Connect with others in the network and our Women on Boards’ lead in Scotland to learn and share your experiences around stepping into a board Chair position.
Progress has been made in diversity among non-executives, but far less-so when it comes to Chair roles. At this session, experienced Chairs will share the challenges of the role and what they wish they’d known when they first stepped up as Chair.
An IN-PERSON event in EDINBURGH, facilitated by Julie Ashworth, Women on Boards’ lead in Edinburgh and a Board Chair herself. There will also be ample opportunity for discussion and informal networking in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
Wine and/or soft drinks and nibbles will be served.
Julie Ashworth
Chair of The University of Aberdeen, Vice-Chair of The IoD Scotland, Women on Boards Presenter and Advisor.
Julie is Chair of the Board of the University of Aberdeen and Chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Scotland, as well as being an Advisory Board member for the Scottish Business Network. She has previously held non-executive roles with George Watson’s College and the Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh among several others, and spent 3 years as Chair of an award winning retail tech start-up.
Julie is CEO of Broadreach, providing specialist leadership consulting services to global blue-chip companies. Julie works extensively as an Executive Mentor and coach with various FTSE 100 companies. She has held Retail Director roles with Liberty of London and Punch Taverns and was Executive Partner at IBM with responsibility for retail across EMEA and the US. She began her corporate career with Tesco, leaving her role as a senior executive to compete in the Round the World Yacht race.
Julie lives in Edinburgh and is our Women on Boards Lead for Scotland. Julie leads Women on Boards’ ‘Getting to the C-Suite’ Leadership programme and delivers different types of our Board CV support offer and mentoring.
Speakers
Eve Poole OBE
Eve’s background comprises Author, Chair, Trustee and Interim CEO in the education and charity sectors. Executive background in charities, management consulting, financial services and business education. Functional track-record in ESG, strategy, change, HR, regulation and innovation. Eve holds an OBE for services to Education and Gender Equality and she currently holds the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer at Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.
Eve’s recent non-executive roles include, Chair of the Board of Governors at Gordonstoun School in Elgin, (making her the first female Chair of the School) and Third Church Estates Commissioner at Church Commissioners for England, who manage the £9.1bn investments of the Church of England.
Jo Armstrong
Jo is an experienced non-executive Chair and Director in the UK Public, Private and Third Sectors offering corporate governance, risk management and corporate strategy experience. Jo also provides strategic challenge, market and public policy insights for CEOs and Boards in economic regulation, corporate finance and applied micro-economics.
Jo is currently Chair of Wheatley Housing Group Ltd, Scotland’s leading housing, care and property-management group and an Independent Chair of hub West Scotland, a public private Joint Venture development organisation working with public sector partners to plan, design, build, fund and maintain buildings in the most efficient and effective manner.
Other positions held are Member of the IoD Scotland Advisory Board, a ministerial appointment, as one of five members in Scotland’s only economic regulatory body, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, and Panel Member at the Competition and Markets Authority.
Mandy Haeburn-Little
Mandy is a skilled Chair and CEO with many years experience of assisting companies facing challenge and managing significant change. Mandy currently serves as Executive Chair of Business Resilience International Management, a role that she has held since August 2019.
Before founding BRIM in 2019, Mandy was the Chief Executive of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre for over 9 years, working in direct partnership with the single Police force, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government. In 2014, Mandy established the London Digital Security Centre based on a similar model. Mandy has led numerous initiatives and campaigns in Cyber and is a strong advocate for young skills.
On announcing her departure from her role as CEO, Mandy received a cross party commendation from the Scottish Parliament for her contribution to the business sector as well as for her inspirational leadership. As well as leading and delivering the National Programme of Cyber centres for Policing, Mandy sits on a number of National Policing initiatives.
Sarah Downs
From Trauma Nurse to Sales Enablement Consultant and Business Owner, Sarah is no stranger to the pressures of entrepreneurship. She founded her first business in 2015 and then merged to co-found Doqaru Ltd in 2018. Sarah has worked with various companies from growth-minded start-ups to international corporates in sectors such as Energy, Technology and Professional Services. Having supported over 150 organisations in the past eight years, she now has diverse experience of what it takes to scale business and has overcome many challenges.
Sarah is also the Chair of the Aberdeen & Grampian Branch of the Institute of Directors (IoD), a Board Advisor to the Robert Gordon’s University (RGU) Business School and a local health & wellbeing CIC called NEW Solutions. Sarah was also a non-exec director for Grampian Housing Association for 3.5 years.
Her belief in personal development led her to undertake and complete CMI Leadership Courses (LAMP) and more recently the IoD Certificate in Company Direction, with plans to become a Chartered Director within the next few years, helping to lead Doqaru and support any current and future advisory and board-level roles she takes on.
With thanks to our event hosts
