Women on Boards Success Stories

In this episode, we speak with Sadie Daryan, a Senior Marketer and Trustee at the Single Homeless Project, who landed her first board position through our guidance and resources. Sadie discusses the significant impact of role models and mentors throughout her career. She shares insights on balancing career ambitions with the importance of giving back to the community and the role passion plays in her position as a trustee.

Laurie Benson has had a successful career as a media executive in the US and the UK. She has leveraged her experience and expertise into an extensive NED portfolio career.  She emphasises the importance of securing that first role, the value of hands-on experience in boardrooms, and the confidence to embrace opportunities even before you feel ready.

In this episode, we speak with Myfanwy Barrett, an experienced NED and Trustee, as she shares her journey to the boardroom and the wealth of experiences that shaped her career. With a background in public finance, Myfanwy holds a diverse portfolio across the pensions, housing, and cultural sectors in both public and not-for-profit organisations. She discusses the valuable lessons learned along the way, including overcoming challenges, the importance of peer support, leveraging your key skills, and being patient on your path to boardroom success. 

In this episode we look back at some of the best advice shared by our members throughout 2024 on succeeding as a non-executive director. These seasoned individuals provide valuable insights on assessing board fit, intentional networking, strategic relationship building, and much more.

In this episode, we speak with Carol Hagh, an experienced portfolio NED serving on both a FTSE 250 board and a FTSE All-Share board. Carol shares insights from her extensive career and journey in the boardroom. With a wealth of experience spanning digital innovation and customer and corporate strategy across diverse global markets, Carol shares how her executive background shaped her NED journey. She discusses how to assess your 'board fit', the benefits of joining committees, collaborating effectively with headhunters, and the importance of patience in navigating the path to a successful board career.

In this episode Lloydette Bai-Marrow, an experienced non-executive director, anti-corrpution expert, and economic crime lawyer, discusses her extensive career and board journey.  She emphasises the importance of strategic decision-making in choosing roles, building relationships, and demonstrating the value you bring to a board.

In this episode, Tracy Watkinson, an experienced Non-Executive Director and a FTSE100 Chief Operating Officer, shares the invaluable tips gained from her remarkable career and board journey. Tracy has held various community board roles - undertaken in her private time - alongside her executive career. Our journey with Tracy began at one of our in-house workshops, and she has been a valued member of our network for over a decade.

In this episode, Monica Collings, a seasoned portfolio Non-Executive Director and award-winning former CEO, shares her experiences, challenges, and the strategies she adopted to break barriers and succeed in the boardroom. Monica highlights the importance of self-belief, representation of marginalised voices, and self-care in board roles to foster positive organisational change.

How do you create a truly inclusive company culture? In this episode, our CEO, Fiona Hathorn, is joined by Matt Duncan, Managing Director (Business Performance Improvement Leader) at Protiviti, and Dr Zandile Ndlovu, a Board Advisor and experienced Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Drawing from the themes in the third chapter of our Hidden Truth 2024 report - Strategic Approaches to People and Culture - they explore managing diverse people and cultures, enhancing leadership, gathering valuable employee insights and addressing key challenges in ED&I.

Traditionally, the boardroom has been seen as the domain of accountants and lawyers, but the modern board requires non-executives with a broader range of professional expertise. In this episode, we hear from Mai Fenton and Kirsten Achtelstetter, two non-executives with marketing and tech backgrounds respectively, about their experiences securing board positions. They share insights on how they demonstrated the relevance of their skill set, positioned themselves for success and navigated challenges they faced.

In this podcast, Marcia Cantor-Grable, an experienced portfolio Non-Executive Director, shares her inspiring journey of working in executive committee and board level roles in financial services. Throughout her career, she has held various senior global and regional roles and currently serves on four financial services boards in the UK and Europe.

In this episode, Yetunde Hofmann talks about her journey to becoming an experienced portfolio Non-Executive Director and Board Mentor. She highlights the need to be intentional with networking and recognising the value you can bring to a board, regardless of where you are in your career.

In a special episode, three senior Ukranian leaders share their unique experiences of staying resilient during a crisis and discuss the recently launched Women on Boards Ukraine Network. Olga Ustynova, Nataliya Mykolska, non-executive member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrhydroenergo and Nina Dombrowska, co-founder of Women on Boards Ukraine, provide valuable insights into the challenges they face, the strategies they used to maintain their strength and the lessons they learned.

In this episode, our Co-Founder and Executive Director speaks to Katrina Shenton on her unique journey to the boardroom as an ethical investments professional. Katrina highlights the importance of choosing boards that align with her values and passions and shares the lessons learned during her transition to becoming a portfolio NED.

In this episode our CEO Fiona Hathorn catches up with experienced NED and CEO, and Women on Boards member, Peju Adebajo. Peju shares her journey of becoming a portfolio NED from the starting point of arriving in the UK and having to build up a network to begin her campaign of securing a NED role using all the resources she could, including Women on Boards. 

In this podcast we hear from Sue Douthwaite, Chair of Nexa Finance and NHS Business Service Authority, and Sarah Heenan, Chair of Regents Opera - two members who stepped into Chair roles in 2022 about their experience of making the transition, and the challenges and rewards they are finding. They also share their journey to securing the positions, and what they learnt along the way.  

Episode 2 of our Bursary Programme mini-series podcast special! In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Co-Founder at Women on Boards UK, was delighted to speak with Bami Adenipekun and Marianna Sikorowska about why they applied for the bursary, how they found it and what their plans are for the future. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as they share their inspiring and very different experiences of our Bursary Programme.

Episode 1 of 2 in our Bursary Programme mini series. In this first episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Co-Founder of Women on Boards UK, catches up with Rituja Rao and Nicky Neal-Smith about why they applied for the bursary, how they found it and what their plans are for the future. The Women on Boards UK Bursary Programme is designed to help women who would not otherwise be able to afford our support. This year's bursay is generously sponsored by leading global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Rachel Tranter, Founder and Executive Director, Women on Boards UK, meets with Ama Ocansey, UK Head of Diversity and Inclusion for BNP Paribas. BNP Paribas are one of our corporate partners who actively encourage employees to develop non-executive experience as part of their career development. As well as sitting in a non-executive capacity on internal BNP Paribas boards, Ama is also a board member at the Financial Inclusion Forum, contributing to this important cause.

Episode 10 of our Ten for Ten podcast mini series. In this Episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder of Women on Boards UK, meets with Sally Duckworth. Sally is a CEO, Portfolio NED and Women on Boards Ambassador and Workshop Presenter. Sally is Chair of Stormagic Ltd, a Non-Executive Director of Mobeus Income and Growth 2 VCT and a Non-Executive at JP Morgan Japanese Investment Trust Ltd. More recently Sally stepped down as Chair of BeyondTheStory.

Episode 9 of our Ten for Ten podcast mini series. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder of Women on Boards UK, meets with member June Aitken. June is an experienced Portfolio Non-Executive Director and an Investor.  June currently holds NED positions with the following organisations, JP Morgan Asia Growth and Income, Greengage, CC Japan Income & Growth Trust plc and BBGI Global Infrastructure SA. June is also Chair at PEAL Capital UK and an Advisory Group Member at Abundance Investment.

Episode 8 of our Ten for Ten podcast mini series. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder of Women on Boards UK meets with member, Jacqui Ferguson. Jacqui is an experienced non-executive director in multiple industries and a former divisional CEO from the technology industry. Jacqui's current roles include the positions of Chair of Remco and NED at Wood plc, Senior Independent Director at Tesco Bank and Chair of Remco and NED at Croda Plc. Jacqui is also Deputy Chair of Engineering UK, a not for profit focused on inspiring young people from all kinds of backgrounds into engineering and technology careers. In 2018 she won the Sunday Times NED to watch award in honour of Dame Helen Alexander.

Episode 7 of our Ten for Ten poscast mini series. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder of Women on Boards UK meets with member, Nia Roberts. Nia is an experienced trustee, chair and committee member with a portfolio of roles. Her appointments include being a Member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Strategic Advisory Network, Board Member at Menai Science Park Ltd and being a Member of the Institute of Physics Wales Committee. Nia also has experience of chairing a School Board of Governors for over ten years and fulfilling the role of Vice Chair of an arts charity.

Episode 6 of our Ten for Ten podcast mini series. In this episode Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder of Women on Boards UK meets with Karen Finlayson, a Partner at PwC, and a Board Member on PwC's UK Supervisory Board. PwC are a longstanding corporate partner of Women on Boards. Karen's prior non executive experience includes a NED role at Doncaster Children's Services Trust Ltd, serving as a Governor at Sheffield Hallam University and an Associate Lay Trust Board Member at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Karen was also previously Chair of the Audit Committee at Doncaster College.

Episode 5 of our Ten for Ten Podcast Mini Series. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder of Women on boards UK meets with Alex Tamlyn, an experienced lawyer and governance expert, who shares his thoughts on developments in corporate governance over the past 30 years ,  Alex Tamlyn is currently Head of DLA Piper's EMEA Capital Markets practice and Co-Chair of the firm's Boardroom Advisory Services practice which launched in February 2019.

In this 10 for 10 podcast mini-series, ten of our members share the twists and turns they've experienced building their very different board careers, and generously share what they wish they'd known before. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder, Women on Boards UK meets with Lesley Lloyd. Lesley is currently a Governor at the University of Central Lancashire and up until recently held the board position of Advisory Board Director at Distinctly ME and Board Advisor to M&I Materials Ltd.

In this 10 for 10 podcast mini-series, ten of our membes share the twists and turns they've experienced building their very different board careers, and generously share what they wish they'd known before. I this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder, Women on Boards UK meets with Alison Thorne, Chair of National Dance Company Wales, Governor of Cardiff Metropolitan University, independent panel member of the Welsh Government's public appointment service and Board Member at of Sports Wales.

In this 10 for 10 podcast mini-series, ten of our members share the twists and turns they've experienced building their very different board careers, and generously share what they wish they'd known before. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder, Women on Boards UK meets with Tazeem Abbas, board member at SW9 Community Housing and School Governor at Caldew School, Carlisle. 

In this 10 for 10 podcast mini-series, ten of our members share the twists and turns they've experienced building their very different board careers, and generously share what they wish they'd known before. In this episode Fiona Hathorn, CEO and Founder, Women on Boards UK meets with Portfolio NED, Shefaly Yogendra to hear her story.

In this episode Rachel Tranter, Founder and Executive Director  of Women On Boards UK is joined by Carlotta Zorzi, who shares her experience of balancing her successful executive career alongside not one but two, non-executive roles. Carlotta is an award-winning tech professional, currently at tech commerce giant Shopify.

This podcast is all about recruiting diverse board members and detailing how and what we do in the UK to help Chairs and Nominations Committees source new and interesting  candidates by tapping into our deep fault lines of new emerging NED talent and/or accessing our existing pocket of experienced NED members. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn talks to Tanya Gass about how our Bespoke Searches work in the competitive paid board sector alongside noting how many boards now are prepared to take a conscious and different approach to NED searches and how we can and do work alongside open-minded Headhunters.

In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, CEO of Women on Boards UK is joined by Paul Norris, CEO of MM&K. Paul talks Fiona through MM&K's recent report on 'Life in the Boardroom'. It is a data rich report that covers many things including what directors get paid per sector. It is a fascinating report on what is going on today in terms of succession planning, recruitment, diversity and change. Life in the Boardroom is a report of the 2021/2022  MM&K survey of UK board Chairs and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs). The survey covers directors' fees and time commitments, as well as their views on a range of current board issues.

Risk is a core issue for all boards, but thinking on the best way to manage risk has moved on considerably in recent years. In this episode, Fiona Hathorn, Founder and CEO of Women on Boards UK is joined by Bryan Foss, Portfolio NED and founding member of the Risk Coalition to discuss how boards can shift their approach to risk and ensure they keep up with the current best practice and methodologies.

In this episode Fiona Hathorn, CEO of Women on Boards UK, is joined by Unette Spencer, Chief of Staff to Ann Cairns, Mastercard's Executive Vice Chair; trustee for the Inspiring Leadership Trust; and a member of Affinity Waters Customer Challenge Board. Find out what's involved in two very different non-executive roles, how she got the positions and why she went for them.

In this episode Rebecca Ganz, Women on Boards' lead in the North West is joined by Carol Ann Whitehead, Helen Gilder and Erica Morriss, all of whom have landed a NED role during the pandemic. They explore how they've accelerated having an impact on their Board despite being virtual or hybrid, their views on what this means for being an effective NED going forward and their thoughts on how this positively or negatively impacts finding NED opportunities.

Debunking common misconceptions around the pay gaps - Key errors many companies (listed & not) make in their statutory gender pay gap reporting and how boards can ensure they are fully compliant - Anthony Horrigan, CEO of Spktral (the pay gap experts) shares his expertise.

Have you considered supporting an early-stage company either as an adviser, mentor or non-executive? In this episode we meet founder of Connectd.co, Sam Luckett, to find out more about the opportunities available in this space. 

In this session we talk to Helene Usherwood, Partner at leading search firm, Anderson Quigley about how to best approach your board campaign. Helene shares her top tips on how to succeed in your board aspirations from considering your board value add to how to tackle your supporting statement to achieve most impact. 

Listen to this session when Women on Boards CEO and Founder, Fiona Hathorn takes you through some of the top reasons why taking on a non-executive or trustee role can really differentiate you in the world of work, but also be hugely rewarding and stimulating. 

In this session Fiona Hathorn is joined by Brigid Whoriskey who having had an executive career in research and innovation in the financial sector has started to build a busy portfolio non-executive career to run alongside her executive coaching business. She shares her top tips on how to achieve board success - starting with setting yourself clear goals but then also being your authentic self at interview stage. 

For this episode we meet the former (and first!) female Finance Minister for the Republic of Guinea, Malado Kaba as she shares her journey to the boardroom. Bringing her solid economic background and expertise she now sits on the boards of a government agency, a bank and a charity. Her story is sure to inspire and motivate anyone who is interested in developing their non-executive careers. 

For this Success Story podcast Fiona Hathorn is joined by Karen Morton, an experienced board member with Non-Executive Director experience across commercial public sector, private and not for profit organisations. Karen is currently on the board of DAA, Irish Chamber Orchestra and Water Safety Ireland. Karen was previously Chief Marketing Officer of DELL Financial Services and held executive roles in British Airways, Eir and Monster.com.

Sarah Perris, Women on Board's presenter and representative for The North of England explores the career benefits of taking on one or more board roles alongside your executive career. Sarah is joined by Amber Hill, Lisa Maynard-Atem and Katy Read - all busy executives who have developed board careers to run in conjunction with their day job. They discuss the benefits they believe incorporating non-executive activities have on their personal and professional lives. 

Former Danish investment banker, Charlotte Valeur, is an internationally renowned and highly experienced Non-Executive Director and Chair who is committed to increasing levels of good governance globally through value-based leadership. Always destined to live and work abroad she admits, at the age of 22, Charlotte transferred from Denmark, her home, to London with the bank she was employed with at the time and has remained there ever since.  Intrigued by the behaviour of people, Charlotte studied psychology when she took some time off work when she had her children. It is these soft skills, paired with her innate knowledge of investment banking, that have set her apart in the Boardroom. Charlotte has extensive Board level experience with IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring, and her portfolio of sectors range from construction, infrastructure, renewable energy, private equity, property, finance/investments/debt, higher education and the third sector. When she entered the world of Board governance, she had a feeling that the overriding principles of best practice were the same, no matter the country or the organisation. From Board composition, to risk management and oversight, to stakeholder engagement, she found from her lived experience that the principles were in fact the same. Today Charlotte is Non-Executive Director for Liang O’Rourke and NTR plc, Chair for Blackstone Loan Financing Ltd and FSN Capital GP and Advisory Board Member for several organisations. When she first began chairing some 15 years ago, the appalling slow pace of governance implementation shocked Charlotte. Following the 2007, 2008 and 2009 financial crises, and now COVID, she confidently says we are witnessing a push for better governance and leadership. Hear about Charlotte’s upcoming book, why her Autism diagnosis has in many ways made her a better Board member, and the benefits of her many transferable skills.

Join this episode of our Success Story podcasts when Rachel Tranter talks to portfolio NED, Karen Furlong, on how she has built her numerous non-executive positions in the finance and insurance sectors.  Karen reflects on how important alignment with her own personal values are when deciding on taking on a role, plus how the NED way of life works well with her personal life.  

For this Boardroom Insight podcast Susan Hooper joins Fiona Hathorn as they discuss her journey to the boardroom and some of the themes and trends she is seeing as the Covid crisis continues to impact the economy and society on all levels.  Susan definitely falls into the category of having a "portfolio" career as she currently sits on the boards of Uber UK, climate change network, Chapter Zero, Affinity Water and Rank Group Plc. She is also Chair of Advanced Biomass Sequestration, an agri-mining company in Australia as well as being Chair of a Scottish medi-tech start-up Care Sourcer. 

For this success story podcast we are joined by experienced board member and remuneration Chair, Bronagh Kennedy. Bronagh juggles a busy executive career as Group Company Secretary and General Counsel at Severn Trent Water Plc alongside being on the board of specialist retailer Wolseley UK, where she also Chairs the Remuneration Committee.

12 months ago we took a panoramic view of the many landmarks and influencers in changing norms around corporate purpose, human capital and climate change.  Now, faced with very limited time and finite resource, we must decide what really matters, and what doesn’t. Listen to Head of DLA Piper's Boardroom Advisory Services Practice, Alex Tamlyn as he reflects on how to best navigate sustainability and ESG in 2021. 

Rebecca Ganz (aka Becks) is an ex pat who successfully kickstarted her Non-Exec career in August 2018. Enjoying a range of Non Exec roles, which span Education, Institutional Health and Business sectors, Becks knows what it takes to strategically build a Non Exec portfolio. Becks shares highs, lows, surprises as well as ‘grass roots’ practical insights on how to design a fulfilling, challenging and rewarding Non Exec career.

Join Rachel Tranter for this month's Success Story podcast when she speaks to finance expert, Sharon Constancon​ about her journey to the boardroom. Rachel finds out out about her experiences when there and gets her top tips on how to succeed in building a range of non-executive roles.  Sharon has had an incredibly successful and varied global career starting in South Africa where she built up an expertise in FOREX management before moving to the UK where she has built up an impressive portfolio of executive and non executive positions. Sharon is CEO of Genius Boards and Genius Methods - a group that offers tailored robust, behaviour focused board evaluations, mentoring, corporate governance services and governance training to many industries.  Sharon's portfolio includes being Chair of the South African Chamber of Commerce UK, a committee member for the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, Liveryman and Court Member of the WCCSA and she is a Chartered Director Interviewer with the IOD. She has previously been a non executive with Caban Capital Plc and Buckinghamshire Building Society. 

For this Success Story instalment we are delighted to be joined by Nicole Gajree and Amy Hennessy who share their journeys to the boardroom while an earlier stage in their career. Both have taken on trustee positions recently at organisations doing work that they are passionate about.  You are never too young to consider taking a board role. In Nicole's case she was encouraged to apply for non executive board positions despite the fact she had not yet reached senior management positions in her career. They both share their advice and learnings and reflect on the benefits joining a board has had on their personal and professional lives.