Captain Ellie Ablett MBE | Royal Navy
Captain Ellie Ablett MBE - The daughter of an RAF Officer, I read Modern History at Somerville College, Oxford and joined the Royal Navy in 1993, in the first wave of women joining a fully integrated service on the closure of the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Over the last 24 years, I have enjoyed a career as a Logistics Officer at sea and ashore, rising to the rank of Captain where I have held two prestigious roles - Secretary to the First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy and Commanding Officer of HMS RALEIGH, the Royal Navy’s Initial Training Establishment at Torpoint in Cornwall; I am the first woman to hold these roles. During my career I have served at sea on board the aircraft carrier HMS INVINCIBLE, the Amphibious Assault Ships, HMS FEARLESS and HMS BULWARK, the frigate, HMS BRAVE, and the Type 42 Destroyers, HMS EDINBURGH and HMS NEWCASTLE. In an increasingly joint working environment, I deployed on an operational tour in Iraq in support of a 3-star Army General and UK military personnel serving in Baghdad. Ashore, highlights have included provision of executive support to the Senior Officers, policy development for pay, allowances and pensions, managing the implications of Defence-wide change programmes on people and supporting international partnerships and planning for the UK contribution to operations in Afghanistan. A graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course, I achieved a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King’s College London and was awarded a Cormorant Fellowship for academic excellence. In 2014 I was one of 12 senior officers selected to represent the UK at the US/UK Rising Leaders’ Forum in Washington, DC. A keen interest in promoting effective talent management and an inclusive culture across the organisation led me to found a professional network for women in the Naval Service in 2013, which I still lead as it goes from strength to strength. I was honoured to receive the MBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List. I’m married to and supported by Simon, a former Royal Navy Weapon Engineer Officer, who now runs his own outdoor sports coaching and guiding business. I too have a passion for the outdoors and enjoy hiking, cycling, sea kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, and spend any remaining spare time in my garden.
Dominie Moss | The Return Hub
Dominie Moss is the founder of The Return Hub, a unique recruitment firm designed to fill a significant gap in the executive search market by connecting women returning from a career break with financial services organisations.
Dominie has 20 years’ experience in the financial sector, 16 of which she spent as a City headhunter. Before setting up The Return Hub in 2016, she worked at JD Haspel as a Partner and co-lead of the Global Banking and Markets practice. Prior to this, she was Managing Director at Sheffield Haworth where she established the FX practice before becoming Global Head of Fixed Income and Currencies.
During her career she completed numerous leadership assignments for a range of global clients in FX, rates, credit and emerging markets in sales and marketing, trading, structuring, e-commerce and corporate risk solutions.
Carol Stewart | Abounding Solutions
Prior to starting Abounding Solutions, I worked for the Ministry of Justice. I started off in one of the most junior positions in a magistrates' court and worked my way up to a senior position of Group Court Manager, with strategic responsibility for operations for the group.
I started Abounding Solutions in 2012 after taking voluntary redundancy.
I am Director of Abounding Solutions and I'm an Executive, Career, Business Coach, Speaker and Writer, helping women (with an emphasis on introverted women) to break through barriers and thrive in their careers and businesses.
I also help organisations to develop the female pipeline so that more women make it to senior management roles. I provide coaching, training, workshops, webinars and as well as private clients, some of the organisations I have worked with include London Borough of Croydon, Department of Health, London Borough of Lambeth, I am a coach on the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW) women in leadership programme. Some of the sessions delivered to gender networks include:-
• Designed and delivered the 2018 monthly recorded webinar series for RBS Women, the global gender network of the Royal Bank of Scotland
• Delivered the 2018 International Women's Day session for Asurion's women's network
• Delivering the 2018 International Women's Day session for the MetBPA Women's Forum of the Metropolitan Police Service
• Speaker at the Regents University 2018 International Women’s Day event
• Speaker at the University of Leicester’s Black History Month women’s event
• Between 2014 -2018 delivered numerous workshops and webinars to the RBS women’s network, including the Maximising Your Potential webinar series in 2015
• Delivered How to Future Proof Your Career and Setting Yourself up for Success workshops to Barclays women’s network
• Delivered public speaking workshop to Westminster City Council’s women’s network
• Speaker at the Greenwich School of Management International Women’s Day Event
• Key note speaker at Women in Gaming annual conference
• Careers workshop for the Women’s Engineering Society’s National Women’s Engineering Day Conference
• Speaker at London Borough of Croydon’s BAME employee conference
• London Borough of Waltham Forest’s International Women’s Day event
• Careers workshop for Family Mosaic residents
In 2015 I was named as one of Britain’s top 50 Business Advisers by Enterprise Nation for the work I do with women starting businesses. In December 2017, out of 21 million UK users, I was one of 12 people selected as a LinkedIn Top Voice UK. I have been told that I am one of the favourite speakers of the RBS women’s network.
Zaheer Jaffary | Carlton Bolling High School
I qualified as a Physical Education teacher in 2000, as the first ever South Asian P.E teacher in England, this story was acknowledged by BBC news. I grew up in the city of Leeds and played county cricket and badminton until the age of 19, after that I found myself having to look after my father's restaurant throughout my further education as he had a triple bypass and was no longer been able to work. I found myself refusing Loughborough and accepting Leeds as I needed to be working every evening throughout my Sports Science degree. I first started working at Carlton Bolling in 2001 and immediately accepted the cultural differences of those in Bradford to those In Leeds. I stay back most days until 6pm, a couple of hours after my colleagues have left for the sole reason of giving the children an opportunity in life to develop dexterity and social skills.
In 2014, I started the first ever South Asian girls cricket team where I constantly had to fight social, cultural and religious barriers which till this very day I still have to face. In 2015 I won the BBC teacher of the year award, the same year my girls cricketers won their first ever county final especially after everyone, including several members of our own school had written them off. In 2017 I won the secondary teacher of the year award at the T&A teacher awards, later that year I won the National Pearson teacher award. My teaching career as whole has been up and down, maybe due to the mere fact of my loyalty and the chances I give to the students to better themselves. My career as a teacher has suffered many set backs and difficulties but I have never once drifted from helping the children chase and follow their dreams and ambitions.
In May 2018 I have been invited to a Royal Garden Party which is hosted by Her Majesty the Queen for my services to Education. I appeared on Sky Sports international news, and was invited to Lords cricket ground to meet some of the England cricketers I have also, appeared on countless news broadcast ranging from BBC to ITV.
In April, BBC have commissioned a documentary about myself and the girls cricket team following our journey of changing and breaking typical stereotypes for many Asian girls, 'Back Streets Of Bradford To The Success Of Bollywood'.
Bianca Angelico | Sodexo
Bianca is an energetic and inspiring Executive PA, currently working with James Taylor, CEO Sodexo Healthcare UK & Ireland; a division of one of the largest companies in the world. She is invested in the wider cause and has a passion to mobilise and help others rise up and achieve their potential.
After graduating from the University of Cape Town in 2011 with a degree in Organisational Psychology and Industrial Sociology, and then furthered her academic prowess with a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management, she moved to the UK to begin her career. In the 5 years before joining Sodexo she took up PA and Marketing roles in both Unwired Ventures and Condeco Software, immersing her in, and allowing her to discover her proclivity of, the Workplace and FM industries.
With a love for these communities Bianca is recognised for her efforts in challenging mindsets of the struggles women encounter and the mental health issues that manifest as a result. She has made it her life to challenge the status quo and make a difference in the areas of Diversity & Inclusion and Gender Parity. She achieves this through leveraging her strong network, inspiring talent and by holding roles in high profile industry professional bodies. She is in her second year of being both the Deputy Chair for BIFM Women in Facilities Management, and the Head of Communications for the Young Manager Forum.
Bianca is a world class Executive PA and is astute enough to recognise that she can use her position to elevate the industry she works within. Demonstrating servant leadership qualities, she volunteers her time and knowledge so that everyone has a voice, everyone feels supported and everyone can rise up and achieve their potential.
Emma Connelly | BAE Systems
I’ve been with BAE Systems Applied Intelligence (BAES AI) for 12 years, coming in to the organisation as part of an acquisition in 2008. Prior to that I was an Office Manager and PA in a Digital Forensics company based close to my home in Surrey. Little did I know that being successful at that interview would lead me into a world of tech and national security!
I am currently PA to four Directors: the National Security Client Group Director, Defence Client Group Director, Head of Consulting and an Account Group Director all of whom keep me very busy in a fast moving industry.
I’m a natural organiser, from a very early age I was always the one that would organise everyone and everything and that hasn’t much changed over the years except now instead of organising friends parties, girly holidays and even my brother’s wedding, I’ve moved on to large scale conference events and school summer fairs as you’ll see below.
Yvonne Darling | Colt Technology Services
I am Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at Colt Technology Services in London, a company that I joined in 2003. With 20 years’ experience in the technology industry and a career that has spanned almost three decades, I have seen the role of assistant change significantly in terms of remit. I have also lived through several technological revolutions redefining the way my colleagues and I work. This is something especially present at Colt as a technology company that strives to be at the forefront of digital evolution.
I’ve worked with CEO Carl Grivner for nearly 2 years and he actually chose me for the role – I was working in a different position at the time. The interview was as much about me interviewing him as him interviewing me. He recognised a mutual respect we have for each other, which was realised in 2017 when he penned a nomination for me for London Networking PA of the Year – which I won! Carl visibly empowers me in my role, taking care not to see me sidelined by the Chief of Staff. As a result the Chief of Staff and I complement each other as his two main supporters.
Melissa Francis | Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Melissa began her career as a junior typist at Lloyds Bank before quickly gaining promotion to support the Branch Manager and moving on to the Area Director’s office. Over time her role changed to that of a PA/Manager’s Assistant within commercial banking. After starting a family, Melissa progressed to roles within Share Registration, Single Company ISAs and eventually on to a Customer Service Team Leader role within the bank’s Cash ISA product.
Greatly missing her PA role, Melissa moved on to spend an enjoyable seven years at a Further Education college, supporting senior leaders before taking up her current role within the NHS as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Melissa splits her working week across three hospitals for two busy NHS Trusts. She is a proud Staff Ambassador, part of a wider team who advocate improving the patient, staff and visitor experience. Melissa’s EA role brings great variety however; the added dimension of Staff Ambassador duties create many opportunities for supporting Trust events. This includes career open days where Melissa has previously supported applicants, coaching them through their candidate journey as they work towards a new admin or secretarial role. Placing great value in paying it forward, Melissa sees this as an investment in the future of the organisation.
Melissa has developed a passion for networking, building relationships and attending national learning events, championing continuous professional development. Setting herself mini challenges to refresh her journey of learning, Melissa has recently 'dipped her toes' into the blogging pond, writing for the Eventopedia UK, #ProudPA blog.
A Fellow member of the Executive and Personal Assistants Association, Melissa is also an Associate Member of the CIPD.
Elle Hammond | J.P. Morgan
Elle Hammond is an Executive Assistant at J.P. Morgan's Private Bank, supporting a team of 8 senior bankers in addition to EMEA's Head of Wealth Advisory. Elle partners with the team on 200+ key client relationships with the UK's Leading Entrepreneurs, Business Executives and Family Offices.
Elle graduated with a First-Class Honours Bachelor of Science in Events Management, from Canterbury Christ Church University. Following University, she joined a Real Estate Investment Company, The Royalton Group. Having worked as Receptionist and Administrative Assistant for a short time, Elle was then promoted to Personal Assistant to the CFO, General Counsel and Managing Director. During her time at The Royalton Group, Elle worked closely on projects such as Putney Plaza, the W1 on Marylebone High Street (previously BBC Radio 1's HQ) in addition to several individual properties in Weybridge and Oxshott in Surrey which achieved sales values between £5-25 million. She also gained invaluable experience in liaising with Ultra High Net-Worth individuals which has aided her extensively in her current role at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
Elle later worked as an Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the CEO of the UK's leading importer of ambient food products, Lovering Foods. Here she gained knowledge on global production and import operations, as well as insight on how companies can structure their Corporate Social Responsibility policies.
Elle helps coordinate numerous events for J.P. Morgan's Private Clients ranging from Global Conferences and Sporting Events, to Philanthropic and Entrepreneur Roundtables, focusing on topics such as Empowering Women and Girls and Female Founders Giving Back. Elle is passionate about Social Mobility, Gender Balance and Real Estate and also enjoys travelling, having done so extensively in South-East Asia and Australia.
Lesley Mulvaney | Finsbury Food Group
After leaving college, where I studied Horse Management, I decided I wanted a career working with animals, I enjoyed a variety of roles including riding instructor and veterinary nurse for 6 years. I then made a decision to change my career path and was employed within various office roles such as Recruitment Consultant, Payroll Administrator and Retail Assistant.
In 2005 I made the switch into HR with Lightbody of Hamilton, the largest supplier of Celebration Cakes in the UK, where I took on the role of HR Assistant. After 3 very successful years within this position, I wanted a challenge! An internal opportunity, within Lightbody of Hamilton, as PA to the Site Director became available. I had no experience of being a PA but felt I had some of the key attributes for that role as I am adaptable, organised, an excellent communicator and very trustworthy.
I have now worked alongside that same Director for 9 years and my career, responsibilities and duties have developed in parallel with his career. During that time I expanded my duties by becoming the PA to our Joint Managing Directors and then last year, PA to the Managing Director as well as the Group Efficiency Director when the role of Joint Managing Director was split. This has led to me becoming involved and having insights into pretty much every area of our business. On top of this I also, support and work alongside other Directors in the Group and Plc as and when required.
Outside of work, I am the secretary for the Lanarkshire Diabetic Family Support Group, helping to bring other families together whose children have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This provided the parents a platform to ask each other questions as well as allowing the children to play and realise they are not alone. I also like to spend time with my family, I have one son who is 16 and Type 1 diabetic as well as interests in yoga and fitness.