke service solutions to overcome their building challenges. Sort of like a QS in construction terms.
I won FM excellence in a major project with BIFM (now IWFM) in 2010 having transitioned from build to operation the HO of Johnson & Johnson medical in the UK.
My first director role was for ISS looking after professional service contracts (Stanley Morgan, A&O, Deutsche bank) at 30.
I then moved to Kier where I operated a large business unit of key account across all FM services including engineering circa £150m, I was shortlisted for leader of the year in the construction awards.
I have a NEBOSH General cert and a welding qualification (i’ve never used it) I also have a HND and MBA. So I am a business women in STEM not a grass roots engineer.
I am very technically knowledgeable but the majority of my craft has been learnt from the grass roots of operating buildings and pricing large corporate contracts - my largest win being leading the UK component of Barclays at £153m.
Therefore my knowledge comes from actually operating and “hanging about plant rooms for too long“ fixing building issues for prestigious clients.
I am extremely passionate about the industry, which has been so very good to me, the built environment and the impact the way we service our buildings has on our general quality of life. Buildings are pretty cool too!
I would love to utilize this accolade to further promote how much our sector rocks and be a positive role model for how exciting it is to work in our field and what you can achieve! It would also be great to shout out to some of the people who have supported me fearlessly along the way.
Ana Perez | Oracle
I am currently Senior Director at Oracle’s Consulting UK & Ireland business.
I am responsible for managing the operational efficiencies of the UK Consulting Business, leading the overall UK headcount capacity planning as Oracle continues to see dramatic shifts in the market and the skills required to support these changes. I am also responsible for the commercial relationship with 3rd party suppliers and for the UK-wide team communication as well as a number of initiatives that have impact across teams. One of those initiatives is our graduate program which I originally set-up and now I have oversight of, this program has hired over 250 professionals since its inception, it am very proud to see people coming out of this program to become our top talent in the team. I am particularly proud to have driven the program to gender parity.
I wanted to create a more gender-balanced workplace which led me to take on the leadership of Oracle women’s network (OWL) to to support the growth and development of current and emerging women leaders which I have taken to new heights since taking over.
I am also a trustee and company secretary for Smart Works Reading, a charity that supports women to return to employment by providing high quality interview clothes, styling and interview coaching to women in need. I have actively helped the charity get established since starting in 2015 through my trustee oversight and fundraising initiatives. The charity has helped over 400 women find employment in the Thames Valley area since starting.
Lindsay Law | NatWest
Lindsay joined RBS in 2001 after completing a Honours degree in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh.
Starting in Technology Services as a technical analyst, she has moved into progressively more senior roles in project and programme management, then programme assurance, and is now Head of Audit in Retail Banking. Lindsay completed a part-time Masters in Information Systems, sponsored by the Bank; her research focused on women’s career experiences in a male-dominated environment. Passionate since a young age about equality, her research rekindled this interest, and she has become an evangelist of the message that businesses, universities, and politicians need to understand the barriers that even high-achieving women face, and do more to support them in overcoming them. Very active in the local community, she has been involved as office-holder in Parent Councils since her older daughter started nursery in 2006. She is chair of the Board of Connect an independent, national organisation for parents which influences policy development to support parental engagement in their children’s education. She is also a Board member of Scottish Women’s Aid, the leading policy and advocacy organisation in Scotland working to influence policy to enable the eradication of violence against women and children. She is also on the board of the National Youth Choir of Scotland. She is determined to be a voice for change, ensuring that decisions taken within the organisations she work in have fairness and equality at their heart. As co-chair of RBS/Natwest Women network she is a visible and vocal champion of women and their potential within RBS/Natwest.
Alexandra Knight | Amey
She is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Fellow of the IMechE, Member of the IAM and a Trustee on the Board of the Women's Engineering Society.
Alex graduated top in her class with a 1st class Honours in Mechanical Engineering from Brunel University. She then went onto complete an MSc in Medical Engineering at Imperial College London. Alex's first job was working for a small start up medical engineering company and then she moved in engineering consultancy, working for Frazer-Nash Consultancy. She worked her way up to a position of Group Leader, leading a group of consultants delivering projects across a range of markets including healthcare, defence and power distribution. Alex then moved to Amey where she is now a Technical Director with Amey Strategic Consulting, specialising in asset management and systems engineering. She has led projects such as the implementation of Amey's cloud-based real-time remote condition monitoring system on the Forth Road Bridge crossing. Alex sits on the International ISO Committee for Asset Management (TC251) as part of a group of experts that represent the UK to develop the ISO standard for global development of the discipline. She is also a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor for Asset Management and Inclusive Professional Skills at Brunel University London.
Kelly McAulay | William Grant & Sons Limited
Having left school to study law, Kelly quickly decided to change career when she secured a work placement with a law firm before university, favouring the role of the Assistant as opposed to the role of the Solicitor.
Since then, Kelly has gathered a wealth of experience as both a Personal and Executive Assistant, spaning almost 20 years, and now has a wide range of responsibilities including people and project management. Having joined William Grant & Sons in 2006 she currently supports the Chairman and members of the Supervisory & Executive Board.
A passionate advocate for the PA & EA profession, Kelly is an Ambassador for the Scottish PA Network and former EPAA Advisory Board member. Kelly also dedicates a lot of her personal time to mentoring other Assistants, both inside and outside of her organisation. She also founded, and continues to lead, the William Grant & Sons Business Support Network, now in its fourth year.
Kelly holds a Diploma in Personal Assistance and was voted Scottish PA of the Year at their inaugural awards event in 2015. Since then she has received a further accolade in 2019 for Outstanding Contribution to the PA Profession from the Scottish PA Network and Hays PA & Secretarial.
Outside of work Kelly is Mum to two growing boys and spends most of her free time supporting them from the football sidelines.
Laura Blower-Harris | Accenture
Laura is an Executive Assistant with 15+ years’ experience gained across the public, private and third sectors.
A graduate of Imperial College London, Laura’s EA career started at Haringey Council before she moved on to the charity World Villages for Children, next to Cancer Research UK and then to Accenture, where she is currently in her ninth year with the company.
She provides all aspects of EA support to the UKI Products Business Lead - a Senior Managing Director – along with two other MDs across Consumer Goods and Life Sciences clients.
In addition to the daily job requirements, Laura finds time to add value to the wider EA community. She aims to lead by example and find opportunities outside her core role. She was instrumental in developing and delivering EA training days held at Accenture UK & Ireland offices (London, Manchester, Newcastle and Dublin) to inform and educate the EA community across a range of topics. The events brought over 150 EAs together and delivered unified sessions across each site and helped Laura build her networks across the entire EA UKI Community.
With community being so important to Laura, she is also part of a small team who organise and encourage networking across the London EA teams to bring otherwise siloed areas together and to encourage face to face interactions to counteract the e-mail heavy culture.
Another added responsibility Laura has taken on - with great enthusiasm - being made a mentor to acquisition EAs, to guide them through systems and processes once acquired by Accenture. All these events feed into Laura’s passion for growing her networks, not just with EAs but also including developing deep working relations across many teams including: marketing, finance, HR, customer services, catering, facilities, local tech support and the reception team - to name but a few! Having the right contacts allows for faster solutions and the ability to deliver greater value in the EA role. The importance of collaboration and wide reaching networks are self evident so this is something she works hard to continue developing.
Laura is a positive role model within the community who leads by example. She tries to inspire others in the way she acts and is always happy to share best-practice ideas with peers. She aims to be a positive influence and if she sees an opportunity to improve a process or system, she will then pursue the necessary steps to implement the change and make it happen. Laura has made several suggestions around making Accenture a more sustainable and responsible company, and more than one of these has been implemented.
For two years Laura was the departmental Pride Lead, and successfully increased Ally numbers as well as engagement of LGBT+ issues across the workplace. This again provided an opportunity to build further networks across every department at Accenture, due to regular Pride Network meetings and events.
Laura’s proudest achievement during her time at Accenture has been interviewing against strong internal competition and gaining promotion. This was based on her self-increased responsibilities and also Laura having developed and grown in the role since joining in 2012 and now operating at a more advanced level, having sought out her own opportunities for growth and development in addition to her EA role.
Catherine Diment | Alcumus
Catherine Diment is an Executive Assistant with over a decade of experience supporting at C Suite level, in Financial Services and Tech-lead companies.
Catherine specialises in Board/Committee support and event management, is a member of EPAA and regularly attends training sessions and conferences to further develop her skills as an assistant and learn new rules in corporate governance. A strong believer in self-development Catherine is studying to become a Chartered Secretary. Catherine enjoys watching her young son play football with the local team and also gets out about usually participating in half marathons and marathons.
Esther Dawson | Ridgeview Wine Estate
Having been promoted in most of the businesses I've worked in, due to management or Directors recognising my skills, I've been lucky enough to now be combining my hobby and my work life.
I remember as a young teen, seeing Sly Lovegren as JR’s secretary in Dallas and I commented to my mum that I’d love a job like hers one day. I’m certainly not in an oil baron’s high-rised office block in the US, but I can’t believe that even at such a young age, I wanted this role of supporting an individual with their business needs.
My career started as an office junior administrator in a recruitment company in the petro-chemical/oil & gas industries would you believe. When the family that owned the business sold it to an American company based in Slough, I temped locally for a few weeks, gaining the experience of working with leased cars & office management. I was offered an admin role in Slough and moved there when I’d just turned 21. During those two years, I was promoted from Administrator, to Office Manager to then PA to the Directors. At one point I held the grand title of European Manager of Administrator at the age of 23 …and I did manage all the European offices!
After two years I decided to move back to Sussex and took a role working at Ericsson Telecom. The department I worked in was TUPE’d over to a much smaller company and it was there that I took the role of Office Manager & PA to the Directors. I gained a lot of Employment Law experience. After five happy years, the owners decided to sell-up so I moved into the legal sector and was Practice Manager & PA to the Partners at a local Law Firm which specialised in Employment & Personal Injury Law. I gained a huge amount of Employment Law knowledge and was keen to develop and utilise this more.
Again, after two years the partners decided to close the law firm, so I moved to a local company called Icon Live. Icon produced customer jewellery for high street stores, department stores & supermarkets. With my Employment Law knowledge, I moved into the HR department, heading up the management of all the Head Office staff. This was just 90 when I joined but increased to 360 over three years! In total the business had 2,000 employees all over the UK, ROI and Eastern Europe. I spent five years in the HR department and was then “stolen” by the Directors to become their Executive Assistant. During my time as their assistant I was responsible for a £1m annual travel budget and a £350k budget for their big three-day annual conference for around 350 members of staff.
I have always been keen to learn about wine and studied WSET Level 2 qualification and the opportunity came up to combine my passion for wine and doing a job I feel I’m very good at. I have been with Ridgeview five years and everyday there is something new to learn which I love about this job. In this last year I have won a number of awards, all the details are below. I have also set-up the Sussex PA Network and spent a lot of my own time volunteering.
Julie Burns | Glasgow Caledonian University
Julie is a highly skilled C-Suite Executive Assistant with over 30 years’ administration experience across both private and public sectors, including 8 years in higher education and 12 years working in the NHS.
Julie started her career as an Office Junior with a small local supplier of electrical goods at age 16 and knew that she had found her niche to work in administration relishing the challenge of high organisation and communication skills. She was always seeking to improve her experience across a variety of organisations and in 1990 moved to work with J&E Shepherd, Chartered Surveyors where she soon became Office Manager. Following an enjoyable 4 years, Julie then moved on to the Scottish Prison Service at HMP & Young Offenders Institution in Dumfries in administration working with the Secretary to the Management Team and later as an HR Administrator. She took up employment with NHS Dumfries and Galloway in 1999 firstly within the Department of Public Health providing PA support to a Consultant in Public Health and latterly working for 8 years as Executive Assistant with the Chief Operating Officer. Due to family relocation, Julie moved to Glasgow and started working at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2012.
Julie is a Fellow Practitioner with EPAA and is extremely passionate about the role of the Assistant championing the benefits at every available opportunity. Following completion of her MSc in Human Resource Management in 2016, Julie is now an Associate of the CIPD and proud People Manager, leading and mentoring her team of 10 assistants across the University to providing strategic business support to the Leadership Team. She has created a cohesive, motivated and eager team of business support professionals within the University leading them to win the Employer of the Year Award at the 2018 Scottish PA Awards. Julie joined GCU in 2012 as the Senior Executive PA to the Vice-Chancellor and since then her role has expanded and in 2018 she was appointed as Head of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.